Step into the mid-1980s and meet Matthias Chancellor, a small-town teen whose world is about to be upended by secrets long buried in both his family and his community. On the surface, Matthias is an ordinary high school sophomore in Almsdale-navigating the chaos of hallways, the thrill of heavy metal cassettes blasting through his Walkman, and the awkward hope of first crushes. But when a chance visit to the town carnival leads him to a mysterious fortune-teller and her ominous raven, Matthias finds himself pulled into a world where the past refuses to rest quietly.

What begins as a boy's curiosity about an abandoned mausoleum soon becomes a haunting journey through visions, restless spirits, and a history of love and loss that refuses to stay hidden. Guided by unlikely allies-a new friend who shares his love of music, a parish priest with secrets of his own, and messages from beyond-Matthias must confront not only the mysteries of the supernatural, but also the lingering wounds in his own family left by war, silence, and sorrow.

Blending small-town realism with gothic atmosphere, Matthias and the Ghostly Encounter by Amy Martin captures the turbulence of coming of age against a backdrop of ghost stories, family struggles, and the timeless desire to belong. Perfect for fans of Young Adult fiction with a touch of the eerie-where first loves, haunted places, and the echoes of history intertwine-this debut novel invites readers to believe that the line between the living and the dead may be thinner than we think.