My grumpy pills are kicking in again. I thought the childhood POV seemed authentic, but I spent most of the time wondering what the specialist specializes in, what specialty needs a sound-mimicking hat, what purpose could that possibly serve.
I never figured out why the specialist hat was called that, but I didn't worry about it, just chalked it up to the bizarreness of child logic. Why does a little boy name his toy shark "Telephone Man" (example from a friend) -- why even ask?
Me, I'm wondering whether the father was actually trying to help/get help from his daughters, or whether he had been *changed* out there and was trying to lure them for some dreadful purpose. And whether the, uh, ghost babysitter? actually meant well, thinking being dead was better than THAT, or if she was just an evil spirit.
Good story, I thought.