THE GHOST OF LIZARD LIGHT by Elvira Woodruff, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1999, 176 pages, $14.95.

Not surprisingly, lighthouses epitomize romance and adventure for many Maine people. These storm-embattled structures, warning ships of treacherous and deadly rock formations, are an integral part of our state’s history and legends.

Glimpses into the past prove intriguing to readers, young and old. And many folks, even those who claim to regard the existence of haunts with skepticism, enjoy a well-told ghost story.

Elvira Woodruff’s “The Ghost of Lizard Light” combines those elements into a real page-turner of a mystery. If it went no further it would be well worth its cost. But it is so much more.

Jack Carlton is a hero with whom many youngsters will empathize. He and his principal-father are always clashing. His father is after him to work harder in school. And Jack’s pranks, such as trying to get his pet lizard elected to Student Council, keep him in hot water. At least when things get tough he has the loyalty of his best friend, Denton.

Unexpectedly, Jack’s father tells his family that he has accepted a new job at a small school and they’ll all be moving from Iowa to Maine. He’ll be under less stress and able to spend more time with his family. Jack’s costume designer-mother finds the prospect exciting. His pesky little sister, Franny, has no objections. But as far as Jack is concerned, Maine is the end of the earth. He’ll never find a true friend who will share so many of his interests.

In an ominous prologue, Jack’s purchase of a small ceramic lighthouse has been associated with the first appearance of a ghost. When the family moves into the keeper’s cottage of an old lighthouse, the phantom is quick to materialize. Jack awakens to see a hazily lit, swirling image that changes into the translucent form of a boy about his age. After they chat, the young ghost, Nathaniel, son of a former lighthouse keeper, vanishes, cryptically whispering, “You’re exactly the kind of boy I need.”

Understandably, Jack is desperate to learn just what Nathaniel wants of him. His family is no help. His father thinks he’s made up a story to frighten Franny.

The young spirit’s mission for Jack is daunting, to say the least. Nathaniel’s father, Samuel, had become terrified of the ocean after his wife died at sea and someone else also tragically drowned. Paralyzed with fear, he had become unable to venture out into storms to rescue shipwrecked sailors. He got his courage back in time to die trying in vain to save his son’s life. Not knowing of his attempt, people labeled him a coward. Nathaniel wants Jack to set the record straight.

As Jack wrestles with his task from the past, a drowning becomes imminent in the present. Helpless onshore, he sees a capsized boat that his mother, uncle, and sister had been sailing. His mother had not been wearing a life jacket and there is no sign of her.

What sets this book apart from other good mysteries is the authentic and sensitive portrayal of father-son relationships. Jack vacillates between grief at being unable to live up to his father’s expectations, and anger over his demands. His father, who has made career mistakes and suffered a stress-related heart attack, is desperate to make good in his new job and fearful that his son’s behavior may jeopardize this goal.

Few readers will be unable to sympathize with Samuel’s struggle against paralyzing fear, and Nathaniel’s frantic quest to clear his beloved father’s name.

“The Ghost of Lizard Light” is a great cure for spring, rainy-day, can’t-go-outside doldrums.