The Thing in the Basementis an atmospheric mystery story with a school setting. When the boy arrives at his new school everything is strange and different. The big, Victorian building has many storeys and a basement . . . As he passes the basement he notices a smell of heat and soot and burning. He looks down there and suddenly there's a bang and a flash, a roaring sound. He knows there's something down there. Something nasty . . . something monstrous. And as the day goes on, all the evidence leads to suggest that the 'something' is a dragon . . .