Bite-sized treats for young horror aficionados; best enjoyed on a dark night.
Inspired by the contributions to the genre by Alvin Schwartz and presented by the Horror Writers Association, this anthology features 35 original spooky tales.
Ghosts, graveyards, a fatal disease, a creepy old house: Well-loved horror tropes aplenty are found within these pages alongside new, unusual scares like a haunted washing machine and a terrifying man who is said to capture children out after dark and turn them into umbrellas. While some stories are eerie and some are macabre and gross, others provide heart-pounding thrills. The prolific and popular R.L. Stine goes for funny with a side of spook in his story told from the perspective of a ghost living in a boy’s closet. A couple of stories embrace contemporary life and showcase technology and social media–based horror. Descriptions of race or culture are largely absent; notable exceptions include Courtney Alameda’s “The Weeping Woman,” a spin on the Mexican folklore legend of La Llorona, and “The Painted Skin,” by Jamie Ford, with its Chinese setting and characters. With a wide variety of tones and styles, the collection as a whole has broad appeal, but read cover to cover it can also feel disjointed and uneven. While a couple of stories are more “eh” than “AHH!” there are enough gems to make the anthology worthwhile. Compiet’s ink wash, graphite, and charcoal illustrations are gloriously evocative, adding delicious thrills.
Bite-sized treats for young horror aficionados; best enjoyed on a dark night. (Horror anthology. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-287767-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Beautifully creepy.
Sixth grader Bailee Heron must win a ghostly game to keep her town, her family, and herself from losing everything.
On Halloween in 1982, sixth grader Abigail Snook disappeared in the Bellwoods forest behind Beckett Elementary. Now, every Halloween, Beckett’s sixth graders have to play the Bellwoods Game, or her ghost will terrorize the town for the next year. If she catches you, and you don’t have a gift to sacrifice, the ghost will take something else—like your tongue. But if you manage to ring the old bell in the woods first, you’ll banish her for another year, and she’ll give you anything you want. Bailee, lover of all things horror, just wants things to go back to normal. Ever since the factory closed two years ago, her parents have worked long hours to make ends meet, often leaving Nan and Bailee alone. Then Nan got sick at the same time a vicious rumor ostracized Bailee from the rest of the class. Winning the game is Bailee’s only chance to set things right, but she soon learns everything is not as it seems in the town of Fall Hollow, where stories are weapons, friends come from strange places, and Abigail Snook isn’t the scariest thing hiding among the trees. This gorgeously illustrated, atmospheric, and evocative debut captures the fun of being scared and the hard truths of middle school. Bailee presents White; names and illustrations point to some racial diversity in secondary characters.
Beautifully creepy. (Supernatural. 9-13)Pub Date: July 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781665912501
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls.
Three young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Stroud’s new post-Bartimaeus series.
Narrator Lucy Carlyle hopes to put her unusual sensitivity to supernatural sounds to good use by joining Lockwood & Co.—one of several firms that have risen to cope with the serious ghost Problem that has afflicted England in recent years. As its third member, she teams with glib, ambitious Anthony Lockwood and slovenly-but-capable scholar George Cubbins to entrap malign spirits for hire. The work is fraught with peril, not only because a ghost’s merest touch is generally fatal, but also, as it turns out, as none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation. All are, however, resourceful and quick on their feet, which stands them in good stead when they inadvertently set fire to a house while discovering a murder victim’s desiccated corpse. It comes in handy again when they later rashly agree to clear Combe Carey Hall, renowned for centuries of sudden deaths and regarded as one of England’s most haunted manors. Despite being well-stocked with scream-worthy ghastlies, this lively opener makes a light alternative for readers who find the likes of Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series too grim and creepy for comfort.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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