Tag Archives: horror

Night Frights: The Haunted Mustache

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by Joe McGee, illustrated by Ted Skaffa

Parker, Lucas and Samantha live in a relatively quiet, normal town, except on October 19th. That is the day (and night) that the entire town shuts down early and people lock themselves away in their homes, wearing mustaches. Wait….what? Since the kids are now fifth graders, they hear the truth surrounding this mysterious tradition. Their teacher tells the tale of Bockius Beauregard, a man with a luxuriant mustache who died in a a huge explosion. He died, but his perfectly groomed mustache terrorized the town on the anniversary of the date he was “vaporized”. It had been the only part of him left to bury and it reappeared each year, hunting for an upper lip to which to attach.

Parker and Lucas, fifth grade sleuths who ran the Midnight Owl Detective Agency, decided to sneak out and investigate this eery phenomena in order t to end the paranormal grip this scary mustache had on their town. Classmate Samantha, a rather gothic young poet from their class, demanded to be part of the investigation and they met in the local cemetery after a quick visit to the local (scary) library to research. They find the grave that holds the Beauregard’s mustache, armed with mustache wax, salt and fake mustaches. What ensues is a ghostly chase that ends with the mustache trapped forever in it’s old home, surrounded by salt…or is it? Read this mystery to find out!

This story is well-written with widely-spaced text and accentuated with black and white illustrations that move the story along at a nice pace. It is slightly scary and rather comical and perfect for those students that are ready for chapter books. Samantha and Lucas appear white, while Parker seems to be darker skinned. Since it is part of a series, there will be more mysteries to come. And, you never know – the mustache might return! Highly recommended.

School of Phantoms

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This book is a solid addition to the current craze for scary books for younger children. Former elementary art teacher Kory Merritt does a great job of tapping into some of our deepest fears and weaving them into the plot and his illustrations. Let’s review. The fear of disappearing and no one noticing you are gone (not even your parents)? Check! Your fear of that creepy house on the edge of town that just doesn’t seem right? Check! The fear of scary looking snowmen getting closer whenever you aren’t watching? Check! Unidentifiable, weird creatures coming out of the walls? Check! A dark basement full of alienesque creatures? Check! 

The format is a true hybrid, seamlessly going back and forth between sections with a half page of text with one large picture to a graphic novel. In lesser hands this style can be distracting, but Merrit uses it to build energy and suspense as well as signal moves between different locations and plot lines. The main character Kat is using her phone to film a documentary on the strange goings on in their small town. The result has a Blair Witch Project meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibe.

The characters feel like real people and are relatable. From the distracted school principal to the cool science teacher to the janitor who seems a bit out there, each person adds a layer to the story. If you pay close attention to the janitor’s dialog, you will recognize nods to some films like The Princess Bride. 

The strongest part is the illustrations. From the students gathered in the cafeteria to an all out otherworldly invasion, the pictures are powerful. They are what keep you turning pages. The story however goes deeper than what you might expect. This could be a great way to engage reluctant readers of novels to dig deeper and learn about plot devices, character development, or satisfying endings,to name a few. Merritt cleverly builds his narrative across the entire story. While there is a resolution at the end, you also realize the story is not over yet. You are wondering about what will happen next.

This is the second of three books planned for the series. I hope Kory Merritt continues to offer kids great adventures.

Guest : a changeling tale by Mary Downing Hahn

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Thomas is a beautiful baby and his sister, Mollie, makes a mistake one day and tells him that. People are never supposed to tell the children how wonderful they are, because the Kinde Folk (a group of evil fairies) will carry off the child and replace it with a horribly ugly and ill-behaved one of their offspring.

This is exactly what happens to baby Thomas and the family is left with a biting, screaming changeling that Mollie calls “Guest”. This being throws the family into an upheaval as it wears Mollie’s mother down and drives her father away. Granny Hedgepath advises to keep the child safe and happy, so that the Kinde Folke will possibly (although highly unlikely) return Thomas. Mollie and her mother are near the breaking point, when Mollie decides to travel with Guest to the Darklands and hopes for a trade to bring her brother home.

Her journey is dangerous and may end in death. But, Mollie is determined to reclaim her brother, return Guest and make things right again for her family. Along the way, she meets some that may help and others that will try to kill her and keep her brother. The ending is a twisting and turning series of events that will surprise the reader almost as much as Mollie herself.

This is not a typical ghost story by Mary Downing Hahn. It is based on Irish myths and appears to be set in a village in the middle ages. Therefore, there is magic, both evil and good. An afterward explains the background of the story and might lead to further exploration. The fantasy elements work well and the story moves along. The scary parts are just scary enough and the reader’s imagination will paint some wonderfully dark pictures as the story progresses.

Recommended for libraries looking for more scary stories that have a bit of fairy dust (not the good kind!). Students will become invested in the journey and eventual, somewhat surprising, ending.

Night of the Zombie Zookeeper

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Desmond and his friend, Andres, have great plans for their class field trip to the zoo. Desmond has mapped out the best places to go and when they should be there. Their plans are derailed, though, when they discover a zookeeper that is a zombie. How do they know that he’s a zombie? His greenish skin is a big clue. But, as they follow him (and not their planned route), they see him in the seal tank cleaning the windows without an air tank! Then, he goes into the lion enclosure and feeds the lions by hand. There’s more evidence, but it’s clear already that they have a zombie on their hands. And, why do they care? Desmond and Andres are the Ghost Patrol and they need answers.

They locate a more normal looking zookeeper and tell her about her zombie co-worker. She seems unusually unconcerned about it and sends them away to the picnic area with their class. But, the Ghost Patrol is undeterred. They have a few more crazy encounters with the zombie. He saves Andres from a nasty peacock and his friends, the buffalo and then accidentally tosses slimy animal food all over Andres before saving him from the hungry animals that want to lick all their food off him. Finally, Peggy (the normal zookeeper they spoke with earlier) explains that she knows that “Zoombie” the zookeeper is a zombie. Apparently, zombies make the best zookeepers, because they can clean underwater without air and aren’t grossed out by the nasty food or animal waste they have to clean up. And, the animals love them!

So, Desmond and Andres solve the mystery of the zombie zookeeper and make a new friend in the process. Now, whenever they go to the zoo, they look up Zoombie and he makes sure they have a great time with the animals.

This fun, slightly creepy book will be a hit with the younger crowd. Black and white illustrations add to the mood and the text is accessible. The characters are diverse and likable and the first person narrative (Andre) makes the reader feel as if he is a pal wandering around and chasing zombies with the Ghost Patrol. Recommended.

Mary Shelley: The Strange True Tale of Frankenstein’s Creator

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Mary Shelley: The Strange True Tale of Frankenstein’s Creator was published on the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein. This biography reads like a gothic novel, and shocks the reader with stories of scandal, family disownment, adultery, out of wedlock pregnancies, miscarriages, suicide, blackmail, and a very strange love story. The reader learns that Mary was mistreated by her step mother and denied the opportunity to attend school. She educated herself by reading books from her father’s extensive library and was frequently found reading by her mother’s grave. Eloping at the age of sixteen with the married Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, both Mary and Percy were disowned by their parents and struggled to support themselves and their children.

While dining with the British poet Lord Byron, Mary got the inspiration for her story of a mad scientist who brings a corpse back to life. Frankenstein was published when Mary was only twenty. Fame and success greeted her, but so also did great grief and despair. Mary was widowed at the age of twenty-four when Percy drowned in a sailing accident.

Her biography reads like a Gothic novel, full of one disaster after another, ending with her own death, from brain cancer, at the age of 53. In a final morbid, but dramatically romantic act, her son had her buried along with the ashes of her husband’s cremated heart; a keepsake she had wrapped in poems and locked in her desk drawer for the twenty-nine years since his death.

The Gathering

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Five kids, living in different parts of the country, who do not know each other, are each drawn to Larkspur House.  For Poppy, who is at an orphanage, Larkspur is a connection to her past.  To Marcus, Larkspur is an opportunity to study music, unhampered by his family. To Azumi, it represents distance from a family tragedy. To Dylan and Dash, the Hollywood twins, it is another chance to star in a movie. Whatever the pretense, each child makes his/her way to Larkspur where nothing is as it seems and nothing is as promised.  Broken promises yield to Larkspur’s dark past and the kids must band together to survive the hauntings of Shadow House. Kids who are looking for a thrill will like this book. Complete with the Shadow House app, available for free download, kids will enter the haunted world through the written word and augmented reality software.

Three Truths and a Lie

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A game of Three Truths and a Lie, played by four teenagers on a weekend getaway to a cabin in a remote area of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, reveals a terrible truth. This truth, where the sole female character, Mia, says she killed someone when she was 13, sets the reader on the path of suspense and horror.

The story is told in the first person perspective by Rob to an unknown person. Rob reflects on all that had happened. We know he survived, as he tells the story. Who else survived? Who was the killer? The reader may have many theories, but it isn’t until the final chapter, where there is a big and unexpected plot twist, that the real truth is revealed.

There is gore, sex, and a gay couple, so this book is best suited for high school aged readers.

Diary of a Haunting Possession

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Possession is the second in the Diary of a Haunting series, and is similar in that the main character is a teenaged girl who experiences an onslaught of paranormal activities. In Possession, Laetitia, a 15 year old girl African American girl, has dreams of being a famous pop star signing to adoring fans. She wants to sing, sing, sing. But she is haunted by nightmares and visions, including images of race riots near her home.

Possession differs significantly from Diary of a Haunting in its religious overtones. Without spoiling the plot, let me just say that religion plays a fundamental part in the plot line and character development. A comparison that came to mind, although significantly different, is The Exorcist.

Fans of the horror genre will enjoy the frightening scenes in this novel. A drawback is that the reader learns the source of Laetitia’s nightmares in the prelude, and that ruins it for me. It is the opening of this book that I didn’t like, as it was the ending of Diary of a Haunting that weakened that book.