horror – One Chapter

Yarn Is Everything! (Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Tales) by Aaron Reynolds

5 stars Children’s Chapter – Middle School

I thought this was a great story! It was a fun, entertaining read about a mole named Winona Mole who liked her quaint, quiet little town of Hinderberry Falls. Winona Mole lives with her dog Toby and she enjoys crocheting. From the age of 3, Winona has had a crochet hook in her hands, and some yarn close by. Winona has become quite an artist with yarn over the years!

Winona and along with the entire nation have been fixated on the reality show Yarn Is Everything! Daily, contestants go head-to-head competing to see who can create the most realistic creation out of yarn. The competition is fierce as the contestants’ crochet items that, when placed beside the real item, are hard to decipher. Obsessed with this show, Winona watches intently. She’s good, she knows how to crochet, she’s been doing this art her whole life, yet when she attempts to duplicate the items that she sees on the television, she falls short. Her creations do not match what has just won the prize, Winona items look crocheted. They don’t look real; they look like yarn. How can they be that good?? What is Winona missing?

For her birthday, Winona and her father drive three hours to visit a museum. It’s the Museum of Woolen Arts and Yarn Stitchery, a trip that changes her life. Although the museum houses many different types of yarn crafts, Winona is only there to see the exhibits on crochet. It was the best birthday present ever! Winona is still buzzing with excitement when they return home and she unpacks. Inside her bag, Winona discovers an identical replica of the Spirit Hook, a crochet hook that they saw at the museum, and she’s excited about this surprise birthday present from her dad. With her new crochet hook, Winona crochets like never before.

This book was fun. I liked how Winona is determined with her craft. She continues to create and to try to get better. When she gets the new hook, she knows something has changed but she doesn’t let it get to her head. Her impatience was hilarious, “ But when she checked three minutes later, she was frustrated to find there was no response from the good people at Yarn is Everything! Productions.” She had only weeks to train and boy, she trained. The ending was funny and well, a mystery.

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

4 stars Thriller

Emma has a lot going on these days. A phone call from her sister, Phoebe, got Emma excited as she finally thought she could relax and quit lying about her past but nope, her life just got more complicated. Emma has been carrying around a secret which has a timepiece attached to it. As the days go by, Emma’s anxiety and uncertainty skyrocket as her future is up in the air.

Emma does have a mother but to those who know her, Emma’s mother is dead. This was Emma’s choice as she informed everyone years ago that her mother was dead but now, Emma will have to do some explaining. Why was Emma just at the hospital? What’s her sister Phoebe here for? Why did she lie about her mother’s death?

There were multiple situations that ran through my head as I thought about why Emma lied. Her sister Phoebe has been visiting their mother lately, without telling Emma, so whatever happened in their family must have affected Emma more than Phoebe. Emma’s birthday is coming up and instead of being excited or perhaps just accepting it as “just another day,” Emma is dreading it. It’s like dooms day for Emma. As the book counts down the days till Emma’s birthday, we watch Emma fall apart.

When Emma’s mother turned forty, it was a traumatic experience. Emma remembers, clearly, the day that her mother turned forty. The curse that her mother placed on her that year has plagued her mind repeatedly throughout the years and now, Emma feels that curse will soon be playing out for all to see. It will be hers and that is all she can think about.

Boy, my anticipation was growing as I turned the pages on this one. I wanted to feel for Emma, I wanted to understand her anxiety and frustration, but I also wanted her to just enjoy life. Phoebe didn’t seem to understand everything that Emma was juggling, or I felt she just didn’t take to heart what Emma was feeling. Emma was the emotional one, Phoebe just went with it. Maybe Emma was too emotional? I didn’t know but something was seriously happening here as Emma was losing it. 4 stars

Eerie Education: Scary Schools and Libraries (Where You Dare Not Go) by Dinah Williams

4.25 Stars Nonfiction

I’ve read quite a few of these Where You Dare Not Go books. I like the short little stories that go with each stop, as they take you around the globe, hitting on a few of the most particular and interesting places that pertain to each of the books in this series. Each book features actual pictures that accompany each story, a captivating tidbit highlighted in a eye-catching bubble, and in the back of each book, the author expands upon the books theme. This week I read 2 of the books in this series. Eerie Education was filled with 18 stories of ghosts. This must be the reason why each of these individual places are the way they are, right? Ghosts! Ghosts with unfinished business, ghosts who just like to make noise, and ghosts who like to cause some mischief.

In California, there is a high school that is said to be haunted by three, yes, I said 3 ghosts! It’s a very old all-girl school, where three different ghosts roam the premises. To me, that sounds like somewhere I would like to visit. I wouldn’t mind running into the white, glowing spirit of a nun floating around the library. Since she is seen most often in the library, she must be a quiet spirit, but I wonder what her story is. Why does her spirit still remain? If you hear a piano playing in the school, see if you can find the source. Most likely, you will not be able to find one. That is ghost #2. Ghost 2 likes to play the piano, but you will not find it or the piano. There had to be piano in the school at one time, wonder why it’s so connected to it. Ghost #3 might be an issue for me. Careful when swimming in the pool at this school. Years ago, there was an accident where a girl drowned. Sometimes, individuals swimming feel that someone is pulling on their legs. Yep, that would freak me out.

What about the school who built their bell tower on the grounds of an old cemetery? Think that went, ok? What about the college student who was pledging for a fraternity when the members took him to some railroad tracks? Call it unexpected, call it total trust, I call it insane. When the fraternity brothers came back, this college student was dead. Now, his spirit is seen every year in the fraternity house he wanted so badly.

I found that this book is my least favorite so far. I think because all the stories dealt with ghosts and the stories were very tame in nature. Most of the stories had closure, they weren’t creepy in nature, and the spirits were not evil.

I really like the map feature on the back. In the back, there is A World of…… Eerie Education. On this 2-page spread, the author marks each of the places that was featured inside the book on the map. All the places in this book were in North America, from coast to coast. In the back is also a great glossary and index. There’s a page of Read More which gives the reader 4 more books they can read to gather more information about this subject matter. On this page, there is also Learn More Online which features a QR Code to scan (if you like) or a web address that you can go to that links you up to a lot more information. It’s a entertaining book to read about some schools in North America which individuals believe are haunted with ghosts. 4.25 stars.

Horror Healing: Scary Hospitals and Asylums (Where You Dare Not Go) by Dinah Williams

5 stars Nonfiction

I’ve read quite a few of these Where You Dare Not Go books. I like the short little stories that go with each stop, as they take you around the globe, hitting on a few of the most particular and interesting places that pertain to each of the books in this series. Each book features actual pictures that accompany each story, a captivating tidbit highlighted in an eye-catching bubble, and in the back of each book, the author expands upon the books theme. This week I read 2 of the books in this series. Horror Healing was filled with 18 stories of creepy, haunted, and/or famous hospitals and asylums.

Many were for individuals who were fighting diseases, some had “doctors” who were “practicing “ on their patients, and some lived their whole lives inside a building because of their health.

There’s the state hospital in Illinois where individuals lived and died. A patient who had worked as a gravedigger for the hospital passed away. As they lowered his coffin into the ground, they heard crying from a nearby tree. In years pass, this would be the gravedigger who was crying for the other patients who have died but now, the gravedigger is the one being laid to rest. As the grievers looked towards the tree, they saw the deceased individual crying. Then, there is the story inside a Massachusetts’ state hospital where a patient came up missing. When her purse was found, they discovered an axe inside it. She had been killed with that ax! She had been killed by another patient, but how did she get that ax inside her purse?

There are many stories of hospitals that were being used to treat individuals for diseases. Thinking about all the chaos and death inside the hospitals – it’s so sad. How to keep the patients who are trying to get well separated from all the death around them had to be stressful and emotional. One hospital used rail cars to transport the dead outside to awaiting hearses. Designing a 500-foot, pitch-black chute, this body chute secretly transported the dead bodies to the outside world.

I found that this book very interesting. From Gettysburg, Singapore, Florida, and onto New Zealand, this book covers the world. Some stories are creepy, ghostly, and/or haunting, so think about the reader before giving this book to a small child. I really like the map feature on the back. In the back, there is A World of…… Horror Healing. On this 2-page spread, the author marks each of the places that was featured inside the book on the map. The places in this book cover North America, Europe, Australia, Asia, Hawaii, New Zealand, Singapore, and Italy.

In the back is also a great glossary and index. There’s a page of Read More which gives the reader 4 more books they can read to gather more information about this subject matter. On this page, there is also Learn More Online which features a QR Code to scan (if you like) or a web address that you can go to that links you up to a lot more information. It’s an entertaining book to read about some hospitals and asylums around the world which are not doing any healing. 5 stars.

Startling Stay: Scary Hotels and Inns by Natalie Lunis

5 stars Nonfiction Middle School/YA

They can check out anytime they want, but they never really leave. Welcome to a book devoted to some of the mysterious hotels and inns in North America and Europe. One of the first things that came to my mind when I picked up this book was that individuals still flock to the historical hotel where Stephen King’s The Shining took place. I loved this movie and I would definitely love to stay at this hotel, perhaps someday I just may book a room, take a tour, and maybe, hopefully, I might see something. This book touches on all the senses: do individuals see a vision, hear an unexplained noise, smell something that’s not physically there or do they feel something in close range when nothing is there.

In one hotel, management has tried to keep individuals from experiencing any of these feelings. They have physically locked one of their room doors to from curious minds so the dead spirit that is contained inside can’t harm them. Now, that is one hotel boss who cares about his customers. The story of Robert the Doll was a good one for me as I like creepy dolls. A life-sized cloth doll was given to a painter’s son who lived in this beautiful large home. Gene named his doll, Robert. Strange behavior was recorded by others surrounding Robert. When Gene got older, he left home for schooling but returned years later with his wife. Robert behavior continued as the community’s awareness continued. After Gene’s death, Robert was placed in a museum where his behavior continues. Want to go see him? Be nice and don’t take a picture unless you ask.

Each 2-page spread in the book features a destination. Each destination features why it is creepy, strange, or even spooky. A destination you’ll want to visit or stay clear from. Tales from the years gone past or ones not too long ago, these stories are interesting and exciting.

This book gave me the basic facts on specific destinations. I liked how the book provided where the destination is, what it consists of, and how things went dark. The story continues with how individuals experience these strange happenings and the author tries to shed some light on the subject. With realistic photographs and art, each destination becomes its own eerie destination. There’s just enough detail to make the reader aware of the destination and the history behind it.

I really liked this book. It’s a children’s nonfiction book covering about 18 different destinations but it’s a great one in my opinion. This is one book in the series, which I grabbed the rest of the series the library had while I was there. The Index in the back of the book was very good and there is also a list of 4 other Read More books at the back which the author listed. There is a Learn More Online site which includes a QR code which I scanned. This scan led me to more resources which listed more destinations which I could read about. There was a www. Site for those who can’t or don’t want to scan the code and/or you can even scan the cover of the book to see other websites. There is also a Glossary which is helpful for young readers. I liked the detailed map, A World of the Startling Stays, which shows the world and points out each of the different sites which was mentioned in the book. Check out this book!! 5 stars

Hauntings at Home: Scary Houses and Farms

5 stars Nonfiction Middle School/YA

What the heck! These stories were just craziness. Take Annie for example. Annie built a dungeon in the middle of her house to imprison her workers who tried to run away from her. That’s one cruel, evil woman. This is Annie and this is the early 1800’s. Annie lived in a large mansion. Annie was later known as the White Witch of Rose Hall. An owner of a sugar plantation, she liked to have her workers beaten and tortured for fun. Annie was married three times, and it’s been said that she killed all of them. She later had her eyes on another gentleman, but this gentleman had his eyes on one of Annie’s workers. So, yeah…..Annie wasn’t going for that. So, Annie put a spell on the girl (The White Witch part of her name) and the girl died days later. A relative of the girl got his revenge, and he put Annie to rest, forever. Ha! Her beautiful home, she still is in control of it. She haunts the grounds and it had to be turned into a museum as it could no longer be a home. Crazy! What about the farm in Germany where the whole family was killed including the housekeeper. Who did this and why? Still today, over a hundred years ago, the police have never been able to solve this case. It’s the events leading up to this day that make this crime bizarre. Were those events just coincidence or were they something else? Makes you think. You’re bound to find something inside this book to make your sense come alive.

Each 2-page spread in the book features a destination. Each destination features why it is creepy, strange, or even spooky. A destination you’ll want to inquire more about or one you’re glad you know about. From mansions, to estates, to the famous Amityville House, this book will get you going,

This book gave me the basic facts on specific destinations. I liked how the book provided where the destination is, what it consists of, and how things went dark. The story continues with how individuals experience these strange happenings highlighting the senses within them. With realistic photographs and art, each destination becomes its own eerie destination. There’s just enough detail to make the reader aware of the destination and the history behind it.

Alarming Afterlife: Scary Cemeteries and Graveyards by Alex Giannini

5 stars Middle School/ YA

Cemeteries? A whole book devoted to cemeteries and graveyards. This looks very interesting. I thought the Angel of Death from Iowa City was interesting when I had read about it so a couple years ago my husband and I got into the car and visited her. What an interesting site that was. I never thought I would be intrigued by a statue inside a cemetery, but the story was interesting and the statue, that was even more impressive. This book was fun and I liked the variety of stories. This book touches the globe. The United States, Europe, Africa, Australia, and even South America. Each 2-page spread in the book features a destination. Each destination features why it is creepy, strange, or even spooky.

Although most of the destinations inside this book are about hauntings or issues from beyond, not every story carries that tune. Some explain why that particular destination became famous, the history behind the stories. I found most of these stories very interesting. The Last American Vampire, The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Ghost Town Graves, and The Haunted Road and the Hanged Man just to name a few. I thought it was interesting how some of these stories reminded me of a few stories that I have read, in a lighter tone, in a children’s holiday book.

This book gave me the basic facts on specific destinations. I liked how the book provided where the destination is, what it consists of, and how it originally was structured. It goes on, in the story, explaining how the destination became more disturbing over time. With realistic photographs and art, each destination becomes its own creep show. There’s just enough detail to make the reader aware of the destination and the history behind it.

Information from the book: The late 1700’s in Paris. Graveyards were getting crowded and individuals were no longer able to bury their dead underground. So, what did they do? They started to bury them on top of each other above ground. Yes, above ground! Stacking them “almost 10 feet high inside the cemetery walls.” Visualize this for a moment. Just like anything stacked too tall, the corpse’s weight started to cause these tall towers to fall, spilling the rotten corpses out onto the streets. Eventually, the city workers had to dig up some of the corpses and remove the rotting ones from the streets and rebury them in underground catacombs the city had created. I find this pretty interesting and gross. Imagine digging them up and reburying them under the ground. You must remember that this was over 200 years ago, the technology and advancements that we have now, were not available to them. There were 180 miles of catacombs! That’s a lot of corpses and work!!

I really liked this book. It’s a children’s nonfiction book covering about 18 different destinations but it’s a great one in my opinion. This is one book in the series and thankfully, I grabbed the rest of the series the library had, while I was there. The Index in the back of the book was very good and there is also a list of 4 other Read More books at the back which the author listed. There is a Learn More Online site which includes a QR code which I used. This scan led me to more resources which listed more destinations. There was a www. site for those who can’t or don’t want to scan the code and/or you can even scan the cover of the book to see other websites. There is also a Glossary which is helpful for young readers. I liked the detailed map, “A World of the Alarming Afterlife”, which shows the world and points out each of the different sites which was mentioned in the book. Check out this book!! 5 stars

Petrifying Playtime: Scary Amusement Parks and Playgrounds by Joyce Markovics

5 stars

When a place of fun and entertainment turns into something sinister, what happens to it? From Hawaii to Nebraska, from Massachusetts to Louisiana, this nonfiction book covers the United States. Each 2-page spread features a destination. Where once this destination was a fun way to spend some time, it has now turned into something dark and dreary.

It’s not all about ghost hauntings. There are some places that have been abandoned, rediscovered, or for some, they just shut the doors and never opened them back up. Some of these stories were very interesting and I would like to follow-up on them later. This book gave me the basic facts on specific destinations. I liked how the book provided how each of the destination sites came to be, what happened to cause it to fall from its days of glory and what the condition of the site ended up being. There wasn’t a lot of detail but just enough to provide the information and intrigue the reader or to make the reader aware that such a place exists. The pictures provided were historical and most of them were real photographs. I think the author choice of words in the title is misleading for some as not all the stories as “scary” per say. Sinister, creepy or disturbing would be a more accurate description, I think.

Krug Park in Omaha, Nebraska, the Big Dipper roller coaster brought in the crowds in the 1930’s. For 17 years, this park thrived and was loved by all. Then, unfortunately, things tumbled. An accident occurred on the Big Dipper, which marked the beginning of the end of Krug Park. What’s left of this park? Check out the book.

13 Months Haunted by Jimmy Juliano

4.5 stars Suspense

This one was creepy in a mysterious way. I don’t get creeped out too easily, but this one got a bit under my skin considering the way the entity(s) moved. Perhaps it’s because of the world that we now live in, the uncertainty of times that we now live in, and my own comprehension of the world of technology, but this was a great read for me.

Piper ends up becoming a library clerk, not the job that she wanted after college, but it pays the bills. She’s finally living out on her own, in the small town of Northwoods and like everyone says, small town living has its disadvantages. She is hosting a student Halloween writing contest at the library and the entries have started to trickle in. Receiving one from Avery, Piper is immediately drawn to it. Why? Could it be because Avery’s mother accompanies Avery to school each day and stays inside each of the classrooms with her throughout the day. Could it be that Avery is a new student and the only surviving members of her family include her mother and Avery, the rest of her family has died. Their death? That’s the gossip that is running throughout the community. Could it be that the title of Avery’s entry, The Thing in the Closet and after reading it, Piper isn’t sure if the story is nonfiction or fiction. I liked how Piper was intrigued with Avery’s writing and wanted to know more about her. Trying to decipher whether her story was reality or fantasy, Piper wants to see what all the gossip is about and who Avery is. That’s when the pieces of the puzzle start to come together.

Could this really be technology driven? Seriously? Avery claims she doesn’t remember but it was her. When Avery starts to “feel” something yet no one else “feels” anything, is she acting or is this real? No one can see anything including Avery so where is this coming from? Avery’s head? I had to think about the future, could this happen? I mean we never thought about Covid hitting and sweeping through the country. Could this really happen and if so, how can we gain control of the situation? The Who, what and where were flowing through my head as Piper tries to understand the situation and its connection to Avery. Was it deliberate? What’s the purpose and why Avery? The ending, I really enjoyed. 4.5 stars

Choose Your Own Adventure: Eighth Grade Witch by Andrew E.C. Gaska

2 stars Children’s Chapter/Middle School

I was excited when I came across this book while volunteering at the library last week. Once a month, I clean the children’s graphic novel sections at two of the branches that our library has in town, and when I came across this graphic novel, I immediately snagged it up. This book brought back so many memories of reading the smaller paperbacks of Choose Your Own Adventure stories with my own children when they were younger. I really had high hopes for this graphic novel. Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me.

I was totally lost in this book, I mean really lost. I started it multiple times and took many of the different options that were offered within its pages, but it still didn’t make any sense to me. I even backtracked and thought that perhaps I had landed on the wrong page and had read the “If you want …… go to page XX” wrong but nope, I was just lost. It felt that when I page hopped, there was no connection to the previous page that I had just read, which was unfortunate.

I liked the storyline as I thought it could have lots of different possibilities. Thirteen-year-old Rabbit has just moved into a new city, into a new house, that has been rumored to be haunted. From day one, things are a bit weird and I’m not sure if she’s a witch or if she’s not but that’s just one of the questions that she’s confronted with. There seems to be a lot happening in Rabbits new surroundings, bits and pieces that I tried to put together, but it was the illustrations that drew me in.

The illustrations were great, and I liked the variety of text fonts that were used throughout the book as they made the scenes pop.

I remember loving the original Choose Your Own Adventure books in fact, I still have some of the books that I used to read with my own children. I will try to find another one of these graphic novels and try it again, as perhaps it was the story itself that I couldn’t follow. Perhaps I am better off imagining these books in my head instead of seeing them in a graphic novel. This book, I’m not a fan. 2 stars