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The Horrors:
Terrifying Tales, Book Two
Peter Carver, editor •
Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice, 2007
Fiction / Teen Fiction • Fiction / Horror / Horror Anthologies
Ages 14+ 184 pages 5 1/2 x 8 1/2"
ISBN 0-88995-313-9 paper CDN 9.95 USA 9.95
Fourteen new spine-tingling treats for teens
In this second volume of original horror stories for teenaged readers, you'll find ghosts and
werewolves, weird transformations and menacing strangers, the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end and your
heart beats faster.
Some of these stories explore the most traditional of horror themes - the visitation of vampires,
fear of the dark corners of the basement - with a nod to that master of horror, Edgar Allen Poe. Others take readers
into less familiar territory: the terror of a babysitter with a too-vivid imagination, the dangers of compulsive
attention paid to a pet fighting-fish, the claustrophobia of a cruise ship where nasty plots abound, and the subtle
tension between the discipline of intellect and the boisterous yearning of creativity as it is played out in the minds
of teens.
Some stories here come from some of our most celebrated of authors for youth -
Priscilla Galloway,
William Bell, Anne Laurel Carter, Kathy Stinson, Gillian Chan, Jamie Bastedo, Louise Wadsworth, Diana Aspin, Joanne
Findon, Sylvia McNicoll, Wendy Lewis, Sylvo Frank, Alison Lohans and
Cheryl Rainfield - some represent the work of
gifted emerging writers who have also captured the essence of what makes a good suspense-filled story.
Reviews:
"Each story deals with an aspect of teen life, and the worst nightmares contained in that demographic come true here.
What happens if your teacher is a psycho murderer? How do you deal with an abusive parent? Is sibling rivalry really
that bad? The Horrors is a teenager’s worst nightmares given breath. . . Most of the stories had me riveted. . .
reminded me of sitting in the circle of light waiting for daylight and Dad.""
–CM Magazine
"The selections are short, well written, and spooky in their own way."
–School Library Journal
"Smart horror writers know that when monsters appear, they’ve usually been invited. That
is, they turn up when we are already made vulnerable by times of great stress, confusion, guilt, and fear. Since nothing
combines those four states quite like being a teenager, an anthology of YA horror stories seems like a sure thing. And
The Horrors mostly is. . . Though a few of the stories lay on too much of the spooky sauce, or are too obvious to be
completely satisfying, most are engaging and effective. Almost all play with the idea that the teen years are their own
form of horror."
–Quill & Quire |