9. The Haunted House (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark)

The Haunted House made it onto this list mostly because the illustration for this story is really creepy. The story itself is just okay.

A preacher decided to stay at a haunted house overnight in an attempt to put a spirit to rest. Near midnight, he heard noises coming from the basement. Eventually, he began to hear someone climb up the stairs and turn the doorknob, so he yelled to ask what whoever it was wanted. This happened several times and, eventually, a decaying woman walked through the door. She explained that she was killed by her boyfriend and buried in the basement. Then she handed him one of her fingers and asked him to put it in the collection plate at the next church service. He agreed and when a specific man touched the finger (WHY would anyone touch it??), it latched onto him. This was the man who murdered the young woman.

10. Maybe You Will Remember (Scary Stories 3 - More Tales to Chill Your Bones)

This story is about a girl on vacation with her mother, in Paris. The mother appeared to be sick, so the daughter asked the hotel's doctor to examine her. After taking a look at her, the doctor said the daughter would need to pick up medicine for her mother. After hours and hours, she finally received the medicine and returned to the hotel. She asked the woman at the front desk for a key to the room she was staying in, but she was told that she must be mistaken, another guest was in that room. After repeatedly being told she must be in the wrong hotel, she demanded to see the room. It looked nothing like the room she had been staying in and her mother was nowhere to be found.

This story is a bit of a riddle and to find the answer to it, you're directed to the Notes and Sources at the back of the book. It turns out, as soon as the doctor saw the girl's mother, he realized she had the plague. In order to avoid mass hysteria, the doctor kept it a secret. He sent the girl away so hotel staff could quickly alter the appearance of the room. They pretended her mother never existed and made the girl believe she was losing her mind.

In the Notes and Sources, it says there's a movie inspired by this story, So Long at the Fair, as well as two novels, and it was reported as a true story in 1911 in the London Daily Mail, as well as in America's Detroit Free Press in 1889.

Top 10 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

I used to borrow this series from the library constantly when I was a kid. I knew exactly where to find 398.2 SCH and I would run over there and grab all three books. I very rarely borrowed anything else, I only wanted the Scary Stories series. Of course, I never, ever touched those books before bed. Not because the stories scared me, but because Stephen Gammell's illustrations were nightmare inducing. In fact, the illustrations were so horrifying that several years ago, they were completely redone so that they wouldn't be as scary. And I get it, I totally do, as someone who read those books as a young child. But in my opinion, the books aren't worth reading if they're not the originals. This one still haunts me to this day.

In celebration of the release of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark film on August 9th, over the next 10 days, I'll be doing a countdown of my favorite stories from all 3 books.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl (Spoiler Free)

I went into reading Night Film without knowing much about it, except that part of the story is told through news articles and websites, phone transcripts, photos, files and hospital records. I hadn't planned on reading it so soon. I was going to read a graphic novel or manga for my next review (I actually read this before Wytches, but I'm posting it after), something easy so that I would have time to read my chick lit books on the side. But I picked Night Film up and brought it to work with me one day anyway and I began reading it during my lunch hour. I was hooked during the prologue. The writing immediately drew me in, it was almost noir-ish, like a modern day Hammett novel. The fact that it's set in New York only helped to capture my interest more. I read in a book once (a chick lit book, actually) that New Yorkers call Manhattan "the city" like it's the only one in the world. That's true. As a New Yorker, I love reading about the city because I've been there, I know those areas, I can imagine it in my head as I'm reading about it.

The book begins by showing us various articles found on news websites, where we learn about Stanislas Cordova, the controversial director of fifteen movies, the last five of which were never released in theaters. People hold underground screenings of Cordova's unreleased films. His last interview was in 1977 and his last several movies were filmed on his estate. No one, aside from the people who have worked with him, even know what he looks like. He is a total mystery. Until his daughter, Ashley, dies from an apparent suicide and our protagonist, Scott McGrath, starts digging into his life.

Scott was an award winning investigative journalist (with a Blackberry, I had to look up when this book was published because they mention the name "Blackberry" more times than I've heard it in the past 10 years), but currently, he is a "disgraced journalist" (of course he is, he was a writer for the New York Post) because of a statement he made on national television: "Cordova's a predator--in the same league as Manson, Jim Jones, Colonel Kurtz. I have an inside source who worked for the family for years. Someone needs to terminate this guy with extreme prejudice." Scott was sued for defamation and, in addition to the $250,000 he lost, it also cost him his job. His source, a supposed former chauffeur for Cordova, was said to have never existed.

While investigating Ashley's death, Scott meets Nora, a 19 year-old coat-check whom he takes in and hires as an assistant (because she has nowhere to live), and Hopper, a 20-something-year-old male he found at the site of Ashley's apparent suicide and knows more about her than he lets on. Together, they begin to unravel the mystery of Ashley's death and whether or not her father had anything to do with it.

This is a book in four acts. I don't want to give spoilers and ruin it, so here's a very vague rundown of what you can expect:

Act 1: Modern day Sam Spade
Act 2: Oh f***
Act 3: Do I actually know anything?
Act 4: Conclusion

The deeper you go into this story, the more paranoia begins to set in. I found myself afraid to turn the light off when I got in bed at night. I couldn't stop thinking about the book, I always wanted to read more, I wanted to know more. There was one point towards the end where I found myself struggling to breathe because it played on my claustrophobia. Night Film will get under your skin and you'll have to keep reminding yourself that it's only a book.

I really, truly loved Night Film. It's one of the best books I've read in years. Reading about Scott's obsession with Cordova, almost seeing him descend into madness, going along on that ride with him and wanting all of his suspicions to be true was an experience I've never had while reading any other novel. I can't say how I felt when I finished reading the book because I would be getting into spoiler territory. What I will say is that I shared Scott's feelings at the close of his investigation and I think Marisha Pessl clearly expressed what she was trying to say.

Post-Review Bonus Content:

Most unbelievable part of the book - Scott plans to bring his daughter to Serendipity 3 for a hot fudge sundae. Everyone knows you only order frozen hot chocolate there. (I've had it, by the way. It's overrated.) This is actually mentioned twice in the book. No one is going to Serendipity 3 for a hot fudge sundae. No one.

Favorite quote/s:
"Who are you guys?" he asked.
"Private investigators," said Nora with evident excitement.
Somewhere Sam Spade just rolled over in his grave.

Runner up:
If there was a wedding reception--and there usually was, the bride and groom, Bobby and Marci of Massapequa, Lawn Guyland--the lobby throbbed like a gymnasium on prom night.

Top 5 Supernatural Themed K-dramas

I'm a huge fan of K-dramas. They're cute and fun and I like the fact that, for the most part, they're one season long and typically run between 16 and 20 episodes. They're not a huge commitment, they're easy to binge watch and they end before the writers are out of story ideas and run the show into the ground. Throw in some supernatural elements and I'm hooked. Here's a list of some of my favorite supernatural K-dramas.

5. Let's Fight Ghost

This drama stars Kim So Hyun as Hyun Ji (a ghost) and 2PM's TaecYeon as Bong Pal (an exorcist). Hyun Ji enlists Bong Pal's help to find out how she died, and together, they team up to put spirits to rest.

This isn't my favorite K-drama, but it has romance and comedy and in general, it's enjoyable. It just isn't as strong as some others on this list.

4. Master's Sun

Master's Sun was destined to be a hit with Gong Hyo Jin and So Ji Sub as its stars. Gong Shil can see ghosts. She's terrified of them. The only reprieve she gets from seeing them is when she has physical contact with Joong Won, a not-so-pleasant CEO, who reluctantly allows her to hang around him, if she helps him solve one of his own problems.

With two incredible lead actors and great writing, it's no surprise that Master's Sun is as popular as it is. The story is interesting, the ghosts are creepy, the romance is perfect (I don't want to say it's hate-to-love, more like...disgust-to-love). The only problem I had with this drama is that, like most K-dramas, (SPOILER ALERT) one half of the couple goes away for years, breaking them apart, and only reunites with their other half in the last five minutes of the final episode. This is what happens in 95% of K-dramas and it can be incredibly frustrating, but it hasn't stopped me from watching them.

3. My Love From Another Star

First things first, I can't talk about this drama without talking about the lipstick. YSL Rouge Pur Couture #52 sold out for ages because it was rumored to be what Jun Ji Hyun wore in this drama. When it finally restocked, I bought the lipstick myself. It's pricey, but worth it, it's a beautiful coral color, perfect for spring and summer.

So what is this drama actually about? Min Joon (Kim Soo Hyun) is an alien, stranded on earth since the Joseon Dynasty era. He lives next door to an actress, Song Yi (Jun Ji Hyun). The two begin to fall for each other, but love is never easy in K-drama land and aside from the physical toll even kissing Song Yi takes on Min Joon, Song Yi's life is also in danger.

My Love From Another Star has a little bit of everything. If your favorite K-drama genre is supernatural, historical, romance, comedy or drama and you haven't seen this incredibly popular drama yet, give it a chance.

2. Oh My Ghostess

Bong Sun (Park Bo Young) works at a restaurant, where she's repeatedly reprimanded and taken advantage of because of her timid personality. She can also see ghosts, a great cause of stress in her life. Soon Ae (Kim Seul Gi) is a ghost who can't move on because of a grudge she has from her death (which she can't remember the cause of). Believing that her unresolved issue is that she died a virgin, she possesses Bong Sun and tries to seduce her boss, Sun Woo (Jo Jung Suk). Because of her shy personality, Bong Sun comes to an agreement with the ghost, allowing Soon Ae to continue possessing her and investigating her death, if she helps Bong Sun get closer to Sun Woo.

Oh My Ghostess is one of my favorite K-dramas. I really enjoyed the friendship that grows between Bong Sun and Soon Ae and I loved seeing Bong Sun become a more confident woman because of it. As a warning, I'll tell you that for as cute as this drama can be at times, it also gets very dark and left me sobbing more than once.

It's also worth noting that there's a Thai remake available on Netflix that is extremely faithful to the original Korean version.

1. Goblin

Finally, we've come to my favorite K-drama of all time, one of the most beautiful stories ever told.

Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) was a general, sent to war repeatedly by a jealous king, hoping he would die in battle. Kim Shin returns, victorious, and the king has him killed. Because Kim Shin has killed so many people while at war, he is cursed to become an immortal goblin, with his own sword sticking through his chest, causing a great deal of pain to him, until he meets the "goblin's bride." Goblin's bride is the only person who will be able to see the sword he's impaled with and she'll have the ability to remove it, finally allowing him to die.

One night, after a pregnant woman is hit by a car as Goblin observes, he decides to intervene and save her and her unborn child, much to the annoyance of the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong Wook) who was scheduled to take them away. Eun Tak (Kim Go Eun), the unborn child, grows up with the ability to see ghosts (can you tell this is a recurring theme in supernatural K-dramas?). After her mother passes away, in a scene that made me ugly cry, the Grim Reaper appears, still searching for her after all this time.

By chance, Goblin and Grim Reaper end up living together, a situation neither is happy about. When Eun Tak and Goblin meet, she tries to convince him that she is the goblin's bride and eventually moves into his home, which, as you may have guessed, causes even more strain on Goblin and Grim Reaper's already tense relationship.

There is so much more to this story and I can't talk about it without giving away major spoilers, but trust me, if you're looking for a drama with a lot of depth, this is it. The actors are incredibly talented, the writing is flawless and the OST (one of the most important parts of any K-drama) is perfect.

Kuchisake-onna (Slit Mouth Woman)

I've decided to post about urban legends from around the world on days when I don't have time to read a book or watch a movie. And what better place to start with than Japan? They definitely have some of the scariest legends, with Kuchisake-onna being one of the most terrifying.

Kuchisake-onna (the "slit mouth woman") is said to wear a surgical mask covering her mouth. When she approaches you, she'll ask if you think she's pretty. If you say "no," Kuchisake-onna will immediately kill you. If you say "yes," she'll remove her mask, allowing you to see the scar extending from the corners of her mouth. She will then ask again, "Am I pretty?" If you say "yes" a second time, she'll proceed to cut your face in an identical fashion to her own (and possibly still kill you, depending on which version of the legend you read). However, if you answer by telling her that she's "average," it may confuse her long enough to allow you to escape. You can also drop candy on the ground and then run away. (This also works for the raptors in The Lost World by Michael Crichton. They really like chocolate.)

The origin of Kuchisake-onna seems to be one of two things. The first being that she was a very vain woman who would always ask people if they thought she was pretty. Believing his beautiful wife was having an affair, in a fit of jealousy, her husband attacked her, slicing her mouth from one side of her face to the other. The second legend is that she suffered from plastic surgery gone wrong.

While this sounds like the kind of tale you would tell your friends during a sleepover, the legend was taken very seriously. In 1979, supposedly, a woman with the same horrific features as Kuchisake-onna was seen following children around. She was so feared that even the schools closed down and police were sent to patrol the area. According to various websites, while pursuing a child, she was hit by a car and died from her injuries.

There are several movies about this legend, the most popular being Kuchisake-onna (1996) and Carved (2007). She has also had manga written about her and her likeness has been featured in various shows, as well as being referenced in several video games.

Wytches Volume 1 by Scott Snyder, art by Jock

"Pledged is pledged."

After rumors spread that Sailor killed one of her classmates, her family moves to a new town, hoping to make a fresh start. Unfortunately, the town is home to a group of wytches, genie-like creatures who will grant you whatever you desire, as long as you keep them fed. Sailor is pledged to the wytches and it's up to her father, Charlie, to save her.

So here's the thing. Charlie isn't a very likable character, which kind of sucks since half the story centers around him. I felt the same way I did while listening to Pet Sematary. He's not the greatest father or husband and it's difficult to care about him. Anyone who drunkenly forces their child to climb up a ferris wheel in an attempt to get them to deal with their fears and anxiety is pretty terrible. I didn't really feel an attachment to the rest of the characters either and I think that may be because of the format. Wytches is a graphic novel and a lot of the story is told through illustrations. It didn't have the same affect on me that a novel would have, where you spend a lot of time getting to (hopefully) know each character. There are also numerous time jumps and I had to go back and reread certain panels, several times, because it wasn't always clear where one began and ended.

I would rate Wytches a 3/5 and honestly, that may be more about me than the book itself. I've read graphic novels before, but I feel like I almost get lost reading them and I'm left somewhat confused and not really understanding what I just read because there are so few words and I have to fill in the blanks by looking at each panel (and I'm not the most observant, detail oriented person). Sometimes it's almost like I'm trying to fit the pieces of a puzzle together. There's nothing wrong with Wytches. I like the watercolor art style. I'm just not the biggest fan of this format and it wasn't the most interesting horror story I've ever read. But you know, that could also be because this is only volume 1 and maybe the plot would have more depth to it and be more enjoyable if I continued on with it. Just basing my opinions on this one book though, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.

Pet Sematary (2019)

This entire post is full of spoilers because if I'm going to discuss this movie, I really want to be able to talk about everything I want to say. You've been warned. And anyway, it's not really like I can spoil anything worse than the trailer did before the movie's release, right?

I want to get to the most important points before getting into the actual movie. First off, forget anything you think you know because you've seen the original film. Next, for anyone who is highly sensitive to animal deaths, they do not show Church dying, but they do show his dead body. Personally, I am extremely sensitive to animal deaths and I was okay during the scene where Louis and Jud found him. Thankfully, they didn't focus on it too much. However, there is a scene where undead Church is eating a bird that's still alive and I hated it. It's very brief, but it's there. Lastly, The gore was disgusting and the movie is violent (no surprise there). I had to turn my head away from the TV a couple times. Less is more for me and I don't want or need to see it.

I had no intention of ever watching this movie because even though I enjoyed the original film, I disliked the book so much that it killed any desire I had to sit through this story again. But here I am anyway, watching a movie whose biggest plot twist was stupidly given away in the trailer. You know what though? I don't think that knowing ahead of time took away from how awful that scene, and everything after it, actually was. I was grateful for the 100 minute runtime, I don't think I could have handled more than that after the 16 hour audiobook. 100 minutes was the perfect length, the movie is fast paced and you're never really left waiting for something to happen.

If you want to know what Pet Sematary is about, here is the post I wrote about the book. Long story short, a family moves into a house on a busy road that trucks frequently travel on. Their cat is hit by one and their neighbor tells the father about a special location past the Pet Sematary, where if you bury something (or someone), they'll come back, though usually not the same as they were before. From there, everything goes very, very wrong. I don't want to elaborate on that, I've already talked about the plot in my post about the book, I want to talk about the movie now.

Parts of the film were extremely faithful to the novel (down to almost exact conversations, the bull, the war vet and the wendigo), while others were very different, most notably the "twist" where Ellie dies instead of Gage and the fact that everyone was much less annoying. I like that Ellie is the one who died this time around because at the end of the novel, Church and Gage teamed up to kill everyone, but Church was Ellie's cat and it makes more sense for them to work together. They're the ultimate duo and exhibited excellent teamwork in taking Jud out.

I really liked most of the characters (and the actors playing them) in this film. I found they made the characters so much more likable than they were in the original movie and the novel, especially Ellie. I won't lie, I almost cried when Ellie died. John Lithgow...I'm sorry. I have nothing against him personally, but I feel like the role of Jud was made for Fred Gwynne (I really missed his drawl) and I had a hard time watching someone else play him. As for Louis, he actually started off likable (I found him to be insufferable in the novel). But he really is just the absolute worst. I understand he's grieving, but he has no common sense and he's responsible for every bad thing that happens to his family. (You might argue that Jud is responsible, and maybe that's true, but you would think Louis would have learned his lesson after what happened with Church.) It's hard to sympathize with this man when all I want to do is yell at him.

The one good thing Louis did throughout this movie involved Church. (Again, this is probably arguable.) When Louis is about to put Church to sleep in the middle of his hissing and growling fit, Church begins to whine and purr, acting affectionate and making it impossible for Louis to go through with killing him. That is a smart, undead cat. Instead, Louis puts him in a cat carrier and drops him off in the middle of nowhere, telling him "Good luck." I was happy he couldn't go through with killing Church, but at the same time...Louis, you fool. This was really the beginning of the end and what sealed his daughter's fate.

Jumping ahead a bit, Ellie is dead (and then undead) and when Rachel finds out what Louis has done, she's horrified. Louis says, "Hug your daughter, Rach." She's completely panic stricken because she knows that thing is not her daughter. Rachel tries to reason with Louis that Church wasn't the same when he came back and Ellie isn't either, but Louis is in denial. He exclaims, "Let God take his own fucking kid!" which I'm pretty sure Ellie said in the novel (about a cat rather than a kid), and I just thought...You're an adult, Louis. Get it together. I felt absolutely awful for Rachel during this scene. I never liked her in the original movie or the novel, but I really liked her in the remake and my heart broke for her here. Especially knowing that a terrible fate was awaiting her.

And speaking of that...After being stabbed repeatedly by Ellie, Rachel tells Louis not to bury her in the "pet sematary," but he's selfish and stupid, and he does it anyway. And I was so happy that, without a doubt, she killed him at the end of the movie. The rest of the ending made me sick. The entire dead family, along with Church, walks up to the car Gage is waiting in and as the screen fades to black, you hear the door unlock.

There's an alternate ending that shows Ellie dragging Rachel (who isn't dead, yet) to the burial ground, with Louis following not far behind. Ellie tries to convince Louis to kill and bury his wife there, but he's learned from his mistakes and fights back. As he's about to kill Ellie, she pulls the same trick Church did earlier, pretending to be his little girl instead of the demon she really is, so, unfortunately for Rachel, she'll have to suffer the same fate as Church and Ellie. Louis and Ellie return home, where Gage is once again waiting in the car. Louis brings him inside, where they wait for Rachel to return. And she does. She walks up behind Louis, placing a hand on his shoulder (like she does in the novel), while Ellie puts her hand on his other shoulder and Church rubs against his leg. Gage is crying and Louis is as still as a corpse, which is appropriate because he'll probably be one soon. All I care about in either ending is Gage and it seems like he's screwed no matter what. I do think they made the right decision going with the other ending for the theatrical release because the alternate ending didn't pack the same punch.

There are several deleted and extended scenes, but most aren't worth noting as they don't add much to the overall plot.

Getting away from the story, the cinematography was beautiful. So were the locations. I believe they filmed in Canada, but it really looked like a New England town. I thought the soundtrack was well done, too, and very atmospheric. I almost didn't even notice it until I actually listened for it, but I like that it wasn't overt. Sometimes subtlety is better and I think it worked well in this case.

So what's the verdict? Well...Pet Sematary is just sad. And tragic. And disturbing. I don't remember the original affecting me the same way the remake did, but I watched that one when I was a kid and I think, as I've gotten older, it's become harder to accept movies like this as just works of fiction because I understand them better now and I always think, "What if?" (Before, they were a source of entertainment, now they're a window into every horrible thing that could happen to a person.) I think both films have positives and negatives to them, but if I had to choose which is better, surprisingly, I would have to pick the remake. Pet Sematary 2019 isn't a bad movie. I can't say I "liked" it because the things it deals with are so dark and I felt kind of broken by the end of it, but...It's not bad. It's something I definitely won't watch again (I can't handle it), but I don't regret watching it once.

Shivers

Shivers is a point and click horror adventure game, released by Sierra in 1995.

The game takes place at Professor Windlenot's Museum of the Strange and Unusual, a "haunted" museum, after your so-called friends lock you inside the gates for the night on a dare. Two teenagers disappeared after sneaking into the museum one night and Professor Windlenot was never seen again either. When you eventually find a way into the museum, you learn that the kids took the lids off ceramic pots found in one of the exhibits, releasing evil, cartoonish-looking entities known as Ixupi. Ixupi are able to hide amongst different elements (such as water, ash, wax, etc.) and if you get too close to them, they'll drain your life essence. In order to survive the night, you'll have to find all the ceramic vessels, as well as their corresponding lids, and capture the Ixupi back inside them. This is no easy task, however, as each vessel has a different symbol on it and you can only capture that vessel's specific Ixupi inside it. That means that once you find the vessel and lid that fits it for ash, you'll have to carefully make your way through the museum looking for all the places that Ixupi could be hiding. (The music changes when you're near an Ixupi, so listen for that.) It's best to keep notes of the locations where you find/leave the pots and lids and which Ixupi they belong to, because you can only hold one item at a time (a pot, a lid, or a completed vessel).

This is a point and click adventure game, as I've already said. You're meant to explore a museum (depending on the room you're in at the time, the music can become extremely unsettling), collect clues, solve puzzles and survive. There is no combat. The extent of it is clicking on the Ixupi with a completed vessel equipped. (If you need help keeping track of where each pot and lid are located, this website has a helpful checklist.) One of the most interesting parts of the game is searching for clues, reading through the various books and notes and learning more about some of the exhibits the museum offers, such as Tombs and Curses, Funeral Rites, Gods and Religious Items, Myths and Legends, Man's Inhumanity to Man, Mysteries of the Deep and more. Once you've completed the game, you're free to explore the museum without having to worry about being attacked by the Ixupi.

Shivers is filled with puzzles, some easier than others. I'm terrible at solving puzzles, mostly because I don't have the patience to sit there and play around with them. One I really enjoyed is the Mastermind puzzle, which is basically just a logic problem. There are others though, like Chinese Checkers and the Pinball Machine, that I always look up the solutions to because I know I'll be there forever if I try to solve them on my own.

Shivers is the first horror game I ever played and to this day, it's still one of my favorite games of all time. I still have the original copy my mom bought me because, even though I haven't had a PC that could run it since my Windows XP PC died, I can't bring myself to part with it. For years, I tried to find ways to get the game to work on a 64 bit computer, but I was never successful. Finally GOG added Shivers to their website and I was so happy. I had been hoping they would sell it for years. And you can't beat the price, $5.99. To be honest, I would have paid anything for it. They could have charged $60, like it was a new game, and I would gladly have handed the money over because this game means so much to me.

I want to make something clear. I 100% recommend this game. No matter who you are. But you have to understand that 1. It's a very old game, so don't expect anything else from it and 2. My love for Shivers, at least in part, definitely comes from a place of nostalgia and the fact that I wish the museum existed in real life, so while I love the game very much, I'm not sure everyone who plays it for the first time now will appreciate it as much as I did then, and as much as I do now because of the memories I have of it.

If you're a fan of games like Myst and 7th Guest, you should give Shivers a chance. You can purchase it here.

The Chase (The Forbidden Game Series Book 2) - L.J. Smith

Previously, I discussed The Hunter, the first book in the Forbidden Game series. You can find that post here. I'm issuing a spoiler warning for that post as well as this one. I'm also issuing a warning for bad formatting and whatever else is horrible here because I'm not even going to try to structure my thoughts into something that flows together well. I'm posting my entire thought process throughout this book, as is, so expect me to go off on tangents about insignificant things because that's what I do best.

Let's get into it. The character descriptions in this book are...Something. "Jenny looked around at the group: Dee sprawled lazily on the grass, dark limbs gleaming; Audrey perched on a folder to save her white tuxedo pantsuit; Michael with his teddy-bear body and sarcastic spaniel eyes; and Zach sitting like some kind of Tibetan monk with a ponytail. They didn't look like murderers." Thanks for your analysis, Jenny. By the way, what teenager do you know who wears a white tuxedo pantsuit to school?

First of all, chapter one of this book is disturbing in a way that's almost reminiscent of Stephen King's Apt Pupil, only...Without the Nazis. (Don't read Apt Pupil, it will leave you with all kinds of awful feelings.) We've got a serial killer in the making talking about how he likes to torture and kill animals and this is normally the point where I would close the book forever (like I did with American Psycho). I've read The Forbidden Game series several times so it's somewhat baffling to me that I have no memory of this part at all. I must have been traumatized. I did force myself to read it again for the sake of this post, but I have to let you know, as an animal lover, it was upsetting.

Anyway, we're going straight into spoiler territory because this book picks up with Jenny arguing with a girl over who killed her friend, Summer. (She died during her nightmare in The Hunter.) Then the girl Jenny is arguing with calls her a "soshe." A SOSHE. Like this is The Outsiders. Like this book wasn't published in 1994. In my previous post about this series, I mentioned that the characters talk like 1950's TV housewives. Hell, maybe these books do take place in the 50's. I just assumed they were set in the same decade as when they were written. Back to the story though. This random girl is a friend of the two boys who stole The Game from Jenny's house at the end of the first book, and Jenny is desperate to get it back. Is it because she doesn't want anyone else to get sucked into the paper house? Or is she sick of that imbecile Tom and she's thinking maybe Julian can knock him off for her?

Summer's body was never found, of course, because she died inside a board game, so "the Center" (that's the most cultish name I've heard since my ex took me to Landmark in New York City) was created, inside a mall, and used as a way to gather volunteers to search for her. While these nice people are out looking for Summer, Jenny and her friends use it as an excuse to search through dumpsters for The Game, because she's so worried that someone will play it and let Julian out of the basement she locked him in.

We get several pages of Tom being pathetic, feeling sorry for himself while excusing what a terrible boyfriends he's been by saying that since he was good looking and had a nice car, he thought Jenny would always be there and he didn't have to treat her well. And how he would lose her to Julian if he ever returned because apparently Jenny is too stupid to realize that Julian is dangerous. Instead of, you know, working to fix his relationship with Jenny, he spies on her and acts like a stalker. (She should have left him in that paper house.) Jenny argues with Tom and, in a fit of anger, she suggests that maybe they should break up. Tom doesn't disagree. Good, glad that's temporarily settled.

Now that Jenny is "single," she does what anyone would do to get their ex's attention (sarcasm doesn't translate through text, so just know, I think this is idiotic) and decides to go to prom with someone else.

You can tell this book is old/pre-internet era because of things like this: "Jenny loved computers, unlike Dee who hated technology, but she had to admit there was something a little odd about them, a little unnerving. As if things might happen unexpectedly there on screen." What the hell is she on about? I hope no one has told her about the dark web.

Jenny and her friends finally locate the paper house they were trapped inside in The Hunter, with the help of the girl Jenny argued with in the beginning of the book. They're too late though, the house is "exploded" and scratched into the floor next to it is the rune "Uruz," a spell to pierce the veil between worlds. Jenny tells herself it actually looks more like a J than a U. Wishful thinking.

What's left to do now besides go to prom? Audrey suggest a dress for Jenny to wear, to which she responds, "I can't wear that dress. Tom wouldn't even let me wear it with him. If he hears I wore it with Brian, he'll have a fit." Someone needs to tell this girl that 1. No one should tell her how she can and cannot dress and 2. Tom isn't even her boyfriend anymore, so who cares? It's none of his business. Every time I have to read about Tom dictating how Jenny dresses and styles her hair, I want to throw this damn book.

At the "Midnight Masquerade" prom, Jenny just wants to get away from her date. (I felt the same way at my own prom.) She's miserable, she feels that he's too interested in her and all she can think about is Tom. When someone tries to cut in on their dance, Jenny is more than happy to let him. She doesn't recognize him, as he's wearing one of the masks supplied at every table. Jenny begins feeling "very strange"  as she's led out onto the balcony by the boy who is not her date. And then she realizes the boy who led her out onto the empty, isolated balcony is Julian. And he's kind of pissed off after she trapped him in a basement the last time they were together. Jenny tells him to "get it over with," thinking he's about to throw her off the balcony, but he kisses her instead. And she kisses him back, before pushing him away. Julian sort of brushes it off, because he thinks he'll get his way no matter what she says, and places the gold ring he'd given her (that she had thrown away) back on her finger, reminding Jenny that she promised herself to him.

Julian offers to play one more game with Jenny to give her a chance at freedom. Before even hearing the terms, she agrees. And then Julian informs her that it's not a game between the two of them, it's a game for the original players (except Summer, RIP). You'd think Jenny would have learned by now that Julian always has a trick up his sleeve and she should be very careful when dealing with him. But no. She's learned nothing. How disappointing. The new game is "lambs and monsters" and the goal is for Jenny to find Julian's base before he takes her friends to the Shadow World.

With all of her friends gathered together, Jenny explains that she's gotten them all stuck in another round of Julian's games. To her credit, she does offer to give in to him to save them, however, her friends point out that it's too late for that since she already agreed to play and anyway, they would never allow her to sacrifice herself. While everyone is talking, Audrey heads into the kitchen with their empty Coke cans and after a few minutes, Jenny realizes there's been nothing but silence from Audrey. She runs into the kitchen, but she's too late. Audrey is already gone. Let the game begin.

Zach, Jenny's cousin, is the next lamb to be captured. Then Dee. And Tom. And, finally, Michael, leaving Jenny to find Julian's base on her own. She does eventually find the door into the base where her friends are held captive. (No, I'm not going to explain how, it's "complicated" and this post is long enough.) Julian is a sore loser and says he won't prevent the friends from leaving, since Jenny did win the game. Instead, he'll set the place on fire, blocking their exit. Or does he? Jenny realizes it's just a very realistic illusion. As the group makes their way through the fire towards the door, Zach falls and lets go of Jenny's hand, lost in the flames. Tom goes back in to get him, but neither of them come back. As far as I'm concerned, good riddance. Zach adds absolutely nothing to this story and my feelings about Tom are pretty clear by now.

A note appears, from Julian to Jenny, saying he has her friends in the Shadow World and if she wants them back, she'll have to go on a treasure hunt to find them. The book ends with Jenny saying, "En garde, Julian. It's not over till it's over." Seriously, the dialogue in this book is atrocious. I don't think L.J. Smith has ever met a teenager. I don't think she was ever a teenager herself. I like her novels, I love The Secret Circle and I really did enjoy The Forbidden Game, but every time I reread these books, I find myself constantly rolling my eyes whenever anyone says something. She's a better writer than I am, so I should just shut up, but really. Someone needs to give her a lesson in teen-talk because this isn't it.

The Chase is my least favorite book in the series. It feels uneventful, the horror element is lacking and the game itself wasn't interesting this time around. Thankfully, The Kill is more fun, so I'll be back to talk about that book soon.