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Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick

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“An absolute stunner of a scary story; so exhilarating and gripping that I couldn’t put it down…” ReadingZone
“Joyously generic” BfK 5-star review

When classmates (but not mate-mates) Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school for a detention on a SATURDAY, they think things can’t get much worse. But they’re wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary.

What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keeping humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute…? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang’s only hope is to work together. But it’s no coincidence that they’re all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge.

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Gallant by V. E. Schwab

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“The gripping writing and effective incorporation of horror elements, including haunting, inky artwork, are satisfyingly spine-tingling. Olivia’s use of sign language and her artistic talents, part of the exploration of the importance of communication, are skillfully incorporated into the overall story. Olivia and the main cast are White.” KIRKUS
“This is a novel that feels almost archetypal in the way of classic children’s or young-adult books; you could read it over and over again and still feel that shiver of delight as the magic pulls you under one more time.” POPSUGAR
“Evocative prose, eerie b&w artwork by Šumberac, and superbly rendered characters… elevate this affective, bone-chilling standalone from Schwab (the City of Ghosts series), which fuses Shirley Jackson’s gothic horror sensibilities with the warmth and dark whimsy of Neil Gaiman.” Publishers Weekly

Cover art by Julia Lloyd of Titan Press. Interior illustrations by Manuel Sumberac.

Fourteen-year-old Olivia Prior is missing three things: a mother, a father, and a voice. Her mother vanished all at once, and her father by degrees, and her voice was a thing she never had to start with. She grew up at Merilance School for Girls. Now, nearing the end of her time there, Olivia receives a letter from an uncle she’s never met, her father’s older brother, summoning her to his estate, a place called Gallant.

But when she arrives, she discovers that the letter she received was several years old. Her uncle is dead. The estate is empty, save for the servants. Olivia is permitted to remain, but must follow two rules: don’t go out after dusk, and always stay on the right side of a wall that runs along the estate’s western edge. Beyond it is another realm, ancient and magical, which calls to Olivia through her blood…

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Follow Manuel Sumberac on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manuelsumberac/

Yuki-Onna and Other Stories – Arcturus Classics by Lafcadio Hearn

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 16 Feb 2022

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Haunting, mysterious and beautiful, but also possessed of unimaginable power and the capacity for terrifying cruelty, the ghosts of Lafcadio Hearn’s fiction draw their inspiration from the folklore of ancient Japan. These ghoulish beings range from spectral brides to vengeful phantoms and unruly goblins.

This collection includes such  tales as “Ingwa-Banashi”, “The Corpse-Rider” and “Of a Promise Broken”.

Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) was born in the Ionian Islands in Greece. As a child he moved first to Ireland and then to the United States where he worked as a journalist. Increasingly disenchanted with western society, he moved to Japan, where he married. There too he became disenchanted and complained about the loss of Japanese culture after the Meiji Restoration. He spent his life attempting to document the culture he loved in both fiction and carefully researched non-fiction studies.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classics series brings together high-quality paperback editions of classics works, presented with contemporary graphic cover designs. Together they make a  collection which is perfect for any home library.

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The Horror of Dunwick Farm – The Crooked Oak Mysteries by Dan Smith ill Chris King

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The mystery is growing at Dunwick Farm and it all started with a plane crash … Crooked Oak’s mystery-solving team return with another spine-tingling adventure, perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Crater Lake.

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[See also The Beast of Harwood Forest]

When an unidentified plane crashes in the fields next to Dunwick Farm in Crooked Oak, it quickly becomes clear that it was carrying some unusual cargo. As people in the town fall suddenly ill and animals start behaving strangely, friends Pete, Krish and Nancy try to find out what was in the glass boxes on board the plane. But as they uncover the facts, the trio realise that they are becoming entangled in a terrifying web …

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There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

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“Graphic violence and bloody mayhem saturate this high-speed slasher story.” KIRKUS
“The murders are both grisly and psychologically unnerving, and the novel’s intense realism makes them all the more disturbing.” Publishers Weekly

Now a Netflix movie:

Over a year after her parents sent her away from Hawaii to live with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska, Makani Young is still adjusting to her new life. She’s made a small group of close friends and even flirted with romance, but her past in Hawaii is still hard to forget.

And then . . . one by one the students of her new high school begin to die in a series of gruesome murders. Makani doesn’t know who’s next on the list. Between this, and a secret scorching relationship with the school weirdo, this school year may turn out to be one to die for . . . literally.

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Cruel Castle by Bryony Pearce

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A RED EYE horror novel for teens, this gripping sequel to SAVAGE ISLAND is full of fast-paced action and gruesome twists and turns.

Having survived the horrors of Savage Island, Grady is now stuck working for Gold, the psychopath who masterminded the gruesome competition. Sent on a “team-building exercise” in a remote castle, he starts to plot his escape.
Ben and Lizzie are in hiding, presumed dead after escaping the island. If they’re ever to return to their families, they need to bring Gold down. So they secretly join Grady in the castle. But as the doors slam shut and the series of deadly challenges between them and freedom are revealed, it looks like history is going to repeat itself…

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Every Line of You by Naomi Gibson

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“An absolute page-turner” Nikki Gamble, In The Reading Corner

This dark, modern twist on young love explores the complexity and scope of artificial intelligence while also examining bigger themes of humanity, revenge, grief, love and forgiveness. A powerful, high-concept crossover debut by a new voice in YA. Expect elements of horror, psychological drama and romance.

Lydia has been creating her AI, Henry, for years – since before her little brother died in the accident that haunts her nightmares; since before her dad walked out, leaving her and Mum painfully alone; since before her best friend turned into her worst enemy. Now, Henry is strong, clever, loving and scarily capable: Lydia’s built herself the perfect boyfriend in a hard-drive filled with lines of code. But what is Henry really – and how far is he willing to go to be everything Lydia desires?

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Wicked Little Deeds by Kat Ellis

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 9 Aug 2021

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“I’ve been slightly obsessed with Chelsea Wolfe while working on Wicked Little Deeds. I love the dark, eerie vibe of her music — it’s exactly what I wanted to capture in this story.” Kate Ellis, from an interview on HITC
“Maintaining her knack for spooky suspense, Ellis keeps the tension taut, delivering a gritty whodunit, a spine-tingling supernatural story, and a twisty psychological thriller all in one… Atmospherically grapples with literal and figurative ghosts in an eerie Indiana.” KIRKUS

From its creepy town mascot to the story of its cursed waterfall, Burden Falls is a small town dripping with superstition. Ava Thorn knows this well – since the horrific accident she witnessed a year ago, she’s been plagued by nightmares. But when her school nemesis is brutally murdered and Ava is the primary suspect, she starts to wonder if the legends surrounding the town are more fact than fiction. Whatever secrets Burden Falls is hiding, there’s a killer on the loose, and they have a vendetta against the Thorns…

Kat Ellis’s previous thriller, Harrow Lake, was an ACHUKA Book of the Day in September 2020.

Listen to the author talk about all her previous titles:

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Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw

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17-year-old Mina, from England, arrives in New Orleans to visit her estranged sister, Libby. After growing up in the town that inspired Dracula, Mina loves nothing more than a creepy horror movie. She can’t wait to explore the city’s darkest secrets – vampire tours, seedy bars, spooky cemeteries, disturbing local myths… And it gets even better when Mina lands a part-time job at a horror movie mansion and meets Jared, Libby’s gorgeous housemate, co-worker and fellow horror enthusiast. But the perfect summer bliss is broken when, while exploring the mansion, Mina stumbles upon the body of a girl with puncture marks on her neck, clutching a lock of hair that suspiciously resembles Libby’s… Someone is replicating New Orleans’ most brutal supernatural killings. Mina must discover the truth and prove her sister’s innocence before she becomes the victim of another myth. Perfect for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stranger Things.

Last One To Die by Cynthia Murphy

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 6 Jan 2021

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Are you a teen who thrills to be terrified? This book is for you.
Promoted as “Point Horror for the social media generation” [The book is published by Scholastic]
We love the striking jacket design.

Young, brunette women are being attacked in London. 16-year-old, Irish-born Niamh has just arrived for a summer of freedom, and quickly discovers that the girls being attacked look frighteningly similar to her. Niamh is determined not to let her fear destroy her summer. But can her new friends be trusted? Will she be able to stay ahead of the attacker? Or will she be next? Packed with voice-driven whodunit storytelling, and a retro slasher-movie feel reminiscent of cult classics, this dark, pacy, and irresistibly-creepy debut really has something for everybody!

Last One to Die is a YA horror novel and you’ve mentioned that Point Horror has been a big influence for you. Can you tell us a bit more about your debut, and the inspiration behind it?

Last One to Die came about after a huge writing slump. I was actually trying to write something else when I started listening to a podcast called Lore and an episode about a creepy Victorian villain, Spring Heeled Jack. I had never heard of him, but it planted a little seed which I kept coming back to. I shelved what I was writing and started to brainstorm a teen horror. I have always been a huge fan of anything remotely scary so went and re-watched all of the classics from my teens – Scream, Final Destination, The Craft – and I knew that I wanted to write something scary but also fun. I wanted to recapture that feeling I had as a teen where I was thrilled to be terrified!

from Curtis Brown’s website