Review: Daemon Hall

Daemon Hall by Andrew Nance

published by Henry Holt and Co.

Genre: YA Horror

$8.99 (paperback)

272 pages

FTC: I borrowed this book from the library. I will not be compensated for this review.

What it's about:

Is winning a writing contest worth risking your life?

Nothing exciting ever happens in the town of Maplewood—that is, until famous thriller writer Ian Tremblin holds a short-story writing contest with a prize that seems to be the opportunity of a lifetime: five finalists will get to spend the evening with Tremblin himself in the haunted mansion Daemon Hall, and the winner of the best short story will see publication.

Wade Reilly and the other finalists could never have imagined what they find lurking in the shadows of this demonic mansion. During a suspenseful night of tale-telling, strange incidents mix the realms of the real and the supernatural. What is Tremblin really up to, and can he be trusted? What about Daemon Hall—is it alive? And, more to the point, will any of the contestants make it out of this hall of horrors to tell their story?

In the tradition of Stephen King, this chilling novel will have teen readers on edge in anticipation of what’s to come with the next extinguished candle.

 

My thoughts:

The plot of the book is 5 kids go into a creepy house so they can win a contest. This then reminded me of "The Haunting" meets "Willy Wanka." Throughout the reading, you can also add in "The Breakfast Club" and "10 Little Indians" to the mix and that is what Daemon Hall is. A really warped version of all those movies combined. 

 

I read this book because I wanted to get into the Halloween spirit and was told this book was very scary. While the whole book wasn't scary, there were parts of it I was freaking out at.  The book is made up of lots of different stories. While the 5 kids and the author are in Daemon hall, they sit in one room and tell scary stories. There are 10 stories in all. About 3 of them freaked me out. The scariest being "The babysitter revisited." Yikes. There are also a few illustrations that were very creepy in some of the stories. Then there were some that I thought were funny, like the one about the bus driver. I kept picturing Mrs. Crabtree (yay south park reference!)

 

While this book wasn't always scary, it was definitely creepy. If you want a book to get you into the Halloween mood, I'd pick up this one. It worked for me.

 
My rating: 8/10