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Funhouse (Point Horror)

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 503 ratings · 31 reviews

When the Devil's Elbow roller coaster goes off track, killing one teenager and maiming two others, everyone thinks it's just an accident . . . except Tess. She saw someone tampering with the track. Then another "accident" occurs in the Funhouse and Tess may have been the intended victim.

Paperback, 192 pages

Published July 1st 1990 by Scholastic

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Nov 13, 2012 Jamztoma rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love, love, loved this book to the core. It was my very first Point Horror/ teen horror book. I remember I was in 6th grade and it was being sold at a store in the Fagatogo Square in American Samoa. I thought it was the book adaptation of the horror movie of the same name in the 1970's/early 1980's? Anyway, I bought it and read it and it was not. Thankfully. I liken this story to the Wes Craven Nightmare on Elm Street movies in that Tess and her teenage friends are being terrorized by someone...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Sati Marie Frost rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen, teenage-horror, point-horror

It's funny, Funhouse was so full of holes and places that required great suspension of disbelief. Yet I really quite liked it. Maybe that's due to my nostalgia; Funhouse was one of the earliest Point Horror books I owned as a kid. (That said, The Fever was the first one I had, and was one of my favourites as a 9 and 10-year-old, yet my adult self didn't like it at all. So nostalgia doesn't account for everything.)

The basic plot points are as follows: Tess lives in a small coastal town along with...more It's funny, Funhouse was so full of holes and places that required great suspension of disbelief. Yet I really quite liked it. Maybe that's due to my nostalgia; Funhouse was one of the earliest Point Horror books I owned as a kid. (That said, The Fever was the first one I had, and was one of my favourites as a 9 and 10-year-old, yet my adult self didn't like it at all. So nostalgia doesn't account for everything.)

The basic plot points are as follows: Tess lives in a small coastal town along with her group of friends, all of whom are from rich families whose parents are part-owners in The Boardwalk, an amusement park on the beach. At the beginning of the book, the Devil's Elbow roller coaster flies off its tracks, killing at least one person (a boy Tess' age; I don't think it's mentioned whether any others died) and injuring many, including a girl and boy implied to be from Tess' group of friends. Tess sees a shadowy figure underneath the roller coaster just after the accident, which she mentions to her friends. Later, at home, she receives a taunting note that implies that the accident was not, in fact, accidental, and asking Tess who she thinks will be next. Will it be her?

One by one, Tess' friends are attacked, and it soon becomes clear to her that someone is after the kids whose parents own The Boardwalk.

Spoilers abound for the rest of this review, because it's impossible to review this particular book without them, so be warned.

I said at the beginning that this book is absolutely FULL of plot holes. The biggest concerns the initial roller coaster disaster. The killer's aim is to punish the parents who own The Boardwalk by harming their children. Indeed, Tess shouts words to this effect at her cynical, disbelieving ex - "Haven't you even noticed that the kids hurt the worst so far all have parents on The Boardwalk's board of directors?" Yet - and I'm not particularly technical, so correct me if I'm wrong here - I see NO POSSIBLE WAY to engineer a roller coaster crash so that I can choose who will be killed or badly injured. Short of convincing your friends to ride it at the same time, and keeping too many other people from getting on, I can't even see a way of even ensuring that the right people will be on it. I suppose there's a faint possibility that those three kids rode it a dozen times every day, all together, but I doubt it. Most likely, IMO, is that causing the crash was a spontaneous decision by the killer, but the chapters that are written from the killer's perspective belie this.

Later in the book, the killer steals the heroine's keys, so that she'll go and look in the Funhouse for them and fall through the floor onto the beach below. This just seems like a sloppy trick to play on someone, as a) she may not even notice her keys are lost; b) she may not care / may have a spare set; c) she may not think to look in the Funhouse; d) she may fall through the floor and land on cushiony sand without much injury, unless it's a really long drop (and how far can it be, from boardwalk to beach? Fifteen feet, max?); and e) her best friend may volunteer to look instead. Which is what happened. Sloppy sloppy.

So yeah, the killer really didn't seem to know what s/he was doing. And her / his motivations were pretty suspect. Without giving away the ENTIRE plot, I gotta say that most teens I know, if they discovered what s/he discovered, would most likely be shocked for a while and then shrug it off. Unless s/he already had huge, hidden mental problems - which is never mentioned - I don't see how they could turn into a murderer from learning what was, ok, a pretty rotten secret, but not really a life-destroying one.

I snark, I admit it. My navy SEAL always yells at me for being bitchy about enemy weaknesses. Be thankful, he tells me. Every time the bad guy messes up makes one less battle you have to fight. In person, I get his point, but I still find it hard to tolerate idiocy, and when it's a fictional villain who's acting like a moron, I reserve the right to snark about him / her.

Snark aside, though, I did think this was a cool book. With the isolated feelings that Tess has, staying alone in her stepmother's condo and having no real relationship with her father or stepmother, an overbearing ex-boyfriend and only one friend that she really gets on with, it's a recipe for an uncomfortable Sati, yet something about the book was quite fun. It was certainly fast-paced and kept my attention. The ending hurt my heart a bit, but it was certainly unexpected the first time I read it.

Verdict: Simple, easy-to-read cotton candy for the brain.(less)

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Sep 03, 2012 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teen fans of softcore dark fiction

Shelves: read-growing-up

Rating: 4 of 5

Funhouse was among the many Point Horror books I read in the 90s, between the ages of 12 to 16. These stories always thrilled and entertained, and yes, there was a healthy dose of jumps and creepies.

Nowadays, I'd recommend the Point Horror books for younger 12- to 15-year-olds, who want to dip their pinkie toe in the horror pool. (These books will likely fall short for anyone who's already dabbled in adult dark fiction or film.) The horror elements are mild, for the most part, the...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cheese, best-bitten

There are few things more awesome than cheese and FUNHOUSE certainly fit that mould nicely. Not only that but I love reading un-updated works if for nothing more than the outdated styles of dress. Boys in cutoff jeans? Ha! But I remember it. Most of it would probably be pretty innocuous to the younger readers now simply because the descriptions aren't too detailed but every once in a while you'll get the little nugget of nostalgia that'll have you going 'yup.' Love it.

FUNHOUSE combines two of my...more There are few things more awesome than cheese and FUNHOUSE certainly fit that mould nicely. Not only that but I love reading un-updated works if for nothing more than the outdated styles of dress. Boys in cutoff jeans? Ha! But I remember it. Most of it would probably be pretty innocuous to the younger readers now simply because the descriptions aren't too detailed but every once in a while you'll get the little nugget of nostalgia that'll have you going 'yup.' Love it.

FUNHOUSE combines two of my favorite things: horror and boardwalks. Thanks Lost Boys. You rear your mulleted head once again. There just always seems to be something sinister underlying a carnival-like atmosphere. I'm pretty sure it's the clowns. Are the looking at the same cover I am? So going in it had the proper ambiance for me to be nice and cozily happy.

The thing about a lot of these old school cheesy YA horror books is that there really isn't any supernatural involved; they're mostly thriller but the way they're written it could go either way. This particular novel utilized pseudo-flashback pieces that involved a diary and insinuated at maybe a haunting. Personally I think that's just enough to pull it all together.

Another common theme in the cheese is the novel having at least one character that you desperately wish would get hit by a bus. They're just total shitbags that you can't help but wonder why they have friends at all. Trudy was that person in FUNHOUSE. She's just an all around nasty, negative human being that any normal person would probably drop like a bad habit. But I guess because she's rich and all their daddies work together she's automatically lumped in with the rest. Sucks for the rest of them.

Tess is the kind of heroine that I wish I saw more of in today's YA. She has Sam (her perhaps/maybe-boyfriend) constantly trying to protect her but she's so adamant that she can take care of herself that I couldn't help but go yeah! Granted she takes it to a point of it being a fault, especially when the events start getting drastic and her life appears to really be in danger but she wants to stand on her own two feet. She don't need no man to protect her! Yes! Aside from that she is strong, wanting to solve the mystery behind all of these events even in the face of doubt and ridicule. Everyone else things it's a string of unfortunate accidents (of course) but Tess knows better. There are too many elements going on for any of it to be coincidental.

Hoh is one of the better old school YA horror writers. She doesn't pander to her audience and just lets the story tell itself. None of the dialogue feels contrived and the characters feel real to me. Of course there's a bit of the melodrama going on and the entire plot centers around a bunch of rich kids but they're not obnoxious about it. They don't flaunt their parents' wealth. It's not a motivating factor in the story; they all just are and who their parents are just happen to be who their parents are. It's not a card to play, which I liked.

FUNHOUSE is a great addition to my cheese library and one I'll probably re-read at some point in the future. There's a classic feel to it, aside from the fact that the roller coaster is named The Devil's Elbow. How . . . threatening?(less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Patrick Ellard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: point-horror

Solid entry into the Point Horror series by Diane Hoh, one of the series staple writers. It's not a particularily original book in that it's your typcial who dunnit killer plot but it's written very well with diary entries and chapters dedicated to the killers thoughts that it is slightly different usual books of this type. It's a little predictble and some of the main characters are incrdibly stupid but it's still well worth the read.

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Apr 02, 2013 Allyse Near rated it 2 of 5 stars

Haha, this is one of the first chapter books I can remember reading - it freaked me out terribly and the story's stuck with me my whole life, like that moment in your childhood when when you catch a glimpse from a doorway/between fingers/from behind the couch of a horror movie that you weren't supposed to see, didn't mean to see, and now it's seared in your brain forever.

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Oct 30, 2011 Hazel rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was my first ever Point Horror which I read when I was 11. I probably have fonder memories than I should because it was such a thrilling change from famous five type stories I had read before. It did lead to me reading about a dozen more Point Horror books so that's why younger me would have given it five stars!

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Jan 03, 2012 Trisha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, thriller, mystery, murder-mystery, point-book

Hmm, weird. I could have sworn I'd put this on "currently reading" again, since I just re-read it!

This was one of the very first Point books my brother owned and so one of the first either of us read. Possibly the very first, though THE ACCIDENT also by Diane Hoh is up there as a candidate too. I just re-read it now, at the age of 31, and...I've got to say it was pretty cheesy. Some of the other Point books I've read are definitely much higher quality writing. This one had a good plot (or so I t...more

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Jul 10, 2010 Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I read the whole way through and I don't even remeber the plot. I think I was nine or ten. I loved it and it made me want to read all the time. The next books I read were Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine Fear Street thrillers. I am going to buy it and read it again.

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Jul 03, 2012 Stefanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of my long-time favourites, some of the names are a bit odd Beak, Doss, Guy-Joe... But the story is good, the revelations, the wonder, the ending. I've always thought a sequel would go well with this one, it's happened before in the Point Horror universe with The Babysitter and Halloween Night.

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Apr 20, 2012 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book back when I was in the 5th grade, loved it. Definitely scary and the descriptions painted a very vivid image in my mind ,which, terrified me!! I can still remember the horror I felt seven years later lol

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Dec 16, 2011 V H rated it 3 of 5 stars

Because of the cover I kind of thought this book would be scary, but it was more intriguing actually. I liked all the little twists and that I could guess what was going to happen or anything. A nice book for a short read.

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Jul 24, 2011 Felicity rated it 2 of 5 stars

Another Point Horror book which I bought from the second hand shop. This one is better than most. I went through a stage of reading these when I was about 12, so it was nice to revisit the past.

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Mar 01, 2013 Sami rated it 5 of 5 stars

My favourite of the Point Horror series - one where the evil person isn't bleedingly obvious from chapter 2. The moment you realise who it is before she does, is chilling.

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Dec 10, 2012 Morgan Cleary rated it 5 of 5 stars

this is a very interesting book, i have not fully read it yet
i nearly have though, anyway its a fantastic book&i love it!

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Dec 06, 2012 Jenn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, young-adult

I remember reading this back in the day when I use to come home from school with book order forms.
Super fast re-read.

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Oct 14, 2008 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teen horror fans

Shelves: horror, mystery-suspense, young-adult, books-i-own, friendship, girl-woman-feminine-tales, high-school-or-college, books-i-want-to-reread

I remember reading this sometime during high school, for fun of course. I bought it the night before me and my family were supposed to take a trip to visit Canadian relatives, so I should have been going to bed early to wake up early. But I recall staying up very late because I couldn't stop reading it. It's one of those "Point Chillers" from "my day" as a high school student. It's a creepy story about teenagers in and around an amusement park/ funhouse where accidents are occurring and people a...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Emma rated it 2 of 5 stars

Much better than the last point horror I read!

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Jan 11, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

One of my childhood favorites.

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Dec 19, 2011 Watermelon Daisy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: upcoming-reviews

FIRST IMPRESSION:
This is a book I own, seeing as I bought it from a second-hand store.

WRITING STYLE:
One of the most thrilling writing styles yet. Perfect for the book.

PLOT:
Diane is one of those writers who go with the least suspicious suspect -and somehow, it gets my breathing racing every she does. Amazing writing here.

CHARACTERS:
All the characters are amazing, and I love Tess. A solid, wonderful main character.

OVERALL:
One of the best suspense/mystery/horror/thriller books I've ever read.

AMOUNT...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Shell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Enjoyed it at the time

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Jan 23, 2013 Kate ADale rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kinda creepy!

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Nov 07, 2012 Adam Bellenger rated it 5 of 5 stars

Easily an Epic

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Apr 12, 2012 Jaime rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fun read when I was a young teen!

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Apr 02, 2013 Cameron rated it 4 of 5 stars

I listened to the audio book of this on YouTube. Ah... the memories. I loved how it was like listening to a movie, with the voice actors, music, and sound effects. They don't make 'em like this anymore.

~C

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Jun 10, 2009 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teens, horror

A pleasantly creepy addition to the point horror collections, the ending is unexpected and this will spring to mind whenever you go to the fair...even years afterwards, it still does with me

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Oct 17, 2008 Gabrielle rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this book! It's creepy and scary and though I read it at night, I couldn't resist taking it out at the library again! It's a brill' book!

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May 21, 2008 Terah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-childhood

I loved these Point mysteries and this was a favorite of mine. Wouldn't mind re-reading!

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Jan 16, 2012 Robyn Drummond rated it 4 of 5 stars

Did not fail to entertain as per usual with this author. Big thumbs up from me!

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May 10, 2012 Rachel Verna rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: point-horrors, mine

Some what disappointed by this point horror.

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Funhouse (Point Horror)

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