“Mother, when we move into our new house, can we have a scuppernong arbor?”

99. Horrid – Katrina Leno

Jane and her mom have to move across the country to fulfill the horror story trope of moving into one’s haunted childhood home and reckoning with the past. What Jane doesn’t realize is that everyone in the town knows about her mom’s past and as Jane was a part of her mom’s bright future once she ran away from Bells Hollow, Maine to sunny California, she’s not in the loop. The house seems to be trying to get Jane in the loop, though.

And really, Jane also has her own pain and anxiety to deal with. Her father has passed away, she’s being moved across the country away from all her good memories to a place where she’s obviously part of something she’s not aware of, and she eats books. Not whole. One of the things Jane wasn’t let in on was that eating things that aren’t food runs in her family. Jane does a decent job of making friends and she gets a job at a book store run by a cool dude she can talk to about mystery books, however, the secrets of the house will not be ignored.

No they will not.

The dread and creepiness were very well drawn in Horrid. Jane’s anxiety enhances both of them and is very relatable as she does her best to cope while moving into a gothic horror story that will not be denied.

Horace is watching Danger Crumples from above like a ghost in the window watches the living. I’d say he’s waiting for vengeance, but Horace wasn’t that kind of a guinea pig.