Skeleton Creek is Real: The Shocking Truth Revealed

Skeleton Creek

by Patrick Carman

Is Skeleton Creek Real? If you're one of the millions who have read the Skeleton Creek series of books, then you might have heard the urban legend surrounding the story. One person claims to have evidence that proves Skeleton Creek is anything but fiction. He says he's discovered files and information that no one else has, and it all points to a very disturbing Skeleton Creek used real videos of terrifying experiences and they’re passing them off as fiction. Discover the truth for yourself as the New York Times Best Seller author guides you through 20 all new videos!

Genres: Horror

136 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2014

About the author

I have been a lifelong writer and storyteller. Salem, Oregon is where I spent my formative years and I graduated from Willamette University. After college, I spent a decade living in Portland, Oregon where I worked in advertising, game design, and technology.

I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers.

I've been fortunate enough to have had some bestselling series work: The Land of Elyon, Atherton, Elliot’s Park, 39 Clues, and Skeleton Creek. Here's a fun note...the books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages. Currently I'm developing a few new-media projects. Check out DARK EDEN to experience this type of cross-platform project.

When I'm not writing or creating a story, I spend my free time supporting literacy campaigns and community organizations, fly fishing, playing basketball and tennis, doing crosswords, watching movies, dabbling in video games, reading (lots), and (more than anything else) spending time with my wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great way to introduce non-fiction writing styles to students, especially students who loved the Skeleton Creek series. I would have spent sometime prior to reading it with the students going over what exactly happened on the skeletoncreekisreal.com website so they have more background because the book doesn't spend much time setting up what exactly happened. My students loved how many movies were in the book because they come so quickly one right after the other. It's a quick read and made my students think even more about the books and whether or not they could actually be real.

[Rubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was close to giving this three stars because although it was compelling it also seemed misleading. The title of the book makes it seem as if Mr. Carmen will go into the truth behind his series, but its really him digging into a site he may or may not have created for publicity purposes. We get no concrete answers except a few. Some people may like this kind of narration but.....I personally dont like someone pulling my leg for kicks lol
Alas, it was an interesting read and very thought provoking with good questions at the end for educational purposes. So i rated what I thought was fair for the actual writing and format of the book, even if I did not like the open ended conclusion where we are basically just told to believe what we want to believe. Some say Patrick Carman just made this site up to create more to the story and more interest. Is it true? Or did someone really hunt down to prove Skeleton Creek was anything but fiction? Or was it all a joke, as they claim to be the fictional Character in the book? Guess we'll never know since the author refuses to set the record straight haha

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting take on a faux nonfiction book. This could be used as a fun way to teach kids more about different styles of books, narrations, writing styles, etc. Enjoyable and entertaining addition to the Skeleton Creek word.

[Vince Home · Rating 1 out of 5]

Finally done with this series. It started out fine, then, like the other southern reach novels, takes a premise and drives it into the ground with uninteresting revelations and new characters.

[Sheri Bettis · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this book as a perfect ending to the 4 book series! It keeps the mystery going.

[Raija · Rating 2 out of 5]

Utter waste of time. Don't really know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.

[Davidramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was scary

[Lyra Perri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this last year, as a 9th grader and truly loved it. I have seen some small issues with the book though, reading it again.

[AZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend Kyle read this book to me and hated it. He thought it was so stupid. He passed away shortly after so I love the book because it reminds me of him.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aw, Patrick (I feel like we are on a first name basis now that you've visited my school and I had the honor of a ninja kicking pic with you). Seriously? I wanted this to be my book of answers! I wanted this to be the book that I could happily recommend to my students and mega fans of the Skeleton Creek series.

Things I need to keep in mind: 1. I am NOT the target audience. 2. I wasn't all that jazzed about Skeleton Creek when I first read it and my students LOVE it and demand (demand!) that I always read the second book after we've finished reading aloud the first. 3. My most reluctant of readers are in it for the videos.

One of the things I found annoying about this particular book was just how many videos there were. My kids (hello, the target audience!) will love that. It drove me batty; I just wanted to read a little longer without interruption.

That being said, I did find that in one of the videos toward the end of the book, I couldn't look at the screen because I was scared. True story. This will definitely make my kids love this book!

Also cool? Being able to see a real dredge and THE dredge that inspired the series.

The coolest part of all? The possibility that I could take this book and use it as a real learning tool for reliable narrator lessons. My kids would already have buy-in after reading aloud the first book in the series. I love the idea of setting up classroom debates surrounding this book and just who is Paul Chandler (and more).

Okay, okay, Patrick. You had me at the title. I would recommend this book.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in a couple of hours. Someone has challenged Patrick Carman's claim that his Skeleton Book series is fiction. The challenger uses videos just like Carman used in his books to prove that Skeleton Creek is real. I was intrigued by this book, and that kept me reading to the very end. However, I am not sure students will be as interested in this one. It is necessary to read the first four before reading this one. Otherwise, this one won't make any sense.

[Lauren Masini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, it was interesting at first, but, and Patrick Carman even told us that he wouldn't tell us, but it was still a surprise at the end when he said, ¨Even if I did know the truth I wouldn't tell you.¨ So, apparently he didn't know all of the truth? In the book, he says that Paul Chandler is an unreliable narrator, but the truth? Carman is an unreliable narrator as well.

[Colleen McNamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hooks my students in! I followed the blog back in the day and would show my students it. It is cool to see it in book form now with Pat Carman’s input. We debate this question nonstop. Is Skeleton Creek real!?

[Gretchen Vork · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting experiment in educational interactive fiction. Possibly useful in a classroom, but I think it's too contrived to be engaging, and therefore, a failed experiment.