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House of Horrors #1
My Brother the Ghost
There is something odd about Sara and Michael Buckner's new home. It's not just the weird old gargoyles, the creaky floorboards, and odd noises at night. As Sara and Michael are about to find out, terror awaits just beyond the doorstep of Moonlight Mansion. From the creators of the bestselling Goosebumps series comes a new series to thrill middle-grade readers.
Includes temporary tattoo.
Includes temporary tattoo.
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
42 people want to read
About the author
Suzanne Weyn
206 books647 followersSuzanne Weyn grew up in Williston Park, Long Island, New York. She has three sisters and a brother. As a girl, she was very interested in theatre and in reading. Louisa May Alcott was her favorite author, but she also read every Sherlock Holmes story. Suzanne lived pretty close to the ocean and going to Jones Beach was one of her favorite activities. Even today, if she goes too long without seeing the ocean, she starts feeling restless.
Suzanne now lives in upper New York State with her husband, two teen daughters and Abby the cat. Her house is at the edge of the woods and is nearly 200 years old. She graduated from State University of New York at Binghamton and received her master's degree from Pace University. She teaches part-time at City College in New York.
Suzanne's other books for Simon Pulse include South Beach Sizzle, a romantic comedy written with Diana Gonzalez. Her novels for the Simon Pulse line "Once Upon a Time" are The Night Dance: A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Water Song: A Retelling of the Frog Prince, and The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of Rumplestiltskin. She very much enjoys rethinking these classic tales from an original point of view, always looking for the real psychological underpinning of the story. Suzanne is currently doing revisions on her fourth book in the line, which will be coming in 2009.
Suzanne's other recent novels are include The Bar Code Tattoo (2004) and its sequel, The Bar Code Rebellion (2006). The Bar Code Tattoo was selected by the American Library Assoc. (ALA) as a 2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and was a 2007 Nevada Library nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction. It is currently translated into German and was nominated for the 2007 Jugenliteraturpreis for Young People's Literature.
Suzanne now lives in upper New York State with her husband, two teen daughters and Abby the cat. Her house is at the edge of the woods and is nearly 200 years old. She graduated from State University of New York at Binghamton and received her master's degree from Pace University. She teaches part-time at City College in New York.
Suzanne's other books for Simon Pulse include South Beach Sizzle, a romantic comedy written with Diana Gonzalez. Her novels for the Simon Pulse line "Once Upon a Time" are The Night Dance: A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Water Song: A Retelling of the Frog Prince, and The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of Rumplestiltskin. She very much enjoys rethinking these classic tales from an original point of view, always looking for the real psychological underpinning of the story. Suzanne is currently doing revisions on her fourth book in the line, which will be coming in 2009.
Suzanne's other recent novels are include The Bar Code Tattoo (2004) and its sequel, The Bar Code Rebellion (2006). The Bar Code Tattoo was selected by the American Library Assoc. (ALA) as a 2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and was a 2007 Nevada Library nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction. It is currently translated into German and was nominated for the 2007 Jugenliteraturpreis for Young People's Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 23, 2024
Random read time and here we get back to vintage goodness. Here’s a 90’s kid horror series called House of Horrors that started in 1994 from Harper Colins (Bone Chillers wasn’t enough) and had just about 7 entries. It’s on the obscure side but I bumped into it. It had a few authors but the main one is Suzane Wyen. She’s still around with a website and some notable works but she’s best known to me for being a ghostwriter for Baby-Sitters Club mostly doing a lot of stuff near the end of it.
That certainly got my interest. This series has the same kids so let’s see if this makes me want to read more about them. Sara and Micheal have moved to a new house which is old their Grandma’s old house. She’s still around, the house just became too much to deal with. They start to get used to it but odd things happen. They soon figure out it’s haunted and whatever ghost is here, wants Micheal…
This was fairly good. It’s well rounded, having a bit of everything. It gets started quickly as we see that ghosts are here. There’s some solid spooky-ness with what the ghost does, leading to some decent scary scenes. It’s on the kiddie side at times but has enough horror there to make it work. Again, some fun variety as it goes.
Sara and Micheal have good chemistry and a solid sibling bond. Micheal being into horror is fun and he’s clearly a little brother but they still tend to get along, it’s a good balance. There’s some mild emotional stuff as she tries to save her brother. Solid stakes here and decent ramping tension.
It leans into the disbelieving parents stuff a bit too much in the first half but thankfully later on they realize they can’t see the ghosts and just stop going to them, huzzah. I do wish they explained what was going on as we don’t get any motive rants from the ghost or anything like that.
Granted, it is the first in a series and it has an open ending. It’s kind of abrupt, actually. It’s implied Grandma had an experience with the ghost but struggles to recall it. It’s left open here so I assume the rest get into it. I guess things like Spooksville spoiled me where the first is a tight stand alone story.
As it is, it’s a solid well rounded little spooky stuff. Repetitive at times with a few unexplored elements with some pilot syndrome going on. But still good with a solid pair of siblings and decent horror. Nothing great but it made me wanna read the rest so it got the job done.
And yeah, it’s good, not much more to add. Made for a fair light read after some of the longer stuff I’ve read lately. Next should be the finale of Percy Jackson so…see ya then.
That certainly got my interest. This series has the same kids so let’s see if this makes me want to read more about them. Sara and Micheal have moved to a new house which is old their Grandma’s old house. She’s still around, the house just became too much to deal with. They start to get used to it but odd things happen. They soon figure out it’s haunted and whatever ghost is here, wants Micheal…
This was fairly good. It’s well rounded, having a bit of everything. It gets started quickly as we see that ghosts are here. There’s some solid spooky-ness with what the ghost does, leading to some decent scary scenes. It’s on the kiddie side at times but has enough horror there to make it work. Again, some fun variety as it goes.
Sara and Micheal have good chemistry and a solid sibling bond. Micheal being into horror is fun and he’s clearly a little brother but they still tend to get along, it’s a good balance. There’s some mild emotional stuff as she tries to save her brother. Solid stakes here and decent ramping tension.
It leans into the disbelieving parents stuff a bit too much in the first half but thankfully later on they realize they can’t see the ghosts and just stop going to them, huzzah. I do wish they explained what was going on as we don’t get any motive rants from the ghost or anything like that.
Granted, it is the first in a series and it has an open ending. It’s kind of abrupt, actually. It’s implied Grandma had an experience with the ghost but struggles to recall it. It’s left open here so I assume the rest get into it. I guess things like Spooksville spoiled me where the first is a tight stand alone story.
As it is, it’s a solid well rounded little spooky stuff. Repetitive at times with a few unexplored elements with some pilot syndrome going on. But still good with a solid pair of siblings and decent horror. Nothing great but it made me wanna read the rest so it got the job done.
And yeah, it’s good, not much more to add. Made for a fair light read after some of the longer stuff I’ve read lately. Next should be the finale of Percy Jackson so…see ya then.
September 5, 2024
When I was eleven, my family took a trip to Tennessee. I checked out two library books to take with me, they were both House of Horror books. They left a lasting impression on me and once I grew up and had adult money, I decided to grab a copy of those books and indulge in some nostalgia. My Brother the Ghost stood up well to the test of time. Great spooky atmosphere, a good mix of sibling bonding and antagonism, and a classic doppelganger story with end-of-chapter cliff hangers. The story is a bit brief to make it age appropriate and there's only the barest hint of exposition but it was still an enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews