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Spine Shivers
Skuggmannen
Titta inte!
står det på det gamla VHS-bandet hos den döde skräckfilmsregissören.
Tillsammans med sina kompisar tittar förstås Sam på filmen.
Därefter är inget sig likt!
står det på det gamla VHS-bandet hos den döde skräckfilmsregissören.
Tillsammans med sina kompisar tittar förstås Sam på filmen.
Därefter är inget sig likt!
- GenresHorrorMiddle Grade
101 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2016
6 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
J.A. Darke
10 books22 followersPseudonym for authors Eric Stevens and Brandon Terrell.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 1, 2020
After a short break following its first four standalone books, the Spine Shivers series returned with another four, and Do Not Watch is a definite improvement over its predecessors. Sam Valentine is a typical teen, except for his father's occupation as owner of New To You!, an antique shop that trafficks in weird and occasionally macabre collectibles. Sam is used to traveling with his father to purchase items for the shop, but he feels a chill when they pull up in their truck outside the home of Gregory Vincent, a recently deceased movie director famed for his gritty horror films. Mr. Valentine is excited about owning the director's writing desk, which Vincent's family is selling. It's an awkward item to carry out and load in the truck, but the desk is one of the biggest scores Mr. Valentine has had in the antique business. He couldn't be happier.
Before Mr. Valentine can thoroughly examine the desk, Sam glances through its drawers and finds a VHS tape. "The Gaunt Man. Only copy. Do not watch" is penned on the label. Was this an unreleased film of Vincent's? For some reason Sam doesn't want his father to see the tape, so he removes it and invites his friends, Olivia and Bashiir, to come watch it on a night when his parents aren't home. That requires a secret trip to New To You! to pick up a VCR, and on the way there Sam, Olivia, and Bashiir have the misfortune of running into Hudson Laudner, an older teen from the neighborhood who senses they're up to no good and threatens to tell Mr. Valentine if they don't include him in the fun. The four sit down at Sam's house for the premiere viewing of The Gaunt Man, which turns out to be a noirish horror flick about the infamous creepypasta monster whose mere presence causes people to fall ill and die. But Sam isn't frightened until the Gaunt Man stares out through the screen, as though looking directly at Sam, Olivia, Bashiir, and Hudson. They all feel uncomfortable, but this is just a movie that wasn't good enough to be made for real...right?
Bashiir shows up at school looking pale and sickly. He hasn't been able to sleep; the thin-faced, hollow-eyed Gaunt Man stalks him in his dreams, and Bashiir is panicked that he might never have a peaceful night again. The school nurse sends him home; Sam tries to communicate with his friend to confirm he's okay, but receives no response. When Olivia reports a similar dreamlike encounter with the Gaunt Man, and her health, too, swiftly declines, cold dread settles into Sam's stomach. The only ones left for the Gaunt Man to infect are Sam and Hudson. Sam eventually has his own surreal encounter with the Gaunt Man, and as his health fails, he clings to the last vestiges of clear thought in search of a solution. He saw a set of journals at Gregory Vincent's old house, journals bearing the same triangular symbol as the VHS tape. His parents won't believe him if he starts babbling about a cursed movie, but will Hudson drive him to Vincent's place to see if the journals describe how to stop the Gaunt Man? It's a race against insidious evil for the last two teens who viewed the forbidden film. Can Sam stymie the curse before it claims them all as victims?
The first four Spine Shivers books were below average, but Do Not Watch is genuinely creepy and the plot makes sense. No happy ending is guaranteed in this series, so we feel a real sense of doom as the Gaunt Man picks off the characters one by one. There's also a deeper theme to the story. Demons should be left alone, however thrilling it seems to mess with them; let one into your life and they're apt to dig in their claws and not let go until they destroy you. Better to flee from vice and endure mockery for it than be dragged into the abyss. Part of me wants to rate Do Not Watch two and a half stars; Neil Evans's artwork (he's credited as Nelson Evergreen in the first four Spine Shivers) is excellent as always, and the story offers suspense to the end. This is a pretty good middle-grade horror novel.
Before Mr. Valentine can thoroughly examine the desk, Sam glances through its drawers and finds a VHS tape. "The Gaunt Man. Only copy. Do not watch" is penned on the label. Was this an unreleased film of Vincent's? For some reason Sam doesn't want his father to see the tape, so he removes it and invites his friends, Olivia and Bashiir, to come watch it on a night when his parents aren't home. That requires a secret trip to New To You! to pick up a VCR, and on the way there Sam, Olivia, and Bashiir have the misfortune of running into Hudson Laudner, an older teen from the neighborhood who senses they're up to no good and threatens to tell Mr. Valentine if they don't include him in the fun. The four sit down at Sam's house for the premiere viewing of The Gaunt Man, which turns out to be a noirish horror flick about the infamous creepypasta monster whose mere presence causes people to fall ill and die. But Sam isn't frightened until the Gaunt Man stares out through the screen, as though looking directly at Sam, Olivia, Bashiir, and Hudson. They all feel uncomfortable, but this is just a movie that wasn't good enough to be made for real...right?
Bashiir shows up at school looking pale and sickly. He hasn't been able to sleep; the thin-faced, hollow-eyed Gaunt Man stalks him in his dreams, and Bashiir is panicked that he might never have a peaceful night again. The school nurse sends him home; Sam tries to communicate with his friend to confirm he's okay, but receives no response. When Olivia reports a similar dreamlike encounter with the Gaunt Man, and her health, too, swiftly declines, cold dread settles into Sam's stomach. The only ones left for the Gaunt Man to infect are Sam and Hudson. Sam eventually has his own surreal encounter with the Gaunt Man, and as his health fails, he clings to the last vestiges of clear thought in search of a solution. He saw a set of journals at Gregory Vincent's old house, journals bearing the same triangular symbol as the VHS tape. His parents won't believe him if he starts babbling about a cursed movie, but will Hudson drive him to Vincent's place to see if the journals describe how to stop the Gaunt Man? It's a race against insidious evil for the last two teens who viewed the forbidden film. Can Sam stymie the curse before it claims them all as victims?
The first four Spine Shivers books were below average, but Do Not Watch is genuinely creepy and the plot makes sense. No happy ending is guaranteed in this series, so we feel a real sense of doom as the Gaunt Man picks off the characters one by one. There's also a deeper theme to the story. Demons should be left alone, however thrilling it seems to mess with them; let one into your life and they're apt to dig in their claws and not let go until they destroy you. Better to flee from vice and endure mockery for it than be dragged into the abyss. Part of me wants to rate Do Not Watch two and a half stars; Neil Evans's artwork (he's credited as Nelson Evergreen in the first four Spine Shivers) is excellent as always, and the story offers suspense to the end. This is a pretty good middle-grade horror novel.
December 18, 2017
The author is amazing he knows how to capture the readers attention and how to grab there fears. But I wish he made a more scary ending and gave us hints what was going to happen next. like the other book he wrote and I read i't might just be me but I keep getting confused.
I think the beginning was going to fast so hope fully if he makes another one he put's in more chapters more pages and take his time at the beginning. I think he didn't have enough time to put in detail because it just seam he was being rushed. I do like how he makes it feel real it's really cool even if some parts don't make sense to me it's a good book.
So I would rate this book out of ten a 6 and the people who like scary, mystery, and horror and I would say if your around 9 year old's that's my opinion about that. So if you like these things read this book and read this authors books and if you like his stuff I know more books like this. So please read this book it's good it's great so read this man's books.
I think the beginning was going to fast so hope fully if he makes another one he put's in more chapters more pages and take his time at the beginning. I think he didn't have enough time to put in detail because it just seam he was being rushed. I do like how he makes it feel real it's really cool even if some parts don't make sense to me it's a good book.
So I would rate this book out of ten a 6 and the people who like scary, mystery, and horror and I would say if your around 9 year old's that's my opinion about that. So if you like these things read this book and read this authors books and if you like his stuff I know more books like this. So please read this book it's good it's great so read this man's books.
May 18, 2023
Do Not Watch is the third book I’ve read in the Spine Shivers collection. It is neither as creepy as The Grin in the Dark nor as bleak as Attack of the Mud Monsters, but it is still an excellent addition to a series I wish has been around when I was a kid. The evil Gaunt Man, a slender man type monster who drains the life from his victims, preys on four friends after they watch an old movie by a mysterious director (who seems to have been modeled on beloved horror icon, Vincent Price). This is a fun, hard to put down story with Easter eggs for horror buffs. I will continue to seek out the rest of this series, which has so far been a delightful suprise.
September 14, 2023
This book is definitely, as stated on Amazon, written for kids in the final years of elementary school, 4th, 5th, and maybe 6th grade. I don't know if that makes it a middle grades book or still a kid's book. Just know that it reads young but clearly not aimed at little ones.
That said, 4th or 5th grade me would have eaten this book and the Spine Shivers series up. It is well-written, well-paced, atmospheric, and it gives you enough detailed descriptions to help the reader visualize what is going on but without boring them with unnecessary details.
I read Do Not Watch, because one) I thought it would read just a little bit older, two) I will read anything about cursed media, even kids' books, and three) Slenderman (kind of)!
Overall, I really enjoyed it. It started off really strong. Once the book started exploring what happened after the kids watched the videotape. I realized, at one point, that I only had 20-30 pages left, and I wondered how it would wrap up. While most novels, especially adult ones, could stand to be trimmed down a bit to make the story tighter and less sloggy in the middle, Do Not Watch is the rare book that could have used more development. It rushed towards the ending before I really got to care about anyone. The ending was a good horror ending though, very cinematic. It just needed a little more buildup for the payoff to have more effect.
Even though this book read a bit young, I am still tempted to read another one. Do Not Watch made for a good, quick, light horror fix. There is no swearing, gore, or violence in this book. It is definitely age appropriate, for people that care about that stuff. There are also some illustrations throughout the book, which adds extra atmosphere to your reading experience.
That said, 4th or 5th grade me would have eaten this book and the Spine Shivers series up. It is well-written, well-paced, atmospheric, and it gives you enough detailed descriptions to help the reader visualize what is going on but without boring them with unnecessary details.
I read Do Not Watch, because one) I thought it would read just a little bit older, two) I will read anything about cursed media, even kids' books, and three) Slenderman (kind of)!
Overall, I really enjoyed it. It started off really strong. Once the book started exploring what happened after the kids watched the videotape. I realized, at one point, that I only had 20-30 pages left, and I wondered how it would wrap up. While most novels, especially adult ones, could stand to be trimmed down a bit to make the story tighter and less sloggy in the middle, Do Not Watch is the rare book that could have used more development. It rushed towards the ending before I really got to care about anyone. The ending was a good horror ending though, very cinematic. It just needed a little more buildup for the payoff to have more effect.
Even though this book read a bit young, I am still tempted to read another one. Do Not Watch made for a good, quick, light horror fix. There is no swearing, gore, or violence in this book. It is definitely age appropriate, for people that care about that stuff. There are also some illustrations throughout the book, which adds extra atmosphere to your reading experience.
August 14, 2020
En kort skräckis på 100 sidor om Sam som hittar ett videoband i en gammal regissörs kvarlåtenskap, som hans pappa har köpt. Bandet ska innehålla filmen ”Skuggmannen”, och den extra varningen ”titta inte på den”. Sam och hans vänner bestämmer sig givetvis för att titta på filmen ändå, med resultatet att något verkar släppas löst.
Boken plockar en hel del Ringu/The Ring och en hel del Slender Man, men resultatet är ändå hyggligt. Skräckelementen finns där, den gamle regissörens hus, där svaret på gåtorna kan finnas, är lagom creepy. Inget revolutionerande nånstans egentligen, men boken funkar bra trots det.
Boken plockar en hel del Ringu/The Ring och en hel del Slender Man, men resultatet är ändå hyggligt. Skräckelementen finns där, den gamle regissörens hus, där svaret på gåtorna kan finnas, är lagom creepy. Inget revolutionerande nånstans egentligen, men boken funkar bra trots det.
June 25, 2024
No bad! Better than I thought, wish this was around when I was younger reading goosebumps, makes a nice addition! Writing style is similar to goosebumps which I enjoyed, also liked the extra bits at the end of the book (discussion pages, food for thought etc) thought that was a nice touch too if teachers wanted to discuss the book with children etc. Plot itself was not bad either, at about 100 odd pages, it’s an enjoyable short read!
April 2, 2019
En väldigt klassisk skräckfilms-bok där filmen blir verklighet när barnen trotsar etikettens tydliga budskap - "titta inte på den!"
October 4, 2018
it was very spooky and i liked it
October 4, 2018
SPOOOKY
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews