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The Nightmare Club #4
The Mask
While shopping for a halloween costume, Sheila Holland discovers a weird mask that transforms her into a beauty, but Sheila soon learns about the seductive evil of the mysterious mask. Original.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1993
79 people want to read
About the author
Nick Baron
15 books3 followersPseudonym for author Scott Ciencin .
Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 22, 2023
The preview for this book at the end of Warlock Games had the same impact on me as the previous books I talked about. Found it for a decent price used on Amazon and again it could not prepare me for what the whole book had in store.
In a good way mind you.
Sheila Holland is one of those girls who is nice enough but feels insecure but you know high school will do that to you. Especially when you have grown up with all the same people who have had their time to blossom into knockout beauty queens and obscenely handsome jocks.
Sheila is a junior in high school but she thinks she has the figure of a thirteen year old still in junior high. Plain brown hair, plain brown eyes, decent grades, a member of the school paper as a photographer yet invisible to boys or one in particular - Ian Montgomery.
He is her infinite crush, a member of the football team with a letter jacket and beautiful blue eyes.
Yet he's always surrounded by cheerleaders and Ian probably doesn't know Sheila is always watching him but it would be hard to miss as her photos of him always grace the sports page of the school paper. Guess no one still reads by-lines of pictures and articles in publications anymore...
Sheila isn't the only one who knows what it is like to have a huge crush on someone more than average. Her best male friend Jack Kidder has it so bad for Melissa Antonelli that he thinks her modeling for his photography portfolio could lead to something more. He's a nice guy but skinny as a scarecrow and just not one of those beautiful people.
Her other best friend, Gwen Turko, is more into being a part of Freedom International and spouting her mouth off at authority. She's more of a tomboy and can't believe her two best buddies waste their time daydreaming about "pod people" like Melissa and Ian.
To Sheila, fantasizing about a future as Mrs. Ian Montgomery is better than her reality. Her parents, Gary and Colleen, fight all the time without a decent word to each other. They blame the other for being deep in debt with frivolous spending and Sheila can hear it from her room, hiding in the kitchen and she knows words like "divorce" or "separation" can't be far behind with each one wanting "alone time" from the house.
It was how Sheila found the mask.
Her mother took her to an antique barn and Sheila was looking for something to wear as part of a three day costume party being held by the high school at The Night Owl Club anyway. Anything interesting and maybe old-fashioned to make her look fab instead of drab.
A mask made out of lace to contour to the face with feathered eyelashes, a tiara to hold back the hair with colors of blue, red and green - beautiful enough to hide from the real world.
The moment Sheila puts the mask on it feels like a dream until she can see everything in her mirror.
No more blah brown hair or eyes but a raven-haired, green- eyed beauty. No more teenage girl but almost that of a grown woman with curves in all of the right places and taller like a model, a movie star.
It also seems the mask has given her an out of this world outfit to wear because Sheila feels as if she is wearing lingerie it is so slinky! Good thing it's a school dance not on school property or I'm sure chaperones would have a thing or two to say...
From Ian's point of view, we find him bored out of his mind at the party. His childhood sweetheart Carolyn moved away and he hasn't dated anyone since even though all the girls throw themselves at him. Ian knows however it is just because of his looks, being a jock, everything his father wants him to be - clean cut, New England athlete. Only Carolyn knew the real him and all of his dreams but can Ian find anyone like that again?
Then he sees the dark-haired young woman come into The Night Owl Club. A slinky, black ensemble of satin and lace on her body and cat-like emerald eyes. He's never seen her at school and she has to be in college but Ian can't help but want to know her, to talk to her and see if he can find out if love really can strike twice.
It's all perfect for Sheila seeing all eyes on her and having Ian Montgomery whisk her away from the crowd so they can talk. She says her last name is Kingsly but keeps her name as Sheila and she now has the confidence to flirt with Ian, to take charge and kiss him as she has always dreamed.
Only two things make it a little awkward actually. Ian actually wants to talk and not just make-out as he keep asking Sheila things about herself while he is telling her personal things about himself.
Okay so that's actually awkward on my part as an observer.
One is that Sheila sees Jack with Melissa and thinks that perhaps the popular and beautiful girl is stringing her friend along when she plants a big kiss on him in front of everyone. That makes her blood boil but not as much as being able to "super-sonically" hear a popular and usually center of attention girl bad-mouth Sheila's costume and assume Ian has paid a hooker to be his date.
Sheila slips away before her mother notices she is gone and she promises to meet Ian the next night as the festivities continue up to Halloween Night. Soon, all Sheila can think about is keeping the mask safe from anyone else using it so that her romance with Ian can remain with her "other self"
even though it kills her that in the halls at school, Ian doesn't know Sheila Holland exists.
Besides a change in her outside appearance, Sheila begins to change within as well. She doesn't realize that beauty is only skin deep and her insides...are not as bewitching as her glamoured self.
There is power in the mask but it is an evil one. A presence...a man made of shadows guards it.
He has eyes like razors, teeth like needles and fingers as sharp as scalpel blades. He grows stronger thanks to Sheila wearing the mask and feeding on her envy and anger towards people who were born with all the beauty...those who don't deserve it like she does.
Yet is it really Shelia who believes this or is it the Shadowman feeding on her insecurities? If not him than who or what?
The blurb on the backs spills a few beans that other kids start dying so don't chalk that one up to me. The rest of the story is very compelling because it resonates with anyone who felt like an ugly duckling back in high school or had problems at home with their parents.
I relate to the first part of that statement...I happened to be one of those lucky few teenagers who had a decent set of parents but yet...I could sometimes feel like a burden to them because I was also a little like Sheila.
Part of her is bratty but also very low on her own self-esteem. I'm older now and I totally get the lesson trying to be imparted on the plot.
This is a very twisted take on Cinderella with the three night costume ball and a Prince Charming falling for an illusion of a real girl behind a mask. Ian is actually my favorite character in the whole book because we learn from Sheila acting as "Sheila" the things she has observed about Ian and we learn things from Ian himself.
He's kind and stands up for others, he has a sense of humor, loves to dance and have fun, he wants to be a chef instead of a football star and he enjoys the movie Aliens because he dresses up as Hicks while his best friend decides to create an Alien Queen costume. How could you not like a guy like Ian?
We learn a little bit more about the other characters as we go along and go through arcs of character development. There is backstory on the evil contained in the mask and we even get some of the story seen through "The Shadowman" with some pretty gnarly visuals...
The climax of the story gets pretty intense with you know "fighting from the inside" and realizing the truth in order to defeat evil. The epilogue is parts exposition of tell not show but we also get to witness some closure first hand that I would have screamed if it ended any other way.
There are also callbacks to The Initiation which I found refreshing for that continuity besides The Demos' even though we get some mentions of Jenny, obviously being able to see past Sheila's "mask".
So far, the first four books are all I have found and I like all of them but I absolutely love The Initiation and The Mask! Joy Ride is quite enjoyable as well but I guess Warlock Games just didn't have enough for me to love. Well-written but I guess too masculine with not enough femininity or just not spooky enough...maybe both.
There is a preview for the next book in the series, The Room, and it seems interesting. If I can find it, I'll give it a read. Until then, The Nightmare Club series and its first four books are something I can highly recommend.
In a good way mind you.
Sheila Holland is one of those girls who is nice enough but feels insecure but you know high school will do that to you. Especially when you have grown up with all the same people who have had their time to blossom into knockout beauty queens and obscenely handsome jocks.
Sheila is a junior in high school but she thinks she has the figure of a thirteen year old still in junior high. Plain brown hair, plain brown eyes, decent grades, a member of the school paper as a photographer yet invisible to boys or one in particular - Ian Montgomery.
He is her infinite crush, a member of the football team with a letter jacket and beautiful blue eyes.
Yet he's always surrounded by cheerleaders and Ian probably doesn't know Sheila is always watching him but it would be hard to miss as her photos of him always grace the sports page of the school paper. Guess no one still reads by-lines of pictures and articles in publications anymore...
Sheila isn't the only one who knows what it is like to have a huge crush on someone more than average. Her best male friend Jack Kidder has it so bad for Melissa Antonelli that he thinks her modeling for his photography portfolio could lead to something more. He's a nice guy but skinny as a scarecrow and just not one of those beautiful people.
Her other best friend, Gwen Turko, is more into being a part of Freedom International and spouting her mouth off at authority. She's more of a tomboy and can't believe her two best buddies waste their time daydreaming about "pod people" like Melissa and Ian.
To Sheila, fantasizing about a future as Mrs. Ian Montgomery is better than her reality. Her parents, Gary and Colleen, fight all the time without a decent word to each other. They blame the other for being deep in debt with frivolous spending and Sheila can hear it from her room, hiding in the kitchen and she knows words like "divorce" or "separation" can't be far behind with each one wanting "alone time" from the house.
It was how Sheila found the mask.
Her mother took her to an antique barn and Sheila was looking for something to wear as part of a three day costume party being held by the high school at The Night Owl Club anyway. Anything interesting and maybe old-fashioned to make her look fab instead of drab.
A mask made out of lace to contour to the face with feathered eyelashes, a tiara to hold back the hair with colors of blue, red and green - beautiful enough to hide from the real world.
The moment Sheila puts the mask on it feels like a dream until she can see everything in her mirror.
No more blah brown hair or eyes but a raven-haired, green- eyed beauty. No more teenage girl but almost that of a grown woman with curves in all of the right places and taller like a model, a movie star.
It also seems the mask has given her an out of this world outfit to wear because Sheila feels as if she is wearing lingerie it is so slinky! Good thing it's a school dance not on school property or I'm sure chaperones would have a thing or two to say...
From Ian's point of view, we find him bored out of his mind at the party. His childhood sweetheart Carolyn moved away and he hasn't dated anyone since even though all the girls throw themselves at him. Ian knows however it is just because of his looks, being a jock, everything his father wants him to be - clean cut, New England athlete. Only Carolyn knew the real him and all of his dreams but can Ian find anyone like that again?
Then he sees the dark-haired young woman come into The Night Owl Club. A slinky, black ensemble of satin and lace on her body and cat-like emerald eyes. He's never seen her at school and she has to be in college but Ian can't help but want to know her, to talk to her and see if he can find out if love really can strike twice.
It's all perfect for Sheila seeing all eyes on her and having Ian Montgomery whisk her away from the crowd so they can talk. She says her last name is Kingsly but keeps her name as Sheila and she now has the confidence to flirt with Ian, to take charge and kiss him as she has always dreamed.
Only two things make it a little awkward actually. Ian actually wants to talk and not just make-out as he keep asking Sheila things about herself while he is telling her personal things about himself.
Okay so that's actually awkward on my part as an observer.
One is that Sheila sees Jack with Melissa and thinks that perhaps the popular and beautiful girl is stringing her friend along when she plants a big kiss on him in front of everyone. That makes her blood boil but not as much as being able to "super-sonically" hear a popular and usually center of attention girl bad-mouth Sheila's costume and assume Ian has paid a hooker to be his date.
Sheila slips away before her mother notices she is gone and she promises to meet Ian the next night as the festivities continue up to Halloween Night. Soon, all Sheila can think about is keeping the mask safe from anyone else using it so that her romance with Ian can remain with her "other self"
even though it kills her that in the halls at school, Ian doesn't know Sheila Holland exists.
Besides a change in her outside appearance, Sheila begins to change within as well. She doesn't realize that beauty is only skin deep and her insides...are not as bewitching as her glamoured self.
There is power in the mask but it is an evil one. A presence...a man made of shadows guards it.
He has eyes like razors, teeth like needles and fingers as sharp as scalpel blades. He grows stronger thanks to Sheila wearing the mask and feeding on her envy and anger towards people who were born with all the beauty...those who don't deserve it like she does.
Yet is it really Shelia who believes this or is it the Shadowman feeding on her insecurities? If not him than who or what?
The blurb on the backs spills a few beans that other kids start dying so don't chalk that one up to me. The rest of the story is very compelling because it resonates with anyone who felt like an ugly duckling back in high school or had problems at home with their parents.
I relate to the first part of that statement...I happened to be one of those lucky few teenagers who had a decent set of parents but yet...I could sometimes feel like a burden to them because I was also a little like Sheila.
Part of her is bratty but also very low on her own self-esteem. I'm older now and I totally get the lesson trying to be imparted on the plot.
This is a very twisted take on Cinderella with the three night costume ball and a Prince Charming falling for an illusion of a real girl behind a mask. Ian is actually my favorite character in the whole book because we learn from Sheila acting as "Sheila" the things she has observed about Ian and we learn things from Ian himself.
He's kind and stands up for others, he has a sense of humor, loves to dance and have fun, he wants to be a chef instead of a football star and he enjoys the movie Aliens because he dresses up as Hicks while his best friend decides to create an Alien Queen costume. How could you not like a guy like Ian?
We learn a little bit more about the other characters as we go along and go through arcs of character development. There is backstory on the evil contained in the mask and we even get some of the story seen through "The Shadowman" with some pretty gnarly visuals...
The climax of the story gets pretty intense with you know "fighting from the inside" and realizing the truth in order to defeat evil. The epilogue is parts exposition of tell not show but we also get to witness some closure first hand that I would have screamed if it ended any other way.
There are also callbacks to The Initiation which I found refreshing for that continuity besides The Demos' even though we get some mentions of Jenny, obviously being able to see past Sheila's "mask".
So far, the first four books are all I have found and I like all of them but I absolutely love The Initiation and The Mask! Joy Ride is quite enjoyable as well but I guess Warlock Games just didn't have enough for me to love. Well-written but I guess too masculine with not enough femininity or just not spooky enough...maybe both.
There is a preview for the next book in the series, The Room, and it seems interesting. If I can find it, I'll give it a read. Until then, The Nightmare Club series and its first four books are something I can highly recommend.
June 21, 2024
So far this was the best book in the nightmare club series. The main characters reason for wanting to wear the mask and become a different person was something most people can relate to. But the internal struggle she had when giving up her old life for a new “better” life made for an interesting read. I do like the historical elements to the past with the mask. Kinda reminded me of the hot chick with the earrings. Although there was no mythical spirit attached to the earrings or bearing to have pretty people die. But to me there were parallels lol. Also loved the call back to the characters from the second book. I love when series have some continuity it makes the world they are set in seem more real.
May 24, 2023
Shelia Holland is a brain but considers herself to be an ugly duckling. She goes costume shopping for a Halloween outfit and finds an unusual mask. When she puts it on she becomes a real beauty, and finally attracts the attention of people, especially the guy she's had a crush on for ages. The mask has incredible powers but wearing it may have a downside.
Sheila was a horrible jealous girl who became even worse as she became beautiful. Only one of the characters in the book was likable, and he was a minor character. The plot could have been really good, but the whole thing was repetitive, and the characters terrible.
My daughter and I read this aloud together, but for both of us, this book was tedious, and we couldn't wait to finish it. I gave it a very low rating because it was such an irritating book.
Sheila was a horrible jealous girl who became even worse as she became beautiful. Only one of the characters in the book was likable, and he was a minor character. The plot could have been really good, but the whole thing was repetitive, and the characters terrible.
My daughter and I read this aloud together, but for both of us, this book was tedious, and we couldn't wait to finish it. I gave it a very low rating because it was such an irritating book.
November 2, 2022
This was a a fun easy read. A horror tale dealing with the stresses of being on the verge of adulthood. Had some genuinely scary parts. I loved the fact that some kids dressed up as Aliens and space Marines for Halloween.
July 24, 2018
The first book in the series that I read, but felt a more frightening vibe from the mask in this story, than the Haunted Mask episodes I watched from Goosebumps.
May 24, 2023
Ugh. Horrible. Just not well-written or interesting at all.
April 11, 2016
missing
Read
August 16, 2016I read the whole nightmare club series when I was a kid, but this book is the one that stands out to me when I think back on the series.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews