ABANDONED. Guy Breaks Into Houses Just For The Thrill of It

[Karen]

I'm looking for a YA or possibly children's horror anthology I read in the mid to late 90s. The only story I remember is about a young man who breaks into houses because he enjoys it but doesn't steal anything. I think he may have had friends who are actual burglars. The story was definitely written in the first person and I don't remember exactly what happened to him but I think there's a paranormal entity that scares him away. I'm not sure when it was published but it was a library book so I guess it wasn't too old.

[Cheryl]

Good information/ clear request. Wish I knew it for you.
Do bump this thread every month or two - someday somebody will see it and know the book.

[Karen]

Bump

[Karen]

Bump

[Karen]

Bump?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

You've had a lot of people look at this Karen--just, unfortunately, no one has recognized it yet.

I'm not a horror reader. Well, I will read it sometimes, but it's not my fav, so I can't help with this book.

When I first saw your post I'd thought it might be The PMS Outlaws, since one of the characters in it does this. (He also then defecates in the living room, but since he's in a mental hospital, that's probably not important.) But this is a mystery and not a YA one at that.

[Feliks]

That's actually the plot from a movie; same timeframe as you're seeking. Do a keyword search on IMDb.

The pseudo-burglar acquires a 'hanger-on'; a weird guy who hero-worships him and starts following him around on his break-ins; for the voyueristic thrill of it. One night the burglar breaks in to a home where the homeowner is ready and waiting with a shotgun; and in some complicated tangle of events the 'follower' winds up helping kill his hero; rather than get nabbed himself.

[Feliks]

Update: the movie is 'Following' dir. by Christopher Nolan.

[Karen]

@Ana aka Iftkan. It's possible that I read an extract from it in one of my mom's books and got it muddled up with the kids ones I got from the library. I'll check it out and see.

[Karen]

I'll see if there was a novelization of Following, too.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Karen, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Sophie]

This happened in one of the issues of The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes, if it could possibly be a comic.

[Rachel]

We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier has a group of teenagers who break into houses. They don't steal, but they do vandalise the houses by smashing things etc. It's not supernatural, but there is a horror element; there's a "bad guy" character who calls himself The Avenger and his chapters are in the first person.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

No response from Karen. Moving to Abandoned.