Oh, you didn’t want that in your head? Too bad. If I suffer, we all suffer. And this was the best scene from season three.
I picked up The Haunted because I was craving a good ghostly YA murder mystery. The Haunted’s Poltergeist-y vibe made for a thrilling poolside read. I know, poolside seems like an odd spot for a scary novel but I wasn’t about to scare myself awake by reading it at night. This YA mystery has it all: a triple murder, a vanished girl, a suicide, a creepy doll, an angsty brooding hot outsider and some messed up poltergeists.
More About The Haunted
The Haunted follows Hendricks who moves to the small town of Drearford, New York in the middle of her junior year. Her parents found the perfect fixer-upper to move into before they flip it. But everyone in Hendricks’ family knows it was the perfect excuse to pull Hendricks away from the drama of her old school and start over.
Unfortunately, this house has a terrible past. It was the site of a little girl’s murder and where the accused murderer, the girl’s older brother, committed suicide. When weird things start to happen at the house, Hendricks finds the hot outcast loner (think Christian Slater from Heathers) to help purge the troubled ghosts.
Why I Enjoyed The Haunted
It was just the right amount of scary. The ghosts are definitely freaky and Danielle Vega does a great job crafting a solid murder mystery mixed with freak me out horror. It has all the classic elements of a great YA scary movie. There’s some definite creep out moments in this book but nothing to keep me biting my nails.
Hendricks tries everything to appease the vengeful ghosts. I had no idea all the different home remedies people use to de-ghost (official term) their houses. But in the process, Hendricks learns more about herself and how to heal from personal trauma. The best line in the book was on page 167:
“I always figured it meant that we let the bad things that’ve happened to us have too much power. If we could just figure out how to move on, we wouldn’t be haunted anymore.”—Eddie
Solid life advice from a scary YA ghost story. If only fighting personal demons were that easy. Everyone has personal demons, Hendricks’ demons were just a bit more literal than others. It was fully entertaining reading her battle them.
The story is just fun. If you love a good ghost story in the camp of any teenage horror movie, then The Haunted is for you. It is the cliche teenage horror story in all the best ways. It made for a perfect summer read.
Now obviously this book is not for everyone. If you don’t like YA, this will be too campy. This is not Stephen King. But if you are looking for a great ghost story to read before you go see Scary Stories, you should read this book. Buy it on Amazon now.
Watch Danielle Vega talk real ghost stories:
