Books › Goosebumps Horrorland - Slappy New Year!
Goosebumps Horrorland - Slappy New Year!
160 pages
A fast-paced, funhouse-mirror ride of sibling pranks and uncanny paranoia where you're never quite sure who is pulling the strings.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like walking through a carnival funhouse with a flashlight—you know the scares are manufactured, but your heart still races when something jumps out of the shadows. The pacing is relentlessly brisk, built on a foundation of punchy sentences and signature cliffhanger chapter endings that make it impossible not to read just one more. It captures that specific childhood anxiety of being blamed for something you didn't do, amplified by the deeply unsettling presence of a ventriloquist dummy that seems to have a mind of its own. The mood balances mischievous sibling rivalry with a creeping, uncanny dread. It is a perfect, bite-sized thrill ride for young readers discovering horror, or anyone craving a nostalgic, popcorn-spooky atmosphere where the monsters are just scary enough to give you a shiver before bed.
- Mood
- creepy
- funhouse-spooky
- tense
- nostalgic
- Tone
- playful
- suspenseful
- mischievous
- sinister
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- sibling rivalry · fear of the unknown · the uncanny valley · pranks gone wrong · loss of control
- The writing
- Punchy, accessible, and heavily reliant on dialogue and cliffhanger chapter endings to keep the pages turning.
- The arc
- Starts with mischievous sibling teasing and escalates into genuine, frantic paranoia as the supernatural threat becomes undeniable.
- Who it's for
- Middle-grade readers who love a safe scare and adults seeking a quick hit of nostalgic, spooky fun.
Content notes
- creepy dolls
- sibling teasing
- mild jump scares
- gaslighting
About the book
"Did You Think Slappy Here Was Talking?"
Ray Gordon loves to scare his younger brother, Brandon. It's not hard considering Brandon is terrified of everything—loud noises, roller coasters, and especially the wooden dummy, Slappy, that Ray got from Jonathan Chiller's HorrorLand gift shop.
In order to throw his big New Year's Eve party, Ray's parents make him promise to leave Brandon alone. But strange, mean-spirited things keep happening to his little brother, and Slappy always seems to be around for it. Could those words Ray read out loud actually have brought the dummy to life?
Description from Open Library.
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