Customer Reviews

Horowitz Horror: Stories You'll Wish You Never Read

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The back cover promises that "Horowitz Horror is a wicked collection of macabre tales sure to send shivers up your spine" and for the most part this is quite true. This particular book was originally published in 1999 in Great Brittan, so all the tales are set there and have a decidedly English feel to them. This lends an additional kind of creep to the tales, as one gets a very genteel and proper feel from the language, but the stories are anything but genteel and proper!

In Horrowitz Horror, we are treated to nine twisted tales...each is brief (good for read aloud if you are so inclined) and the entire book is short enough to read in one sitting...though I suspect this is best read one tale at a time on chilly autumn and winter nights...curled up in bed with a good cup of tea! The stories include a rather nasty haunted bath tub (who would have thought...lol); the perfect birthday gift that has rather dastardly effects; a computer haunted by a sports writer; a spoiled brat who gets exactly what she deserves, in a rather grisly tale that I think all parents of spoiled rotten brats might be tempted by; an unruly teen who discovers exactly what happens when you go off the beaten path; a computer game so real it's deadly; a rather sad photo premonition; and the tale of the monkey's ear (similar to the monkey's paw, but more messed up)!

I most liked Bath Night, Harriet's Horrible Dream and The Monkey's Ear and least liked Scared and The Man with the Yellow Face...but I will say this, all of them were suitably macabre and twisted!! I don't know that I'd personally read this to children in the age range listed above (4-8), the tales are a little gruesome...I think I'd shoot for 8-12 myself, depending on your child of course. Due to the subtlety of some of the stories, they'd probably be best appreciated by the 10-12 year old age range. I give it a B+, the stories were all well done, but none were truly outstanding...and while some of the kids here got what they deserved, others were just kind of sad and depressing. Overall, if you like horror stories, you won't be disappointed to have spent some time one this!

Our 8-year-old son bought this at his primary school book fair. We're putting it on a back shelf until he's a teenager. The first two stories alone include casual sexist and anti-gay references, group suicide and a naked girl being hauled off to a mental institute as her father plans to buy an axe and kill her mother. All good fun of course but NOT appropriate for younger kids.

My 10 year old son initially loved the book and enthusiastically wrote up a great book review for class. However, he has been afraid to go into his bedroom and bathroom alone since reading this book. If your child has never encountered this genre before, think about previewing the contents first. The book is true to its title!

Horowitz Horror was first published in 1999 and contains nine short stories where the protagonist is predominantly a younger person, as such is seems to be written for a preadult audience.

The nine stories:
-When it's Bath Night Isabel has to deal with a rather hostile, old Victorian bath.
-Do not by that Killer Camera, because is has a certain influence on the subjects it photographs.
-The future is no secret anymore in Light Moves, but Ethan Sly should get worried when other people notice his good luck.
-You never know where The Night Bus will stop.
-Luckily Harriet's Horrible Dream is only a dream, not?
-A school bully gets Scared while walking through the countryside.
-How doesn't want A Career in Computer Games, but be aware it might be a job for life.
-The Man with the Yellow Face haunts a sinister photo booth, but is he trying to tell something?
-The Monkey's Ear is pure rubbish, it even can't get its spells right.

When Anthony Horowitz enters the world of creepy short stories, be warned that he will behave himself like a child in a candy store. It becomes very clear that his prefered habitat is the world of mystery and the supernatural, but the humour is never really far away. The nine easily digestible stories collected in this book are each little gems of guilty pleasure. It's not surprising that the stinger always comes at the end, because if Horowitz knows one thing, it's certainly the technique to plot a good suspense story. The mix of stories is so diverse that it is quite impossible to select your favourite. But rest assured, you will chuckle more than once. A must read for those horror buffs that are still young at heart.