Spooksville
Encyclopedia
Spooksville is a series of 24 children's
horror fiction
books by American writer Christopher Pike
. The series is set in a remote town in the USA and revolves around the lives of five of its young inhabitants. Although intended for a younger audience than his adult and young-adult fiction, they contain some violence and may be considered unsuitable for younger children.
and interstellar travel, time travel
, the fictional histories of the lost continents of Mu
/Lemuria
and Atlantis
, magic
, as well as a variety of other supernatural forces and entities. The group is caught between exploring the town and escaping trouble and saving the town from the forces of darkness. Although the books are chronological they differ in their relevance to previous stories, there are recurring characters out with the group, as well as recurring places and themes, and the books are not intended as stand alone; however, they may feasibly be read in a different order than below.
Other characters appear frequently, two most notably: the town witch, Ann Templeton, of whom the main characters have differing opinions; and Bum, the friendly and knowledgeable homeless ex-mayor of Spooksville. Both Ann Templeton and Bum help the main characters, usually in the form of information, but sometimes taking a more active role in helping defend the town.
George Sanders and Tira Jones are also friends of the main group, but only participate in a few adventures, and are not focused on. Mr. Patton, the owner of Spooksville's army surplus store, appears in a few stories, arming and assisting the group with weapons and explosives. In almost every novella, the group befriends some sort of person or creature who they either assist, or who assists them through the course of the story.
As published in Great Britain
by Hodder Children's Books
and in the USA by Pocket Books
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
books by American writer Christopher Pike
Christopher Pike (author)
Christopher Pike is the pseudonym of American author Kevin Christopher McFadden . He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction, but whose expertise is in the thriller genre. The pseudonym Christopher Pike is allegedly a reference to the captain of the USS Enterprise in the Star...
. The series is set in a remote town in the USA and revolves around the lives of five of its young inhabitants. Although intended for a younger audience than his adult and young-adult fiction, they contain some violence and may be considered unsuitable for younger children.
Plot
The Spooksville novellas center around a group of friends in their bizarre home town that is host to a wide array of supernatural and unexplained occurrences. The plots of the books often revolve around inter-dimensional travel, extraterrestrial lifeExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
and interstellar travel, time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
, the fictional histories of the lost continents of Mu
Mu
- Language :* Mu , Μ or μ, a letter in the Greek alphabet* Mu , represented by the Japanese kana む or ム* 無, Mu , a Japanese and Korean word important in Zen practice...
/Lemuria
Lemuria
Lemuria may refer to:*Lemuria , in Roman religion, a feast during which the unwholesome and malevolent spectres of the restless dead were propitiated...
and Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
, as well as a variety of other supernatural forces and entities. The group is caught between exploring the town and escaping trouble and saving the town from the forces of darkness. Although the books are chronological they differ in their relevance to previous stories, there are recurring characters out with the group, as well as recurring places and themes, and the books are not intended as stand alone; however, they may feasibly be read in a different order than below.
Characters
The main characters throughout the series are five young friends: Adam Freeman, the leader; Watch, the brains; and Sara "Sally" Wilcox, the realist, are the only characters to appear in all 24 novels. Cindy Makey appears in the second novella and remains for the rest of the series. As the series progresses the character Bryce Poole is involved more and more and eventually the five young friends become a solid group.Other characters appear frequently, two most notably: the town witch, Ann Templeton, of whom the main characters have differing opinions; and Bum, the friendly and knowledgeable homeless ex-mayor of Spooksville. Both Ann Templeton and Bum help the main characters, usually in the form of information, but sometimes taking a more active role in helping defend the town.
George Sanders and Tira Jones are also friends of the main group, but only participate in a few adventures, and are not focused on. Mr. Patton, the owner of Spooksville's army surplus store, appears in a few stories, arming and assisting the group with weapons and explosives. In almost every novella, the group befriends some sort of person or creature who they either assist, or who assists them through the course of the story.
Works/Publications
- The Secret Path
- The Howling Ghost
- The Haunted Cave
- Aliens in the Sky
- The Cold People
- The Witch's Revenge
- The Dark Corner
- The Little People
- The Wishing Stone
- The Wicked Cat
- The Deadly Past
- The Hidden Beast
- Creature in the Teacher (published as Alien Invasion in the UK).
- The Evil House
- Invasion of the No Ones
- Time Terror
- The Thing in the Closet
- Attack of the Killer Crabs
- Night of the Vampire
- The Dangerous Quest
- The Living Dead
- The Creepy Creature
- Phone Fear
- The Witch's Gift
As published in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
by Hodder Children's Books
Hodder Headline
Headline Publishing Group is a British publishing company. It was founded in 1986 by Tim Hely Hutchinson, and acquired Hodder & Stoughton in 1992 to form Hodder Headline. It was acquired by Hachette Livre, from the WHSmith Group PLC, in 2005....
and in the USA by Pocket Books
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...