The Tale of the Gravemother (Are You Afraid of the Dark #1)

by Rin Chupeco

Overview

From master horror writer Rin Chupeco comes the nightmarish first novel in an all-new middle-grade horror series inspired by Nickelodeon’s hit TV classic, Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Everyone in Southridge knows about the legend of the Gravemother. They know how to leave offerings by the abandoned house she was supposedly murdered in to pacify her. They know better than to trespass on her property. But not everyone believes in the tale—especially not 14-year-old Rhett, who lives around the corner from the old mansion.

Then it’s announced that the Gravemother’s place is one of several to be demolished to give way for new townhouses. When disaster strikes the construction site and strange sightings of a woman in white begin haunting the neighbors, Rhett must figure out how to put the ghost permanently to rest before it’s too late.

Perfect for fans of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, these terror-inducing tales—told by members of an all-new Midnight Society—are sure to keep readers up at night.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419763496
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	06/27/2023
Series:	Are You Afraid of the Dark? , #1
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.95(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Rin Chupeco is a nonbinary Chinese Filipino writer born and raised in the Philippines. In addition to The Tale of the Gravemother, they are best known for their YA series, including The Bone Witch, The Girl from the Well, The Never Tilting World, and Wicked as You Wish. Formerly a graphic designer and technical writer, they now write fiction full-time and live with their partner and two children in Manila.

Editorial Reviews

"A campfire tale with a memorably macabre ghost. Chupeco assembles a new Midnight Society to gather around the campfire for this tie-in to the TV series Are You Afraid of the Dark? and cleverly fashions a spooky yarn with themes that apply directly to the frame story."

Kirkus

"A campfire tale with a memorably macabre ghost. Chupeco assembles a new Midnight Society to gather around the campfire for this tie-in to the TV series Are You Afraid of the Dark? and cleverly fashions a spooky yarn with themes that apply directly to the frame story."—Kirkus

From the Publisher

2023-04-24
A campfire tale with a memorably macabre ghost.

Chupeco assembles a new Midnight Society to gather around the campfire for this tie-in to the TV series Are You Afraid of the Dark? and cleverly fashions a spooky yarn with themes that apply directly to the frame story. Levi, the new kid in middle school, gets a hostile reception from rival Blake, who’s trying out for the same position on the basketball team. Levi auditions to join the society with a story about Zane and Garrett, two like rivals who, after repeated visitations from the locally famous ghost of a woman with no lower jaw, find themselves allied in uncovering a 200-year-old mystery involving three vanished and presumably murdered orphaned children. Along with plenty of weird noises, creepy manifestations, and old books and bones unexpectedly revealed, the author adds extra measures of grossness by casting Garrett as the child of undertakers whom Zane watches carrying out their explicitly described work. (They also truck in Mr. Vink, an enigmatic recurring character on the show, for a guest appearance.) Nonetheless, come an end to the lurid dreams and screams, the ghost turns out to be benevolent for all her appearance, and like Zane and Garrett, Levi and Blake wind up on the road to friendship, differences resolved. One society member is nonbinary; Garrett’s dad is cued Filipino, and other cast members are minimally described.

Eerie and icky but benign both in specter and theme. (Paranormal. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews