San Souci follows up Dare to Be Scared (2003) with 13 more eerie tales, original but laced with tried and true locales, motifs, and dreadful fates. He leaves his monsters a bit vague around the edges, so that readers can fill in details: after a scary “Campfire Tale,” young Michael hears a twig snap right behind him; a spidery cloud of “Grey” turns out to be a mind-bending alien; a sinister pair of “Mountain Childers” always talk with their mouths closed; an old carpet in an abandoned house suddenly turns into a tongue. Victims are mostly third- to fifth-graders, and the author tones down explicit gore to the occasional rolling head or shoe with a foot still inside. Still, enhanced by Ouimet’s macabre tableaux (finished art not seen), these tales rate high in chill factor for any age. Warmly recommended for solitary, late-night, under-the-covers reading. Bwaa-ha-ha. (Short stories. 10-12)
