NIGHT TERROR

In this stand-alone follow-up to Dead Fake (2026) that is set in 1987, nearly 40 years before the series opener, Noah and his classmates fight to uncover the truth about their town’s cursed past.

The mayor of Bleak Haven holds regular nights of remembrance for those who have been killed in the town. This latest event also celebrates the nearly 15 murder-free years since the Lullaby Man kidnapped and killed five local babies. He would have claimed six, but Grace’s father caught him standing over her crib. The constant reminders of these crimes cast a pall of fear over the population, and some residents feel it’s time to move on. When the mall bookstore Noah works in becomes the target of a search by armed people wearing balaclavas and seeking the Burning Book, the alleged source of the town’s curse, he learns what really lies behind Bleak Haven’s ghost stories. Aside from using the same town setting and lore, this entry departs dramatically from the first, technology-centered volume, leaning fully into supernatural horror. Ralph explores the different ways people process fear and grief, especially as teens, and delves into the town’s history, examining how some distort the truth to fit their ideals. First-person narrator Noah’s inner monologue offers readers glimpses into his vulnerability and anxiety, building the story’s tension, before everything wraps up in a slightly too tidy ending. Most characters read white, apart from Grace and her family, who are cued Latine.

Fast-paced, claustrophobic small-town horror.