Review Detail

When night falls and the moon shines brightly, creatures emerge to stalk their prey. Heather Beck presents Creatures Of The Night, an anthology of fangs, claws and jaws. Caution: Animals Will Bite!

The opening description for Heather Beck’s third installment in the popular Horror Diaries series sums up nicely what readers can expect from this anthology. There will be werewolves, vampires, mutant eels as well as evil pumpkins and loons. No two stories are alike and every story is fully engaging. To start, there is Werewolf Hunting. It’s about a hunting lodge that’s experiencing paranormal activity. The lodge owner, Bill, thinks a werewolf is responsible, but something else in the woods is to blame! Werewolf Hunting is a creative new take on the popular werewolf genre that was very fun to read. Next is Eyes Of Red. It’s about a mysterious new boy, Jeff, who instantly captures Lisa’s attention. I thought this would be another vampire love story but I was pleasantly surprised to find the story was more about discovering Jeff’s secret and defeating the vampires (yes, there’s more than one!) than actual romance. Eyes Of Red is a creepy, unexpected tale about vampires. Night Of The Eel is about a family that goes to Scotland to compete in an eel catching contest. When the dad discovers a mutant eel, all chaos breaks out! Night Of The Eel is a cool sci-fi type story with an unexpected twist. In The Pumpkin Patch, evil pumpkins grow in Scott’s backyard and it all started with a creepy pumpkin they bought at a small store last year. I loved this story! It was a very unique idea that was well written. You’ll fall in love with the characters. The last story is Call Of The Loon. Lorelei goes to camp to find it more than just a little strange. All the campers, the staff, the games they play and the silly rules are very weird. When she uncovers the startling truth, she learns she’ll be staying at Camp Loon for longer than she expected! This was my favorite story from the collection because it was so creepy and unusual! That’s definitely the best words to describe it. Overall, Creatures Of The Night is a perfect anthology for middle grade readers who love a good scare. All the stories are told in a gripping manner that will keep you wondering what will happen next. The plots are novel, the characters likable and the writing superb.