I Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas (2026)
Can't get enough ghosts, monsters and assorted Things That Go Thunk! in the night? Can't get enough stories of luckless teens who went into the eerie woods and never came out again? Can't get enough dark, dark whatevers who lived under your bed when you were a child?
Your search is over and your nightmares have all come true. Because author Emily Zinnikas has populated her book with a veritable rush hour traffic jam of supernatural entities........so many that you'd need a 4-way Stop Sign to keep them from crashing into each other.
Even better news......the story behind this creepy paranormal zoo is a grabber, too. Prolific, gifted and reclusive artist Willa hides away from her adolescent notoriety as the lone survivor of that horrific teens-in-the-woods massacre in her small town of Rapture. (Ironically named, since you can bet that nobody's headed for heaven in this disturbing burg....)
Even though that entire town reviles her as the true killer who escaped justice, Willa feels compelled to return to Rapture. She's gone back to mourn and to attend the funeral of her high school art teacher, always a beloved mentor and friend to her.. Back living in her old home, Willa's still a loathed pariah in town and she's also besieged and threatened by an unseen stalker, whose identity she thinks she well knows....... and whom she plans to turn the tables on.
But there's more than just bad memories and simmering hatreds coming to a boil in Rapture. There's Willa's so-called imaginary under-the-bed friend who might make a comeback......not to mention the horrifying unknowable things in the basement and whatever's lurking in those woods that needs to be fed on a regular basis.. And this spooky showdown promises more scary craziness than an up-all-night horror movie festival.....
My only quibble here comes from the book's last third, which drags out the story's Grand Finale through what feels like chapter after endless chapter. It runs the risk of becoming such an exhaustive marathon to endure that it borders on the ridiculous.. But then again, with all the monsters and who-knows-what coming out to play, there's plenty of undeniable tension, twists, suspense and the stuff of many future bad dreams.
You can snuggle up with this one, keep just the reading light on and have yourself one chilling private Halloween party.....or do that any dark stormy night of the year.......happy hauntings.....
Your search is over and your nightmares have all come true. Because author Emily Zinnikas has populated her book with a veritable rush hour traffic jam of supernatural entities........so many that you'd need a 4-way Stop Sign to keep them from crashing into each other.
Even better news......the story behind this creepy paranormal zoo is a grabber, too. Prolific, gifted and reclusive artist Willa hides away from her adolescent notoriety as the lone survivor of that horrific teens-in-the-woods massacre in her small town of Rapture. (Ironically named, since you can bet that nobody's headed for heaven in this disturbing burg....)
Even though that entire town reviles her as the true killer who escaped justice, Willa feels compelled to return to Rapture. She's gone back to mourn and to attend the funeral of her high school art teacher, always a beloved mentor and friend to her.. Back living in her old home, Willa's still a loathed pariah in town and she's also besieged and threatened by an unseen stalker, whose identity she thinks she well knows....... and whom she plans to turn the tables on.
But there's more than just bad memories and simmering hatreds coming to a boil in Rapture. There's Willa's so-called imaginary under-the-bed friend who might make a comeback......not to mention the horrifying unknowable things in the basement and whatever's lurking in those woods that needs to be fed on a regular basis.. And this spooky showdown promises more scary craziness than an up-all-night horror movie festival.....
My only quibble here comes from the book's last third, which drags out the story's Grand Finale through what feels like chapter after endless chapter. It runs the risk of becoming such an exhaustive marathon to endure that it borders on the ridiculous.. But then again, with all the monsters and who-knows-what coming out to play, there's plenty of undeniable tension, twists, suspense and the stuff of many future bad dreams.
You can snuggle up with this one, keep just the reading light on and have yourself one chilling private Halloween party.....or do that any dark stormy night of the year.......happy hauntings.....
4 stars (****).
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