''Deadtime Stories'' is a series of children's
horror fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...
novels created by authors
Annette Cascone and
Gina Cascone writing under the name AG Cascone.
Synopsis
''Deadtime Stories'' is a children's horror fiction series in the same vein as its rival series, ''
Goosebumps
''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually i ...
''. Subjects vary from hauntings to monsters and other supernatural or paranormal happenings that normal school-aged children experience and who may be directly or indirectly involved in them. The books are published by Tor/Starscape and the
Scholastic Corporation
Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...
. The
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
based on the book series was created by the Hillenbrand brothers, David and Scott, and the Cascone sisters, Annette and Gina, and launched on
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
on November 2, 2012, and on
CiTV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
in the U.K. on October 31, 2013.
''Deadtime Stories'' series
#''Terror in Tiny Town'' (1996, 2013): Train loving Willy Tyler discovers the horrifying truth about the latest addition to his model Tiny Town, Hurly the
Hobo
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works.
E ...
.
#''Invasion of the Appleheads'' (1996, 2013): Robin and Andy's trip through a tourist trap known for its apple orchard turns into a nightmare when their parents are mutated into dried apple dolls by an evil
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
.
#''Along Came a Spider'' (1996, 2013): Max and Mikey find a science kit filled with insects, one of which is a mutant
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
.
#''Ghost Knight'' (1996, 2013): While at his grandfather's retirement home, Cody discovers an abandoned building haunted by a
princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
whose parents were killed by a black
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
.
#''Revenge of the Goblins'' (1996, 2013): After unintentionally stealing a green ball they found in the woods, Nina Russo and her friend Sammy accidentally open the door to a realm of
goblin
A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...
s.
#''Little Magic Shop of Horrors'' (1996, 2013): Peter and Bo sign up for the school's talent show and buy a magic kit from a strange corner store that included a box that causes Bo to lose his head.
#''It Came from the Deep'' (1997): Randi and Garret's vacation is cut short when they learn that the resort they're staying at is run by sea mutants.
#''Grave Secrets'' (1997, 2012): Amanda learns that her old mean neighbor has angered a
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
of a young girl who will not rest until she has her doll returned—which is in Amanda's backyard.
#''Mirror, Mirror'' (1997, retitled as "The Witching Game" in 2012 and 2013): Lindsey Jordan and Bree Daniels play "Mary Weatherworth" (a "
Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary originally referred to:
* Mary I of England (1516–1558), Queen of England and Ireland, so called because of her persecution of Protestants
Bloody Mary may also refer to:
Film
* '' Urban Legends: Bloody Mary'', a 2005 horror fi ...
"-style spirit summoning game) on a mirror haunted by a witch who makes all of their wishes come true—at a horrifying price.
#''Grandpa's Monster Movies'' (1997, 2012): Catan "C.T." Thomas and his cousin, Lea Rose attend their family reunion at their grandparent's farm and learn a particularly disturbing secret about their family after watching some home movies.
#''Nightmare on Planet X'' (1997): A freak accident knocks an airplane out of the sky and a boy named Nicky (who was on that flight) finds himself on an
alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
spaceship about to be dissected.
#''Welcome to the Terror-Go-Round'' (1997): Nothing much happens in Middletown until a strange carnival rolls into town and Alex and Joey take a ride on a
merry-go-round
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
that spins them back in time.
#''The Beast of Baskerville'' (1997, 2012): A camping trip goes downhill fast when Adam Riley and their friends are being hunted by the local man-
monster
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
, Jimmy Leeds, who lives in a well.
#''Trapped in Tiny Town'' (1997): Sequel to ''Terror in Tiny Town'', Willy and his friends are sent back to Tiny Town, and must avoid Hurly the Hobo at ALL costs.
#''Cyber Scare'' (1997): When Roy and Danny's obnoxious cousin Ernest responds to a suspicious e-mail from someone called Vlad, he is swept into a
computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
game which Roy and Danny must win, not only to get Ernest out, but to keep from getting trapped themselves.
#''Night of the Pet Zombies'' (1997): Two boys, David and Eddie use a potion to bring
dead pets back from the grave, only to learn what happens when one tampers with life and death...
#''Faerie Tale'' (1997): Colin and David acquire the ability to see
fairies
A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...
, but the blessing becomes a curse when the fae begin pestering humans.
Similarity to ''Goosebumps''
This series is similar in style and tone to the very popular Goosebumps series. Other children's horror series from the 1990s include ''
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' is a horror anthology television series. The original series aired on Nickelodeon from 1992 to 1996; the pilot episode aired respectively on YTV and Nickelodeon in 1990 and 1991. It led to two revival series, w ...
'', ''
Bone Chillers
''Bone Chillers'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels and a TV show created and authored by Betsy Haynes.
Synopsis
Four freshmen at Edgar Allan Poe High School not only have to deal with the normal pressures of competing with the co ...
'', ''
Shivers'', ''
Graveyard School
The "Graveyard Poets", also termed "Churchyard Poets", were a number of pre-Romantic poets of the 18th century characterised by their gloomy meditations on mortality, "skulls and coffins, epitaphs and worms" elicited by the presence of the gravey ...
'', ''
Spinetinglers
''Spinetinglers'' is a series of 30 standalone middle-grade horror novels, written by multiple authors and published under the pseudonym, M.T. Coffin. It was one of the many series of scary books for middle-grade children released in the 1990s, fo ...
'', ''
Spooksville
''Spooksville'' is a series of 24 children's horror fiction books by American writer Christopher Pike. All 24 books were first published between 1995 and 1998. The series is set in a remote town in the USA and revolves around the lives of five o ...
'' and ''
Shadow Zone
A seismic shadow zone is an area of the Earth's surface where seismographs cannot detect direct P waves and/or S waves from an earthquake. This is due to liquid layers or structures within the Earth's surface. The most recognized shadow zone is ...
''.
References
External links
*
AG CasconeMantoothFilms
{{Portal , Children's literature
American children's novels
Series of children's books
Scholastic franchises
American horror novels
Horror novel series
Book series introduced in 1996