Barde Press is thrilled to bring you FRIGHTLAND, a middle-grade horror series inspired by the classic books we grew up on like Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. These short, chilling novels are aimed squarely at ten-year-old readers, but adults who put in midnight hours of flashlight-under-the-covers reading will love them just as much.
The first book in the series, The Wildman of Shaggy Creek even features cover art from Tim Jacobus himself, the original 1990’s cover artist for the Goosebumps series, and interior art from king of creepy David Romero. It follows twelve-year-old Scott, whose house backs up to the woods where something huge and hairy is lurking. Will he and his new friend Hailey make it through a night in the woods?
The series only gets creepier (and more fun) from there. Why I Won’t Sleep in Feather Beds gives you the willies by imagining what is incubating inside an old mattress in the attic of a farmhouse. Book Three, The Bones at the Bottom of the Lake delivers classic chills via a kid pulling grisly remains from the water on his fishing hook. And Donut Shop of Doom has a seriously strange baker luring an entire town into his other-worldly fryer by tempting them with irresistible but very unhealthy treats.
Each book in the planned 12 book FRIGHTLAND series is self-contained, but the stories also exist in a shared universe with easter-eggs and small details that tie the stories together. The author is already planning a special 13th novel to join the characters up for a grand finale.
Speaking of the author, R.H. Grimly (@RH_Grimly) says he has one goal with this series: to get kids excited to read, and scare them silly while doing it. “I have terrifying memories of being the last kid in the basement, and having to turn out the lights and run for my life to the stairs,” he says. “I think books like Goosebumps helped me cope, while hiding their secret agenda (which I now share) of fueling a kid’s love for reading.”
Sound fun? Head over to Kickstarter now and grab some FRIGHTLAND paperbacks or ebooks for the young readers in your life (hopefully that includes you!).
