Scared, but still reading! The Curious Case for Horror in KidLit
Review: Two horror fiction books that are guaranteed to raise readers
Hello, Kindred Spirits in Storyland!
So many wonderful books have recently made it to my desk that I am quite spoilt for choice.
Horror, as a genre, is rarely seen in Indian children’s literature, and I have always wondered why we are so afraid of scaring our young readers. Growing up, I remember gravitating towards the RL Stine and Goosebumps series (remember those?) and reading them under covers on dark, rainy days, too scared after that to even go to the bathroom! But I devoured those books and discussed them endlessly with friends.
Read my musings in Scroll.in on why it is so important for young readers to read books from the horror fiction genre.
So imagine my surprise when I found two horror books for kids released in the same month on my desk! I dove right into them, and here is why you need these for your young reader.
A Home To Haunt
Author: Sudeshna Shome Ghosh
Illustrator: Pankaj Saikia
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Imagine being 8.5 years old and school has just closed for summer break. You have a long break ahead of you, and the world is literally your oyster! You have an exciting holiday planned at your grandparents’ house with your cousins — lots of staying up late, endless games of hide and seek, and of course, no studying. The icing on the cake? Your mother isn’t travelling with you, but has entrusted you to the care of her brother, your Mama, to take you to Jalpaiguri. This is how Poltu’s summer break looks, and he simply cannot wait to get it all started.
But like the best laid plans of mice and men, Poltu arrives at the station to find his train is running late and his Mama is acting strange. What follows is a crazy set of events involving foreshadowing Gems packets, a train full of ‘homeless’ ghosts, and being entrusted with a special task to find homes around Kolkata for a motley crew of ghosts, immediately!
Sudeshna Shome Ghosh brings a completely unexpected story to the table, filled with multiple twists and turns that will have you turning the page to know what happens next. The book, aimed at emerging readers, is the kind that gently nudges you into the horror genre, but is gentle enough not to give you the heebie-jeebies. Sure, there are ghosts, but they also love eating Gems, salivate for Kolkata street food, and love playing a different form of cricket — just like one of us!
A Home to Haunt is a spooky book, but it is also packed with humour that young readers can relate to. Ghosh writes about situations children often find uncomfortable, like the right way (and language!) to address a taxi driver or how to strike up a conversation with someone older than them, making it relatable for young readers even though the book is about spending a night with homeless ghosts! She also modernises the story and roots it in the present by talking about why these ghosts suddenly find themselves homeless. Rapid urbanisation of rural areas and loss of ‘regular haunts’ have left these ghosts with no homes, forcing them to relocate to cities to carve out a small space for themselves.
I also enjoyed the quirky illustrations by Pankaj Saikia, which help the reader imagine the scenario in front of Poltu. How else could you conjure up an image of the headless leader of homeless ghosts, a driverless taxi, or a large group of old English ghosts left behind after independence? Saikia brings his trademark charm to the illustrations, and I would have loved to see them in full colour!
Kolkata, its old-world charm and eccentricities, becomes a character in this book, showcasing the author’s love for the city and resonating with Kolkataphiles and Bengalis everywhere.
I love this book and highly recommend it for emerging readers because it is such a great way to introduce young readers to the horror/spooky books genre without scaring them away and ensuring they finish reading the book. If that doesn’t help you raise a reader, I don’t know what else will.
Joyrides: Carnival of Creeps
Author: Neil D’Silva
Publisher: Puffin Books: Penguin Random House India
One of the most prolific writers in the horror fiction genre in India is back with his new book, Joyrides. Not going to lie, I was truly spooked by his previous book, Playthings: Toys of Terror. On a visit to my childhood home after reading that book, I couldn’t look at my stuffed toys the same way again! So, you can imagine my excitement when I picked up Joyrides.
This is the second book in the Fearless Four series, and it takes Riz, Tiana, Palash, and Anvita to Funmania, an amusement park on Bongo Island, well known for its giant rollercoaster, Big Loopy. They look forward to a few days of amusement park fun with friends, but the last thing they are expecting is strange wailing cries in the middle of the night, followed by a dark scratch mark appearing on one of their friends’ faces. A ride on Big Loopy the next morning brings more doom as the child with a mark on his face suddenly disappears.. He is believed to have been thrown off Big Loopy. This sets into motion a chain of events that will change the way the Fearless Four perceive Bongo Island and its mysterious inhabitants.
Neil D’Silva weaves a story that is a complicated web of island folklore, mystical tribal culture, with a generous dose of whimsy and spookiness. You will flinch as you imagine the wailing witch charging at you, or shudder when you find yourself face to face with a member of the ancient tribe. This fast-paced, thrilling story is exactly what will get the curious reader to turn the page and find out what happens to the missing boy.
Silva gives each one of the Fearless Four distinct characters and makes them memorable. You will find yourself cheering them on and eagerly looking forward to their deductions. We have all eagerly awaited trips to amusement parks, but we rarely spare a thought for what has made way for a huge park to come in its place. This story will make you look at these spaces differently as you wonder whether it has been worth the urbanisation. This could also help you have a conversation about the displacement of indigenous people from an area that is claimed for urban centres.
This book is spooky right from the cover, and every twist and turn in the book adds to the fun of reading it. You will feel your pulse race and your heart beat faster as you go deeper and deeper into the book. Your child will read this book with all the lights on, but therein lies the fun. This horror book is so gripping, they won’t stop till they finish it and when they do, they will be thirsty for more.
I hope you enjoyed reading this newsletter. I know I had fun putting it together for you! If you like what you read, please consider sharing it with a friend who will benefit. Help a parent raise a reader and tell them about Mother of Readers. You will be blessed with good book karma for life! Love listening to authors talk about their latest book and the inspiration behind it? Listen to Tell Me A Story, a podcast that showcases some of the most well-known names from the Indian children’s literature world! Want to get a glimpse into bits and bobs of my life? Follow along on Instagram.
See you soon!
Rati Girish