Key Selling Points

• A series of freaky, terrifying and funny-scary stories in the vein of Tales from the Crypt, R.L. Stine and Stranger Things, with an overarching story about a horror author who steals his fans' nightmares for his books
• The central story deals with disillusionment with one's heroes, as Tanya slowly realizes her favorite author is not only a fake but is unleashing his evil ink on unsuspecting fans; other stories take on life during the pandemic (but never name it specifically), the body-horror of growing up (when a kid loses his "baby eye") and the omnipresence of duct-cleaning companies, among other topics
• Selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and a nominee for the BC Young Readers' Choice Awards in the Red Cedar category and the Forest of Reading Red Maple Award.
• Jeff Szpirglas is a seasoned middle-grade horror writer who is also a teacher, so he has a solid grasp of what kids of this age are going through and what grabs their imaginations.
• Features delightfully dark and chilling illustrations from illustrator Stephen P. Hughes.

Tanya is a huge fan of horror author Joel Southland...AND he's coming to visit her school!

Even though she is his biggest fan, she barely gets a chance to say hello. But he does give her a signed bookmark: For Tanya. Stay Scared! Reading later that night, she figures it's just her eyes playing tricks on her when she sees the ink on the bookmark move a little. But when the ink slithers toward her, it's too late...

As Tanya tries to get to the bottom of Southland's nefarious schemes, the book is broken up by nine other creepy tales, including one about middle-school horror movie fans who track down the scariest horror movie of all time, another about a kid whose "baby eye" is beginning to fall out, and yet another about a vampire suffering due to a virus that is keeping people indoors. A mix of squirmy, funny and downright terrifying, these tales will leave readers thinking twice about the things that go bump in the night.

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.