The Gathering (Shadow House, Book 1)

by Dan Poblocki

Overview

FORMAT: 5 CDs, Unabriged

Some houses are more than just haunted . . . they're hungry.

Dash, Dylan, Poppy, Marcus, and Azumi don't know this at first. They each think they've been summoned to Shadow House for innocent reasons. But there's nothing innocent about Shadow House.

Something within its walls is wickedly wrong. Nothing--and nobody--can be trusted. Hallways move. Doors vanish. Ghosts appear. Children disappear.

And the way out?

That's disappeared, too. . . .

Enter Shadow House . . . if you dare.

Don't just read about Shadow House--explore its haunted depths with the free app!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338051179
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/30/2016
Series:	Shadow House Series , #1
Edition description:	Audio Library Edition
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 6.60(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Dan Poblocki is the author of The Stone Child, The Nightmarys, The Ghost of Graylock, The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, The Book of Bad Things, and the Mysterious Four series. He lives in Brooklyn with two adorable cats and more books than he has room for. Visit him at www.danpoblocki.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Book of Bad Things:

"Ghostly... grotesque... eerie..." -- Booklist

"Poblocki's return, full of mystery, monsters and ghosts, is sure to satisfy his fans. Old-school, John Saul-style horror." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Fun and creepy in all the good ways." -- VOYA

Praise for The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe:

A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection

A Junior Library Guild selection

"The social dramas mesh well with the supernatural elements... Poblocki creates a real sense of suspense." -- Booklist

"Poblocki creates danger by not pulling punches. An atmospheric, creepy ghost story best read at night." -- Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Ghost of Graylock:

A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection

A Junior Library Guild selection

"Poblocki misses nary a horror-story trope as he propels his cast through one terrifying incident after another to, at last, a climactic flight. Definitely a story to be read by flashlight." -- Booklist

"Poblocki is in his element with eerie happenings and atmospheric settings. Short chapters with cliff-hanger endings and several twists and turns in the plot will ensure that the pages turn quickly. Give this book to Mary Downing Hahn fans and others who enjoy spine-tingling mysteries." -- School Library Journal

From the Publisher

12/01/2017
Gr 4–6—Poppy, Dash, Dylan, Azumi, and Marcus each receive an invitation to a strange house that serendipitously seems to correspond to each of their hopes and dreams. Poppy, raised in an orphanage and whose only friend is a ghost, believes her visit to this peculiar place will lead her to her family. Azumi and Marcus each believe they are attending a school, while Dash and Dylan think they have landed a great acting gig in a horror film. Quickly after arriving, the tweens realizes they are trapped in a dark, dangerous house and begin to figure out how to escape. Some of the truly creepy aspects will be too much for young readers, but fans of Goosebumps-style tales will enjoy this. Dan Bittner does not disappoint in his performance, successfully changing voices for each character, which proves particularly helpful when the five of them are having conversations. Bittner also adds a sinister tone when reading the most horrifying scenes, which would make listening to this in the dark quite an eerie experience. Though this delightfully creepy book focuses much of its effort on introducing listeners to this clandestine world, it manages to deliver legitimate scares in addition to solid character development. VERDICT Recommended for school and public library collections where seriously spooky ghost stories are in demand.—Nicole Lee Martin, Rocky River Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

Each child who ends up at Shadow House sees it differently. For Poppy, an orphan, it’s Larkspur House, and it’s her great-aunt who has invited her to come and live there. For Marcus, a musician, it’s Larkspur Academy for the Performing Arts, and a chance for him to pursue his gift away from his unappreciative family. For Azumi, whose sister disappeared in Japan, the Larkspur School is a boarding school that will allow space between her and her grieving parents. For Dash and Dylan, twin television stars, Larkspur Productions promises a new project for them. But these five youngsters arrive to an empty house. Or is it? Who caused the bingo cage to spit out balls spelling an invitation to play? Who made the five papier mache dolls that look just like these five children, but with nooses around their necks? Who are the children who appear and disappear, wearing animal masks? As the five newcomers wander through the house, walls change, rooms close off, and each child has a dream or hallucination related to his or her reason for coming. But one thing becomes abundantly clear: no one is going to be allowed to leave. This first of at least three books in the “Shadow House” series serves to introduce the characters and develop the creepy setting. The illustrations include eerie black and white photographs of the huge gothic mansion, as well as the masked children. Readers can also download an app that lets them explore the house in more detail, with message boards, Shadow House history, and more. Give this to young readers who keep asking for the classic “Stories to Tell in the Dark” series. Reviewer: Magi Evans; Ages 8 to 12.

Children's Literature - Magi Evans

2016-05-18
Five unhappy children think their troubles are over when they step inside a mysterious house—until the house refuses to let them leave.The kids have one thing in common: misery, caused by a variety of neurodivergent symptoms. Poppy, a white orphan living in a group home, has only one friend in the world: the dead girl she sees behind her in every mirror. In Japanese-American Azumi's disturbing dreams, she relives the loss of her sister in the Aokighara forest and is terrified that she is losing herself as well. Not only can no one hear the overwhelmingly beautiful music in white Marcus' red head; no one understands his desperate need to play. And as their acting career abruptly ends, brown-skinned twins Dash and Dylan are losing their grip—Dash is having nightmares about failing to save his brother, and when Dylan isn't feeling invisible, he is having flashbacks to a trauma he can't quite grasp. All five receive different letters offering to make their dreams come true, but when they all arrive at Larkspur, nothing greets them but endless rooms and masked, murderous ghosts—it's one thing to survive being different, it's quite another to survive a haunting. Although the choice to equate neurodivergence with the influence of hauntings is questionable, Poblocki's meticulously crafted narrative is chilling and reminiscent of the best Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark? terrors. A thrill for any reader who knows the only thing more frightening than an unopened door is being locked behind one. (mobile app) (Horror. 10-15)

Kirkus Reviews