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The Babysitter
Screaming and violent, little Jenny had never behaved as such--until The Babysitter. As the teenager entered the house, the grandmother was aware of her striking, disturbing beauty--a disturbing beauty that hides an ancient curse.
- GenresHorror
214 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 2, 2017
By 1989, the year this was released, these sorts of traditional, "evil in small town" horror novels were starting to become a thing of the past, as publishers started leaning more toward serial killer-type novels (thanks to Silence of the Lambs), splatterpunk, or weirder, more psychological horror (as with the Dell Abyss line). Of course, publishers like Zebra and Leisure would continue to put out cheesy, old-school supernatural horror, but the genre as a viable, bestselling market was pretty much dead.
So good thing there are literally hundreds upon hundreds of these novels to choose from. The Babysitter, written pseudonymously by Ed Gorman (who would go on to become a successful crime-fiction author), is an above-average example of this type. The writing is no-frills and the pace is relatively fast-moving, but the characterization is pretty thin. Still, it beats having to power through one of the many 500-page bricks from the era so padded that it destroys any chance of sustained atmosphere or tension.
The basic story is that children in a small town are going missing, or having their personalities drastically altered. A distraught grandmother of a missing girl, after discovering a drawing of hers depicting some strange insectoid creature, remembers an incident from her youth in which she caught a glimpse of a similar creature looking out the window of a neighbor's house. Jody had brushed the incident off over time, but now she's certain that something sinister is going on in town, and has been for a long time. She has some questions for the teen babysitter, only she's nowhere to be found, so Jody enlists the help of an old high school classmate to help get to the bottom of the mystery.
Overall it was a fast, fun, read, though not really scary until the final quarter or so. I'm glad I read it, and I would definitely be up for reading more from Ransom/Gorman, but this isn't something I'd recommend going out of your way to track down, unless you've read all the staples of the genre and are looking for a quick slice of pulpy, B-grade creature-horror. Gorman may have disowned this as well as his other early horror novels, calling them C-R-A-P, but he must be a pretty harsh critic, as the only way this qualifies as crap is if you went in expecting anything more than a diversion.
3.5 Stars.
So good thing there are literally hundreds upon hundreds of these novels to choose from. The Babysitter, written pseudonymously by Ed Gorman (who would go on to become a successful crime-fiction author), is an above-average example of this type. The writing is no-frills and the pace is relatively fast-moving, but the characterization is pretty thin. Still, it beats having to power through one of the many 500-page bricks from the era so padded that it destroys any chance of sustained atmosphere or tension.
The basic story is that children in a small town are going missing, or having their personalities drastically altered. A distraught grandmother of a missing girl, after discovering a drawing of hers depicting some strange insectoid creature, remembers an incident from her youth in which she caught a glimpse of a similar creature looking out the window of a neighbor's house. Jody had brushed the incident off over time, but now she's certain that something sinister is going on in town, and has been for a long time. She has some questions for the teen babysitter, only she's nowhere to be found, so Jody enlists the help of an old high school classmate to help get to the bottom of the mystery.
Overall it was a fast, fun, read, though not really scary until the final quarter or so. I'm glad I read it, and I would definitely be up for reading more from Ransom/Gorman, but this isn't something I'd recommend going out of your way to track down, unless you've read all the staples of the genre and are looking for a quick slice of pulpy, B-grade creature-horror. Gorman may have disowned this as well as his other early horror novels, calling them C-R-A-P, but he must be a pretty harsh critic, as the only way this qualifies as crap is if you went in expecting anything more than a diversion.
3.5 Stars.
February 29, 2024
Gorman, AKA Ransom, wrote several horror novels back in the 80s boom (which he later disowned); The Babysitter constitutes yet another 'big evil in a small town' story so popular back in the day, in this case, the small midwestern town of Winthrop (Iowa, Illinois?). Our lead, Jody, left Winthrop after high school and moved to the city, but the novel starts with prologue when she was a youngster taking her grandad out for a stroll in town in his wheelchair. While out and about, they both saw what looked like a woman with the head of a grasshopper doing something to a classmate of hers through the window of her house. A few days later, her classmate went bonkers, eventually killing and eating the neighbor's dog. What did she and her grandad really see?
Anyway, Jody comes back to town to help her daughter and her granddaughter who are going through a rough patch; her daughter Sam has a nasty drug habit and her granddaughter has been having nightmares. So, Jody takes the granddaughter to the local shrink. After drawing a picture of a woman with a grasshopper's head, the little girl goes bonkers and wrecks the shrink's office. WTF is going on? The only thing Jody and her old buddy from high school can deduce is that something happened to the little girl when she was with a new babysitter...
Ransom does not mess around with deep character development here; he gets the story rolling and and off we go! I might have rated this a bit higher, but it does draw upon some rather tired clichés, such as old Native American mojo and one of the antagonists is an old Native who really hates White Folk. In one scene, the old Indian rehashes a dream/vision of life before the White Folk arrived on their wooden boats, with the indigenous locals riding around on their ponies. Gorman/Ransom-- the White Folk brought horses to the New World! Do a little homework please! In any case, a short, fun read, and while not Ransom/Gorman's best, still worth a read if you can find a copy. 3.5 ancient evils.
Anyway, Jody comes back to town to help her daughter and her granddaughter who are going through a rough patch; her daughter Sam has a nasty drug habit and her granddaughter has been having nightmares. So, Jody takes the granddaughter to the local shrink. After drawing a picture of a woman with a grasshopper's head, the little girl goes bonkers and wrecks the shrink's office. WTF is going on? The only thing Jody and her old buddy from high school can deduce is that something happened to the little girl when she was with a new babysitter...
Ransom does not mess around with deep character development here; he gets the story rolling and and off we go! I might have rated this a bit higher, but it does draw upon some rather tired clichés, such as old Native American mojo and one of the antagonists is an old Native who really hates White Folk. In one scene, the old Indian rehashes a dream/vision of life before the White Folk arrived on their wooden boats, with the indigenous locals riding around on their ponies. Gorman/Ransom-- the White Folk brought horses to the New World! Do a little homework please! In any case, a short, fun read, and while not Ransom/Gorman's best, still worth a read if you can find a copy. 3.5 ancient evils.
February 6, 2010
I hate to admit it, but the cover of this book is what drew me to it. I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but sometimes I do. On the cover a creepy-looking babysitter stands with two children. It reminds me of R.L. Stine's Babysitter series, which I loved when I was younger.
Then I noticed the blurb from Dean Koontz on the cover.
"Ransom's writing is strong, fast and sleek as a bullet. He's one of the best." - Dean R. Koontz
Intrigued, I opened the cover and saw the dedication.
From one crazed Irishman to another - This is for Richard Laymon.
Anyone who likes Richard Laymon is okay in my book. At this point, I definitely wanted the book. Well it was only $1.00, so why not? The description on the back of the book sounded promising too.
The Babysitter is about Jody, a woman who returns to her hometown to take care of her drug addict daughter and her granddaughter. Jody's granddaughter has been acting out lately, as have many children in the town. The children have one thing in common: they've been babysat by the same young woman. Maybe it has something to do with the horror Jody witnessed when she was 13.
I was drawn in from the beginning. There's action right from the start. What Jody sees (I don't want to give anything away) is like something out of a B horror flick and made me keep reading to see the connection.
It's only 214 pages long, so the plot moves along quickly. I read it in one sitting. I actually wish it was longer because I was enjoying it so much. The ending felt a little rushed. All of a sudden the end came out of nowhere. The end was kind of a letdown. I felt it didn't really do the book justice.
The characters were realistic and interesting. I could relate to Jody, especially the part where she was 13, thinking about the boy she had a crush on.
I even laughed a few times while reading. I think it would have been better if it was a few chapters longer. But I was still thoroughly entertained with The Babysitter.
Read more of my reviews at http://littlemisszombie.blogspot.com
Then I noticed the blurb from Dean Koontz on the cover.
"Ransom's writing is strong, fast and sleek as a bullet. He's one of the best." - Dean R. Koontz
Intrigued, I opened the cover and saw the dedication.
From one crazed Irishman to another - This is for Richard Laymon.
Anyone who likes Richard Laymon is okay in my book. At this point, I definitely wanted the book. Well it was only $1.00, so why not? The description on the back of the book sounded promising too.
The Babysitter is about Jody, a woman who returns to her hometown to take care of her drug addict daughter and her granddaughter. Jody's granddaughter has been acting out lately, as have many children in the town. The children have one thing in common: they've been babysat by the same young woman. Maybe it has something to do with the horror Jody witnessed when she was 13.
I was drawn in from the beginning. There's action right from the start. What Jody sees (I don't want to give anything away) is like something out of a B horror flick and made me keep reading to see the connection.
It's only 214 pages long, so the plot moves along quickly. I read it in one sitting. I actually wish it was longer because I was enjoying it so much. The ending felt a little rushed. All of a sudden the end came out of nowhere. The end was kind of a letdown. I felt it didn't really do the book justice.
The characters were realistic and interesting. I could relate to Jody, especially the part where she was 13, thinking about the boy she had a crush on.
I even laughed a few times while reading. I think it would have been better if it was a few chapters longer. But I was still thoroughly entertained with The Babysitter.
Read more of my reviews at http://littlemisszombie.blogspot.com
January 5, 2017
It all starts when the granddaughter draws a picture, a very strange one. A frightening one. The child is also starting to act oddly, then becomes violent.
The grandmother takes the child to the Psychologists office for some help. No one can tell why or what has happened to make this child act so oddly other than the fact that the child continues to say, "The other night".. Could it be the other night when the Babysitter was there? The one she had stay with her granddaughter?
It is time to hunt the Babysitter down and find out just what happened "the other night".
They arent the only ones who know this Babysitter. Across town, "she" has been sitting for another family. Things are strange there as well.
The full force of the ancient terror explodes across their senses when they found out about THE BABYSITTER.
I love 80s horror. This book was right up my alley. Love the cover art. Perfect for us horror fans! Spooky city!
The grandmother takes the child to the Psychologists office for some help. No one can tell why or what has happened to make this child act so oddly other than the fact that the child continues to say, "The other night".. Could it be the other night when the Babysitter was there? The one she had stay with her granddaughter?
It is time to hunt the Babysitter down and find out just what happened "the other night".
They arent the only ones who know this Babysitter. Across town, "she" has been sitting for another family. Things are strange there as well.
The full force of the ancient terror explodes across their senses when they found out about THE BABYSITTER.
I love 80s horror. This book was right up my alley. Love the cover art. Perfect for us horror fans! Spooky city!
May 31, 2015
Yet another fantastic horror novel by Daniel Ransom aka Ed Gorman. The writing is fantastic, the characters are memorable and well drawn and the plot is tight and suspenseful. Perfect 80s horror, written better than it had to be.
June 18, 2023
Don’t know how I felt about this.. It seemed like a run of the mill been there done that kinda book.
May 28, 2014
Enjoyed the story, though I do have to wonder what happens to Nikki. We don't see her after part 4 of chapter 7.
May 14, 2021
I'm extremely biased because the writer was a friend of mine, but still I think this is a great, fun, fast read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews