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Hocus-Pocus
Ginny wasn't like other children. Ginny could make the marionette hanging on her bedpost dance crazily. Or the dishes clatter in the cupboard. Or the water moccasins in the pond swim figure eights.
Just by focusing her thoughts. Just by willing them to do what she wanted. Whatever she wanted.
Sometimes her secret power scared her. Sometimes things happened that she didn't really mean to happen. Sometimes, when people made her mad, it might just be the last thing they ever did...
Just by focusing her thoughts. Just by willing them to do what she wanted. Whatever she wanted.
Sometimes her secret power scared her. Sometimes things happened that she didn't really mean to happen. Sometimes, when people made her mad, it might just be the last thing they ever did...
- GenresHorror
405 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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137 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 18, 2023
Scaparro, a mid-lister at Zebra in the 80s/90s, wrote The Attic and The Dollkeeper, two killer, OTT horror reads, but Hocus-Pocus constitutes a much more sedate 'slow horror' that feels more like a tragedy. Our main protagonist, 12yo Ginny, starts the story being sexually abused by her father, who is actually a Father/preacher in a small town in Texas. Ginny loves her father and hates her father as you might imagine.
Ginny's mother died giving birth to her while she was doing research on 'witch-doctors' in Africa; in fact, bore her in the actual cave/prison of a famous 'evil' witch-doctor who died centuries ago and was known for his ability to control snakes. Her father and her returned from their African mission and he took up the role of minister in the small Texas town. Ginny is approaching her menarche, and as horror readers know, this time has been associated with poltergeists. Ginny has in fact been able to make her marionette dance, but is that all that is going on?
In the opening scenes (past the prologue where Ginny's mother dies giving birth in a cave), Ginny's father, drunk, forcibly takes her once again up to the attic of the house where she puts on her mother's wedding gown before being raped. This time, however, though petrified and not sure what is going on, her father does some crazy dance before passing out. After waking up in her barricaded closet, her father seems ok and takes her to church where he will officiate a wedding. The housekeeper knows something is going on (bruises on Ginny's arm, and not so subtle 'hairy eyeballs' from dad to daughter to STFU about what happened last night) and is determined to pursue it as she loves little Ginny.
Well, the wedding is a disaster. A water moccasin from the local lake ('snake lake') somehow enters the church and falls from the rafters to land on good ole dad and kills him with a nasty bite to the neck. What the hell? The local sheriff is clueless-- snakes, especially water mocs, just do not do such things! Ginny moves in with the former housekeeper, an octogenarian, but when a twit of a school counselor (who has a thing for kiddie porn) threatens to have her taken to an orphanage, he is also killed by water mocs that night...
Ginny knows she has some special rapport with the snakes, but she is also torn. The 'snake voice' tells her that only it loves her and everyone else is a threat. Yet, she loves the housekeeper, who basically was her grandmother growing up. Soon, however the plucky housekeepers dies after seeing a sleeping Ginny doing some snake dance thing at night. Is Ginny doomed to kill all that love her?
Why the title and the cover? Typical Zebra, as they have no relation to the story at all. Hocus-Pocus really constitutes a tale of possession, with Ginny assuming the powers of the old witch-doctor. This has some great snake foo, but really, the story is about Ginny being torn between her possession and her desire to be loved, and those who love her keep dying. Poor Ginny; sexually abused by her father and now almost forced to kill anyone who gets close to her. More tragedy than horror here. Good story, but not sure what Scaparro was going for. Too 'rich' for pulp horror, but too banal for literature. Read it if you want to heartbreak mixed with snakes. 2.5 stars, rounding up for GR.
Ginny's mother died giving birth to her while she was doing research on 'witch-doctors' in Africa; in fact, bore her in the actual cave/prison of a famous 'evil' witch-doctor who died centuries ago and was known for his ability to control snakes. Her father and her returned from their African mission and he took up the role of minister in the small Texas town. Ginny is approaching her menarche, and as horror readers know, this time has been associated with poltergeists. Ginny has in fact been able to make her marionette dance, but is that all that is going on?
In the opening scenes (past the prologue where Ginny's mother dies giving birth in a cave), Ginny's father, drunk, forcibly takes her once again up to the attic of the house where she puts on her mother's wedding gown before being raped. This time, however, though petrified and not sure what is going on, her father does some crazy dance before passing out. After waking up in her barricaded closet, her father seems ok and takes her to church where he will officiate a wedding. The housekeeper knows something is going on (bruises on Ginny's arm, and not so subtle 'hairy eyeballs' from dad to daughter to STFU about what happened last night) and is determined to pursue it as she loves little Ginny.
Well, the wedding is a disaster. A water moccasin from the local lake ('snake lake') somehow enters the church and falls from the rafters to land on good ole dad and kills him with a nasty bite to the neck. What the hell? The local sheriff is clueless-- snakes, especially water mocs, just do not do such things! Ginny moves in with the former housekeeper, an octogenarian, but when a twit of a school counselor (who has a thing for kiddie porn) threatens to have her taken to an orphanage, he is also killed by water mocs that night...
Ginny knows she has some special rapport with the snakes, but she is also torn. The 'snake voice' tells her that only it loves her and everyone else is a threat. Yet, she loves the housekeeper, who basically was her grandmother growing up. Soon, however the plucky housekeepers dies after seeing a sleeping Ginny doing some snake dance thing at night. Is Ginny doomed to kill all that love her?
Why the title and the cover? Typical Zebra, as they have no relation to the story at all. Hocus-Pocus really constitutes a tale of possession, with Ginny assuming the powers of the old witch-doctor. This has some great snake foo, but really, the story is about Ginny being torn between her possession and her desire to be loved, and those who love her keep dying. Poor Ginny; sexually abused by her father and now almost forced to kill anyone who gets close to her. More tragedy than horror here. Good story, but not sure what Scaparro was going for. Too 'rich' for pulp horror, but too banal for literature. Read it if you want to heartbreak mixed with snakes. 2.5 stars, rounding up for GR.
April 23, 2023
Not great! Also, no clowns, just snakes ☹️
February 21, 2025
Wanna read this book?
Wanna dive deep into the mystery of long forgotten horror books from the '80s?
You fuckin nostagia junkie?
Well, guess what.
You're not gonna.
I did though :D
It's about killer snakes and shit. Not that great.
I was only able to read it because I managed to get a dirt cheap copy (and there used to be many available) on Amazon.
AMAZON
For less than five bucks in 2012.
FFW 2025. Too many idiots in the retro paperback market these days, flipping the shit so you can't snag a copy for a decent price (BEFORE, decent meant about 5 US dollars.)
Should have been here in 2015, right when this paperback fad was just about to explode.
Now, if you wanna collect/read these old books, you might as well go fuck yourself.
Or shell out the ducats.
They should have named it Paperback PRICES From Hell
Wanna dive deep into the mystery of long forgotten horror books from the '80s?
You fuckin nostagia junkie?
Well, guess what.
You're not gonna.
I did though :D
It's about killer snakes and shit. Not that great.
I was only able to read it because I managed to get a dirt cheap copy (and there used to be many available) on Amazon.
AMAZON
For less than five bucks in 2012.
FFW 2025. Too many idiots in the retro paperback market these days, flipping the shit so you can't snag a copy for a decent price (BEFORE, decent meant about 5 US dollars.)
Should have been here in 2015, right when this paperback fad was just about to explode.
Now, if you wanna collect/read these old books, you might as well go fuck yourself.
Or shell out the ducats.
They should have named it Paperback PRICES From Hell
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews