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Spooksville #1
The Secret Path
Adam didn't believe all the stories about Spooksville. Adam has just moved to the small town of Springville. The first day there, he meets Sally, who tells him the city's real name is Spooksville, because of the all the spooky things that go on in it. Adam doesn't believe her until they team up with Watch and go in search of the Secret Path - a magical path that leads to other Spooksvilles. Together, Adam, Sally, and Watch will take the Secret Path and pass through a dark doorway. On the other side they will find a terrifying Spooksville where there are huge spiders, living skeletons, evil black knights, and a witch who just loves to make dolls - out of kids.
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1995
88 people are currently reading
1644 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Pike
261 books5,465 followersChristopher Pike is the pseudonym of Kevin McFadden. He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction who specializes in the thriller genre.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews
July 23, 2019
Spooksville appears to have been Christopher Pike's response to the Goosebumps phenomenon. Fitting, as Pike and Stine were rival YA horror writers since the mid '80s. In fact, it's because an editor had a fight with Pike that she urged the easy-going Stine to turn away from joke books and write YA horror. Stine, famous for saying 'yes' to everything, took up the challenge. He studied what was popular--Including Pike--and wrote the bestseller Blind Date (1986). He's been scary ever since.
Spooksville is not a complete Goosebumps knock-off, though. It's unique because of the reoccurring characters and having more mature creepy situations. For example, we encounter kids whose eyes have been cut out by a wicked witch. This isn't to say it's all grim and serious, though. The characters are funny and there's a cloak of humor even in the direst of circumstances. It's a shame I missed this series in the '90s because I probably would have loved it. Even now, it's pretty awesome.
Recently the first 12 books have been re-printed and given stellar audiobook versions. I'm doing the audio and breezed through the first book in a day. Already on to the 2nd! Highly recommended.
Spooksville is not a complete Goosebumps knock-off, though. It's unique because of the reoccurring characters and having more mature creepy situations. For example, we encounter kids whose eyes have been cut out by a wicked witch. This isn't to say it's all grim and serious, though. The characters are funny and there's a cloak of humor even in the direst of circumstances. It's a shame I missed this series in the '90s because I probably would have loved it. Even now, it's pretty awesome.
Recently the first 12 books have been re-printed and given stellar audiobook versions. I'm doing the audio and breezed through the first book in a day. Already on to the 2nd! Highly recommended.
January 13, 2018
“Listen to Mr. Realist,” Sally mocked. “He doesn’t believe in ghosts even though a tree almost ate him an hour ago.”
During the ‘80s and ‘90s Christopher Pike wrote some really good books for young adults, and also for much younger kids. The Spooksville series is aimed at the later. His young adult books were marked by some good writing, and his content appealed to teenagers who were a bit more mature than the average young adult. Here, Pike began a marvelously fun series for pre-teen kids which has a great deal of charm and humor mixed in with the spookiness.
Parents need not worry — at least with the first entry — about it being too dark. This is miles milder than Harry Potter, just to give you a reference point. Pike sets a swift pace and while young children will be enthralled with all the wild and weird aspects of Springville/Spooksville, and there is some mild danger, the tone has a fun bend to it. Children will sense that their pint-sized heroes are going to be okay — this is a series, after all — which allows them to enjoy the thrills without taking them “too” seriously.
The Secret Path begins the series, as twelve-year-old Adam Freeman has just moved to Springville. The opening scene helping his dad unload the moving fan is charming, immediately endearing the reader — young or old — to Adam and the setting. Adam has just moved to Springville from Kansas City, and when his dad sends him to the local store for a six-pack of Coke he meets the tall-for-her-age and precocious Sally Wilcox. She is immediately smitten with Adam and it’s quite charming how Pike writes the kids and the way they interact. Sally explains to Adam about the town, and all the weird things that happen in Spooksville. When a skeptical Adam asks Sally how long she’s lived here, he gets this response:
“Twelve years. All my life. I’m one of the lucky ones.” — Sally
“You mean, it’s really neat living in Springville?” — Adam
“No. I mean I’m lucky to be alive still. Not all kids last twelve years in Spooksville.” — Sally
Despite the ominous tone, Pike injects a lot of humor into the story, most notably through the interactions of Adam, Sally, and Watch. Even as an adult, I found myself laughing several times at their dialog, which rang true for nice kids this age. Apparently the town was founded long ago by a witch named Madeline Templeton. She is related to Ann Templeton, who lives in a castle and may have a small hold on Adam.
Adam’s trip to the market quickly turns into a quest by the trio of friends to find the secret path. Following the riddle given them by Bum, their search to discover the alternate Spooksvilles take them to the blooded tree, and of course, the cemetery. It really gets fun when the trio become separated. Can they escape a black knight and live skeletons? There is a dungeon, and some neat stuff with an hourglass before it’s all over, or perhaps just beginning.
This is the start for Adam, Sally and Watch, and it’s sweetly done, moving quickly so that a child in the 8-12 age range won’t be bored. It may in fact seem tame to children at the older end of that range, considering all that’s been published since Harry Potter, but I feel that’s part of its charm. Despite the weirdness and the crazy supernatural elements, there is almost a retro feel to this series — yet not so retro that today’s kids won’t enjoy it. I enjoyed Spooksville even as an adult reader, and think a lot of kids will love this. I’ll be going through the series, and The Howling Ghost is the next one on my list. Great fun.
“Just another day in Spooksville. You’ll get used to Sundays like this.” — Sally
“I hope not.” — Adam
During the ‘80s and ‘90s Christopher Pike wrote some really good books for young adults, and also for much younger kids. The Spooksville series is aimed at the later. His young adult books were marked by some good writing, and his content appealed to teenagers who were a bit more mature than the average young adult. Here, Pike began a marvelously fun series for pre-teen kids which has a great deal of charm and humor mixed in with the spookiness.
Parents need not worry — at least with the first entry — about it being too dark. This is miles milder than Harry Potter, just to give you a reference point. Pike sets a swift pace and while young children will be enthralled with all the wild and weird aspects of Springville/Spooksville, and there is some mild danger, the tone has a fun bend to it. Children will sense that their pint-sized heroes are going to be okay — this is a series, after all — which allows them to enjoy the thrills without taking them “too” seriously.
The Secret Path begins the series, as twelve-year-old Adam Freeman has just moved to Springville. The opening scene helping his dad unload the moving fan is charming, immediately endearing the reader — young or old — to Adam and the setting. Adam has just moved to Springville from Kansas City, and when his dad sends him to the local store for a six-pack of Coke he meets the tall-for-her-age and precocious Sally Wilcox. She is immediately smitten with Adam and it’s quite charming how Pike writes the kids and the way they interact. Sally explains to Adam about the town, and all the weird things that happen in Spooksville. When a skeptical Adam asks Sally how long she’s lived here, he gets this response:
“Twelve years. All my life. I’m one of the lucky ones.” — Sally
“You mean, it’s really neat living in Springville?” — Adam
“No. I mean I’m lucky to be alive still. Not all kids last twelve years in Spooksville.” — Sally
Despite the ominous tone, Pike injects a lot of humor into the story, most notably through the interactions of Adam, Sally, and Watch. Even as an adult, I found myself laughing several times at their dialog, which rang true for nice kids this age. Apparently the town was founded long ago by a witch named Madeline Templeton. She is related to Ann Templeton, who lives in a castle and may have a small hold on Adam.
Adam’s trip to the market quickly turns into a quest by the trio of friends to find the secret path. Following the riddle given them by Bum, their search to discover the alternate Spooksvilles take them to the blooded tree, and of course, the cemetery. It really gets fun when the trio become separated. Can they escape a black knight and live skeletons? There is a dungeon, and some neat stuff with an hourglass before it’s all over, or perhaps just beginning.
This is the start for Adam, Sally and Watch, and it’s sweetly done, moving quickly so that a child in the 8-12 age range won’t be bored. It may in fact seem tame to children at the older end of that range, considering all that’s been published since Harry Potter, but I feel that’s part of its charm. Despite the weirdness and the crazy supernatural elements, there is almost a retro feel to this series — yet not so retro that today’s kids won’t enjoy it. I enjoyed Spooksville even as an adult reader, and think a lot of kids will love this. I’ll be going through the series, and The Howling Ghost is the next one on my list. Great fun.
“Just another day in Spooksville. You’ll get used to Sundays like this.” — Sally
“I hope not.” — Adam
June 17, 2024
I remember trying to find a new series to read in-between Goosebumps books.
This seemed like the logical step.
The first book in the Spooksville series really sets up a lot of backstory around Springville (though all the kids nickname it differently due to all the strange occurrences).
The introduction of Adam is akin to many kids' books as he's just arrived in town where he meets Sally and Watch.
The whole quest of trying to find a secret patch allows for the history to be retold through a series of clues in the hope of trying to reach an alternative dimension.
There's a lot more fantastical elements than what I was used to reading at the time, the magical parts didn't fully grip me - but there's enough creepy stuff aswell.
The three kids are entertaining enough, especially as there seems to be a spark between Adam and Sally.
This seemed like the logical step.
The first book in the Spooksville series really sets up a lot of backstory around Springville (though all the kids nickname it differently due to all the strange occurrences).
The introduction of Adam is akin to many kids' books as he's just arrived in town where he meets Sally and Watch.
The whole quest of trying to find a secret patch allows for the history to be retold through a series of clues in the hope of trying to reach an alternative dimension.
There's a lot more fantastical elements than what I was used to reading at the time, the magical parts didn't fully grip me - but there's enough creepy stuff aswell.
The three kids are entertaining enough, especially as there seems to be a spark between Adam and Sally.
July 15, 2021
THIS WHOLE SERIES MAKES UP MY CHILDHOOD. zOMG
I think I started to love reading after I finished one Spooksville books to another. I was in 2nd grade.
After a few years, I pretty much forgot about this series. When I came back to it, I thought I might not like it as much as I did before because my reading tastes have really grown then. But nope! I re-read through them all and I still find myself falling in love with Sally's clever and often time funny witty retorts, Cindy's kind gentleness, and Watch's brilliance. These are the characters that have never truly left my side even as I grow up.
I love Ann Templeton, I love how the books twist and turn questioning me whether she's a good or bad witch. I love the monsters, I love how Pike humanize them and let us see why they were *bad* in the first place.
I love... simply everything about this series.
I think I started to love reading after I finished one Spooksville books to another. I was in 2nd grade.
After a few years, I pretty much forgot about this series. When I came back to it, I thought I might not like it as much as I did before because my reading tastes have really grown then. But nope! I re-read through them all and I still find myself falling in love with Sally's clever and often time funny witty retorts, Cindy's kind gentleness, and Watch's brilliance. These are the characters that have never truly left my side even as I grow up.
I love Ann Templeton, I love how the books twist and turn questioning me whether she's a good or bad witch. I love the monsters, I love how Pike humanize them and let us see why they were *bad* in the first place.
I love... simply everything about this series.
July 28, 2021
So I hadn't heard about this writer and this book series before, but I have to say that I loved this book. I read it on an afternoon when I had nothing to do and from the start I could not let it go. I had to know how it would end. A fun, exiting read.
August 6, 2024
The short-lived TV series based on this book series was pretty lame, but this was the second one of these books I've read, and this one especially did not suck. The Witch's Revenge from the same series features the same main antagonist, Ann Templeton, who is the evil witch of Springville aka Spooksville. I honestly should've read this one first because it establishes the characters and the settings (given that its the first entry). I loved the mentions of words and phrases like "death," "murder," and "boiled alive" (and even a death threat at one point!) since that's not super common for some of the Goosebumps knockoffs. This was pretty epic and had everything from the main witch villain, large knights and skeleton people. This was solid and I'll be checking out at least one more book from this series before long.
January 16, 2019
I’ve been looking for the Spooksville series at garage sales and thrift stores for years without ever coming across a single one, even though that’s how I procured most of my Pike collection. It was a lovely surprise gift for Christmas (I didn’t even ask? Apparently, companions just listen when I talk. <3), and I could hardly wait to get started. I’m familiar with the world and the characters from the Spooksville (2013) TV series when it ran on Netflix, and I’m disappointed I won’t be able to watch it alongside the novels. It’s a well-casted and underrated kids horror show, and I’m sure I would have watched it alongside Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990) and Goosebumps (1995) if it had been around back then. (The horror-love goes back a long, long way.) Trigger warnings: minor body/eye horror.
Adam isn’t thrilled to be moving to Springville, a small, sleepy coastal town, and he’s even less thrilled to learn that the local kids refer to it as Spooksville. Strange things seem to happen there, and children often go missing. When Adam meets Sally and Watch, he’s persuaded to help them look for the Secret Path–a path that leads to the Spooksvilles of other dimensions–but they may get more than they bargained for.
This is a delightful piece of middle grade fiction, and I would have loved it growing up. Even as an adult, I’m having a hard time pausing between books long enough to write reviews; I just want to binge them all. Like most Pike books, the concept is similar to a lot of other stories, but he brings his own twists to it so that it doesn’t read quite like anything else. He’s also up to his usual genre-blending tricks, since the alternate dimension Spooksvilles are pure science fiction. The concept is never above middle grade level though, and the novel is more solidly in the horror genre. The alternate Spooksville they discover is fairly terrifying, home to a witch who steals body parts from children to make dolls. The on-page body horror is minimal (it is a book for kids, after all), but the concept is creepy enough all by itself.
The characters are enjoyable and surprisingly three-dimensional for a novel that’s barely over a hundred pages. Adam is the archetypal narrator, a classic hero in the style of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. He’s sometimes sassy and often clueless, but you can always count on him to be good. Watch is the brains of the operation, the one who figures out the clues and (so far) is the first in trouble. Naturally, because it’s a Pike book, Sally outshines them all. He seems to enjoy writing about powerful women more than anything. She’s fast-talking, sarcastic, and brave, and more importantly, she’s never sidelined in favor of the boys. Sally does the saving rather than needing to be saved.
The dialogue is occasionally clunky, which is another Pike characteristic. Sometimes, the kids just don’t talk like kids. Plot-wise, the book has a little of everything. It doesn’t linger long on introducing the town or characters, instead launching right into the search for the Secret Path. There’s a fun riddle to decode, a witch with a prophecy, and an alternate dimension full of scary things– ax-wielding animated knights, giant spiders, kids missing body parts, and a frightful witch who I suspect will be making repeat appearances. The end circumstances are rather dire, and I’d have been worried about the trio if this wasn’t a middle grade novel. It’s a great introduction to the series.
Adam isn’t thrilled to be moving to Springville, a small, sleepy coastal town, and he’s even less thrilled to learn that the local kids refer to it as Spooksville. Strange things seem to happen there, and children often go missing. When Adam meets Sally and Watch, he’s persuaded to help them look for the Secret Path–a path that leads to the Spooksvilles of other dimensions–but they may get more than they bargained for.
This is a delightful piece of middle grade fiction, and I would have loved it growing up. Even as an adult, I’m having a hard time pausing between books long enough to write reviews; I just want to binge them all. Like most Pike books, the concept is similar to a lot of other stories, but he brings his own twists to it so that it doesn’t read quite like anything else. He’s also up to his usual genre-blending tricks, since the alternate dimension Spooksvilles are pure science fiction. The concept is never above middle grade level though, and the novel is more solidly in the horror genre. The alternate Spooksville they discover is fairly terrifying, home to a witch who steals body parts from children to make dolls. The on-page body horror is minimal (it is a book for kids, after all), but the concept is creepy enough all by itself.
The characters are enjoyable and surprisingly three-dimensional for a novel that’s barely over a hundred pages. Adam is the archetypal narrator, a classic hero in the style of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. He’s sometimes sassy and often clueless, but you can always count on him to be good. Watch is the brains of the operation, the one who figures out the clues and (so far) is the first in trouble. Naturally, because it’s a Pike book, Sally outshines them all. He seems to enjoy writing about powerful women more than anything. She’s fast-talking, sarcastic, and brave, and more importantly, she’s never sidelined in favor of the boys. Sally does the saving rather than needing to be saved.
The dialogue is occasionally clunky, which is another Pike characteristic. Sometimes, the kids just don’t talk like kids. Plot-wise, the book has a little of everything. It doesn’t linger long on introducing the town or characters, instead launching right into the search for the Secret Path. There’s a fun riddle to decode, a witch with a prophecy, and an alternate dimension full of scary things– ax-wielding animated knights, giant spiders, kids missing body parts, and a frightful witch who I suspect will be making repeat appearances. The end circumstances are rather dire, and I’d have been worried about the trio if this wasn’t a middle grade novel. It’s a great introduction to the series.
July 9, 2010
I read when I was still a kid. I almost forgot what the plot is but I still know who the characters are. I'm trying to find a copy of the series because I already gave my copies to my cousin and she lives far away from us. Sad to say, even Amazon doesn't have a brand new copy of these books. I miss Sally, Cindy, Watch and Adam (sigh!).
February 9, 2010
The Spooksville books by Christopher Pike were the books that got me into reading when I was younger. They have a definite soft spot in my heart. I even reread a few every year - they're kids books for sure but I still love them.
November 4, 2023
I just finished my very first Spooksville book.Ive had a few of these books,or mainly one book in this series when I was younger and I think I ended up trading it.The story follows Adam,who just moved to Springville with his family.He is helping his dad unload some stuff when he tells him to go get drinks and look around town. He ends up running into the single funniest character in this book named Sara Willcox,only she goes by Sally.They have a hilarious exchange"My name's Sara Willcox but people call me Sally.""What's your name?" "My name is "Adam.""What do they call you." ""Adam."That may not be the exact exchange but you get the point.Sally is pretty weird about Adam moving into his house and Adam asks why.Sally tells him two people hung themselves.This was a weirdly funny exchange to.Sally tells Adam that there are weird occurrences throughout Spooksville as she calls it.Such as a little girl being swallowed up by the sky,a guy losing his leg by a tree trying to eat him and more.Sally wants to show more of Spooksville to Adam such as the arcade and stuff.Along the way he sees this really nice car and a shopping cart is heading towards it.He stops it and this lady gets out.Sally warns him not to talk to her as she's supposably the town witch.The town witch introduces herself as ann Templeton atleast I'm pretty sure that's her name.She says some weird stuff like saying Adam has nice eyes and stuff.Sally tells Adam a little bit about Watch a guy that likes hanging out in the graveyard.Sally introduced Adam to him shortly after.Watch gets his name because he wears a bunch of watches on his wrists.He does this so he can know what time it is in different time zones.This is because he has family in different time zones.Sally asks what Watch is doing later and he says he's looking for The Secret Path.He learned of this place from a guy named Bum who is well ,a homeless guy that use to be the mayor.The Secret Path is basically this rumored place that takes you to different dimensions.Its a little underwhelming when they go to Bum and instead of going straight to The Secret Path,he instead gives them a riddle to find it which is basically following the founder of spooksville from the time she was born until her death and this leads to walking backwards towards the tombstone of her grave. We get The secret Path and this is where the book gets really good.Its basically the real world but turned black magicey with a red sky an evil knight and an evil witch that wants kids faces.I really enjoyed The Secret Path.It did get a little slow towards the fifty page mark but it definitely picked up and I'm excited to read more of these.I give it a four out of five stars.
December 31, 2017
My first Christopher Pike and I. LOVED. it. If only I would've discovered him when I was younger!
July 11, 2020
Lectura ligera, entretiene. Lo agarré más que nada por una cuestión de nostalgia. Este libro, junto con otros de la saga, lo leí de cuando era chico y me dio ganas de volver a sumergirme en esta historia.
March 9, 2025
Część 3 pozbywania się książek z mojego pokoju zaczynając od najcieńszych.
To jest amerykańskie do bólu.
Czytałem sekretny szlak jeszcze w podstawówce i teraz postanowiłem odświeżyć sobie pamięć i sprawdzić czy dalej jest warte miejsca na półce. Nie jest.
Postacie są bardzo stereotypowe. Adam - typowy amerykański białas który jak dorośnie chce być jak jego przeżarty pączkami i szlugami ojciec. Założę się że teraz głosowałby ja Trumpa. Sally - twoja maniac pixie dream girl, ona jest taka szalona, przeżywa teraz kryzys całego systemu wartości, pisze poezję i jest taka w ogóle krejzolka 🤪. Zegarek - brzydki nerd bez empatii i instynktu samozachowawczego który oczywiście nic nie widzi i ma problemy z kręgosłupem a każdy członek jego rodziny mieszka w innej strefie czasowej (fatherless behavior).
Dialogi są naiwne nawet jak ja książę dla tej grupy wiekowej. Wydaję mi się że to ten sam wiek co czytelnicy Baśnioboru i spodziewałem się wyższego poziomu.
Mimo wszystko cieszę się że istnieją "horrory dla dzieci" bo to dalej trochę kontrowersyjny gatunek a dzieciaki przecież lubią takie historie. Jak mowa o samym horrorze to nie był on szczególnie drastyczny ale wystarczająco żeby taki 10 latek poczuł niepokój (w granicach rozsądku).
Fabuła trochę się nie kleiła bo po co czarownicy oczy?? Co ona będzie z nimi robić? Czemu trzyma dzieci w piwnicy? Przecież to dodatkowe koszty.
Jak komuś się marzy ta książka do mogę oddać jak nie to będzie drop w bibliotece MMZ
To jest amerykańskie do bólu.
Czytałem sekretny szlak jeszcze w podstawówce i teraz postanowiłem odświeżyć sobie pamięć i sprawdzić czy dalej jest warte miejsca na półce. Nie jest.
Postacie są bardzo stereotypowe. Adam - typowy amerykański białas który jak dorośnie chce być jak jego przeżarty pączkami i szlugami ojciec. Założę się że teraz głosowałby ja Trumpa. Sally - twoja maniac pixie dream girl, ona jest taka szalona, przeżywa teraz kryzys całego systemu wartości, pisze poezję i jest taka w ogóle krejzolka 🤪. Zegarek - brzydki nerd bez empatii i instynktu samozachowawczego który oczywiście nic nie widzi i ma problemy z kręgosłupem a każdy członek jego rodziny mieszka w innej strefie czasowej (fatherless behavior).
Dialogi są naiwne nawet jak ja książę dla tej grupy wiekowej. Wydaję mi się że to ten sam wiek co czytelnicy Baśnioboru i spodziewałem się wyższego poziomu.
Mimo wszystko cieszę się że istnieją "horrory dla dzieci" bo to dalej trochę kontrowersyjny gatunek a dzieciaki przecież lubią takie historie. Jak mowa o samym horrorze to nie był on szczególnie drastyczny ale wystarczająco żeby taki 10 latek poczuł niepokój (w granicach rozsądku).
Fabuła trochę się nie kleiła bo po co czarownicy oczy?? Co ona będzie z nimi robić? Czemu trzyma dzieci w piwnicy? Przecież to dodatkowe koszty.
Jak komuś się marzy ta książka do mogę oddać jak nie to będzie drop w bibliotece MMZ
August 30, 2021
I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this one, but was excited when I borrowed it on Hoopla. Not only is it a middle grade series, but it’s from one of better-known authors of this genre, Christopher Pike. Pike is an author I’ve heard so much about over the years, and though I feel his ‘90s YA horror is really his bread and butter, I was excited to finally read some of his work.
I should have stuck to my initial plan of reading his YA output first, as this wasn’t exactly a home run for me.
We are following Adam, a 12-year-old in a new hometown of Springville, or, as the kids call it, “Spooksville”. This is a typical setup for this genre, so I didn’t have any problems with it. He meets a girl his age who is instantly attracted to him - which was actually quite funny as the story went on - and she tells him if the town’s lore. They eventually meet up with Watch, a boy who likes adventure and seems fearless. They go to visit Bum…a literal bum, and former Mayor of the town. He sets then off on a journey to find the titular spooky path that is supposed to take them another dimension of Spooksville.
This is really just a setup novel, trying to build the world that is Spooksville. We meet the woman the kids believe is a witch, but not many other characters (other than the ones mentioned above). This is obviously going to be the major plot point of this outing, and I didn’t love where it went.
The kids are enjoyable, and the town holds potential, but I found the situation presented here a little on the boring side. I love this genre, and I’m not expecting it to scare me, of course, but I found my mind wandering during the climax, which is never a good sign.
I’m intrigued on where this can go, so I’ll probably give the second book a shot since the first dozen are on Hoopla, but if that doesn’t grab me, I’ll likely just move on to Pike’s YA work from here.
2.5 stars
I should have stuck to my initial plan of reading his YA output first, as this wasn’t exactly a home run for me.
We are following Adam, a 12-year-old in a new hometown of Springville, or, as the kids call it, “Spooksville”. This is a typical setup for this genre, so I didn’t have any problems with it. He meets a girl his age who is instantly attracted to him - which was actually quite funny as the story went on - and she tells him if the town’s lore. They eventually meet up with Watch, a boy who likes adventure and seems fearless. They go to visit Bum…a literal bum, and former Mayor of the town. He sets then off on a journey to find the titular spooky path that is supposed to take them another dimension of Spooksville.
This is really just a setup novel, trying to build the world that is Spooksville. We meet the woman the kids believe is a witch, but not many other characters (other than the ones mentioned above). This is obviously going to be the major plot point of this outing, and I didn’t love where it went.
The kids are enjoyable, and the town holds potential, but I found the situation presented here a little on the boring side. I love this genre, and I’m not expecting it to scare me, of course, but I found my mind wandering during the climax, which is never a good sign.
I’m intrigued on where this can go, so I’ll probably give the second book a shot since the first dozen are on Hoopla, but if that doesn’t grab me, I’ll likely just move on to Pike’s YA work from here.
2.5 stars
December 27, 2013
I was thrilled to hear that this series had become a television show (on "The Hub") as the books were certainly a favourite of mine growing up. After becoming a bit despondent by the television series - (Hey! They cut out all the awesome characters... and why is Ann Templeton a kid?! *breath* I can deal with it...moving on) I felt the need to reread this series again in my grand old age of 27 to validate my amazing memories of reading and re-reading this in my younger, better looking, carefree sorta days. (In my defense I'm currently a year 4 teacher, and I started reading them myself in year 4... thus I am "researching" to see if I should recommend them to my kiddies... yeah... uh... right... that oughta explain it.)
Anyways!!! I was thrilled with the humour and characterisation of these books. I love the series but I'll review this particular book - The Secret Path. I laughed at Sally's introduction to Adam, I loved how when Adam and Watch met, they teamed up on ignoring Sally (such a boy thing!) That the two boys were in danger and it was the girl who was clever enough to help them escape. Also that Sally was taller than Adam and that Adam was in no way interested in a relationship "I'm 12!!!" rang very true to children (or "pre-teens") at that age. I enjoyed the action of the Dark Knight's attack, the scariness of the Evil Witch and her fascination with dolls with human parts. Also her comparison to Ann Templeton from the other dimension was pretty interesting, keeps you guessing if she is actually nice or not. This book has enough action, story, characterisation and mystery to keep any child happy! It MAY be a bit scary for the littlies, but I think it is a very smart, well written book.
Anyways!!! I was thrilled with the humour and characterisation of these books. I love the series but I'll review this particular book - The Secret Path. I laughed at Sally's introduction to Adam, I loved how when Adam and Watch met, they teamed up on ignoring Sally (such a boy thing!) That the two boys were in danger and it was the girl who was clever enough to help them escape. Also that Sally was taller than Adam and that Adam was in no way interested in a relationship "I'm 12!!!" rang very true to children (or "pre-teens") at that age. I enjoyed the action of the Dark Knight's attack, the scariness of the Evil Witch and her fascination with dolls with human parts. Also her comparison to Ann Templeton from the other dimension was pretty interesting, keeps you guessing if she is actually nice or not. This book has enough action, story, characterisation and mystery to keep any child happy! It MAY be a bit scary for the littlies, but I think it is a very smart, well written book.
August 27, 2015
So even though I loved Pike's non-series books when I was younger, I had never heard of this series. That probably has something to do with the fact that I was too busy devouring Goosebumps and, later on, Fear Street books to really look for other horror series. But when a TV show was added to Netflix this past week, and it said it was based on a book series by Pike, I actually shrieked with joy! Super excited to see if it was worth my time. Well, I think these books are more for ages 9-12, at least if they're all like this one. But I've been enjoying the TV show a lot, it seems to be a less cheesy/dated version of "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" or "Goosebumps." Might read a couple more, just to see what happens next, & compare the differences between the book(s) and the show.
Want to read
June 12, 2014I totally forgot about this series!
Man, I miss the good old YA horror books...
Man, I miss the good old YA horror books...
September 13, 2024
Adam is a twelve year old that is now living a new town called Springville Spookville. In the first day meets Sally. Sally is a odd duck. Over confident & realist and Watch (that’s is name because he has… 4 watches).
So, the first thing I’ve got to say is that this reads a lot like Goosebumps from R L Stine but in my humble opinion there are a couple of things that it does better. First is the overachieving story that will go from this novel throughout the 23 remaining. We’ve got the same characters, same city\place and (after starting the second novel) events transit from one book to the others. To me, this is better than RL Stine stuff since we’ve get invested on this characters.
The second difference I notice is the situations are more creepy and mature than the regular Goosebumps. Usually Goosebumps (not mentioning Fear Street which focus more on 14 to 17 year olds) is more fear, jump scares etc. Things to frighten little children. Here is a bit difference, first thing I notice is the humor that exist in every situation (between the three friends), even dire situations of impending doom like when they are being boiled alive. It never stops throughout the novel. Here is one example, just when Adam Meets Sally
“Sally: Twelve years. All my life. I’m one of the lucky ones.”
Adam: “You mean, it’s really neat living in Springville?”
Sally: “No. I mean I’m lucky to be alive still. Not all kids last twelve years in Spooksville.”
Then there is the innuendo of some attraction (not going to say sexual because they are 12 year old) between Sally & Adam. She is always teasing him about being on a romance with him while him says he has no interest because he is twelve.
The Third thing I’ve go to talk is about the audiobook guy who narrates it. He really nails it. Although the voice of Watch looks like a middle age man is so funny that cracks me a smile. If you are now 30/40 and remember reading Goosebumps but after trying them think they are a bit on a childish side, try the first novel. It clocks under 2H or 128 pages so I guess you can read it a couple of hours. You won’t regret it. 80/100
So, the first thing I’ve got to say is that this reads a lot like Goosebumps from R L Stine but in my humble opinion there are a couple of things that it does better. First is the overachieving story that will go from this novel throughout the 23 remaining. We’ve got the same characters, same city\place and (after starting the second novel) events transit from one book to the others. To me, this is better than RL Stine stuff since we’ve get invested on this characters.
The second difference I notice is the situations are more creepy and mature than the regular Goosebumps. Usually Goosebumps (not mentioning Fear Street which focus more on 14 to 17 year olds) is more fear, jump scares etc. Things to frighten little children. Here is a bit difference, first thing I notice is the humor that exist in every situation (between the three friends), even dire situations of impending doom like when they are being boiled alive. It never stops throughout the novel. Here is one example, just when Adam Meets Sally
“Sally: Twelve years. All my life. I’m one of the lucky ones.”
Adam: “You mean, it’s really neat living in Springville?”
Sally: “No. I mean I’m lucky to be alive still. Not all kids last twelve years in Spooksville.”
Then there is the innuendo of some attraction (not going to say sexual because they are 12 year old) between Sally & Adam. She is always teasing him about being on a romance with him while him says he has no interest because he is twelve.
The Third thing I’ve go to talk is about the audiobook guy who narrates it. He really nails it. Although the voice of Watch looks like a middle age man is so funny that cracks me a smile. If you are now 30/40 and remember reading Goosebumps but after trying them think they are a bit on a childish side, try the first novel. It clocks under 2H or 128 pages so I guess you can read it a couple of hours. You won’t regret it. 80/100
February 28, 2025
2.5⭐
A fair and fun outing for the debut Spooksville book and my first read from this series.
This has strong old school fantasy vibes to it that remind me of The Wizard of Oz.
It did feel a bit oddly paced, and had weird relationship stuff going on between our main character and the girl he meets in his new town of Spring(Spooks)ville. At one point she asks him if he would like a foot rub. (???)
Overall I thought this was decent and I'll be checking out some of the other books in the series in the future.
A fair and fun outing for the debut Spooksville book and my first read from this series.
This has strong old school fantasy vibes to it that remind me of The Wizard of Oz.
It did feel a bit oddly paced, and had weird relationship stuff going on between our main character and the girl he meets in his new town of Spring(Spooks)ville. At one point she asks him if he would like a foot rub. (???)
Overall I thought this was decent and I'll be checking out some of the other books in the series in the future.
October 4, 2018
I enjoyed this book but I do not think I enjoyed it enough to get invested in such a large series. I know they are young adult and read fast, but I just could not get into the story or the characters. I did like that it was pretty dark and it had its moments, but I’ll stick to goosebumps!
August 8, 2024
Cover 3; Characters 4; Plot 4; Pace 5; Engagement 4; Worldbuilding 4; Readability 5; Theme 3; Enjoyment 4
This is clearly Christopher Pike's version of Goosebumps. And frankly, I liked it better. It wasn't perfect but definitely spooky and I had a good time.
This is clearly Christopher Pike's version of Goosebumps. And frankly, I liked it better. It wasn't perfect but definitely spooky and I had a good time.
October 9, 2019
A very nice nostalgia trip to my youth
August 15, 2025
Beginning my undeniably continuing adventure in the Spooksville books, the series’ first book (the pilot, if you will) lays the groundwork for what I hope to be the pinnacle of overarching kids horror fiction. This book was an awesome read, elevated ever so by Pike’s uniquely unfiltered writing. There’s some romantic humor and some straight-up wild commentary that I utterly ate up, and his writing is on the same level of Stine’s—when it comes to kids horror, or at least this entry of the series. The story is solid and lays a ton of exposition down whilst not drowning out the actual happenings of this book at all. The main trio—Adam, Sally, and Watch—are very likable characters, amongst other interesting folk we were greeted by. The element of this alternate timeline (it’s in the blurb so it ain’t a spoiler) is very reminiscent of the ‘upside-down’ from Stranger Things, in a good way too. There’s some great sequences in here and the entertainment value is at a high-high, especially in the back-half. Whilst I have my nitpicks about character decisions, pacing in the mid-portion, and the loose riddle that didn’t make much sense in retrospective, I still can’t help but love this beginning. Overall, 10/10–maybe generous, but we’ll see as I read more of these, and I guarantee I that. An alcohol reference in the first chapter of a kids horror book is earth-shattering shit lmao.
April 24, 2021
I'll be generous and go with 3 stars. The audio of this was mixed. Watch's voice was particular irritating. This isn't the best story in the series that I've tried.
September 12, 2020
Un clásico de mi infancia que 10 años después vuelvo a leer y ahhh, qué recuerdos ♥ Me gustan mucho los personajes y la línea de la historia me parece bastante original comparado a otros libros del género. ¡Quiero leer más!
May 6, 2022
It's way younger than I thought it was. I liked the tv show better.
January 3, 2022
Me gustó mucho esta historia. Creo que tiene el balance perfecto entre humor y terror. Me encantan las vibes vintage que da su portada y trama. Además, el trio dorado nunca falla, y me encantó el que se formó en esta historia: Adam, Sally y Watch, me gustó mucho leer de ellos, sus interacciones y personalidades.
Creo que Sally, pese a resultar un poco irritante, es la más graciosa de leer en el grupo, y me gustaron mucho sus frases irónicas, su ego, y sus crisis de personalidad 😂.
Y quiero seguir la saga y saber más de estos tres amigos viviendo en este pueblo aterrador -Fantasville-.
Creo que Sally, pese a resultar un poco irritante, es la más graciosa de leer en el grupo, y me gustaron mucho sus frases irónicas, su ego, y sus crisis de personalidad 😂.
Y quiero seguir la saga y saber más de estos tres amigos viviendo en este pueblo aterrador -Fantasville-.
December 1, 2020
This guy/this series was like my absolute favourite as a kid!! And I could never remember his name, until I just saw an old paperback of it on Instagram and it all came flooding back xD
Adding so that I don't forget in future.
There was a smart-talking girl in this series who always had a Bic lighter that solved like most of their problems. I remember thinking "Omg she has a lighter with her she's so mature" and also, "Why does it have to be Bic?" I would look at Bic pens afterwards and think, "Why do they make both pens and lighters? And seriously, what do their lighters do that are so special that other lighters can't do it?!" It only confused me because they mentioned it so much. Either Pike is like a Bic shill or just a lazy writer whose characters get out of jams the same way over and over.
That's what happens when you copy something Stephen King does (superfluously mentioning brands) without knowing why. You really confuse ten year-olds you've never met before.
Spooky!!
Adding so that I don't forget in future.
There was a smart-talking girl in this series who always had a Bic lighter that solved like most of their problems. I remember thinking "Omg she has a lighter with her she's so mature" and also, "Why does it have to be Bic?" I would look at Bic pens afterwards and think, "Why do they make both pens and lighters? And seriously, what do their lighters do that are so special that other lighters can't do it?!" It only confused me because they mentioned it so much. Either Pike is like a Bic shill or just a lazy writer whose characters get out of jams the same way over and over.
That's what happens when you copy something Stephen King does (superfluously mentioning brands) without knowing why. You really confuse ten year-olds you've never met before.
Spooky!!
December 26, 2021
I think this book was good. I have not read Christopher Pike in a while but I do like his style. At first I wanted to compare this book to Joseph Delaney's The Last Apprentice series. I really enjoyed this series. But I think this series is just not the same and I should not compare. I liked this one as well but they are different in story, characters, and style. I like both very much! Thank you, Christopher Pike, for a good book!
April 1, 2025
Encore une fois je compare avec ce que je connais mais les situations vont beaucoup plus loin dans ce Spooksville que dans les Chair de Poule, on a quand même des enfants avec des parties du corps enlevés par une sorcière. On a aussi bien sûr la couche d'humour et de légèreté des trucs horreur pour enfants pré ados. Hâte d'en lire d'autres !
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