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Halloween #3
The Mad House
Christine Ray's summer has been nothing but lame dates and boring camping trips. She wants at least one interesting adventure before it's over. Then she sees the ad: Volunteer film crew needed for documentary on haunted sites. Spend the night at Smith Grove Mental Hospital...if you dare. She definitely dares. That place is the ultimate scary site-Michael Myers himself was locked up there for fifteen years. What an adventure! But what she and her new filmmaking friends don't know is that Michael Myers still has a room at Smith Grove. And visiting hours are over...
Based on one of the most popular horror franchises of all time
Instant logo and name recognition
#3 in the series, following The Scream Factory (10/97) and The Old Myers Place (12/97)
Based on one of the most popular horror franchises of all time
Instant logo and name recognition
#3 in the series, following The Scream Factory (10/97) and The Old Myers Place (12/97)
150 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 17, 2016
At 150 pages this is a quick read, but worth it! It's probably the best one of the three that were published. Once the kids get to the asylum, the pace really picks up as Michael Myers butchers them one by one! This Michael Myers snarls and wails and for some reason the teens can see his teeth through his mask. That's not like the movies! But it's got some good death scenes and good use is made of the mental hospital location.
October 28, 2024
What started out with the apparent intention of being a longer series of books met its end in The Mad House, the third book in this Halloween series for young-adult readers. The three novels—particularly the first and third—leave unanswered questions, but make for engaging reading. I'd have liked to see a few more.
Perhaps my most pressing question about the books is this: Where is Dr. Loomis on these three occasions when Michael Myers returns to Haddonfield to continue his series of grisly murders? The good doctor is nowhere to be found in the pages of The Scream Factory, The Old Myers Place or The Mad House, a strange development when considering that he has been Michael Myers's most consistently successful adversary. Of course, it's possible that the books are completely ignoring the fourth, fifth and sixth movies and assuming that Loomis died in the explosion at the end of Halloween II, and that Michael Myers walked away from it despite the police officially ruling that he had been burned to cinders. Or they could be going by the explanation given in Halloween H2O: Twenty Years Later, that Loomis survived the explosion but died a natural death in the 1990s. Since these books were all published before that seventh film of the franchise, it's conceivable to think that Michael Myers could have caught up to Laurie Strode at Hillcrest Academy as depicted in Halloween H2O on the Halloween following the one during which the events of The Mad House took place. Of course, that wouldn't quite explain why Laurie is under the impression that Michael Myers has been presumed dead for twenty years in Halloween H2O, since his killing sprees in these three books have clearly been attributed to him and even though Laurie is in a witness relocation program she surely would have heard what happened. But I wouldn't expect the movie producers to have taken pains to line up continuity with an independent book series, and I have to hand it to author Kelly O'Rourke on doing everything in her power to get her continuity ducks in a row before beginning this series of books, if my suppositions are correct.
The Mad House takes place mostly at Smith's Grove Sanitarium (called Smith Grove Mental Hospital in the story, though I'm unsure of any possible reason for the subtle change), where the catatonic Michael Myers lived from age six (after murdering his older sister, Judith) to age twenty-one, when he escaped in 1978 to hunt down his other sister, Laurie. In a style somewhat reminiscent of 2002's Halloween: Resurrection, a young filmmaker (Eddie) is interested in shooting a documentary at Smith's Grove, and lobbies a group of teenagers from his school, Haddonfield High, to help in the making of the film. Though Michael Myers had returned to Haddonfield only one year previous, and evaded police custody after the ensuing bloodbath, Eddie and his friends aren't really concerned that they might be in danger from him at the sanitarium. Why would Michael Myers choose to return to Smith's Grove, of all places? In fact, the documentary that Eddie plans to shoot isn't even about Michael Myers. Eddie has his sights set on a ghost story, as the angry spirit of a psychotic former doctor from Smith's Grove has been rumored to haunt the abandoned institution, and Eddie wants to see if he can catch the vengeful wraith on camera.
Michael Myers has returned to Smith's Grove though, of course, to wait in vain for his parents to finally pick him up just as he so waited every day for the fifteen years that he lived in the facility. When the sanctity of his silent vigil is breached by the coming of Eddie and his assistant filmmakers, Michael Myers will embark on one last killing spree and leave us in suspense up through the final moments as to who might be lucky enough to survive to the end of the book.
I would easily give this book one and a half stars, and it's very close as to whether I want to round that in-between rating up or down. The idea of a book series about Michael Myers has excellent potential. I wonder if one day it may be revived, and the soulless Boogeyman will return to kill in print once again. I'd be happy to see them give the concept another go.
Perhaps my most pressing question about the books is this: Where is Dr. Loomis on these three occasions when Michael Myers returns to Haddonfield to continue his series of grisly murders? The good doctor is nowhere to be found in the pages of The Scream Factory, The Old Myers Place or The Mad House, a strange development when considering that he has been Michael Myers's most consistently successful adversary. Of course, it's possible that the books are completely ignoring the fourth, fifth and sixth movies and assuming that Loomis died in the explosion at the end of Halloween II, and that Michael Myers walked away from it despite the police officially ruling that he had been burned to cinders. Or they could be going by the explanation given in Halloween H2O: Twenty Years Later, that Loomis survived the explosion but died a natural death in the 1990s. Since these books were all published before that seventh film of the franchise, it's conceivable to think that Michael Myers could have caught up to Laurie Strode at Hillcrest Academy as depicted in Halloween H2O on the Halloween following the one during which the events of The Mad House took place. Of course, that wouldn't quite explain why Laurie is under the impression that Michael Myers has been presumed dead for twenty years in Halloween H2O, since his killing sprees in these three books have clearly been attributed to him and even though Laurie is in a witness relocation program she surely would have heard what happened. But I wouldn't expect the movie producers to have taken pains to line up continuity with an independent book series, and I have to hand it to author Kelly O'Rourke on doing everything in her power to get her continuity ducks in a row before beginning this series of books, if my suppositions are correct.
The Mad House takes place mostly at Smith's Grove Sanitarium (called Smith Grove Mental Hospital in the story, though I'm unsure of any possible reason for the subtle change), where the catatonic Michael Myers lived from age six (after murdering his older sister, Judith) to age twenty-one, when he escaped in 1978 to hunt down his other sister, Laurie. In a style somewhat reminiscent of 2002's Halloween: Resurrection, a young filmmaker (Eddie) is interested in shooting a documentary at Smith's Grove, and lobbies a group of teenagers from his school, Haddonfield High, to help in the making of the film. Though Michael Myers had returned to Haddonfield only one year previous, and evaded police custody after the ensuing bloodbath, Eddie and his friends aren't really concerned that they might be in danger from him at the sanitarium. Why would Michael Myers choose to return to Smith's Grove, of all places? In fact, the documentary that Eddie plans to shoot isn't even about Michael Myers. Eddie has his sights set on a ghost story, as the angry spirit of a psychotic former doctor from Smith's Grove has been rumored to haunt the abandoned institution, and Eddie wants to see if he can catch the vengeful wraith on camera.
Michael Myers has returned to Smith's Grove though, of course, to wait in vain for his parents to finally pick him up just as he so waited every day for the fifteen years that he lived in the facility. When the sanctity of his silent vigil is breached by the coming of Eddie and his assistant filmmakers, Michael Myers will embark on one last killing spree and leave us in suspense up through the final moments as to who might be lucky enough to survive to the end of the book.
I would easily give this book one and a half stars, and it's very close as to whether I want to round that in-between rating up or down. The idea of a book series about Michael Myers has excellent potential. I wonder if one day it may be revived, and the soulless Boogeyman will return to kill in print once again. I'd be happy to see them give the concept another go.
August 22, 2021
Worth tracking down. This was a bloodbath. Not very summery. More of a house of horrors. Started slow but once they got to the hospital it was game on. Enjoyed the 90s references in the beginning parts of the book. The characters are more slutty than Stine’s.
July 19, 2025
ok kelly pulled through with good characters in the final book of the series!!!
October 28, 2022
Not sure what I think about this one; I like both Eddie and Christine as characters, but that's about it. (Still better than the previous book in that regard; I'm not sure I liked any of the characters in that one even half as much as I like Eddie and Christine.) The story wasn't bad, but considering that it's set during the summer and has Michael as the killer really leads to it feeling more like some kind of bizarre fanfiction rather than an actual installment in this trilogy.
Once again, huge thanks to The 80s Slasher Librarian for taking the time to hunt down all these out-of-print slasher movie books and make fan recorded audiobooks for them. This is important archival work he's doing to make these books freely accessible to other fans, so please consider going and checking out his channel!
Once again, huge thanks to The 80s Slasher Librarian for taking the time to hunt down all these out-of-print slasher movie books and make fan recorded audiobooks for them. This is important archival work he's doing to make these books freely accessible to other fans, so please consider going and checking out his channel!
October 26, 2022
The Mad House is the concluding installment in a short-lived series of Young Adult Halloween novels written by author Kelly O'Rourke. The reasoning is simple: this third entry kind of sucks!
What started off promising in The Scream Factory became diminished in quality by the release of The Old Myers Place. The Mad House was the final nail in the coffin. Featuring more dull, new unlikable characters, a film crew subplot that feels forced, illogical plot points and dialogue, and an uneven tone, The Mad House is easily the worst book in the series. It's not completely terrible, it has some decent moments, but it's very weak.
Oh well.
What started off promising in The Scream Factory became diminished in quality by the release of The Old Myers Place. The Mad House was the final nail in the coffin. Featuring more dull, new unlikable characters, a film crew subplot that feels forced, illogical plot points and dialogue, and an uneven tone, The Mad House is easily the worst book in the series. It's not completely terrible, it has some decent moments, but it's very weak.
Oh well.
November 28, 2023
Overall a very entertaining book!
It was gory, goofy, & over the top, but what else would you expect from a Michael Myers outing?
Overall these 3 Halloween novels by Kelly O'Rourke were, as a long time Horror & Halloween fan, worth the read. I would go so far as to say that if these stories were used as the plots for Halloween 4,5,&6 they would have been better movies than the ones we got.
Deranged Scientists instead of Thorn nonsense, sign me up!
Michael being just downright angry at any Teenagers that dare look at, pass by, talk about, live in, or come near his House or Asylum works for me!
It was gory, goofy, & over the top, but what else would you expect from a Michael Myers outing?
Overall these 3 Halloween novels by Kelly O'Rourke were, as a long time Horror & Halloween fan, worth the read. I would go so far as to say that if these stories were used as the plots for Halloween 4,5,&6 they would have been better movies than the ones we got.
Deranged Scientists instead of Thorn nonsense, sign me up!
Michael being just downright angry at any Teenagers that dare look at, pass by, talk about, live in, or come near his House or Asylum works for me!
December 8, 2022
Probably my favourite of the trilogy. This one had a lot of Michael unlike the last ones where he felt absent a lot of the time. The plot reminded me of Halloween Resurrection too, just not…awful. It really captured the spirit of the Halloween movies I feel, unlike the last ones in my opinion, and I believe it had the most kills too.
Dr. Blackwell’s sudden appearance at the end felt really dumb though and extremely unnecessary. It’s obvious he was a Dr. Loomis stand in. If it was actually Loomis it would’ve been much better, he was just not needed.
Dr. Blackwell’s sudden appearance at the end felt really dumb though and extremely unnecessary. It’s obvious he was a Dr. Loomis stand in. If it was actually Loomis it would’ve been much better, he was just not needed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2025
Once again, a big thank you to the 80s Slasher Librarian for making this rare YA novel available for horror fans who don’t have $100+ to snag a copy. This third & final entry follows a group of young filmmakers shooting a documentary at Smith’s Grove, unaware its most famous resident is still on site. Bit of a slow start, but the arrival to the hospital really steps things up as a full on bloodbath unleashes with Michael’s appearances. Probably my favorite of the series, this is just a simple teen slasher in an abandoned insane asylum that works very well!
August 27, 2023
Excellent read!
This one may be my favourite of the entire trilogy, followed by The Scream Factory.
This one is a little odd though because it doesn't take play on or around Halloween, but in August.
I kind of like that it added to Michael's backstory at Smith Grove Sanitarium (Mental Hospital called here) and added an new character trying to trap and stop Michael, also this one seemed most like a traditional slasher.
Definitely recommend this one for big fans of the Halloween franchise.
This one may be my favourite of the entire trilogy, followed by The Scream Factory.
This one is a little odd though because it doesn't take play on or around Halloween, but in August.
I kind of like that it added to Michael's backstory at Smith Grove Sanitarium (Mental Hospital called here) and added an new character trying to trap and stop Michael, also this one seemed most like a traditional slasher.
Definitely recommend this one for big fans of the Halloween franchise.
December 31, 2023
Every time those teenagers think they can go to an abandoned mental hospital and make out and get loaded in peace, that pesky Michael Myers shows up and ruins everything! And Christine had just bought that new dress, too!
Super fun 90s YA Halloween novel!
Super fun 90s YA Halloween novel!
October 13, 2025
The weakest of the 3 novels but still a fun quick read to conclude the series. Do enjoy it’s all in same world but do wish there was crossover for characters between the 3 novels but only one reference to previous characters. Would love to see more YA novels from Kelly in the future.
August 12, 2018
Very enjoyable, better than the F13th YA series from around the same time (at least these ones feature the real killer).
September 15, 2018
I have only read this and Scream Factory but this was definitely the best out of the two!
January 3, 2022
Best of the three.
July 24, 2025
The fatphobia really popped out in this one.
September 11, 2023
The third and final book to Kelly O'Rourke's Michael Myers trilogy. There's really not much to say about this one as it's essentially the same as the previous two: a Michael that's much different from the one fans know and love plus teen drama and cheesy romance admist the terror.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews