The Haunted House Party

by Barry Louis Polisar, David Clark (Illustrator)

On Halloween night, a child's party is visited by real ghosts and goblins. Unfortunately, because everyone is in a mask and costume, no one knows who the real creatures are—until some of the real ghosts and goblins begin to show off for each other. The host and his friends ultimately learn how to deal with negative, destructive behavior and take responsibility for their situation.

Genres: Halloween

32 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 1995

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a concept, The Haunted House Party aligns well with singer-songwriter/author Barry Louis Polisar's talents, and Michael Stewart's dark, atmospheric illustrations do much to enhance the story. On Halloween, a boy invites some friends to his house for a party after his parents go out for the night. Nothing is likely to go wrong; his friends aren't the mischievous type. But we see what the boy does not: as he contacts his friends on the telephone, a malevolent presence watches, poised to make this a night of terror.

For the boy, his first indicator the party won't go according to plan comes when an Ogre invades before the guests arrive. The Ogre is upset that he and his friends weren't asked to attend the party, and he swears vengeance. As guests show up at the front door, it's obvious some of them are not children...and their ghoulish appearance is no costume. There's a group of skeletons with grinning skulls and bulging eyes; a pair of ghosts that fly around the house without saying a word; a horned devil dressed in red who ignites open fires in the house; and a witch who exerts magical command of every object in sight. The supernatural events become more extreme as the boy tries to wrangle control of his party, but he and his friends seem powerless compared to these creatures.

Bullies don't usually back down on their own; you have to force them to leave you alone. Scared as he is, the boy confronts the goblins, ghosts, and monsters about the damage they've done. The house is a shambles and his parents will return soon; he insists the paranormal party crashers pitch in and clean up. Surprisingly, the chastened creatures comply, but can they get the house in order before the boy's parents come back? If anyone has the power to fix things, it's the Ogre and his gang.

There's a distinct The Cat in the Hat vibe to this book. Even if you're a person who plays by the rules, it's easy to be led into trouble by others, and once that runaway train gains momentum, disaster can feel unavoidable. But even if the people who get you into trouble seem forceful or scary, you must stand up to them, or they will never leave. They'll stick around and harass you as long as you talk yourself into letting it happen. I would consider rating The Haunted House Party two and a half stars; there isn't much to the story, but Michael Stewart's moody, evocative illustrations are worth your time, and the narrative has a solid, thoughtful foundation. This is a good pick for the Halloween season.

[Kimberly Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little scary,
A LOT of fun!

Entertaining Poetry,
Spooky pen and ink illustrations

Elementary age & up

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! The rhyming prose was so cute and well-written, the illustrations were spooky but not terrifying, and the "monsters" turned out..oops, well, I won't spoil it for you. ;) I'd highly recommend this for a fun Halloween read.

[Srinidhi.R Srinidhi.R · Rating 4 out of 5]

eerie cute story..

[Sushma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute little book. I enjoyed it very much.