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Nightmare Inn #2
Room 13
Erin reluctantly accompanies her family on a summer vacation, during which she meets Sam, the mysterious boy in Room 13 at the Arcadia Inn who is capable of making her wishes come true.
176 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
T.S. Rue
6 books18 followersT.S Rue is an American author of more than 130 young-adult and middle grade novels and novelizations, some written under the pen names Morton Rue and Todd Strasser
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 5, 2022
MILD SPOILERS FORTHCOMING!
AND A TRIGGER WARNING TOO.
Erin is a petulant and defiant teen (what other kind is there, though) who is incessantly quarreling with her dad, and trying to assert her independence...so when Mr. Annoying Dad rounds up the troops for a nice family vacation at The New Arcadia Inn (aka Nightmare Inn aka The Overlook Hotel), Erin revolts!! She's just been asked out by the hottie she's been sweating all year and now she's gotta go on some dumb family getaway? Psssh!!
Things seem a little....OFF at the New Arcadia Inn. All the workers seem to know who she is and they stare at her, so rude. But when she meets Sam, some cutie mysterious boy, her trip gets infinitely better. Except Sam has a cruel streak and does weird shit like disappear into thin air when she's not looking. Hmmm. Could he be...A GHOST?? This is not really a spoiler though because LOOK AT THE COVER. Although this isn't revealed until midway through the book.
Nothing much happens until closer to the end of course. And we learn that [SPOILER]
Ghost Boy is a child abuse victim who was beaten to death which kinda depressed the hell out of me, but made me empathize with why he wants to kill and maim people 🙃
3 out of 5 ghostly smooches from Cute Ghost Boy who wants to do harm to your family but what price TRUE LOVE THOUGH ❤️👻
AND A TRIGGER WARNING TOO.
Erin is a petulant and defiant teen (what other kind is there, though) who is incessantly quarreling with her dad, and trying to assert her independence...so when Mr. Annoying Dad rounds up the troops for a nice family vacation at The New Arcadia Inn (aka Nightmare Inn aka The Overlook Hotel), Erin revolts!! She's just been asked out by the hottie she's been sweating all year and now she's gotta go on some dumb family getaway? Psssh!!
Things seem a little....OFF at the New Arcadia Inn. All the workers seem to know who she is and they stare at her, so rude. But when she meets Sam, some cutie mysterious boy, her trip gets infinitely better. Except Sam has a cruel streak and does weird shit like disappear into thin air when she's not looking. Hmmm. Could he be...A GHOST?? This is not really a spoiler though because LOOK AT THE COVER. Although this isn't revealed until midway through the book.
Nothing much happens until closer to the end of course. And we learn that [SPOILER]
Ghost Boy is a child abuse victim who was beaten to death which kinda depressed the hell out of me, but made me empathize with why he wants to kill and maim people 🙃
3 out of 5 ghostly smooches from Cute Ghost Boy who wants to do harm to your family but what price TRUE LOVE THOUGH ❤️👻
April 19, 2023
Bratty protag falls for a manipulative vengeful ghost boy who is literally trying to convince her to kill her own dad. Protag gets mad at her dad, ghost boy not-so-subtly suggests they kill him, and protag gets grounded. Repeat several times.
The twist is obvious early on, but gets even darker when you find out ghost boy’s motivations, but the reveal is so quick and there isn’t much of a build-up.
I did enjoy the cameos from the other Nightmare Inn inhabitants.
The twist is obvious early on, but gets even darker when you find out ghost boy’s motivations, but the reveal is so quick and there isn’t much of a build-up.
I did enjoy the cameos from the other Nightmare Inn inhabitants.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2020
This book was pretty good; a bit dry and redundant throughout the middle, but I still enjoyed it. I’d give it a 3.5. I’m wondering what was up with the creepy hotel staff; did they know? It never really explained that....
September 6, 2021
A very quick and fun read.
4 pulpy stars.
4 pulpy stars.
May 21, 2025
Going by the original cover art you know that there will be ghosts.
We start with Erin Haughton wanting to go to the last dance of her junior year in hopes that her crush Zack will dance with her. He ends up stopping by to ask her to be his date, but Erin's joy doesn't last long.
Her father has booked them rooms for a vacation at the newly opened New Arcadia Inn, and she is not happy. Erin's mother mentions to her daughter that her father is not in very good health with stress ready to push him towards a heart attack, hence the getting away.
Erin tries to convince her father to let her stay with her bestie to go to the dance but the whole family has to go. Erin tells Zack she can't go, and he is okay with it, but Erin wishes that he would agree with her that her father is being an ogre.
Erin spends most of her first day in ungrateful teenager mode where her younger brother Bobby is being more mature than her at twelve. There are enough teenagers around for there to be a teen activities director, but Erin sulks and loses her sunglasses.
A note tells her that she can find them in Room 13 later that afternoon. The room is empty and supposed to be haunted, filled with a cold presence and a voice calling her name.
Erin soon comes upon a boy around her age playing video games with the boys in the arcade around her brother's age, his voice similar sounding to the one she heard in the room. Meeting him later, Erin finds out his name is Sam and that he is very good looking but also...with a dark sense of humor.
He learns that Erin is not happy with her father, so Sam suggests playing a few pranks on her father during the activities he forces Erin to go to with her family. They start tame like messing with a game of golf but soon become more...life-threatening considering Erin's father having his heart condition.
There is a creepiness to Sam and the people who work at the New Arcadia Inn, but Erin is drawn to his good looks and her own selfish desires for freedom make her the newest target of the hotel's supernatural forces.
Erin starts out as an awful person but soon redeems herself once she learns the secret of Sam's existence within the hotel. There is continuity from the first book, and it only makes me want to learn more about the Arcadia Inn. None of the teen characters have been nice enough to root for in these books so far but it is probably because I'm not a teenager anymore to relate to any of them.
Still, Room 13 is much tamer to Nightmare Inn the book with more focus on being a paranormal thriller than an intense horror filled with blood and cruelty.
Two down and two to go...
We start with Erin Haughton wanting to go to the last dance of her junior year in hopes that her crush Zack will dance with her. He ends up stopping by to ask her to be his date, but Erin's joy doesn't last long.
Her father has booked them rooms for a vacation at the newly opened New Arcadia Inn, and she is not happy. Erin's mother mentions to her daughter that her father is not in very good health with stress ready to push him towards a heart attack, hence the getting away.
Erin tries to convince her father to let her stay with her bestie to go to the dance but the whole family has to go. Erin tells Zack she can't go, and he is okay with it, but Erin wishes that he would agree with her that her father is being an ogre.
Erin spends most of her first day in ungrateful teenager mode where her younger brother Bobby is being more mature than her at twelve. There are enough teenagers around for there to be a teen activities director, but Erin sulks and loses her sunglasses.
A note tells her that she can find them in Room 13 later that afternoon. The room is empty and supposed to be haunted, filled with a cold presence and a voice calling her name.
Erin soon comes upon a boy around her age playing video games with the boys in the arcade around her brother's age, his voice similar sounding to the one she heard in the room. Meeting him later, Erin finds out his name is Sam and that he is very good looking but also...with a dark sense of humor.
He learns that Erin is not happy with her father, so Sam suggests playing a few pranks on her father during the activities he forces Erin to go to with her family. They start tame like messing with a game of golf but soon become more...life-threatening considering Erin's father having his heart condition.
There is a creepiness to Sam and the people who work at the New Arcadia Inn, but Erin is drawn to his good looks and her own selfish desires for freedom make her the newest target of the hotel's supernatural forces.
Erin starts out as an awful person but soon redeems herself once she learns the secret of Sam's existence within the hotel. There is continuity from the first book, and it only makes me want to learn more about the Arcadia Inn. None of the teen characters have been nice enough to root for in these books so far but it is probably because I'm not a teenager anymore to relate to any of them.
Still, Room 13 is much tamer to Nightmare Inn the book with more focus on being a paranormal thriller than an intense horror filled with blood and cruelty.
Two down and two to go...
September 30, 2014
Although this is a fairly standard early-90s kids horror book, it's actually not completely awful. Okay, the main character, Erin, is a complete and utter brat, and her father is a bit of an asshole, and it's never completely explained what was the deal with the New Arcadia staff (although I imagine this is better explained in the other books of the series), but the 'mystery' actually held my attention for the better part of the book.
Here's my problem with Erin: she's a real shit. She's completely spoilt without realising it, and although she seems kind enough to her brother, she is a complete and utter ass to her father. Sure, her father is a bit of a prick, but he's got a serious heart condition from the sounds of it, and it seems as though he's pretty close to dying. The guy just wants to spend time with his daughter before he dies. Meanwhile, his daughter wants to do anything but see him. She runs off with a guy she's barely met who is violent and keeps running away.
Seriously, what an ass.
Here's my problem with Erin: she's a real shit. She's completely spoilt without realising it, and although she seems kind enough to her brother, she is a complete and utter ass to her father. Sure, her father is a bit of a prick, but he's got a serious heart condition from the sounds of it, and it seems as though he's pretty close to dying. The guy just wants to spend time with his daughter before he dies. Meanwhile, his daughter wants to do anything but see him. She runs off with a guy she's barely met who is violent and keeps running away.
Seriously, what an ass.
November 16, 2011
Loved the Nightmare Inn books a kid.
These were set in the New Arcadia Inn which despite its fun, family oriented exterior seems to exude a sinister and creepy atmosphere. Room 13 is a ghost story featuring a romance between a bored teenage girl on holiday with her family and the mysterious guest staying in number 13.
These were set in the New Arcadia Inn which despite its fun, family oriented exterior seems to exude a sinister and creepy atmosphere. Room 13 is a ghost story featuring a romance between a bored teenage girl on holiday with her family and the mysterious guest staying in number 13.
December 23, 2011
this one was really bad
October 25, 2020
Erin wants to go to the dance with Zack Tarrant but her father has become very ill and wants to relax and go on a family holiday so Erin misses the dance.
On holiday she meets Sam, an enigmatic boy who seems to share Erin's hatred of parents in general.
At first they both complain and wish they could get rid of their parents but then the boy in Room 13 takes it too far and plots to help Erin get rid of hers.
A scary, supernatural story of being careful what you wish for.
On holiday she meets Sam, an enigmatic boy who seems to share Erin's hatred of parents in general.
At first they both complain and wish they could get rid of their parents but then the boy in Room 13 takes it too far and plots to help Erin get rid of hers.
A scary, supernatural story of being careful what you wish for.
February 18, 2022
I’m not ashamed to say I really enjoy this series - and I wish I had more than one book left of it to read!
This was my least favourite so far, because Erin was a little bitch and how did she not see the obvious?? But her dad was really horrible too, so there’s that.
It’s just spooky in that way books were spooky when I was 10. There’s something so freaky about the New Arcadia Inn.
This was my least favourite so far, because Erin was a little bitch and how did she not see the obvious?? But her dad was really horrible too, so there’s that.
It’s just spooky in that way books were spooky when I was 10. There’s something so freaky about the New Arcadia Inn.
June 15, 2023
The Farmer Twins read these YA horror novels in the 90s, and now I'm revisiting them in honor of Aaron.
Room 13
Room 13
This Erin girl was a dolt, but I enjoyed this read. Didn't remember anything about it before reading it, so it was like a new book to me.
March 10, 2025
Picking up this book felt like stepping into a time machine back to my teenage years. The cover alone unlocked memories I didn’t even know I still had! Re-reading it as an adult was a blast—just as gripping as I remembered. The stories hold up so well, especially Nightmare Inn—such a great read. I only wish these books had been adapted for an older audience now because I’d absolutely devour them all over again!
March 21, 2021
This book was just ok the main character Erin was really annoying making it hard to enjoy the storyline.
February 11, 2022
Erin was such a brat I could barely enjoy the story 😳
May 24, 2024
90’s horror vibes! I eat these up!
April 30, 2015
Actual Page Number: 164 pages.
The book's short page length and simplistic writing makes reading flow fast but this was a tedious entry.
1. Nothing happens much the first couple of pages without attempt for scares.
2. "Room 13" origins occurs in the last couple of pages which should have been established before which could have improved the book.
3. While there were mystery events in the book that kept my interest for awhile, few of the events chalk up to eccentricity of Arcadia Inn, thus making it less important to the plot.
4. Erica,our main character, is pretty bratty for her hatred of her father that doesn't come off as justifying since he isn't mean to her and acts like a concerned parent.
Never recommend this book despite it being easy reading.
The book's short page length and simplistic writing makes reading flow fast but this was a tedious entry.
1. Nothing happens much the first couple of pages without attempt for scares.
2. "Room 13" origins occurs in the last couple of pages which should have been established before which could have improved the book.
3. While there were mystery events in the book that kept my interest for awhile, few of the events chalk up to eccentricity of Arcadia Inn, thus making it less important to the plot.
4. Erica,our main character, is pretty bratty for her hatred of her father that doesn't come off as justifying since he isn't mean to her and acts like a concerned parent.
Never recommend this book despite it being easy reading.
July 14, 2014
Such a nostalgic book. I read it on a trip to the ocean when I was a kid and reread it on a trip to the ocean today. I loved it again and it made me feel like that happy girl who believed anything is possible.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews