The Phantom Room

Skeleton Creek #5

by Patrick Carman

Experience the world of Skeleton Creek through Ryan’s journal and all new online videos. Ryan and Sarah have lived in Skeleton Creek all their lives, uncovering ghostly mysteries no one else can figure out. But when their investigations lead to the Skeleton Creek cemetery and a haunted room, they discover a chilling secret even they’re not ready for. Nothing could prepare them for what they found in the Phantom Room. The Phantom Room. Enter if you dare.

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Young Adult, Paranormal, Ghosts, Fantasy, Teen

172 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2014

About the author

I have been a lifelong writer and storyteller. Salem, Oregon is where I spent my formative years and I graduated from Willamette University. After college, I spent a decade living in Portland, Oregon where I worked in advertising, game design, and technology.

I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers.

I've been fortunate enough to have had some bestselling series work: The Land of Elyon, Atherton, Elliot’s Park, 39 Clues, and Skeleton Creek. Here's a fun note...the books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages. Currently I'm developing a few new-media projects. Check out DARK EDEN to experience this type of cross-platform project.

When I'm not writing or creating a story, I spend my free time supporting literacy campaigns and community organizations, fly fishing, playing basketball and tennis, doing crosswords, watching movies, dabbling in video games, reading (lots), and (more than anything else) spending time with my wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Cora Robles · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm very disappointed; I loved the first books in this series. This one? It was just bad. Bad writing. Bad storytelling. Disappointing videos. Stupid little scenes. Just kind of a let down:/

[Wesley Battle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Skeleton Creek was nice 4 book series with great characters, well-executed videos, and a nice concept. From books 3 and 4 it was sort of obvious that Patrick Carmen was milking Skeleton Creek for all its worth, but at least they both did something new and creative. Like many, I thought book number 4, "The Raven" was a fitting end to the series.

Well too bad, cause Carmen thought it was a good idea to add a 5th book in the series. This literally feels slapped on and rushed with no thought other than to make a quick buck. Instead of leaning towards supernatural, the author goes all out, and jumps the shark!

You know how each book had at least 10+ videos? Guess, how many this book has. 5, and they're all the same location, with the same stuff happening. It doesn't even feature the original cast! Those pictures on the cover, only one is an actual image from the book, the rest are from books 1 and 2. The "special effects" are not even on par with films like "Paranormal Activity 1-6."

This book has no charm, no effort and no care. This was a blatant cash grab, plain and simple.

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite different from the other skeleton creek books, not necessarily in a bad way, just different. The book reads more like a fluid narrative rather than a journal format that you get in the first four books. I actually found this book to move more quickly and to make more sense for my students as a read aloud because I didn't have to explain when entries were starting and stopping. This book adds a nice finishing touch to life after The Raven now that the three new members of the Crossbones have taken on their responsibilities. The movies in this book are much simpler than the other books, but still very entertaining for students to read. I was excited to see that Patrick Carman had put out a new book in the series since my students love the other books so much. Hoping to see more to add to the collection!

[Iris (C418 Fangirl) Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first read this book I was kind of confused because I thought it would be like one of Ryan’s journals like the first 4 books. But that doesn’t mean it was bad. I DO prefer the style and storytelling of the first 4, though. This book is supposed to be Ryan’s JOURNAL, but it’s not really a journal, more of just a regular book.

I also thought there was some to be desired with the videos. There were only 5, all kinda the same. It just didn’t really feel like a Skeleton Creek novel, it felt like something else. But I do love Steve the snaggletoothed dog! All in all, I would prefer a longer, less rushed seeming book, but it was still enjoyable.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great, exciting beginning. A little disappointed in the end. But overall, same great writing and suspense!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars -- This made me a bit sad. I read this to finish the series because I had read the first four many years ago. I love the premise of these stories -- read the text and watch the accompanying videos. The combination could be hair-raising stuff. BUT, after the first two, I felt that there was a drop-off in quality of the storyline. And sadly, this one, the last of the series at this point, is no different. Ryan, Sarah, and Fitz make up the entirety of the present day Crossbones, a group committed to solving mysteries of the past and present in Skeleton Creek, Oregon. While the first big mystery that they worked on basically took four books to solve, this separate mystery took one short one. This mystery involved Fitz's dead mother and the graveyard caretaker. The plotline was decent, and the videos were appropriately creepy, but the story itself was way too rushed to be effective. There were NUMEROUS editing/grammatical errors, and one plot point stipulated that a door opening meant Yes and a door closing meant No, but then 30 pages later, it had flipped and a door opening meant No while a door shutting meant Yes -- with no explanation! I have said this a couple of times recently. If an author wants to keep his/her readers, then treat them with more respect. Sigh.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe this book is even written by the same author. It reads like poorly written fanfiction by someone who has a vague grasp of the characters. It lacks the genuine tone of the other books that I love teaching. The videos in this book rely on jump scares and feel too overdone, unlike Sarah's videos that felt more realistic in prior books.

There are so many plot holes and confusing moments in this book that I spent more time thinking about what was going on than I actually wanted to.

One thing I liked about the old books was that there was a mystery with clues that the reader could solve as they went. This book is a poorly executed ghost story that I wish hadn't happened. It mars the first four books, so I'd like to think this one doesn't even exist.

[Joshua Mix · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a let down I'll be honest. In comparison to the previous four books, it's lacking. The way the mystery unfolds feels like the characters are grasping at straws with luck and not their hands. The videos didn't really add to the story. The decision to add the cemetery attendant to the crossbones sorta comes out of nowhere. My main gripe comes from the fact that the story revolves around an actual ghost. Feels like the past four books got retconned. Now, If you ignore the other books for a minute, It's not a bad book. It's gripping and the videos still manage to generate an unhealthy amount of anxiety (in me at least) with the audio alone. All in all: Not too bad, but not my favorite. 3/5

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
When I was reading the reviews for this book I was a little nervous to begin it, but I’m glad to find myself pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it a lot! Maybe not as much as the other 4 books in the series, but it was still fun. It doesn’t really follow the same format and there is some questionable plot holes, but it never bothered me much. It’s a book for kids and if you’re a kid you’ll find it fun! It’s not really a typical “Skeleton Creek” book and doesn’t fit well into that universe, but it’s fun nonetheless.

[Audrey B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely didn't enjoy this book as much as the first four. It still had a good story line to it though. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery or paranormal book. I really hope Patrick Carman will write more books to the Skeleton Creek series. I also liked how he added in new characters into the book. I think this book could have been a lot better. Overall, this book had a cool story line and it was an okay book.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was no need for another book in this series. The fourth book warped the story up perfectly. There was also some inconsistencies between the last book and this one that was not explained at all. The book was also written in a different format that just didn't work for me. However it was still a good story I just could not get over the major changes that were made with no explanations whatsoever.

[Rubi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a long time to get a hold of this book. But glad I got to finish the series. I liked the first 4 books more. This one freaked me out more because unlike the ScoobyDoo like feature where there was an explanation for the mysterious occurrences before.....this one they really were trying to talk to the dead.
Once again the videos added to the storya dn I love this unique feature. It was a super fast read and entertaining. Ryan was funny as usual haha

[Sam Pigeon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This Book is the absolute worst of the series. Book 4 wrapped up the series perfectly, and this one is as if someone else wrote it using Carman's name. If Carman did truly write this, then he did to make a quick buck with a shit story. There are many proofing errors, as well as continuity errors. The videos are literally of the same room and a phantom for one video, but you don't even see the original cast. Don't even bother reading as it provides nothing to the series.

[Joshua Sloan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good. This reads like a first draft of an entirely different series. Lots of typos and grammatical errors, a nonsensical plot, and only the barest of details. The original four books (especially the first two) hold a special place in my heart, and there is no room there for this entry. The only things going for it are its font and the structure of video entries interspersed with the prose, but neither of those are unique to this volume.

[Sarah Dreisbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was on par with the first two in the series! The third and fourth books dragged but this book redeemed the series. So glad I continued this series until this book! I like that the friends are back together. It felt like the story moved more quickly and the videos were spooky. I enjoyed this read.

[sanstheskelepun]

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[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a cute gimmick idea to have watchable videos attached. But the writing itself is fun, enjoyable breeze through Y/A, maybe could have used to be a bit longer, but I understand there's probably a ton of work getting the videos done for it.

[Justine Ngow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too scary to carry on reading.

[jay Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best book

[Kade Gobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book was about a room that is haunted by a ghost. Sarah and her boyfriend what to figure out the mystery. I recommend this book to anyone who loves scary books and scary videos.

[Vince Home · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got rid of the journal aspect for a more traditional story telling method that displays the awful writing more. Also the racist characiture of the black graveyard keeper didn't help things.

[Tori Shaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

6th grade class thought this was the worst book of the series. They were bored and couldn’t wait for it to be over:/

[JoJo Kirkman · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. My least favourite of the series.

[Madison Weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review on book #1

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book as far as I know is the last in its series, Skeleton Creek. I gave The Phantom Room a high praise of five stars, higher than the other ones because in the first four books it was only about Old Joe Bush, The Apostle and The Raven as the antagonists. Where the Crossbones was now the protagonists from the end of book #4 when Fitz used the clause and read of the oath retiring the old Crossbones members and in their place, Ryan McCray to treasure, Sarah Fincher to record and Sam Fitzsimons to protect.

This book is by far my favorite in its series, it is one of the few where I can say, "Wow!, what a grand finale." I thought the story with Old Joe Bush was starting to get a little boring, and he wasn't even a real ghost! He was just Henry in a suit. I really liked the dog Steve That Fitz got, Steve is a little dog with one 'snaggletooth' as they say in the front of his mouth, it was really cool that the phantom turned out to be Fitz's mom's ghost. The only thing that I wish was in the story that would have made it better, was if Fitz's dad could have been in the story. Other than that, this book was definitely worth its five stars.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

By far the weakest book in the series thus far. Although the story does have some decent parts, and Roy is a really cool addition as a character, this book is thoroughly mediocre. Most disappointing is how few videos there are...and the ones that do exist are pretty boring compared with past entries.

[hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy the way this book started. It jumped right into gear, giving a rushed explanation of the Crossbones and not even attempting to ease into the story. Right off the bat -- Fitz is "missing". And then, two pages later, they find him. And then The Raven is missing. And suddenly Fitz has a house thats backyard is bordering the cemetery and a dog named Steve and oh yes let's not forget that his dead mother's old room is haunted. And it's only 20 pages in.
Also, this book lacked a great deal of continuity. It never explains why Sarah is suddenly back in Skeleton Creek when she spent the previous two books living in Boston with her parents (when she wasn't spending the summer road tripping across America). Not to mention that in The Raven Ryan says that there's two cemeteries in Skeleton Creek -- an old one that hasn't been used in decades and a new one -- but then completely contradicts himself by saying that the solitary cemetery behind Fitz's house is the only one for many miles. Also, Fitz says that "Open means yes, closed means no", and yet later he states that closed means yes.
I'm all for a real ghost (excuse me, "phantom"), but it all played off like it was a hoax until Sarah went in alone. That scene in the book was the best part in my opinion, because it felt the most similar to the other books. Sarah goes in alone to investigate and Ryan is off the grid.
There were fewer videos and they weren't as (how do I put this?) "personal". I wasn't engrossed in them like I was when watching Sarah and Ryan investigate the Dredge or Sarah finding the Apostle's clues. And because Ryan mostly explained what happened after giving the password, I felt as though I didn't even need to watch the video, no matter how much he urged me to (seriously, that got annoying).
Ryan's writing style was also different. There were times when it felt the same as the previous books, but most of the time I was disappointed at the lack of personality. In the earlier books, Ryan's journal felt more like what it was supposed to be -- a journal. He would write in it whenever he could and it felt more personal. It had more depth. In The Phantom Room, it was more like he was telling a story than relaying "actual" events. And I didn't particularly like the "chapter titles" in replace of the date and time.
I was completely confused by the ending. It was wrapped up much too quickly. And what the heck is the death slayer and how does it work? Why didn't Sarah or Ryan do any research about Karl Snedicker and why was Fitz's mom only able to say "S.I.D." over and over? If it was an actual name I would understand, but the fact that it turned out to be an acronym was ridiculous and unbelievable.
I also found a couple grammar and spelling mistakes. At one point Sarah says "You're house" instead of "Your house", and Ryan says that Skeleton Creek is completely "disserted" instead of "deserted". "Disserted" isn't even a word. Very sloppy.
I can only hope the next book (if there is one, although they completely set up for one) is better.

[Barrett Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ryan and Sarah are the Crossbones. The Crossbones are a group who protect the secrets of the town Skeleton Creek. They have not seen their friend Fritz for days. They know that his dad usually goes out for days at a time and Fritz's mom is dead. They find him in the woods sitting on a rock. When they ask him why he has not been in his house he turned away and shudders. He finally tells them about his house being haunted. He says at 10:07 p.m. scary things happen in his mom's old room. When Ryan and Sarah finally venture in the haunted house they set up a camera to see. Can they solve the mystery of the Phantom Room? Read the book to find out.
I did not like this book because of the lack of suspense. It was a dull beginning and had a few chapters that only had me hooked. The cool part about this book is that Their are videos with it. So if you are lacking adjectives you can login on their website and watch what is happening yourself. I did not watch these videos but if you are having trouble with this book you can watch them and it will help you.

[Naveed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was exciting, mysterious and great. I recommend this book if you like books from Stephen King, or movies like The Conjuring, and shows like Supernatural. This book has a lot of literary techniques, for example, on page 1 when the protagonist Ryan said "har har har. I made myself laugh right there." That is an example of onomatopoeia. Like in the book if it said then Ryan laugh, that doesn’t sound fun. This brings life into the book. Then on page 9 its says “Sarah and I found Fitz sitting on a tombstone.” that is an example of imagery, like I hate when books are plain and boring, this book makes you imagine and if you aren’t very visionary there is videos you can see while reading throughout the book. This book has personification too! Like in the book it says that his mother’s room was speaking. It shows creativity and it doesn’t make the book sound so modern and makes it unique . Like this doesn’t make the book plain, it gives it creativity and fun to it. Patrick Carman did a really good job in this book i give this 5/5 stars.

[Kate Percival · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another spine chilling mystery of the Skeleton Creek series written by Patrick Carman! The Phantom Room should be given five stars! How about ten? Ryan, Sarah and Fitz are all the Crossbones now. But when Fitz says that his house is haunted, Sarah is on top of it on the spot.
His Mothers room speaks, the chandelier spins and flickers, the pictures fall of the walls... what does that mean? This all starts with a voice echoing the room. Sid! Who is that? It all starts at exactly 10:07pm. Sarah, calling the room the Phantom Room, records everything at that time. Soon they figure out that every picture that drops, every word the phantom speaks, it all means something. Fitz Mom is dead, but is that her?
Will they figure out why the Phantom is haunting there? All answers will be answered in the book!
The videos are absolutely the scariest thing on earth. I will never like doors again! You'll understand why I said that very soon.
Enter the Phantom Room if you dare... (pgs. 172)