A Very Scary Christmas

by John Ward

Christmas is the most magical time of the year. Between the decorations, the movies, and the fun family traditions, you can truly feel the Christmas spirit. While visiting a local Christmas store, things seem to take a terrifying turn when Kelsey notices the store owner, Madame Trudeau, performing a strange ritual over the trio of elf dolls her younger brother Colby picked out.



Strange and chilling occurrences lead Kelsey to believe the dolls can come to life. What's scarier than a creepy doll? How about three vengeful elf dolls?

Genres: Middle Grade, Horror

153 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2025

Reviews

[Svea Neitzke · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and I finished Scareville: A Very Scary Christmas by John Ward. This book is delightfully creepy! My daughter is 10 and we had so much reading it! The naughty elves are very entertaining and it makes me glad we never did Elf on the Shelf.

My daughter made her own review and I'm posting it for her:

I enjoyed that Colby and Kelsey are close and how realistic they were with their sibling rivalry. Sometimes they fight, making fun of each other, and sometimes they are nice too. I also like that Colby slowly believes Kelsey that the elves are alive because their parents don't believe her. I loved the ending. I can't give it away, but it feels like there should be a sequel. I truly like this book!

[Kendra Raptor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas is the most magical time of the year, especially for the Carrow family. Every year they celebrate by decorating and having fun with family traditions. One tradition is going to the flea market and letting the kids, Kelsey and Colby, pick out a new Christmas decoration. Well, this year, Colby finds some elves in a box.
However, these Elves on a Shelf come with their own games.

4/5 - Scareville: A Very Scary Christmas by John Ward is an adventure that would be a great read for YA or lovers of Goosebumbs and Shivers.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 – Creepy Christmas Perfection!
Absolutely loved this! John Ward turns Christmas into something chilling and unforgettable. The atmosphere is eerie, the suspense is real, and I couldn’t put it down. Totally messed with my idea of holiday cheer—in the best way.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book 24/32 for the indie horror brawl 2025.

A kids horror novel being part of the indie brawl really wasn't on my bingo card. I found myself very confused when I started reading this because I wasn't aware of this. I didn't read horror as a kid so I don't have much to compare this to, but it definitely felt like a middle grade kids book. Also I felt like I was committing blasphemy by reading a christmas book in August, but we are getting close to voting so I wanted to read one of the shorter brawl books.

Anyways, I didn't have much fun reading this. It's clearly not for me. The writing is very to the point. It feels like the story is being told by a child so it lacks a lot of atmosphere and descriptions that would make it actually scary. That being said, there were a few scenes I thought we pretty spooky. I really liked the parts where Kelsey would hear voices or footsteps at night and be terrified. I also loved how the elves were just messing around with their initial shenanigans, like cutting Kelsey's friends hair and scribbling on her dad's helmet. I enjoyed the elf of the shelf aspect of these pranks. There were definitely some good ideas there.

After those good parts, things just get silly as the author tries to crank up the horror aspect. As much as dolls coming to life requires you to suspend your disbelief, I struggled to suspend my disbelief that Kelsey could emotionally recover so quickly from knowing the dolls are alive, in her house, and have malicious intentions. There's no way this girl would ever sleep again. I also seriously hated the exposition dump of why the elves exist and what their intentions are. What a goddamn mess. The story would have been better if there was no explanation at all, honestly.

The book ends exactly how you'd expect it to. I'm glad it wasn't any longer than it was, but again, I am aware that I'm not the target audience of this book.

[Danielle Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sure, they were elves, but their menacing grins and their weird, big eyes staring blankly at me gave me the chills.”

This is the second book in the Scareville Series that I’ve read, and I loved it!

If you’re into holiday horror, Goosebumps, and think that those damn elves are creepy… this is the book for you! I really had a blast with it!

Five out of five sketchy elves for this gem!

🧝🏼🧝🏼🧝🏼🧝🏼🧝🏼

[Nathan Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas is the most magical time of the year, especially for the Carrow family. Every year they celebrate by decorating and having fun with family traditions. One tradition is going to the flea market and letting the kids, Kelsey and Colby, pick out a new Christmas decoration. Well, this year, Colby finds some elves in a box.
However, these Elves on a Shelf come with their own games.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read for middle grade.

[Christopher Dahman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for its intended audience. Good ending.

Creepy little f***ers.

[S. Policar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still convinced this is one three entries that were designed to send my OCD and ADHD into overdrive because it isn't December and I shouldn't be reading this until December 🤦‍♀️.
Now that I got that out of my system into the good stuff.

I love these middle grade horrors so much. They're so light compared to the adult books and they're such a great break from all the heaviness adult books tend to have.

John Ward's style is very similar to my own childhood favorites: Goosebumps, Tales from the Crypt(keeper. We had kid versions of tales from the crypt books, but the cartoon Tales from the Cryptkeeper was life), etc, when it comes to horror for kids. It's not scary unless you're a kid, but it's a fun to read.

I would absolutely recommend this (and all the Scareville books honestly) to any kid of any age that wants to get a little taste of horror.

One part confused me just a little though. The fireplace and the tree are in the living room ... So I'm confused as to why Kelsey met her parents and brother in the basement on Christmas morning and how everything including the couches and fireplace got down there.

I give this book 5 of 5 Paws.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you have a tween/young teen who's interested in horror, this is a great choice! I was surprised how much I liked this book. it reminds me of goosebumps in the best possible way. Definitely intended for a younger audience (like upper elementary/middle school) which is why I rated it so high. I don't necessarily think it's a 5 star read for adults, but it's not really supposed to be. it's not a book for us. but for the intended audience, I think it's a near perfect horror novel. the suspense and the overall spooky factor was top tier. more than once while reading, I found myself genuinely creeped by every little sound in the dark. and it was actually rather refreshing to read a horror book that doesn't rely on gore or other depravity to be scary. I'll be buying the whole series to eventually read with my kids.

[Maggie Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't typically read middle grade books, but it was part of the Brawl so I read this one. It was a delight! Perfect for Christmas in July. It had the nostalgic feel of Goosebumps. It was such a nice break, I ordered the scarecrow one for the Fall.

[Stacy Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy Christmas

Even though this a middle grade horror book. I loved it being an adult. I liked that it was a short read that packed a punch. Wii never look at mini elves the same again. Thank you John Ward.

[Malinda McKinnon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Those elves will get ya every time

A fun quick middle grade horror. It was a bit cheesy at times but that's part of the fun. This was my first read of the series but I will for sure be checking out the others.

[Paul Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

inspiring and fun

I had so much fun reading this book that rewrote the words to a classic Christmas song:

Have yourself a scary little Christmas
Hey that elf’s not right
Best behave or these elves will give you such a fright
Have yourself a scary little Christmas
Make these elves go away
I don’t think that how you spell out Santa’s slay

Here they are looking innocent
Grinning elves sooo pure
Faithful friends who are near to us
Run screaming from the house once more

Someday soon we all will be together
If the elves allow
Do you believe me when I tell you that they’re evil now?
So have yourself a scary little Christmas wow

[Kirsty Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad but not overly exciting either. Definitely a YA read, a little too young for me personally. If creepy dolls are your thing then you'll probably enjoy this one.

[Gary Vassallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun middle grade horror story. Definitely reminded me of Goosebumps, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Will likely give the other books in the series a read.

[Wendy York · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know if this is categorized as YA but this was a fun ride that I think would be great for younger horror enthusiasts. I really enjoyed it!