Teddy: The Novelization

by John Gault, Ian A. Stuart

"A Holy Grail for movie tie-in collectors."
-Michael Gingold, Rue Morgue MagazineSuch a sweet little boy. Such a dear teddy. Why is everyone so afraid?

Sandy isn't afraid. She's the babysitter. And she and Jamie are going ot be great pals. But Sandy should never tell Jamie she loves him, not even teasing. Maybe most boys Jamie's age don't know much about sex... but Teddy does. And Jamie does whatever Teddy tells him.

A bright smiling boy and his Teddy. The lure of evil. And a wave of sickening violence that sweeps the terrified town. What fiend in their midst could do such hideous things? Teddy knows...

Terrifying, outrageous, and impossible to put down, Teddy joins the ranks of cult horror classics like Child's Play, Dolls, and Basket Case. Back in print for the first time since 1981, this holy grail of paperback horror is ready to sink its claws into a new generation of readers.

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 19, 2025

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I was listening to a horror movie podcast which described this book as being much darker than the movie. I vaguely remember seeing the movie many years ago, and was curious as to how much darker it could be. Turns out- not much. This is a really weird story, which actually feels like two different plots mashed together. There is the one plot line which can be gathered from the cover and book description, about a boy and his evil Teddy bear that talks to him, and puts evil ideas in his head. The other is that the boy has discovered a pit in a forested area believed to be cursed by the locals (Lovecraft like characters involved). In this pit lives a group of creatures that the boy calls "trogs". The author connects these two stories in a rather ridiculous way.

The story was interesting, if only to see where it was going. I think it's 2.5 stars rounded up.