It’s almost unbelievable how much this book improves upon the original. The stories are so much better. They are longer, have better twists and are A LOT scarier then the original. This increase in quality also led to an increase in memorability, because almost all of the griezelbus story’s I remembered from my childhood were from this entry.
Before we dive into the short story’s lets quickly take a look at the wraparound narrative. The wraparound is a pretty good continuation of the first books story, it picks up 3 years after the original ended when four kids break into a scrapyard and get locked inside the titular griezelbus. Suddenly the radio turns on where a ghastly host starts reading them scary stories. The isolation of the abandoned scrapyard creates a delightfully creepy atmosphere. This terrifying thrill ride kicks into full gear when our favorite bus driving skeleton Beentjes steps on board and transports them to the graveyard where P. Onnoval has been buried. Along the way they pick up a few of the monsters from the first books anthological tales. Although it’s a bit self indulgent, I must admit I loved these callbacks, especially the return of the incredible, fabulous and absolutely perfect HUMAN FLESH EATING CHAIR!!! Unfortunately however I do think this story kind of falls apart when it reaches its third act. At the graveyard P. Onnoval rises from the grave, this time as a vampire instead of a werewolf, planning is to ritually sacrifice the kids to return to the land of the living. During the ensuing struggle one of the kids manages to burn the book his soul is tied to resulting in his second death and all of them escaping at the last minute. My main problem with this climax and probably the wraparound overall is just how much less of an intimidating presence Onnoval has. The first book was absolutely carried by his creepy mannerisms and werewolf twist, here he just kind of shows up, monologues for a few minutes and dies.
Another new addition to the series is having an overarching theme connecting the short stories, this time being “lief/liefde” although I did not care for the resulting romantic subplot in the wraparound, having a theme really helped focus and tie together all of the short stories, so without further ado lets dive into them:
9. Lieve oma
So just to be clear how much these short stories have improved upon the original, if this one was featured In the first book it would have ended up somewhere in the top 5.
On the surface a story about a girl riding a train and discovering every other passenger is a monster should make for a thrilling read, but just like the NS, this story suffers from overcrowding. There are so many monsters that none really get the chance to stand out. Although I would love to read a full book about Tiana’s vacation. A town where everyone knows, accepts and is always overprepared for the constant threat of a monster attack seems like a fun premise.
8. Liever niet aanbellen
Once again its lack of focus bringing this one down, being at once about: a haunted house, time travel, ghost kids and an axe murdering psychopath. The result a story that feels both overstuffed and way to drawn out. Although I wil admit the ending stinger got a laugh out of me, and Johnny’s escape from the house was pretty tense.
7. Lief kermismonster
This one is just a short and simple classic monster story, which is both its greatest strength and weakness, not a lot to be discussed but it’s a fun read.
6. Lievelingsschrijver.
This is the turning point where the story’s go from alright to good, Its premise is a lot of fun, A dream invading creature that gives you nightmares and then uses those as inspiration for its horror novels, whose nightmares did you steal that one from Paul? My only problem with this tale is the lack of tension, yeah the nightmare’s suck but at no point during the story is Lian in any actual danger of bodily harm, which is kind of disappointing for the final short story in this volume.
5. Lieve papa en mama
This is probably the story I spent the most time thinking about during and after this reread, cause if you take it at face value it’s a fun horror story about a kid whose parents have turned into vampires, at first he gets scared and tries to kill them but eventually realizes he loves them to much and decides to become a vampire himself. However while reading it my mind kept turning to a different, way darker, interpretation. Throughout the story the vampire mom and dad keep trying to convince their son to become a vampire as well, constantly telling him about all the advantages of vampiric (un)life and constantly assuring him that they are still the same people, the same parents that love him. And although the story doesn’t really question this I couldn’t help but wonder if they were lying. If this was just a trick, a dastardly plot crafted by the perfect hunter to capture easy prey. The ending isn’t a sweet showcase of love, instead it’s the tragic moment the main characters bravery falters and he succumbs to their deadly trap. While probably not what the author intended this reading turned this sweet story into a bleak, unsettling and horrifying tale that really resonated with me.
4. Lieflingsdier
Most adults like to think they are smarter then kids, They like to think they are right, they like to think they know better, and because of this they like to ignore when kids warn them about something. This feeling of not being believed, being ignored and not taken seriously when warning adults used to (and still does if I’m honest) infuriate me. So it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why I love this story about a schoolteacher that refuses to listen, the child that tries to warn him and the monstrous pet that eventually eats him.
3. De Liefste Juf
Thinking about it, Paul van Loon is most definitely the reason why werewolves are one of my favorite monsters, and this story uses them in such a fun way. Just when you start to think it’s a bit predictable and stale: “oh wow the second the-POV-character-turns-out-to-be-the-werewolf-twist in the franchise, I’m so shocked aaaahhhh” it turns around, and sucker punches you with just an incredible double bluff. I genuinely yelled when it was revealed that the teacher was a werewolf as well, it is THE perfect ending stinger for a story like this.
2. Liefdewerk
So fun fact about me: out of every piece horror media out there, this short story is the one that has caused me the most sleepless nights. As a kid this story absolutely TERRIFIED me. There is something so deeply unsettling about a teddy bear, the thing that is supposed to protect and comfort you while you sleep, turning into a life force draining monster. I would spend hours just staring at my door convinced any moment a demonic tedy bear would walk in and try to murder me. This story both introduced me to the concept of a “poppendokter” and made me want to stay as far away from them as possible. And even though I can now respect the level of craftmanship these people posses, some part deep deep deep inside of me is stil convinced that if given the chance, they would for sure put one of those disgusting shriveled up hearts in my plushies.
1. Lief vriendinnetje.
This is it, my favorite griezelbus story, the one that has stuck in my minds for years, the one I would return to constantly as a kid and the story whose memory sparked my urge to reread these books in the first place. I don’t know what it is but something about Imme just draws me in. As a kid I wanted to be her friend and thought Sanne was an idiot for running away. I mean come on an undead skeleton bestie, that’s like the coolest thing ever! Now that I’m older I still kind of feel that way. Is it weird that the fictional character that has sparked the biggest paternal instinct in me is this little skeleton girl who just wants to play hide and seek with her bones? Yeah probably, but god damn is she just the cutest character ever.
This book (and series as a whole) holds such a special place in my heart, it truly is the start of what turned me into the horror fanatic I am today. I found it really hard to do justice to all the love I feel for these stories, especially the top 3.
That, and the insane amount of deadlines i had these last few weeks, is probably why it took so long to finally finish this review, but now that its done I can finally sink my (suspicious sharp canine) teeth into the third book.