The Puppet's Payback: and Other Chilling Tales

by Mary Downing Hahn

This collection of tales is for fans of ghost-story writer Mary Downing Hahn's scary but not too scary books. Even the stories without actual ghosts are spooky. Each tale turns something ordinary--a pigeon, a white dress, a stranger on the bus, a puppet--into a sinister link to the supernatural. For the human characters, secrets from the past or careless behavior in the present can lead to serious trouble. All the stories have a young person as their central character, so all will resonate easily with young listeners who enjoy the eerie, the creepy, and the otherworldly. In a concluding note, the author talks about how she came to write ghost stories.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Middle Grade, Fiction, Paranormal, Childrens, Juvenile

Audio CD

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

I grew up in a small shingled house down at the end of Guilford Road in College Park, Maryland. Our block was loaded with kids my age. We spent hours outdoors playing "Kick the Can" and "Mother, May I" as well as cowboy and outlaw games that usually ended in quarrels about who shot whom. In the summer, we went on day long expeditions into forbidden territory -- the woods on the other side of the train tracks, the creek that wound its way through College Park, and the experimental farm run by the University of Maryland.

In elementary school, I was known as the class artist. I loved to read and draw but I hated writing reports. Requirements such as outlines, perfect penmanship, and following directions killed my interest in putting words on paper. All those facts -- who cared what the principal products of Chile were? To me, writing reports was almost as boring as math.

Despite my dislike of writing, I loved to make up stories. Instead of telling them in words, I told them in pictures. My stories were usually about orphans who ran away and had the sort of exciting adventures I would have enjoyed if my mother hadn't always interfered.

When I was in junior high school, I developed an interest in more complex stories. I wanted to show how people felt, what they thought, what they said. For this, I needed words. Although I wasn't sure I was smart enough, I decided to write and illustrate children's books when I grew up. Consequently, at the age of thirteen, I began my first book. Small Town Life was about a girl named Susan, as tall and skinny and freckle faced as I was. Unlike her shy, self conscious creator, however, Susan was a leader who lived the life I wanted to live -- my ideal self, in other words. Although I never finished Small Town Life, it marked the start of a lifelong interest in writing.

In high school, I kept a diary. In college, I wrote poetry and short stories and dreamed of being published in The New Yorker. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage or the confidence to send anything there.

By the time my first novel was published, I was 41 years old. That's how long it took me to get serious about writing. The Sara Summer took me a year to write, another year to find a publisher, and yet another year of revisions before Clarion accepted it.

Since Sara appeared in 1979, I've written an average of one book a year. If I have a plot firmly in mind when I begin, the writing goes fairly quickly. More typically, I start with a character or a situation and only a vague idea of what's going to happen. Therefore, I spend a lot of time revising and thinking things out. If I'd paid more attention to the craft of outlining back in elementary school, I might be a faster writer, but, on the other hand, if I knew everything that was going to happen in a story, I might be too bored to write it down. Writing is a journey of discovery. That's what makes it so exciting.

Reviews

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to love MDH's books as a kid, so I was eager to pick up this collection of short stories, but sadly, her storytelling was much better in my memory. I always hesitate to give MG books a low rating because clearly I'm not the intended audience, but on the other hand, I have spent my entire life loving MG horror and I feel like I know where the standard should be set — and this isn't it.

The writing is meh, the storylines are boring, and the characters are terribly unbelievable. No child talks like the children in these stories do. The details in the plots are consistently overly convenient (such as how many of the kids have cell phones, only to realize the battery died, etc.) and the scare factor is incredibly low. I don't recommend this collection for most children today. There are just way too many better MG horror options you could spend your money on.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Downing Hahn is far and away the most popular writer of scary books in my 4th and 5th grade libraries. Teachers enjoy books like Took, Wait Til Helen Comes, and Deep and Dark and Dangerous and often read them to their classes. A collection of short stories, however, is not her usual fare and I was excited to see it listed in dARC form on both Edelweiss and NetGalley. By giving my kids scary stories without the length of a novel, I know that will make her book accessible to even my more reluctant and struggling readers. Like many anthologies, however, the brevity of these stories results in a lack of depth in characters and less buy-in of the reader. The “scare” level overall was pretty low and most were pretty predictable, although several did take me by surprise. The works collected in this book will appeal to many of my students, but I was more interested in the personal note Ms Hahn added at the end sharing her development as a writer, including the high school version of a story in the book and notes about its current, improved state. Libraries with high circulation of her other books will likely want this one, especially if they also have a large number of students who read short story collections written by Michael Dahl or similar.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories reminds me of the creepy stories I read as a kid. Some stories in this book are reprints of the 90’s classics. I love ghost stories and spooky stories. This is a wonderful choice to read during October.

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book it’s so good and amazing

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was sort of hard to get through. The stories were pretty much the same but told slightly different. I felt like this book was the biggest click bait ever but for books. I sort of want to check out her other books… but we will see. I’ve been reading a lot of middle grade and usually love them but this wasn’t it for me.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. I don’t really like short story collections, but I enjoyed them enough in this.

[Alicia Steagall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and fun stories. A bit repetitive almost it seems, but there all different stories in there own way and they were enjoyable and a fun scare.

[TJL · Rating 2 out of 5]

So... Here's the problem: I feel like this book might have suffered from comparison.

Because right before I read it, I read Don’t Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and it was excellent. A highly varied and creative collection of short-stories by different authors. So that might be part of the problem, because usually I like Mary Downing Hahn.

But this collection just came off as kind of... Not great? I mean the first two are about the same thing ( Vampires) and the others are just kind of... Really predictable, I guess?

IDK. It might just be me, but I wasn't super impressed.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently working to improve my reader's advisory knowledge of middle grade horror stories, so this ended up being a work I had to check off the list. This collection of short-stories is refreshingly well-written and enjoyable in a way that excites a reader's sense of terror without diving too deep into the explicit or graphic. The stories themselves are varied in subject matter and communicated very clearly in such a way that it feels like no detail or line is excess. The author's use of foreshadowing is fun, concise, and incredibly useful for young reader's who are learning what it takes to tell a story. While all the stories are in the scary/spooky/horror genre, some express an emotional depth and sensitivity that I hope resonates with readers who are talking about subjects such as death and loss and the supernatural. All in all, I would highly recommend this collection to all readers. I would also highly recommend reading the author's commentary at the end.

[Jojobooks Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a short story reader but this was fun. My boys are not into anything scary so I had to read it alone. I think if it makes it into the right hands this book would be a fun read (3rd-5th grades). Just enough spooky. The cover is terrifying.

[Stefanie Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Number Seven Bus - Good; Vampire
213 Poplar Street - good, creepy/Allegra graveyard
The Grounding of Theresa - Not scary; basketball player
Trouble Afoot - Uncle Bert/Sea Serpent
The Pupper's Payback - Silly; Puppet won't leave hand; teacher gets taken away
The Little Blue Jacket - creepy; tag in graveyard
The Last House on Cresent Road - Sweet; baseball player and glove
The Thirteenth Pigeon - ok; park, rocks, pigeon

[Andrew Shaffer]

The story about the puppet is by far the best in the book. Every story has a twist—many the same exact twist (“She’s a ghost!” “He’s a ghost!”)—and most kids will probably guess the twists well before the endings.

[C Harpin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are hit or miss. I liked several, but others were underwhelming. 213 Poplar Street was creepy. I really liked the afterward.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story book was ok. I really loved the cover more than anything.

[Karla Mahar · Rating 3 out of 5]

young listeners book but I enjoy Hahn's ghost stories. I have read many.

[Jennifer T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

**3.5 stars**

Good, light horror ghost stories. Perfect for those who don’t like really scary or gory stories. Finished it in a couple of hours.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Number Seven Bus ***
213 Poplar Street ***
The Grounding of Theresa **
The Real Thing ***
Trouble Afoot ****
The Puppet's Payback *****
The New Girl *
The Little Blue Jacket *****
The Last House on Crescent Road ***
The Thirteenth Pigeon ***

[Heather Daughrity · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance I wondered if Ms. Hahn was channeling RL Stine - who wouldn't think of Slappy when seeing this cover? But in truth the titular story is one of the shortest in the book and while it does have a bit of Stine to it, the rest of the stories are very much Hahn.

This book contains ten short stories containing: six ghosts, one vampire, one witch, one sea serpent, and of course one creepy puppet. A couple of the stories were new takes on The Phantom Hitchhiker trope. My favorite of the stories was 'The New Girl'; a thoroughly Gothic tale about a sort of halfway house for dead children transitioning from life to the hereafter.

Stories creepy enough to send a shiver down your spine but not so terrifying they'll give you nightmares, this collection is sure to please any middle grade reader who likes a good scare now and then.

[BookMarkedByHeather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to start off by saying thank you Goodreads for the free book, I honestly felt so much nostalgia when I was a giveaway winner; because Mary Downing Hahn is who got me into reading, especially ghost stories. My FIRST book I have EVER read was the Old Willis Place. I remember reading it in middle school and fell in love.

While I am older now and these types of books are very easy and don't hold as much thrill to it as it used to, that doesn't change my review to this book at all! I LOVED this book and all the little short stories it contained. I loved how some were short and sweet to the point and how others were a little more drawn out and didn't have happy endings. This is a great book if you want to ever start writing your own horror books!

Very well done Mary!

[Michelle]

My favorite part of this book is the afterward, where MDH tells her history and theory of fright. Her work over the years has included some truly genius junior horror novels. This would be a welcome read for the MDH fan in your life; best for the lower-t0-average 5-8th grade reader.

[Maddie]

If you think you see a spoiler don't read the rest of my review.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED IF YOU ARE CONTINUING...


I really liked these spine chilling tales that were in the book. My favorite was the one with the host girl that was attached to a dress.



No Spoiler intended

[RumBelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young boy takes the bus home late one night, and encounters a sinister creature. A girl named Allegra has a mysterious past that dramatically alters one boys life. Jenny buys a dress, to be able to participate in a Girl Scouting event, and ends up experiencing a ghostly visitor. These are just some of the plots in this 10 story collection.

Overall, I found this collection highly repetitive, and not very original. Several of the stories seemed to have the same, or similar, paranormal element. Characters have the same name, though they are in different stories. One tale in particular, The Puppets Payback, even repeated the same line of text, with only slight variation, at least seven times. Many of the tales seem, at least to me, like they just abruptly end, with no real explanation for what the paranormal element in, or no real solution at all. An example of that was Trouble Afoot, about a boy who goes to visit his Uncle Bert, only to find he has disappeared. Without giving anything away, the cause of that disappearance will supposedly haunt the boy forever, and that is basically how the story end, with him saying he is spending the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. It was not a very creative, or original effort, all things considered, in my humble opinion.

One story I did like was the New Girl. That was an interesting, and somewhat original tale. It had an element of melancholy to it, that worked really well with the ghostly aspects.

I was really looking forward to reading this, but more than anything came away disappointed.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

These 10 short stories have something for every horror reader. The suspense, the triggers (dolls, ghosts), and the main characters' choices will reach those who like scary stories. Some of them are rooted in irresistibly eerie situations: the undead, hide and seek in cemeteries after midnight, and witches. This book is for those who like to write scary stories to get some great ideas from Hahn's afterward and for those who really don't want to be terrified, but like suspenseful stories. Most of these characters live through these stories which made it better for more of my students.

My students say they love scary books. They always ask for more. (I fear they are not truthful when they swear they don't get scared. I bet parents will tell me a different tale.) I found this book through a book review group called Libres. We read and review children's books and connect them to school curriculum or teaching needs. I had not seen this one before and though I despise being scared, I thought a short story collection was more attainable for me. I am glad I did. This is a great addition to a school collection in elementary or middle schools. Mary Downing Hahn is a consistent writer of horror for kids. I like that in this collection of short stories, she also adds a bit about why she got into this line of work.

[Holly Towns · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good! Some were kind of scary,some were not,some were really creepy. The Best and scariest stories in my opinion where story 1: number 7 bus,story 7: The new girl and story 10:the thirteenth pigeon. I'm not gonna talk about every story in the book but the scariest one: the new girl is one I have to share with you. So it's about a girl named Madaline who's never been to a real school before goes to one for the first time but its not like how she imagines. The place looks abandoned and the inside looks more like an asylum than a school. What's even stranger is that all the kids aren't allowed to eat real food for some reason they have to pretend to eat. and if anyone talks about not being allowed to eat they get sent to bed. Even the bedroom looks weird too. all the beds are lined up and there's no pillows. but it gets even worse, she can't hear music when a girl was playing the piano and the pages of her book where blank and when a boy was building a puzzle there where no pictures on the peices. After all of the weird stuff happening she found out its because everyone is dead and this is their afterlife. I know it might sound strange intead of creepy but in my opinion its really creepy. but the book is really good so I give it 4 stars.

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m sure a young Hahn fan would love to get their hands on this if only to read everything their favorite author has ever written.
As a pleasure reader, I wasn’t impressed. The story she shares at the end beings it full circle as it seems that this is a collection of stories made up by children. the basketball and baseball stories are just variations of the same tale.
I felt a 2-star rating was appropriate for 2 reasons:
1. The only book so far of Hahn’s that’s been worse than this is The Spanish Kidnapping Disaster (a disaster of a book indeed)
2. The words of encouragement and personal back story at the end give one valuable insight.

Overall, not a book I would’ve chosen to read if I hadn’t resolved to read all of Hahn’s books. If you’re looking for a book of scary stories, maybe try Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Those aren’t much spookier but shorter, so they don’t feel so tiresome.

[Richard K. Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Are you a fan of Downing Hahn's? You might want to skip this then....

Now I am an adult horror reader and EVERYTHING in this genre that this lady has written.....I have LOVED!! However I listened to this, this morning and this is why I do not normally care for short fiction of any genre. These stories had been a lot better if they were JUST a tad bit longer. These end SO ABRUPTLY that you are like: "What the hell.....? It was just getting good!"

Now I will highly (and I do in all my reviews of a Mary Downing Hahn book on here....) recommend her work normally, this is that one time where I will not be recommending this one. Sorry kids....and ADULT horror lovers!

2.5 ehs

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

As are most collections of short stories, some shine, while others don't. This was an alright collection though I prefer her female protagonists. The boys tend to be annoying and I struggled to get through those ones. My favorites were "The Real Thing" and "The New Girl" - both sad and haunting. However, the really bright spot for me was her Afterword where she talked about how and why she writes scary stories. A bonus is that she includes a short her 17-year old self wrote and critiques it. Along with some quick pointers and encouragement on writing, I thought it was an interesting addition to add this collection and I wonder how many young readers were inspired to write a scary story of their own.  

[Katie Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not one for spooky books or movies, but I really enjoyed this one! (I picked it up to evaluate it for a library committee.) It's also the first book I've read by Mary Downing Hahn, and I really enjoy how descriptive her writing is as well as how she incorporates different points of view into her stories--it's not primarily male-focused, as some scary stories tend to be, and the threats range from ghosts to sea monsters to witches. While not every ending is happy, I found that refreshing (though not everyone will, of course).

[SteveL · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories, dealing primarily with ghosts but also other creepy entities like a puppet who can steal the voice of the wearer. These stories are in a similar vein to Goosebumps but a bit shorter, which for anyone looking for more, this would be a good read for.

There are no bad shorts in the collection, but a lot of them are similar. Two even have very similar premises. A lot of the stories also deal with ghosts, which can get repetitive when you are a few stories in. None stand out as truly great, but all are solid reads for anyone looking for some light spooky reading.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I never thought I would give only 3 stars to a Mary Downing Hahn book. I love her writing style and how her stories give me shivers and I can always count on her books for a great time. I have to say this book did not do that. Sure, some of the stories were good, I liked the ghost stories where the kids played basketball and baseball with ghosts and didn't know it. There was a story called, "The New Girl", and we got a clumsy read and then it just ended, with no explanation, just a wall you run into. I was expecting more from one of my go-to authors but I am a bit disappointed.