Took: A Ghost Story Graphic Novel

by Scott E. Peterson (Adapted By), Mary Downing Hahn, Jen Vaughn (Illustrations)

Daniel doesn't believe the woods behind his new home are haunted by an evil witch and her terrifying beast. But then his little sister disappears . . . and it's up to him to find her. This chilling graphic novel version of Mary Downing Hahn's popular page‑turner will thrill readers who love spooky stories.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Comics

154 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 2022

About the author

Scott Peterson got his start in comics as an editor on the Batman line of comics, working with the legendary Dennis O’Neil. He edited DC’s flagship title, Detective Comics, and launched the first of the the Adventures sub-genre of comics, The Batman Adventures. He later went on to edit for WildStorm, where he oversaw such titles as WildCats, Midnighter, A God Somewhere and North 40, as well as Scooby-Doo and Looney Tunes. As a writer, he has been published by Disney, Scholastic, Golden Books, HarperCollins, and DC Comics, including a four-year run as the regular writer of The Gotham Adventures. He is the author of Batman: Kings of Fear with art legendary artist Kelley Jones, and the original graphic novel Truckus Maximus.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 3 out of 5]

A creepy woman in the woods, magical kidnapping, a cursed doll, Took: A Ghost Story is a fun little fright tale. Aimed for middle grade readers, this is the right level of scary. While I haven’t read the original novel, which, to be fair, I didn’t realize existed or was aimed at young readers when I picked this up to pass some time, I also don’t really see how a graphic adaptation would have improved upon the story. I do, however, enjoy that it exists to satisfy different sorts of readers and think it’s really great that this is becoming a trend, but feel like this is one where the tension and mystery would be better served by being absorbed in the prose. If anything, the illustrations aren’t anything all that special and are possibly too brightly colored to fit the story. The frightening parts lack any grit and don’t do much to build an eerie tone. Take all this with a grain of salt because it is aimed to function with young readers who might find anything else a bit much, though there really is a noticeable absence of creepy tone in the illustrations. It also can get a bit overly wordy for the frames. It is fun though, and I’m sure kids will appreciate it but it feels a bit slapped together and a bit more fine tuning could have gone a long way here.

But please continue making graphic novel adaptations, it is a wonderful step towards accessibility and reader inclusion for young ages, plus graphic novels can really help encourage kids to approach and enjoy reading no matter their reading level. It makes for good inclusion in libraries to be supplemental to traditional texts and can be very useful for reading hestitant learners. They are also beneficial for developing reading comprehension and associating images and text together too and go great alongside traditional reading materials. Plus they are fun. I will soap box for graphic novels all day any day. So please, continue making adaptations as well as original graphic novels at a variety of lexile levels for young readers.

3/5

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spooky, mysterious, and a bit sad. This book may give you a fear of the woods and dolls.

Daniel, his parents, and younger sister Erica are moving from Connecticut to West Virginia. They move into a shabby run-down old house next to very creep-looking woods. School is a nightmare, the kids don't like Daniel and Erica and they taunt them with stories about a girl named Selene who went missing from their house about 50 years ago. The children are miserable, the parents too. But Erica is acting strange now. She is talking to her doll and going out into the woods that scare her. One day she goes off into the woods alone and doesn't come back. Now it's up to Daniel to find her and bring her back.

So to begin. I think it is super important to express that I never read the original book. So I went into this book completely new to the story. I'm familiar with Hahn's work though and generally enjoy it. This story was enjoyable. It had some pretty creepy moments. It certainly plays well on the fear of dolls and dark woods. For those who read the original story, I can see them really enjoying it come to life in this graphic novel.

I had a few minor issues. One is that it was a bit more violent than I would expect from a children's book. The mother smoking was also something I didn't like seeing in a children's book. While the art was certainly better than anything I could pull off, and I mean no disrespect to the illustrator, I'll admit that the style just wasn't my cup of tea.

In all, it was a fun read. I would recommend that readers be 13+. As a mother of a 10-year-old, I would not let my child read this book for at least a few more years. I would recommend to parents to read it first and then decide if you think it is appropriate for your child.

*Content Warnings* Mild emotional and physical abuse as well as some neglect. Mother smokes to 'calm her nerves'

I received an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley. This does not in any way influence my honest opinion or review

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https://darklittomes.wordpress.com/
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[Hilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The old woman stands on the hilltop, on the edge of the woods, hidden from the farmhouse below. She doesn't know the realtor, but she knew his pa, and his pa, and his pa. Though the young fool doesn't know it, she's helping him sell this house. It's almost time for the change.

From the very beginning you know there are nefarious plans forming to bring this family to this house. It’s very evident why and it did not stop it from scaring me the whole time. I was terrified. I never read the book this was based on and I kind of wish I did because the comics adaptation did seem like it skipped some things. But for the most part it kept the scary feelings very alive.

I highly recommend this story to older kids and up. I’m an adult and enjoyed the scare. For children that are beginning to explore the genre this will be a crazy ride. It will expose them to the horror genre and hopefully hook them.

[Tara Ethridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty picky with 5 star reviews, but the fact that I could see our 5th graders riveted by this graphic novel and that I couldn't put it down until I knew the ending made me give that many stars. Younger readers love a good scary story and this delivers! Creepy dolls, a witch who lives on a hill and steals a new girl every 50 years to be her servant and a familiar called Bloody Bones that is downright gruesome. Definitely for upper elementary and middle school, but I thought it was a great tale. Only criticism I have is the portrayal of people living in West Virginia and the use of improper grammar on purpose. Hence the title, Took. I guarantee this book will never be on the shelf at our library for long.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy macaroni! You move your family into this neighborhood?!? What was you thinking? I got caught up inside the drama of this children’s graphic novel when I realized that the kids had no one looking out for them. Well, that’s not totally true. There was first the creepy house with the spooky forest next to it then, the two children start getting picked on at school. I read that a few of the area children have been disappearing over the years and how a witch might be connected with that. A witch? Erica starts talking to her doll ALL THE TIME and I was just waiting for that doll to start talking back to her and then, I don’t know what I would have done. Daniel has to go into the forest to look for his little sister as she has disappeared in there. Yep, why she went in there he has no idea but after she did some quiet talking with her doll, she got up and headed off into the woods.

Where is their mom and dad in all of this? Good question. They’re looking for jobs and they’re busy doing other things. Isn’t that how it always is. Now, what Daniel finds in the woods, when he’s looking for his little sister, has me reading this book into the early morning hours. What a great middle school read.

This is a gripping children’s graphic novel which I feel is good for upper elementary readers or middle schoolers. The illustrations are colorful and I liked the variety of sizes that they used for text boxes. It’s a book that will definitely grab your attention. 4.5 stars

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

For more bookish thoughts, see my blog: Craft-Cycle

Two things before we get into it: 1. I have not read Mary Downing Hahn's original novel. 2. I'm reading this right after Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story Graphic Novel (which I really enjoyed) so I can't help but compare them.

A spooky story set in rural West Virginia, featuring a villainous conjurer, her skeletal companion, and a mystery that dates back hundreds of years. Daniel and his family move into the old Estes house where 50 years earlier, Selene Estes disappeared without a trace. Settling in to a new town isn't easy, but things get even stranger when Daniel's sister, Erica, starts going off into the woods along, talking to her look-a-like doll.

The creepy vibe is strong with this one. It's got a little bit of everything. Blood and gore, a creepy doll, "took" children, a flesh-eating skeleton, urban legends, a seemingly-abandoned cabin, a spooky woods, and an old woman looking for a lifelong servant.

This is the second adaptation I've read of Hahn's books and the parents are always terrible. Somehow Daniel's parents in this one are even worse than Dave in Wait Till Helen Comes. Their violent outbursts really took the enjoyment out of this book for me. Even before they arrived at the house, they're sneering and snapping at Daniel. As the stress sets in, things only go downhill. Honestly, most of the adults in this book were horrible, including the teachers and police officer. No one ever believes Daniel and blames him for everything. While the ending is mostly happy, I still feel bad for Daniel having to grow up with such unsupportive adults around him.

The shifting narration was also jarring at times. There are no labels to indicate when time has passed. You just get thrown into the next scene. The narration also jumps between the main story following Daniel (first person perspective) and checking in on "the old woman" (third person perspective). Again, I haven't read the original so I'm not sure if it was clearer there, but here it kind of threw me off.

An okay story. I found Wait Till Helen Comes more engaging. It was simpler but more developed. This one has a lot of elements thrown in, but isn't able to fully develop them all. Heavy on the spooky, but a bit jumbled.

[Sophie_Faith GlowUp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a graphic novel where we join Daniel and his family who have just moved home. Behind their home, the woods are haunted by an evil witch and another scary beast. At first Daniel believes these are just stories, told to him and his sister to scare them as they are new at school. However, then Daniel's little sister disappears and he has to become very brave and face the evil in the woods to get her back.

Spooky and fast paced - a good read.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel and his family move from Connecticut to West Virginia when his dad loses his high-paying job. They move into a derelict old farmhouse where the townsfolk say a seven-year-old girl named Selene disappeared--or was 'took'--fifty years before. When Daniel's seven-year-old little sister, Erica, disappears too, he must do and believe what he didn't think possible to win her back.

I haven't read the original story but Hahn was one of my favorite ghost story authors as a kid and I'm on a graphic novel kick so I dug right in. Very enjoyable. Perfect for kids that like a little spooky to their stories!

[MissSusie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent spooky story!! Highly recommend this graphic novel!

[Lorelei Pavlich · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Yesenia Garcia-Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and creepy concept with Old Auntie and Bloody Bones! The doll being used as a tool was clever. It did annoy me the way the parents behaved even before the daughter was ‘took.’

[Meygan Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very creepy but I hate the small print. This needs to be a large graphic novel like Dog Man or The Baby Sitter’s Club.

[Neon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic graphic novel for young adults and adults alike. A scary horror novel that will leave most with nightmares.

Not me. I grew up watching this sort.

Pretty illustrations and a creepy cover to match.

I would buy this.

[Shauna Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this folktale style, ghost story, graphic novel. It was told well, the illustrations were great, and the author kept me engaged throughout.

I like that it was a darker graphic novel and I love the cover, that doll is creepy.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Took: A Ghost Story Graphic Novel' by Mary Downing Hahn with adaptation by Scott Peterson and art by Jen Vaughn is a scary story for middle school readers.

When Daniel and his family move to a new state and a run down house, he hears stories about a witch that lives in the woods nearby with her terrifying assistant. Daniel refuses to believe until his sister goes missing and a girl who has been missing for 50 years shows up, Daniel knows something is up. Now he is about the only one who can be courageous and rescue his sister.

I liked this fun, spooky story, but the parents were so checked out, it kind of kept taking me out of the story. The art is fine and younger readers should be scared by it.

[Kelsie Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

* Maybe 3.5? *

I wasn’t expecting to finish this all in one sitting but here we are. This was pretty fast paced and an overall good story, I just didn’t think it was anything amazing. If it happened in real life it would be terrifying but you have to suspend your belief a little and I just didn’t find it as scary as I should have. Cute little story that I felt ehh about.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This graphic novel faithfully follows the story of the original, so I have tweaked my review of the original.

When Daniel's father loses his corporate job in Connecticut, his family decides to move to rural West Virginia where the cost of living will be lower. Neither Daniel or his younger sister Erica are thrilled with this, especially when the children at school make fun of their east coast ways and also the fact that they have moved into a "creepy" house. Erica spends a lot of time talking to her doll, Little Erica, and the parents have trouble finding jobs. Daniel is in a bad mood, and when he gets picked on and children torment him about the disappearance of a young girl, Selene, years ago, he decides to investigate. With the help of Brody, a local who is at least sympathetic, he finds Old Auntie's house on the top of the hill. It has been abandoned, but Brody claims that at night Old Auntie, a conjure woman, reappears with her nightmare, skeleton hog, Bloody Bones. Erica retreats further and further into herself, talking to her doll, and after a fight with Daniel, disappears into the woods. No one believes Daniel that she has been taken by a creepy spirit, but when he manages to bring back a dirty and disheveled Selene, the O'Neill's recognize her as their daughter's friend who disappeared fifty years ago. Daniel is afraid that Old Auntie will keep Erica for fifty years, so he tries everything he can to rescue her, but he is up against powerful magic and powerful evil.

Erica undergoes a dramatic change once they move. The parents are too caught up in their own misery at moving and working unstaisfying jobs that they don't seem to notice at all. Daniel knows there is a problem, based on what he is seeing, but is he really imagining it? He doubts himself, and thinks that Erica is just making up things like hearing voices.

The West Virginian setting also unsettles Daniel by introducing him to local legends and history unlike anything he has ever encountered in his life in Connecticut. The fact that most of the students don't accept him gives him few allies to back him up, but relying on Brody, as well as the O'Neills and a kindly bus driver (who once again made the story for me), gives him just enough information and support to save his sister. The graphic novel is a much more unflattering and unsympathetic view of West Virginia.

I much prefer Hahn's Deep and Dark and Dangerous or All the Lovely Bad Ones,or the newer The Girl in the Locked Room, and would have liked to see those recieve graphic novel treatment before Took. The drawings of Bloody Bones and the witch are unsettlingly, but not in a good way. The color palette seemed at odds with the story, and the drawings weren't in a style that I particularly enjoyed.

My students seem to prefer original graphic novels to retellings, with the notable exception of the Stormbreaker and The Lightning Thief graphic novels. It's good to see more genres represented in this format, but I may pass on purchase.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

What seems at first to be quite formulaic – family downsize to a shit-hole in the woods, where a witchlike boogeywoman is waiting to snatch the girl of the family – is enlivened when a past snatchee gets left behind as a result. The girl, no longer of interest to the witch, is therefore a rare and welcome character – the fallout of the supernatural. Yes, normally in a ghost story we see the effect they have on the living who see them, but not the long-term psychological harm of decades' enslavement, and the usual folklore look at the changeling is quite turned on its head. The other characters are a bit too thickly drawn for us to worry too much how the people and the community react to the long-gone girl's return, but not to the detriment of the piece, which just about manages to be distinctive enough, despite the familiarity so much of the beginning had. Another thing – the creators here took a mere seven years to rush their adaptation of the original novel into graphic form, and that lack of urgency is also telling that this is no wonder of the modern world. It's still readable, though – three and a half stars.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the "ghost story" part of the story; however, one of my biggest pet peeves with chapter books (books in general, I suppose, but I see it far more often in chapter books) is when the story only works because 1) the family is rich, or 2) the parents/adults are crappy or nonexistent. IMO it's lazy writing when you use one of those two devices to make the plot work. Unfortunately, this one had the latter in a bad way. It wasn't even a matter of "the rest of the story wouldn't have been believable if the parents just acted like decent parents"; instead, they're just written as crappy parents...for the sake of being crappy parents? I understand adults aren't perfect and shouldn't be portrayed as such. Sure, take up smoking or a video game addiction because it's a way to cope with depression. But the (my paraphrase) "Way to go @12 year old son. YOU'RE the reason your sister is missing. Why did you even bother to come home if you were going to come home without her?" is a level of [at least borderline] abuse that puts me off of this book and only allows me to give it 2-3 stars.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Downing Hahn has long been the queen of scary books for myself and my middle grade readers--eerie, almost believable ghosts, curses and more. Now one of her best is in graphic novel format and authors Scott Peterson, Jen Baughn, and Hank Jones have done a masterful job of keeping to the original storyline and absolutely convincing its readers that Auntie and her Bloody Bones companion will come and take a new girl to slave for her every 50 years. But this time, Daniel is determined to rescue his "took" sister from such a fate. Graphic novels often are so brief in text that depth of character and plot are difficult, but in this adaptation, readers will be fully immersed in a detailed horror story that may stay with them for a while! A must-have for students in grades 4-8 who enjoy graphic novels and/or scary books. No profanity, zero sexual content, no gore, but the evil of Auntie and Bloody Bones is detailed and not for the faint of heart.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel version of a popular Children’s horror story. I wish I would have liked it more. The original novel was spooky and full of suspense, but the graphic novel just did not give the same vibes. It felt more drawn out and like the story was never going to end. The story is a family moves to a new house in the woods. The family starts to change, being moody, grouchy, and dirtier. Then the little sister goes missing. The son is sure the witch of the woods has stolen her. A new little girl shows up who was “took” years ago, but is destined to live a very short life. The story is still a great story, and I think it would make an excellent movie/show, but it may have been the illustrations or the way the story was broken up, but I was just not impressed with this story.

[Jaclyn Hillis]

Daniel, his Mom and Dad, and his little sister, Erica, just moved to town. Then one day, little Erica disappears.

Horror books aren’t my thing, but something about this creepy cover drew me in. I’ve never read any books by Mary Downing Hahn, so I didn’t have an expectation going into this one. And what a creepy story it was indeed.

The plot was catchy and it was just enough suspense to keep me reading. I really liked how everything was resolved in the end, too.

The family dynamics in this story made me really sad. The parents were pretty terrible. Being a little sister myself, I very much felt like an Erica. I was content playing by myself and my brother was too cool for me anyway.

Anyway, check this one out if creepy dolls and witches hidden away in the woods are your vibe.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple start for a children's horror novel...a family had to move into a creepy run down house in the middle of nowhere. In fact, it is similar in how Mary Downing Hahn began her novel, Wait Until Helen Comes.

This is where they go down different paths... The whole family hates their new life. School is lacking and children bully & pick on them. At work their father gets lectured about simple things from someone much younger than him.

When children find out the new family lives in the creepy house they tell the legend of the evil conjure woman who took the little girl who lived there. If she ever tried to escape Blood Bones (a pig man skeleton) would chase her down.

The kids were skeptical, but the wind was whispering Erica's name.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel this was based off of was a Black Eyed Susan nominee a few years ago and it's a popular check out in my school library. I kept meaning to read it but haven't got around to it yet. When I saw the graphic novel version, I decided I'd read it. Other reviewers say it's true to the story so I will likely not read the novel now. It took me a while to get into the book but by the end, I was hooked.
This was definitely a creepy story. I would have hated it as a kid. It would have given me nightmares. But some of my students really like creepy stories so I could see them liking it.
I wasn't a huge fan of the illustrations. They had a bit of a rushed look in some places.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read the original book but I will say I really enjoyed this adaption. I am a sucker for Hahn books anyway, and this will be a nice creepy addition to our school library graphic novel section. This is the story of a family who moves because of the father loosing his job. They move to a remote area near some woods. Well we all know that woods just need to have something creepy lurking in them and this small town is no different. The legend's say that a girl goes missing every 50 years, and we are on year 50.

This might have more of a middle school appeal but I think it will work fine for high school students as well. A must add for Hahn fans!

[Mac Spears · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the graphic novel version of this book as a gift for a nephew and enjoyed the story immensely while reading it before gifting. It’s understandable enough for a middle schooler, but has both a darkness and a timeless sense of familiar myth to it.

There are hints of recession in the family’s move that brings them to the location of the story and a very folktale/myth nature to the situation. It was also a quick read. I am planning on reading the book based on my enjoyment of the graphic novel.

The art is angular but comfortable, there are some creative pane layouts and use of negative thought bubbles and shadows to convey the darkness in the characters’ minds.

[Kimberly Greenwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 2022: 3/5 - This was a great story for younger audiences. I got the feeling of my hair stand up and being on edge, which was great. Those horror aspects worked well. The only reason I rated this story so low was because of the build-up. Not that it took long, it was just so depressing. One thing after another, and then it just started to get worse. The whole family was on edge, they were basically being borderline abusive to their son and I hated that. The poor kid was treated like SHIT by his family.

[Molly]

I loved Mary Downing Hahn's books when I was a kid (especially Wait Till Helen Comes), so I've really enjoyed seeing them adapted into graphic novels and being embraced by a new generation.

That being said, Took was not for me. It felt too dark and heavy; the vibes were more depressing than creepy. The artwork was haphazard and felt unfinished. Similar to WTHC, I was FURIOUS with the adults in Daniel's life, especially his parents.

I really can't pinpoint why this book stressed me out as much as it did, but it certainly didn't sit well with me.

[The Northern Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spooky tale of historical abduction and brotherly love.

Daniel, Erica and their parents have recently moved from Conneticut after a change in fortunes. Struggling to settle into their new lives, tensions start to cause the once close family to drift apart.

Unaccepted by their peers in their new school, rumours of Old Auntie, Bloody Bones and missing girls, keep Daniel and Erica on edge. When the tales become reality, Daniel has to prove how much he's willing to do to save his family.

With great art work to support the dark tale, this is a perfect read.

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

The adaptation of this novel has similar qualities to other Hahn books and the "classic 1980s thrillers" I read as a kid (Pike, Stine, Cusick, etc.). A familiar story (dad loses job, family moves to the "boonies", the kids have issues with each other and fitting in at school, the family dynamic changes, the witch on the hill is up to no good) that does not stray too far from the stereotypes. The illustrations do make some things more "alive" and add to the thriller/with a hint of "horror" (but not over the top) aspects. Overall, a fun book, but does have moments not for the sensitive reader.