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Nightmare Hall #9
The Night Walker
High on a hillside overlooking Salem University, hidden in shadows and shrouded in silence, sits Nightingale Hall. Nightmare Hall, the students call it. Because that's where the terror began.
Quinn Hadley is sure she must be the only sleepwalker at Salem. It's so embarrassing, especially since she never remembers where she was or what she was doing. But it's never been a problem.
Until now.
Because someone is roaming the campus, attacking people in the middle of the night.
No one knows who the crazed night stalker is.
But all the clues point to Quinn.
Quinn Hadley is sure she must be the only sleepwalker at Salem. It's so embarrassing, especially since she never remembers where she was or what she was doing. But it's never been a problem.
Until now.
Because someone is roaming the campus, attacking people in the middle of the night.
No one knows who the crazed night stalker is.
But all the clues point to Quinn.
196 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1994
6 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
About the author
Diane Hoh
83 books285 followersDiane Hoh is the author of fifty-seven novels for young adults. She grew up in Warren, Pennsylvania but currently resides in Austin, Texas. Reading and writing are her favorite things, alongside gardening and grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 8, 2021
One of the strongest in Hoh's popular spinoff series for Point Horror.
Since Quinn had arrived at Salem University she's started sleepwalking again, whilst at the same time strange attacks have been happening on campus.
With no recollection of her night time walks, Quinn is paranoid that she is the culprit.
This was such a clever unreliable narrator YA novel from the 90's, Quinn's plan of wearing white socks to see which nights she takes an unplanned stroll was genius.
I can't remember if I read this one as a teen, but liked how Hoh continued to sustain the suspense whilst adding what eventually seemed like obvious clues early on.
Definitely one of the better engaging mystery's at Nightingale Hall.
Since Quinn had arrived at Salem University she's started sleepwalking again, whilst at the same time strange attacks have been happening on campus.
With no recollection of her night time walks, Quinn is paranoid that she is the culprit.
This was such a clever unreliable narrator YA novel from the 90's, Quinn's plan of wearing white socks to see which nights she takes an unplanned stroll was genius.
I can't remember if I read this one as a teen, but liked how Hoh continued to sustain the suspense whilst adding what eventually seemed like obvious clues early on.
Definitely one of the better engaging mystery's at Nightingale Hall.
November 26, 2024
The Night Walker is book 9 in the Nightmare Hall series and is a stand-alone novel.
After reading a few of the books in this series as a teen and enjoying them, I decided to revisit the series as an adult since books 9 onwards are free on audible.
In this book, we follow Quinn Hadley, who is navigating time at her university in Salem. When there's a dangerous prank done on the evening of the dance that she doesn't attend and happy couples around campus are attacked, Quinn begins to suspect and fear that she is the one doing these things as each time it happens she awakens to find some form of evidence hidden amongst her things in her dorm room. Quinn is a sleep walker and has once hurt her sister in her sleep, and has slept walked twice at uni that she knows about.
This was a great listen, and I enjoyed a revisit into my teen years of reading. The narrator was really engaging and kept me hooked.
After reading a few of the books in this series as a teen and enjoying them, I decided to revisit the series as an adult since books 9 onwards are free on audible.
In this book, we follow Quinn Hadley, who is navigating time at her university in Salem. When there's a dangerous prank done on the evening of the dance that she doesn't attend and happy couples around campus are attacked, Quinn begins to suspect and fear that she is the one doing these things as each time it happens she awakens to find some form of evidence hidden amongst her things in her dorm room. Quinn is a sleep walker and has once hurt her sister in her sleep, and has slept walked twice at uni that she knows about.
This was a great listen, and I enjoyed a revisit into my teen years of reading. The narrator was really engaging and kept me hooked.
May 13, 2023
3.75 Stars. Another enjoyable point horror outing. I was hooked on the mystery and the reveal really paid off. Gave this one a slightly lower rating because I felt the stakes were quite low until the final scene. A series of violent pranks plague Diane's college. But she when finds incriminating evidence suggesting she is the culprit whilst sleepwalking, she sets out to find the truth. But is she responsible, and will the answers put her in even more danger.
December 15, 2021
Quinn Hadley is a sleep walker. She has done it twice when she came to the Salem university. Nobody except her roomie knows about it. But things takes a bad turn when someone wreaks havoc in the university, sometimes by exploding a stinking bomb and by attacking the couples at other times. The attacking episodes seemed no end. Quinn Hadley was apprehensive by the sudden turn of events, but her apprehensions turns into nightmares when every evidences points that the culprit is nobody but her. Looking at the evidences piled up in front of her, Quinn also doubts that whether her sleep walking is the real cause of all those recurring unfortunate incidents in the university. But a fleeting thought that somebody is taking advantage of her ' sleep walking ' and making her a pawn did not leave her sleep without investigating into the root cause of everything.
It is an easy read and I enjoyed it as I used to enjoy Nancy Drew series. There was suspense and mystery element and at times you would feel that you are quite close to the vandal, but you miss him/ her. Though Diane Hoh do drop some clues here and there did not give away the culprit until the right time.
Long and short, a good and a smooth read....I enjoyed it.
It is an easy read and I enjoyed it as I used to enjoy Nancy Drew series. There was suspense and mystery element and at times you would feel that you are quite close to the vandal, but you miss him/ her. Though Diane Hoh do drop some clues here and there did not give away the culprit until the right time.
Long and short, a good and a smooth read....I enjoyed it.
November 30, 2023
my first Diane Hoh book and also my first book in this series, i liked the the main character and the side character also, The atmosphere of the book was also good and Many times I felt what the character was going through, The plot of the story is average, it is not bad and it is not deep either
What I liked was the suspense that dominated the atmosphere of the story and whether the main character was responsible for what was happening or not, the book also after half of it is a page turner
I was just hoping that the story would contain killing or gore, but it was a teen story with some mystery and suspense.
VERDICT: (7.3/10)
What I liked was the suspense that dominated the atmosphere of the story and whether the main character was responsible for what was happening or not, the book also after half of it is a page turner
I was just hoping that the story would contain killing or gore, but it was a teen story with some mystery and suspense.
VERDICT: (7.3/10)
May 25, 2024
Part of it happened at Nightmare Hall, well, in the barn on the grounds of Nightmare Hall at least 🤷🏻♀️
March 4, 2022
Now first of all...it took me awhile to get through this book in the Nightmare Hall series not because it was bad or boring but I was sick in bed the past few days thanks to allergies caused by the change in the weather.
Seems the perfect time to read for other people but not me...I need as much sleep as I can get which is kind of an ironic segue.
Quinn Hadley suffers from a sleepwalking disorder...she's had it ever since she was a teenager. She can't remember what she does but Quinn's been told she went after her little sister with her fists after an unsettled argument. Quinn also destroyed the tennis racket of a girl she didn't like who beat her at a game during camp.
She hasn't had an incident until Quinn started going to Salem University, her roommate Tabitha "Tobie" Thomason has stopped Quinn twice from wondering off. Anger and stress seem to be Quinn's triggers and she's had plenty of reason for both lately since her relationship with Simon Kent ended.
Not having a date, Quinn doesn't go to the dance everyone's been raving about but it turns out to be a good thing. A stink bomb is set off at the dance and causes a frenzied escape which results in people getting hurt and not just ruined formal wear. The smell seems to follow Tobie back to the girls' dorm and Quinn finds that her favorite red jacket reeks of the sulfuric smell.
Pretty soon, this just isn't one random little prank. More terrifying incidents begin to happen and all of the evidence...seems to connect to Quinn. Is she going out at night, walking in her sleep and doing these horrible things to her fellow students at Salem University? Quinn can't remember but she's going to put the clues together to figure it out...before anyone else gets hurt.
I have to admit that I saw a few similarities between this and The Sleepwalker from the Fear Street series...at first. Any time I have seen sleepwalking used as a plot point in a book or movie like this it ends up being a moot point having nothing to do with story or very prominent...I won't say which one here without spoiling the book.
There are some nice callbacks to characters from the first eight books and of course why Nightingale Hall is called Nightmare Hall and takes place of the same campus of Salem University.
For this story, it has some good twists and plenty of red herrings in both people and motives. Most of the characters are likeable, even before we weed out the true bad ones, and the climax is very daring and leads to a breath of fresh air ending to calm down your nerves.
I would recommend this entry in the series if you haven't read it yet.
Seems the perfect time to read for other people but not me...I need as much sleep as I can get which is kind of an ironic segue.
Quinn Hadley suffers from a sleepwalking disorder...she's had it ever since she was a teenager. She can't remember what she does but Quinn's been told she went after her little sister with her fists after an unsettled argument. Quinn also destroyed the tennis racket of a girl she didn't like who beat her at a game during camp.
She hasn't had an incident until Quinn started going to Salem University, her roommate Tabitha "Tobie" Thomason has stopped Quinn twice from wondering off. Anger and stress seem to be Quinn's triggers and she's had plenty of reason for both lately since her relationship with Simon Kent ended.
Not having a date, Quinn doesn't go to the dance everyone's been raving about but it turns out to be a good thing. A stink bomb is set off at the dance and causes a frenzied escape which results in people getting hurt and not just ruined formal wear. The smell seems to follow Tobie back to the girls' dorm and Quinn finds that her favorite red jacket reeks of the sulfuric smell.
Pretty soon, this just isn't one random little prank. More terrifying incidents begin to happen and all of the evidence...seems to connect to Quinn. Is she going out at night, walking in her sleep and doing these horrible things to her fellow students at Salem University? Quinn can't remember but she's going to put the clues together to figure it out...before anyone else gets hurt.
I have to admit that I saw a few similarities between this and The Sleepwalker from the Fear Street series...at first. Any time I have seen sleepwalking used as a plot point in a book or movie like this it ends up being a moot point having nothing to do with story or very prominent...I won't say which one here without spoiling the book.
There are some nice callbacks to characters from the first eight books and of course why Nightingale Hall is called Nightmare Hall and takes place of the same campus of Salem University.
For this story, it has some good twists and plenty of red herrings in both people and motives. Most of the characters are likeable, even before we weed out the true bad ones, and the climax is very daring and leads to a breath of fresh air ending to calm down your nerves.
I would recommend this entry in the series if you haven't read it yet.
May 22, 2023
The Nightwalker is a fairly decent Nightmare Hall Point Horror entry. I'm a fan of Diane Hoh's series, and I really enjoy how she expands the setting and the characters, although it is becoming increasingly noticeable that events in previous books (except what transpires in
The Silent Scream
) are ignored - there's a lot of strange shenanigans happening at this campus and it's odd that it's never mentioned from one book to the next. But honestly this is a minor gripe and I think I'd prefer Hoh not mentioning the events of previous books if it means we don't end up overly bogged down with rehashing prior entries.
I thought the protagonist, Quinn, was likeable and I liked how Hoh weaved in her paranoia. It does feel like there's some more obvious things that Quinn could have done to help ease her mind/rule her out as a suspect, but I still thought she was a compelling main character who I could sympathise with, and she never did anything too unbelievable stupid. Quinn's friendship group are also all interesting, and I did like that we get some previously established characters included in background roles.
I will confess that I didn't completely love the mystery running throughout this book, and it often feels quite obvious, potentially deliberately so but it does remove some of the intrigue. However, there's still a few twists and turns where I enjoyed how the reveals were handled. I do enjoy these Nightmare Hall books and I've found most of them so far to be enjoyable reads - The Nightwalker is no exception. Although now I'm nine books in to this series I'm a little amused that the majority of the student body at Salem University aren't significantly traumatised. I have a very vague and distant hope that Hoh will eventually pull some supernatural elements back into this series to maybe help explain some of the constant bad fortune. I also feel like Nightmare Hall is a bit of a misnomer for this series, since it's often only mentioned casually in passing and when the location is included (such as at the climax here) it's a bit shoehorned in.
3/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Thirteen More Tales of Horror - 4/5
3) The Dead Game - 4/5
4) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
5) Camp Fear - 3.5/5
6) Nightmare Hall - The Silent Scream - 3.5/5
7) Dream Date - 3.5/5
8) Fatal Secrets - 3.5/5
9) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
10) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
11) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
12) The Hitchhiker - 3.5/5
13) Nightmare Hall - The Scream Team - 3.5/5
14) April Fools - 3.5/5
15) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
16) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
17) Freeze Tag - 3/5
18) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
19) The Accident - 3/5
20) The Vampire's Promise - 3/5
21) Funhouse - 3/5
22) Nightmare Hall - The Nightwalker - 3/5
23) Nightmare Hall - Pretty Please - 3/5
24) The Stranger - 3/5
25) Nightmare Hall - Deadly Attraction - 3/5
26) The Window - 3/5
27) Nightmare Hall - Guilty - 3/5
28) The Invitation - 2.5/5
29) Nightmare Hall - The Wish - 2.5/5
30) Help Wanted - 2.5/5
31) The Perfume - 2.5/5
32) The Train - 2.5/5
33) The Waitress - 2.5/5
34) The Snowman - 2.5/5
35) Nightmare Hall - The Roommate - 2.5/5
36) The Yearbook - 2.5/5
37) Silent Witness - 2.5/5
38) Halloween Night - 2.5/5
39) Beach House - 2.5/5
40) The Mall - 2.5/5
41) Nightmare Hall - The Experiment - 2.5/5
42) The Boyfriend - 2/5
43) The Fever - 2/5
44) The Cemetery - 2/5
45) Mother's Helper - 2/5
46) The Baby-Sitter III - 2/5
47) The Phantom - 2/5
48) The Dead Girlfriend - 2/5
49) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
50) Hit and Run - 1.5/5
51) The Return of the Vampire - 1/5
52) Beach Party - 1/5
I thought the protagonist, Quinn, was likeable and I liked how Hoh weaved in her paranoia. It does feel like there's some more obvious things that Quinn could have done to help ease her mind/rule her out as a suspect, but I still thought she was a compelling main character who I could sympathise with, and she never did anything too unbelievable stupid. Quinn's friendship group are also all interesting, and I did like that we get some previously established characters included in background roles.
I will confess that I didn't completely love the mystery running throughout this book, and it often feels quite obvious, potentially deliberately so but it does remove some of the intrigue. However, there's still a few twists and turns where I enjoyed how the reveals were handled. I do enjoy these Nightmare Hall books and I've found most of them so far to be enjoyable reads - The Nightwalker is no exception. Although now I'm nine books in to this series I'm a little amused that the majority of the student body at Salem University aren't significantly traumatised. I have a very vague and distant hope that Hoh will eventually pull some supernatural elements back into this series to maybe help explain some of the constant bad fortune. I also feel like Nightmare Hall is a bit of a misnomer for this series, since it's often only mentioned casually in passing and when the location is included (such as at the climax here) it's a bit shoehorned in.
3/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Thirteen More Tales of Horror - 4/5
3) The Dead Game - 4/5
4) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
5) Camp Fear - 3.5/5
6) Nightmare Hall - The Silent Scream - 3.5/5
7) Dream Date - 3.5/5
8) Fatal Secrets - 3.5/5
9) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
10) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
11) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
12) The Hitchhiker - 3.5/5
13) Nightmare Hall - The Scream Team - 3.5/5
14) April Fools - 3.5/5
15) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
16) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
17) Freeze Tag - 3/5
18) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
19) The Accident - 3/5
20) The Vampire's Promise - 3/5
21) Funhouse - 3/5
22) Nightmare Hall - The Nightwalker - 3/5
23) Nightmare Hall - Pretty Please - 3/5
24) The Stranger - 3/5
25) Nightmare Hall - Deadly Attraction - 3/5
26) The Window - 3/5
27) Nightmare Hall - Guilty - 3/5
28) The Invitation - 2.5/5
29) Nightmare Hall - The Wish - 2.5/5
30) Help Wanted - 2.5/5
31) The Perfume - 2.5/5
32) The Train - 2.5/5
33) The Waitress - 2.5/5
34) The Snowman - 2.5/5
35) Nightmare Hall - The Roommate - 2.5/5
36) The Yearbook - 2.5/5
37) Silent Witness - 2.5/5
38) Halloween Night - 2.5/5
39) Beach House - 2.5/5
40) The Mall - 2.5/5
41) Nightmare Hall - The Experiment - 2.5/5
42) The Boyfriend - 2/5
43) The Fever - 2/5
44) The Cemetery - 2/5
45) Mother's Helper - 2/5
46) The Baby-Sitter III - 2/5
47) The Phantom - 2/5
48) The Dead Girlfriend - 2/5
49) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
50) Hit and Run - 1.5/5
51) The Return of the Vampire - 1/5
52) Beach Party - 1/5
December 26, 2017
This was lacking in scariness, more suspenseful than anything else. The ‘attacks’ were a bit silly. They did escalate in severity as the book went on, but they could have been better. There was one scene where and I couldn’t take it seriously at all. I’m sorry, but . It made zero sense to me and kind of took me out of what was supposed to be a scary moment.
The saving point of this was the mystery of who was behind the attacks. Was Quinn hurting people in her sleep? Or was someone else responsible? I thought I had it pegged at a certain point, so I was pleasantly surprised when I turned out to be wrong. .
The saving point of this was the mystery of who was behind the attacks. Was Quinn hurting people in her sleep? Or was someone else responsible? I thought I had it pegged at a certain point, so I was pleasantly surprised when I turned out to be wrong. .
December 26, 2022
This is the first book I've read after overcoming my reading slump. It was a good book to act as my launching pad to revert myself back to my long ol' hobby of reading.
At first, I was dead set on thinking that Tobie is the culprit for all of the horrific incidents that's occuring in Salem University. However, there was also a part of me that thought the possibility of Quinn committing these acts herself unconsciously is high as well in the beginning. The plot revolving around these two suspicions throughout the middle of the book has been written well, as the author was able to effectively convince the readers that both of these theories are highly plausible.
The progression towards Quinn's realization that the culprit could be Suze up until to fully discovering that it was Ivy all along definitely reeled me in. When I reached that portion, I couldn't take the book away even when I initially planned to stop reading at the chapters this scene has played in. The car crash scene was executed well too, but it did make me question on how Quinn was able to immediately get help inside the burning Nightmare Hall after her confrontation with Ivy, including the description of voices inside the house when it was described that the house was empty when she first came in. Maybe this is something that readers who have read the preceding books of the Nightmare Hall series would be able to immediately grasp on, but as someone who hasn't read any of the books aside from this one, I was left confused. There were insinuations throughout the scene that there might be actually people inside the house, but it was never confirmed nor denied.
Nevertheless, my overall take on this book still remains positive regardless of the questionable element I've pointed out. I genuinely had a fun time reading this as it's been a while since I last read a book under this genre. I'm glad that I took my chance to grab this book from my local secondhand bookstore, and I do hope that I will be able to get my hands on to the other books of this series.
At first, I was dead set on thinking that Tobie is the culprit for all of the horrific incidents that's occuring in Salem University. However, there was also a part of me that thought the possibility of Quinn committing these acts herself unconsciously is high as well in the beginning. The plot revolving around these two suspicions throughout the middle of the book has been written well, as the author was able to effectively convince the readers that both of these theories are highly plausible.
The progression towards Quinn's realization that the culprit could be Suze up until to fully discovering that it was Ivy all along definitely reeled me in. When I reached that portion, I couldn't take the book away even when I initially planned to stop reading at the chapters this scene has played in. The car crash scene was executed well too, but it did make me question on how Quinn was able to immediately get help inside the burning Nightmare Hall after her confrontation with Ivy, including the description of voices inside the house when it was described that the house was empty when she first came in. Maybe this is something that readers who have read the preceding books of the Nightmare Hall series would be able to immediately grasp on, but as someone who hasn't read any of the books aside from this one, I was left confused. There were insinuations throughout the scene that there might be actually people inside the house, but it was never confirmed nor denied.
Nevertheless, my overall take on this book still remains positive regardless of the questionable element I've pointed out. I genuinely had a fun time reading this as it's been a while since I last read a book under this genre. I'm glad that I took my chance to grab this book from my local secondhand bookstore, and I do hope that I will be able to get my hands on to the other books of this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2025
i thought this book was excellent, it is the second book from nightmare hall that I've read and while I liked the other one (sorority sister, reviewed that already), I thought this was a better book. night walker was more intense for me, it was more unpredictable.
the book follows a young college student who has a bit of an odd sleepwalking habit, she also can't remember anything she does while she's sleepwalking which can sometimes be dangerous. when someone starts attacking the students and the girl discovers clues pointing to her she must find out the truth, could she be the killer?
i really liked the mystery of the book and liked the implication that the main girl might be the killer, it really kept us on edge. I also like the climax, it felt better than the climax of sorority sister, solid book I highly recommend if you like teen horror/mystery
the book follows a young college student who has a bit of an odd sleepwalking habit, she also can't remember anything she does while she's sleepwalking which can sometimes be dangerous. when someone starts attacking the students and the girl discovers clues pointing to her she must find out the truth, could she be the killer?
i really liked the mystery of the book and liked the implication that the main girl might be the killer, it really kept us on edge. I also like the climax, it felt better than the climax of sorority sister, solid book I highly recommend if you like teen horror/mystery
November 29, 2019
This is one of many books that took place in a fictional college series called Nightmare Hall. These teen horror novels from the 90s are totally fun and feature the same authors as Point Horror standalone novels. In this one, someone is attacking couples and Quinn thinks it's her. Once she realizes she is being set up because of her sleepwalking disorder, she wants to find out who and why. It's a quick read with a fast and twisty ending. Fun nostalgic read.
October 7, 2019
Interesting read
This instalment of the nightmare series is not only interesting but a page turner. You don't know the "who dunnit" unless you guess, given then you'll guess incorrectly a few times until you do. I do wish that it was stated what happened at the end of the story to have even more closure, but it's still a good read!
This instalment of the nightmare series is not only interesting but a page turner. You don't know the "who dunnit" unless you guess, given then you'll guess incorrectly a few times until you do. I do wish that it was stated what happened at the end of the story to have even more closure, but it's still a good read!
January 24, 2019
Enjoyed this book a good little tale of suspense. Good strong characters and an interesting plot
April 18, 2020
Another fun trip down memory lane!
November 2, 2020
I read this for our podcast Teenage Scream, which dissects the best (and worst) of 90s Teen Horror.
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
December 6, 2020
Read this for Teenage Scream podcast (lovingly dissecting the best and worst of 90s teen horror)
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
December 31, 2023
A decent book, and not the twist I'd expected.
November 30, 2024
Quick, fun listen.
July 16, 2022
This was a fairly fun read, and I was certainly kept guessing all the way along. Even when we apparently knew who the baddie was, I still wondered if I was being fooled yet again. 😉
My notes and highlights show me all over the place with my guesses about who the baddie was. In my own defence, it wasn’t totally obvious like in some stories where you’ve known the bad guy character throughout the entire book … and yet it sorta was, but the motive for being the bad guy was introduced kind of late. Or that’s my point of view on it anyway.
There were a few good references to the era in which the book was written, my beloved 90s, but it’s just not the same as those late 80s, early 90s books with all their fluoro, Lycra, etc. Still, mentions of CD buying and using a communal telephone gave me the warm and fuzzzies.
I still think these later books don’t quite live up to the ones from earlier years.
My notes and highlights show me all over the place with my guesses about who the baddie was. In my own defence, it wasn’t totally obvious like in some stories where you’ve known the bad guy character throughout the entire book … and yet it sorta was, but the motive for being the bad guy was introduced kind of late. Or that’s my point of view on it anyway.
There were a few good references to the era in which the book was written, my beloved 90s, but it’s just not the same as those late 80s, early 90s books with all their fluoro, Lycra, etc. Still, mentions of CD buying and using a communal telephone gave me the warm and fuzzzies.
I still think these later books don’t quite live up to the ones from earlier years.
September 5, 2023
I cannot believe how boring this was considering how dramatic the plot was?
September 6, 2015
A different sort of cheese but something a little more robust, I think. Hoh’s characters are a bit more fleshed out, have better personalities, aren’t crappy people to each other. So already things are looking up.
What I will say against the Nightmare Hall books as a whole is that sometimes it can’t decide if it wants to be in high school or college. Talk of being in home room (not a thing in college) and just the general feel of the setting a lot of the time felt more high school when directly related to the classes themselves. It really wasn’t too sure of itself in that regard. And then it would talk about roommates and the campus and off-campus housing and it felt a little more college there but then SCHOOL would come back up and it would flip flop again. It made for a kind of jerky read from a setting standpoint.
As for the story Hoh does a good job of setting up suspense. All signs definitely point to Quinn doing these things while she’s sleepwalking but the only thing we don’t have is why and you’re left to claw through everything to figure that out while more people get attacked. Once other clues start getting dropped that work against Quinn, the suspense around her sleepwalking starts to crack and before long that theory is disproved. Even then that opens a whole new can of worms because who could it be then and still, WHY?
I wouldn’t say NIGHT WALKER was so much scary as it was suspenseful. People got hurt but no one actually died, there was never any kind of supernatural element to the plot, and all you had was, essentially, a murder mystery without the murder. Which is fine. I didn’t mind that at all. But it’s not horror. It was creepier when the potential was on Quinn possibly doing these things in her sleep and not knowing about it, or why she was doing it. Once that dissolved the suspense kind of went with it. It tapered off after that for me and once all the clues clicked into place to reveal who it really was it was just kind of meh. Standard fair, really.
THE NIGHT WALKER is still better than the later Fear Street books just because all of the characters are better and more realistic but I definitely wasn’t scared reading it. Suspenseful, sure. But not scary.
3.5
What I will say against the Nightmare Hall books as a whole is that sometimes it can’t decide if it wants to be in high school or college. Talk of being in home room (not a thing in college) and just the general feel of the setting a lot of the time felt more high school when directly related to the classes themselves. It really wasn’t too sure of itself in that regard. And then it would talk about roommates and the campus and off-campus housing and it felt a little more college there but then SCHOOL would come back up and it would flip flop again. It made for a kind of jerky read from a setting standpoint.
As for the story Hoh does a good job of setting up suspense. All signs definitely point to Quinn doing these things while she’s sleepwalking but the only thing we don’t have is why and you’re left to claw through everything to figure that out while more people get attacked. Once other clues start getting dropped that work against Quinn, the suspense around her sleepwalking starts to crack and before long that theory is disproved. Even then that opens a whole new can of worms because who could it be then and still, WHY?
I wouldn’t say NIGHT WALKER was so much scary as it was suspenseful. People got hurt but no one actually died, there was never any kind of supernatural element to the plot, and all you had was, essentially, a murder mystery without the murder. Which is fine. I didn’t mind that at all. But it’s not horror. It was creepier when the potential was on Quinn possibly doing these things in her sleep and not knowing about it, or why she was doing it. Once that dissolved the suspense kind of went with it. It tapered off after that for me and once all the clues clicked into place to reveal who it really was it was just kind of meh. Standard fair, really.
THE NIGHT WALKER is still better than the later Fear Street books just because all of the characters are better and more realistic but I definitely wasn’t scared reading it. Suspenseful, sure. But not scary.
3.5
June 12, 2013
Surprisingly well-done story, if a bit repetitious once in awhile. I felt the atmosphere of the story and how the characters involved related to the events. For an older book, this one was pretty interesting and didn't necessarily project any kind of message to the reader, and that is sometimes nice to read a story just for the sake of entertainment, not enlightment.
June 10, 2009
An enjoyable addition to the point horror collection, this is a good gory addition to the series and will certaintly having you double locking every door and window in your house before you go to bed
December 14, 2010
There was not alot to this book the charachter was boring....The killer was not given enough info and life hands down another disappointment.
March 27, 2015
One of the best in the series, but as usual, the main character does questionable things when a psycho is on the loose.
March 15, 2015
Not bad.
June 28, 2023
Solid.
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