Mr. Nightmare: A Horror Novel

Mr. Nightmare #1

by Joe Scipione

Bored in the middle of another summer vacation, Anna, her brother Chuck, and their friends John, Merrie and Marcus plan to meet in the woods at midnight every Saturday to tell scary stories. They call their group The Nightmare Club and they get together to see who tells the scariest stories throughout summer and into the fall when they head back to school. The group becomes inseparable, looking forward to the meetings every week as they try to outdo each other. But, their late-night fun turns to terror when they learn an other-worldy being—known to them as Mr. Nightmare—has taken an interest in them and has been feeding on their dreams.

Mr. Nightmare continues to taunt and torment the group until they decide to fight back against their tormentor. The more The Nightmare Club fights back however, the more dangerous Mr. Nightmare becomes.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Ebooks

227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 27, 2022

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at 30%. I had my issues with this story itself, but think that it may have mainly been a case of just not being a good match for me. I have a bit of an aversion towards young adult type of stories, and this read very much like that. And most of the time stories dealing with a younger group, especially those in high school, just don’t interest me much. Beyond my preferences, the story did have a very slow pace and there was a ton of unnecessary dialogue throughout. The characters were also decent, but none of them developed enough of a presence to feel substantial. It definitely could have used some development editing, and I think that would made a world of difference. Everything just really needed to be fine tuned. The premise and Mr Nightmare were really great concepts, but, even with a beautiful cover like this, there needs to be more than just those aforementioned factors in order to have a great book.

[Bookaholic__Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Nightmare is a story about 5 kids who live in the middle of nowhere and how they ultimately choose to combat the boredom of their summer. With not much else to do, the crew sneak into the woods in the dark of night to tell tales of terror around a campfire. There's nothing new here, right? Wrong. These aren't just stories, and they aren't telling them just for themselves. Something much darker is feeding off their fear.

We follow these friends as they tell their tales with the intent to terrify and induce nightmares. They keep score and at first things are sort of fun. But over time, things turn dark, and the friends realize that they need to break the hold that Mr. Nightmare has over them and their dreams. Escape won't come easily, and not everyone will make it out of the club unscathed.

Mr. Nightmare was quite an enjoyable novel. It's not loaded with blood or gore, but there are definitely a fair amount of disturbing scenes. It did give me a bit of a YA feel while listening, especially since all its characters are so young ( middle grade into early high). It is told from the sole perspective of one of the club members who actually grows up to become a writer herself. So I do think that the intention was to allow her to tell us their story and to see it as through the eyes of some youngsters who got a lot more than they bargained for. Just my take, and I quite enjoyed that the story was presented like that.


I truly enjoyed this novel and was especially fond of the narrator who brought so much life into the characters. I definitely will recommend that people check out this particular title, and I will be looking into further narration from Amber Dekkers.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review
.

[Betsy Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really good and really different!! I have never read a book quite like this but I loved it!!

[Jim Ody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr Nightmare is a wonderfully spooky book. A group of friends meet out in the woods to swap stories, the idea is to give each other nightmares. They turn the regular meetings into a game to see who can come up with the scariest, and bone-shilling tales.

What started as fun turns into something a little more sinister when they discover the nightmares not only help their game, but feeds a mysterious man who begins to haunt them.

You can’t help but get pulled in by this book. This is The Midnight Club for adults. It will have you wanting to stay awake in the same way Freddie Kruger did back in the 80s.

Prepare to stay awake. Prepare to be scared by the mysterious Mr Nightmare. Brilliant!

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently written, with amazing character delineation [especially unexpected in a coming-of-age Supernatural Thriller], MR. NIGHTMARE was clearly special from the first pages. Take a plot of a trio of early adolescents (later a quintet) who are tremendously close, spending entire summer days together, unintentionally evoking a potentially Otherworldly presence. This could have been run-of-the-mill Routine; but author Joe Scipione elevates this to an engrossing and riveting experience, one not easily forgotten. A cast of endearing characters and an implacable Horror race to a terrifying but logically fitting conclusion.

[Serenity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read

The cover art for this book is awesome!

The story was just ok for me. Way too much repetition. The nightmare stories were just eh. It was a decent coming of age story. Could have been shorter.

[Aistė Vilkaitė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting mix of Freddie Kroger and Slender Man, but...

For God's sake, no kid or teenager talks like that.

[Larissa Washington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer provides the opportunity to indulge and overindulge, travel, connect with friends, and establish new relationships. It is a chance for Anna and her brother Chuck to hang out with John, Merrie, and Marcus. Close-knit, the four are inseparable and each day, they meet in the park's dug-out to determine the day's activities. John, the most extroverted member, creates an intriguing and chilling idea: The Nightmare Club. Each Saturday, they meet in the woods at midnight and tell scary stories. All seems to be going well until John tells a story about Mr. Nightmare, a being that has a vested interest in the stories, for the nightmares that are induced are its source of nourishment.

Mr. Nightmare is an atypical bogeyman. He does not jump out of closets or pull little children under beds. He is brazen, the type of being that stands next to one's bed and watches him/her sleep. One who engages in conversation and uses dreams as weapons. He also threatens to make accidents happen.

Soon, they realize they are stronger together and attempt to defeat this being who threatens, taunts, and deprives them of sleep. But the unexpected happens; it makes the group angry and more determined to finish what they started.

Wow! Read this book. Not only does it take you back to summer fun and mischief, but you also become invested in this great group of friends; once you do, heart-wrenching events unfurl, and you will never forget Mr. Nightmare.

[Milt Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded to 4. Joe Scipione's 'Mr. Nightmare' reads very much like a YA novel, but I have to admit I know no kids talking or acting the way described in the book. I liked the story, though, so the moment the author implied that Anna, the narrator, grows up to be a writer, or has writing skills, I convinced myself the whole narrative is told from the point of view of the adult Anna, who may very well be a writer herself, and remembers things her own, grown up, way. The book is heavy on description; there's very little action, and a lot of times expectations are created that never get fulfilled (e.g., Chuck's first story for the group; it's never told, though the author had prepared us for it). The premise is akin to Pike's 'Midnight Club', without the sadness and the despair of that book. Scipione's "Nightmare Club" puts the emphasis on friendship, with some hints of romance (again, never fulfilled), and lots of creepy vibes: Scipione introduces an intriguing supernatural element (whose origin is never explained), the eponymous Mr. Nightmare, a cross between Slenderman and Freddie Kruger. This monstrous figure feeds on nightmares, so getting a group of kids to provoke nightmares to each other via scary stories does sound like a good idea, since it gives a permanent source of food to the creature. The stories told (unfortunately, only a couple or so) are riveting - I wish the author had added more! However, the creature seemed very dumb to me, essentially undermining itself, destroying with its thoughtless actions what it had set up. I also found it a bit hard to get much attached to these kids. The ending was very promising, open-ended enough for a sequel. And the covers (all three!) are awesome. Pick it up, it's worth a try!

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty solid story, endearing characters, nostalgic vibes, and good pacing. The ending was delightfully surprising, at least for me. For a story featuring young teens and no real gore it doesn't pull punches.

[Kayla Krantz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spooky and the perfect Halloween listen, Mr. Nightmare follows a group of five friends as they create the “Nightmare Club.” A weekly meeting where they tell each other scary stories in the hopes of giving one another nightmares. Whoever tells the most nightmare inducing stories wins. But there’s a catch. Someone is watching, and it’s scarier than any story they could create.

I loved the vibes of this story. The small town group of friends facing a mysterious force that they can’t understand. Each character grappled with their own troubles, and I loved the way they handled them and used those struggles to their advantages.

Younger readers will enjoy this story.

Narration was done well.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

✨MR NIGHTMARE✨ had some super fun moments! He was an interesting character that I wish I knew more about. The characters were great and I enjoyed their easy going friend dynamic! It was definitely more of a Goosebumps read than a Stephen King, but I had a lot of fun reading this one! And I will admit, it did give me nightmares 😂 It was just really fun and sad and wholesome and I love that for a stand alone! For sure one that I will recommend for something quick and fun!

[SugarC · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome story! Full of spooky vibes, torment and sadness. Follow these mid teens as they form a group The Nightmare Club. But in turn they get more than they bargain for.

5 stars for sure
🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈

[Kia Hebb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, but not fantastic

I expected much more from this book than I actually got. It was a great premise, I just wish it had been executed better.

[Chiara Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprising story full of nostalgia with a spooky atmosphere, touching passages, and a shocking but sad ending!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Amber Dekkers playing the main character Anna (the POV of the book). Amber impersonated her really well resulting in a very easy listen.

This is a story about a group of friends that decide to create a nightmare club, meeting every week at night in the woods just to tell scary stories with the aim of giving each other nightmares and keeping scores to see who gave the most nightmares!

To my surprise, the scary stories weren't the focus of this book but just a mean to dive into the characters and the antagonist and tell what happened in those years after starting the club.

Although probably for a YA audience, I really liked it and found myself remembering when I was a kid playing outside with friends without a care in the world and everything was an adventure. Only that the kids in the story have to deal with tragic events that will change their future..

Really recommend it if you enjoy reminiscing about your childhood, spooky atmosphere and getting emotional here and there.

Thank you to Joe Hempel for a code of the audiobook and this is my honest review.

[Loretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, spooky summer read, reminded me of summers during junior high, high school hanging with friends, but in this case, sharing a scary experience. The ending made me shiver, despite the current heatwave here in California!

[Rhonda Bobbitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The nightmare club was started by 5 friends to tell stories in the dark and see who's story would produce the most nightmares. What they didn't know that someone else was listening. My favorite story told was Sunburst. It was very creepy.
The big question is, can a nightmare kill you? What price will you pay for trying to stop Mr. Nightmare? I loved this book it definitely gave me a few nightmares.

[Miramira Endevall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Desperately needs more editing

This book has so much potential, but it needs professional copyediting and a real editor who can help make the characters' voices internally consistent and keep the author from over-explaining every single plot beat.

[Niko Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid three.

This book was a good read in between my heavier reads. It was a story to tell around campfires with old friends that someone follow you back home and you question noises that creak and whistle in your home at night. Being that the book deals with 4 teenagers, I think it really summed them up all. Generally, in all books I read, there is too much ego and drama amongst teens, but this group was friends and it was pleasant to see. it is a stark difference from some pretty significant books selling highly well these days and one reason they ended being on my DNF list. Nothing everything needs to be so drama heavy.

Mr. Nightmare is a newer urban legend. Joe Scipione did a wonderful job of crafting an underground classic to be retold in tongues in many fashions in many ways.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled to choose between 3 or 4 stars so, in my mind, it's a 3.5!
I absolutely love the premise behind the book, I really like every character and it has depth to it.
For some reason though it just doesn't quite hit the mark. I had really high hopes of getting creeped out, perhaps too high. I just didn't feel tension or apprehension building.

Don't get me wrong, the writing is solid and I'm looking forward to seeing more work from Joe Scipione.

It would have been great to have had more stories told, in reality there's only two stand-alone Nightmare Club member tales. Having at least one from each member, and an original from John, would have added a lot. The author could have really had fun with genres and tone.
I feel as though the character that is the main "scare" would have been a lot more effective if used in a different way. They were too exposed from the beginning and we only meet them second hand at first. A lot of potential seemed to be lost by those two things - at least for me.

I do hope there's a follow up book. The author is an excellent writer, all of the ideas were there, it simply lacked tension and there was no real sections of build up. For some reason I suspect it was maybe edited heavily and it lost something along the way.

[Dollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a YA novel, as the group in it are all 8th graders or freshmen in high school. Three friends, who are all competitive, decide to have a competition to see who can create the scariest story. If their stories cause the others in the group to have a nightmare, they get points. They invite a couple more friends, meet every month, and everything is fine for a while. But then this man/monster, Mr. Nightmare, shows up and tells them they have to continue because he feeds on their nightmares. There are a couple of sad parts, but overall, I found it to be totally imaginative and creepy.

[Echo Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars

I enjoyed this story. I like the entity of Mr. Nightmare that Joe created, loved the nostalgic feel I got reading it; it has vague hints of Freddy Krueger and The Midnight Club with a splash of Crooked Man.

I can't figure out if I would label this as a coming of age novel or young adult. It kind of reads like a young adult, but I just can't classify it 100% as such.

This is a great spooky tale for the Fall season, for sure. Like I said, I really enjoyed it. I just felt like it dragged a bit in between the scarier parts and I felt myself wanting more Mr. Nightmare and maybe even more of a backstory about him. He is such an intriguing entity!

[Lel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was unexpectedly amazing. You would think that a story about a group of friends going into the woods to tell ghost stories would be predictable. But I loved the fact that this book did genuinely creep me out. The character of Mr Nightmare was great and I loved how the story ended. For a book I cant remember adding to my TBR this was a great spooky find for Halloween month.

[lori harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Booya of an ending!

Well, If you like surprise endings this is definitely the book for you! Great read all the way through and then..... The ending!!! OMG! I don't want to give any spoilers, but I think I found a new favorite writer!

[Candice Chaloupka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit I picked this book for the cover, but it's not the cover shown on Goodreads. I also loved the idea of a nightmare club and wished there had been one of them when I was the characters' age. Ok, let's be real, I'd love to be a part of one now. I read it in two sittings because it was able to capture my imagination.

The five characters were well-developed even though it was written from the perspective of only one of the characters, the reader still gets to know the other ones enough. When (spoiler alert) something bad happens to one of them, I was sad and shocked he went there (Ok, to be honest I shed a few tears) BUT I can see that it was necessary for the story. The ending was... well, I'm still deciding about what I think of the ending but it was solid and makes sense. I think I was secretly rooting for the romance.

I would recommend this book. It was entering, I liked the concept, and it was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

[Nicholas May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great premise and promise of more!

I really enjoyed the story, and definitely feel that there is more of this story to tell. I need more of Mr Nightmare's origin, and I can't wait to read more

[Shannon Abel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I wasn't a fan of the ending, it felt rushed; but the lead up to it was fantastic.

[Rodney M · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow this book… amazing. i truly cared for all the characters in this book. i may or may not have teared up a few times as well. the concept and idea is so original and the antagonist is by far one of the most original characters i’ve come across. i can’t say much more without spoiling anything but i think this may be my favorite book of 2023 and it’s only the end of january!!!

i give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5!!

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very descriptive characters...

At times this book might seem slow, but continue reading and you will see why. I love the bond of these friendships built in this group. Definitely recommend.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of horror novels so it takes a lot to scare me. I was reading Mr. Nightmare one night on my Kindle in the dark in my bedroom when I kept catching myself looking around at all the shadows in the corners and just feeling very creeped out. It was delightful to realize that this wonderful story was scaring the heck out of me!! Highly recommend this book and kudos to the author, will be looking for more from him.