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Shivers #8
Terror on Troll Mountain
Are you afraid of heights?
It's a long way from Chicago to a tiny village in the mountains of Italy. Paul makes that journey to visit his grandmother. He soon discovers a land of frightful beauty and superstition. He hears ancient stories about a demon troll that hides in the mountains and feeds on young children. Soon, Paul is drawn to the cliffs. There, lost and frightened, he comes face to face with the unspeakable horror. The end is near because THE MONSTER IS HUNGRY. . .
It's a long way from Chicago to a tiny village in the mountains of Italy. Paul makes that journey to visit his grandmother. He soon discovers a land of frightful beauty and superstition. He hears ancient stories about a demon troll that hides in the mountains and feeds on young children. Soon, Paul is drawn to the cliffs. There, lost and frightened, he comes face to face with the unspeakable horror. The end is near because THE MONSTER IS HUNGRY. . .
125 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1996
2 people are currently reading
263 people want to read
About the author
M.D. Spenser
58 books140 followersM.D. Spenser is a children's author, journalist and music critic. Born in the United States, he lives now in the UK.
"The Enchanted Attic," Book 1 of his popular SHIVERS series of novels for children, was republished as an e-book in August 2011. It is available at amazone.com, Barnes & Noble, Sony and iBookstory. Book 2, "A Ghastly Shade of Green," and Book 3, "Ghost Writer," followed shortly afterwards.
The rest of the 36-book series will be published as ebooks over time.
Also, an internet petition is circulating asking that the entire 36-book series be republished in paperback: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/md...
"The Enchanted Attic," Book 1 of his popular SHIVERS series of novels for children, was republished as an e-book in August 2011. It is available at amazone.com, Barnes & Noble, Sony and iBookstory. Book 2, "A Ghastly Shade of Green," and Book 3, "Ghost Writer," followed shortly afterwards.
The rest of the 36-book series will be published as ebooks over time.
Also, an internet petition is circulating asking that the entire 36-book series be republished in paperback: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/md...
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 7, 2019
مراهق من أمريكا يقضي بعض الوقت في أيطاليا مع عائلة والده، ليقابل هناك وحش خرافي
القصة دون المستوى ونهايتها سخيفة، وحاول الكاتب استخدام نفس الحيل التي نجدها كثيرا في كتب الرعب. الترجمة جيدة لكنها مختصرة كما يبدو، فليس من المعقول أن فصلا كاملا لا يتجاوز الصفحتين
القصة دون المستوى ونهايتها سخيفة، وحاول الكاتب استخدام نفس الحيل التي نجدها كثيرا في كتب الرعب. الترجمة جيدة لكنها مختصرة كما يبدو، فليس من المعقول أن فصلا كاملا لا يتجاوز الصفحتين
June 8, 2025
I just finished another Shivers book.This one is Terror On Troll Mountian.I decided to read this for summer,because it seemed like a summer book.The story follows out main protagonist Paul Albereti.He is going with his uncle and his dad to Pinzolo Italy,from Chicago for summer vacation.He is in the backseat staring at his feet that have burst through his sneakers.Paul is a big guy.He Loves to eat and often gets teased by the size of his feet.He's staring at his feet to keep from getting car sick.I relate to Paul already,because I to get car sick and love to eat.Speaking of eating.We learn that in Italy.The citizens take a three hour lunch break and eat alot and end the night with coffee.Im sure I have a little bit of Italian blood in me ,because that sounds like the perfect night.Paul ends up wanting to go exploring so he climbs the mountain that is near the place he's staying at and runs into a cow.He follows the cow to this pasture and gets grabbed by this hairry arm.He gers scared and runs away back to town.He tells everyone what happend,but they blame it on a local farmer,who is very hairry.This brings up the legend of the Orco,a local legend about a troll who lives in the mountians.Paul's grandmother speaks Italian,so his dad translates.Everybody around the table have different interpretations of what the orca looked like.Some say he's mostly human,some day he has chicken feet,but the most common myth is that to get away from him you must give him a wedding ring.After Paul runs into the Harry armed parson,not much happens.He eats,explores the village with his cousin and things like that,but I really didn't mind,because this book was really entertaining,despite not much going on.The kids end up discovering a shack and go exploring where the grandmother says she's seen this thing before and they do run into something.Im not saying what,because this is close to the end.I actually thought Terror On Troll Mountian was pretty entertaining and I was fully invested in what Orca was.I thought I even knew what was going to happen involving a twist,but I was wrong.I thought a few of the scenes were funny also.Paul running through the village with scrapes and shirtless was really good and there are some others that i can't remember off the top of my head,but overall I really enjoyed this one.It's not perfect.We don't see the monster until the end,and it does get a little slow.But it is really a fun mystery and there is even a scene that's is genuinely scary.Paul getting trapped inside the house after the chair breaks is really good.I give Terror On Troll Mountian a three out of five stars.
July 25, 2021
3,5*
Paul is spending the summer holidays with his dad visiting some family in a really small town in Italy.
Used to the big city, Paul does not find many things to do in the small town and decides to venture to the mountains. When he comes back he says he has seen a monster and the family tell him about a legend of a troll that is said to live in the mountains.
Together with his cousin he will go looking for the troll and the situation will become way more dangerous than expected.
This volume was action packed and really engaging and I loved to see the friendship between the kids.
Paul is spending the summer holidays with his dad visiting some family in a really small town in Italy.
Used to the big city, Paul does not find many things to do in the small town and decides to venture to the mountains. When he comes back he says he has seen a monster and the family tell him about a legend of a troll that is said to live in the mountains.
Together with his cousin he will go looking for the troll and the situation will become way more dangerous than expected.
This volume was action packed and really engaging and I loved to see the friendship between the kids.
June 27, 2025
Shivers Summer! Some Spoilers Below.
This week we are diving into is Book 8: Terror on Troll Mountain. You ever read a book that feels like drinking straight from the bottle of San Pellegrino while a guy named Italo with forest-level body hair judges your Italian pronunciation?
That’s Terror on Troll Mountain! A book that teaches you phonetic Italian, warns you about hairy dudes in the hills, and casually drops in a line about kissing your old lady cousin like that’s a normal rite of passage.
Our main character Paul and his dad travel to a small town in Italy, to see his dad's side of the family. Paul gets goosed by a hairy arm while cow-chillin’ in the Alps and books it outta there without looking back. When he gets home he tells his family about the hairy arm. His family responds in the most Italian way possible: with food.
During dinner, they tell Paul, there is some Italian mountain troll, called the Orco. The Orco, our antagonist, is described as “Hairy. Ugly. With a man's body and chicken's feet.” Which sounds like every guy who's ever DM’d an IG model "ciao bella" at 3AM. And, apparently, if you want to stop the Orco, just throw a gold ring at it.
Then, his family is like; you were up in a this dudes field, his name is Italo, and he's so hairy, that everyone in the town calls him, La Barba. They mean, this dude makes James Harden’s beard look like a fifth grader’s first attempt at No-Shave November.
So Paul and his cousin Anthony go into town the next day, and they run into their old as "distant cousin" and she wants a kiss. This is one of the biggest cliff-hanger-chapter-endings of the entire book. They also run into La Barba, and he's like I never saw that boy (Paul) in my life. So naturally, Paul is like shit, it must have been the Orco.
So, Paul and Anthony, go to look for the Orco, but Anthony steals their grandmothers gold ring. They find a house in the middle of nowhere and totally break in and destroy everything. They light a smoke bombs because the Orco shows up, and Paul coughs up the golden ring, like Sonic the Hedgehog getting hit by Dr. Robotnik.
By the end, we’ve got avalanches, tree-climbing-Anthony-missing-fake-outs, and the Orco falling off a cliff. There’s a moral in here somewhere about believing kids, respecting ancient mountain creatures, and not giving your grandchildren access to priceless rings.
Is it as unhinged as other Shivers books? No. But Terror on Troll Mountain still delivers that soft, goofy charm that made Shivers the Red Vines, to Goosebumps' Twizzlers, of '90s middle-grade horror lit. Not exactly scary, kinda chewy, always fun.
Lastly, I would have preferred a lore dump on the Orco over the elderly cousin demanding a smooch like this is House of the Dragon: Tuscany Edition. But, would 10-year-old me have been into it? Absolutely! If only for the chance to learn Italian without Muzzy’s terrifying fuzzy face haunting my dreams. Come to think of it has anyone ever seen Muzzy and the Orco in the same place at the same time?
This week we are diving into is Book 8: Terror on Troll Mountain. You ever read a book that feels like drinking straight from the bottle of San Pellegrino while a guy named Italo with forest-level body hair judges your Italian pronunciation?
That’s Terror on Troll Mountain! A book that teaches you phonetic Italian, warns you about hairy dudes in the hills, and casually drops in a line about kissing your old lady cousin like that’s a normal rite of passage.
Our main character Paul and his dad travel to a small town in Italy, to see his dad's side of the family. Paul gets goosed by a hairy arm while cow-chillin’ in the Alps and books it outta there without looking back. When he gets home he tells his family about the hairy arm. His family responds in the most Italian way possible: with food.
During dinner, they tell Paul, there is some Italian mountain troll, called the Orco. The Orco, our antagonist, is described as “Hairy. Ugly. With a man's body and chicken's feet.” Which sounds like every guy who's ever DM’d an IG model "ciao bella" at 3AM. And, apparently, if you want to stop the Orco, just throw a gold ring at it.
Then, his family is like; you were up in a this dudes field, his name is Italo, and he's so hairy, that everyone in the town calls him, La Barba. They mean, this dude makes James Harden’s beard look like a fifth grader’s first attempt at No-Shave November.
So Paul and his cousin Anthony go into town the next day, and they run into their old as "distant cousin" and she wants a kiss. This is one of the biggest cliff-hanger-chapter-endings of the entire book. They also run into La Barba, and he's like I never saw that boy (Paul) in my life. So naturally, Paul is like shit, it must have been the Orco.
So, Paul and Anthony, go to look for the Orco, but Anthony steals their grandmothers gold ring. They find a house in the middle of nowhere and totally break in and destroy everything. They light a smoke bombs because the Orco shows up, and Paul coughs up the golden ring, like Sonic the Hedgehog getting hit by Dr. Robotnik.
By the end, we’ve got avalanches, tree-climbing-Anthony-missing-fake-outs, and the Orco falling off a cliff. There’s a moral in here somewhere about believing kids, respecting ancient mountain creatures, and not giving your grandchildren access to priceless rings.
Is it as unhinged as other Shivers books? No. But Terror on Troll Mountain still delivers that soft, goofy charm that made Shivers the Red Vines, to Goosebumps' Twizzlers, of '90s middle-grade horror lit. Not exactly scary, kinda chewy, always fun.
Lastly, I would have preferred a lore dump on the Orco over the elderly cousin demanding a smooch like this is House of the Dragon: Tuscany Edition. But, would 10-year-old me have been into it? Absolutely! If only for the chance to learn Italian without Muzzy’s terrifying fuzzy face haunting my dreams. Come to think of it has anyone ever seen Muzzy and the Orco in the same place at the same time?
March 17, 2025
Finally, time to get back to the ripoff round with some Shivers.
Shivers is a mixed bag, you know the drill. The book we have to cover is one of the more well known ones. It actually got a sequel down the road, so let’s see if it’s a better one.
Paul and his father are visiting Paul’s uncle in Italy, the village where Dad grew up to be exact. He quickly gets bored and starts exploring the mountains. He bumps into a hairy beast but is later told it was just a big hairy dude. Then he’s told about the giant of a hairy troll that stalks the mountains and eats kids. Are the stories true?
This book is good enough. It’s good in a fine sort of way. It’s the level of quality I wish Shivers had more often. It’s pretty basic story wise, but there’s not much hugely wrong with it. The writing is solid for the series, it’s in third person so it’s less clunky and it can paint a solid picture.
The italy setting does it apart. The village setting is quaint and charming, even if it has some of the usual stereotypes. Paul’s bond with his cousin Anthony can be annoying, as they bicker a lot. But it can be charming too. There’s a bit too “you gotta believe me” but it’s not too bad.
The first half feels a bit too “when are we gonna get to the fireworks factory” for me. A few too many fake outs. And the scary scenes early on last like 2 pages. But the latter half improves a fair. There’s solid suspense when it comes to the big troll they bump into.
It serves as a solid threat. There’s nothing notably great here but there’s not much super wrong. It’s a basic good, and on the lighter end of that. This would be a lesser book in most series but it’s a better one for Shivers. Ain’t that said?
The ending of the “mega happy” kind. There is some mild emotion when they lose grandma’s ring which was neat. They actually set up the sequel, with the end of the cousin visiting Paul back in Chicago. Spoilers, it’s called “Shriek Home Chicago” so I assume that’s the plot?
So yeah, MD Spenser did fine, if it he even wrote this one. That’s it, not much to add. Next time, we go back to Spinetinglers for a one involving circus freaks. See ya then.
Shivers is a mixed bag, you know the drill. The book we have to cover is one of the more well known ones. It actually got a sequel down the road, so let’s see if it’s a better one.
Paul and his father are visiting Paul’s uncle in Italy, the village where Dad grew up to be exact. He quickly gets bored and starts exploring the mountains. He bumps into a hairy beast but is later told it was just a big hairy dude. Then he’s told about the giant of a hairy troll that stalks the mountains and eats kids. Are the stories true?
This book is good enough. It’s good in a fine sort of way. It’s the level of quality I wish Shivers had more often. It’s pretty basic story wise, but there’s not much hugely wrong with it. The writing is solid for the series, it’s in third person so it’s less clunky and it can paint a solid picture.
The italy setting does it apart. The village setting is quaint and charming, even if it has some of the usual stereotypes. Paul’s bond with his cousin Anthony can be annoying, as they bicker a lot. But it can be charming too. There’s a bit too “you gotta believe me” but it’s not too bad.
The first half feels a bit too “when are we gonna get to the fireworks factory” for me. A few too many fake outs. And the scary scenes early on last like 2 pages. But the latter half improves a fair. There’s solid suspense when it comes to the big troll they bump into.
It serves as a solid threat. There’s nothing notably great here but there’s not much super wrong. It’s a basic good, and on the lighter end of that. This would be a lesser book in most series but it’s a better one for Shivers. Ain’t that said?
The ending of the “mega happy” kind. There is some mild emotion when they lose grandma’s ring which was neat. They actually set up the sequel, with the end of the cousin visiting Paul back in Chicago. Spoilers, it’s called “Shriek Home Chicago” so I assume that’s the plot?
So yeah, MD Spenser did fine, if it he even wrote this one. That’s it, not much to add. Next time, we go back to Spinetinglers for a one involving circus freaks. See ya then.
December 6, 2018
The other week, my coworker was telling me how his son has monstrously large size 13 shoes. People make fun of the main character's giant feet (a family of four could use his shoe as a raft) which made me laugh.
It's about an adventurous kid who moves to italy to meet relatives. As much as he likes the mountains of the small town, his cousin Anthony (not tony) wishes he could visit the urban Chicago instead. He encounters a hairy ugly Orco which loves eating mushrooms and children. I always root for the monsters!
As a bonus, I now know how to pronounce gnocchi!
It's about an adventurous kid who moves to italy to meet relatives. As much as he likes the mountains of the small town, his cousin Anthony (not tony) wishes he could visit the urban Chicago instead. He encounters a hairy ugly Orco which loves eating mushrooms and children. I always root for the monsters!
As a bonus, I now know how to pronounce gnocchi!
January 16, 2018
Once again the back of the book doesn’t happen until around page 114/125. Some things not mentioned happen though.
I liked parts of this but the big finale felt weak and the conclusion was boring. There’s a lot of silly things that don’t add up but whatever. It was okay...
I liked parts of this but the big finale felt weak and the conclusion was boring. There’s a lot of silly things that don’t add up but whatever. It was okay...
October 1, 2018
Great book to introduce children to some “scary” literature. Story on the whole is very simplistic easy to follow a good beginner chapter book. The end showdown between the two main characters and the orco was a little quick and disappointing for me, but again this is a kid’s book :)
November 24, 2018
loved this book when i was a kid.
February 22, 2019
تقريبا هذا ابسط قصة رعب و تعتبر اقرب للمغامرة من الاثارة و التشويق
August 2, 2023
Great story put together, cousins become like brothers, based in Italy, and the Troll was at the mountain so not bad.
Recommend reading
Recommend reading
October 16, 2024
حبيت الأجواء الإيطالية
May 14, 2025
I loved it can’t wait to read the others I have xxxx
December 16, 2023
I remember reading this when I was 8 and it made me fall in love with the "Shivers" series. It is certainly a cosy read. The short chapters and constant cliff hangers became a bit routine for me though. I will still be reading more in the series...
May 14, 2013
حبّة إحباط ..
مخُفتش خالِص، والتّرجمة فكّرتني بِـ (صرخة الرُّعب) اللي كُنت بقراها وأنا صغيّرة، بحسّ إني بقرا عمل مُترجم فعلاً فيه شيء من ركاكة اللُّغة، مش عمل أدبي مُرعب !!
لو بقية السلسلة مُترجمة بالطّريقة دي، أنا بنصح بعدم شرائها إلاّ لو الناس عايزة تاخد فكرة عن الأدب العالمي !!!!
نجمتين هم أقصى ما أستطيع منحه !!!!
مخُفتش خالِص، والتّرجمة فكّرتني بِـ (صرخة الرُّعب) اللي كُنت بقراها وأنا صغيّرة، بحسّ إني بقرا عمل مُترجم فعلاً فيه شيء من ركاكة اللُّغة، مش عمل أدبي مُرعب !!
لو بقية السلسلة مُترجمة بالطّريقة دي، أنا بنصح بعدم شرائها إلاّ لو الناس عايزة تاخد فكرة عن الأدب العالمي !!!!
نجمتين هم أقصى ما أستطيع منحه !!!!
December 10, 2016
It is horror but not that much and very cool this book is
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews