Invasion of the Appleheads

Deadtime Stories #2

by A.G. Cascone

Robin and Andy must find a way to lift a witch's curse on Appleton after their parents drink poisoned cider and turn into shrunken applehead dolls

Genres: Horror, Middle Grade, Fiction, Fantasy, Zombies, Childrens, Supernatural

126 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

The team of Annette Cascone and Gina Cascone, sisters.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I'm putting the ripoff series into my Stine reading rotation, and the first one the randomizer picked was this. I had seen the episode but didn't recall much. This was a big improvement over Terror in Tiny Town. The concept isn't quite as high concept as the cover may make you think: A witch comes back for her every-hundred years-revenge by turning kinds into brainwashed zombies and adults into applehead dolls. Yeah, they are just dolls, the cover is a big lie. Hell, the apple thing isn't important, they easily could have been freaking troll dolls and nothing would change.

Anyway, there's some decent creepy descriptions here and there, the pacing is very quick. It gets into the action early on and is filled with a bunch of action, not too much downtime. That made it more fun to get through, but it also became a bit much at times. There should have been more build up at the start to ease into it. It's not too repetitive at least. And once again the protagonists start off being kind of annoying before calming down, although it's not as bad this time.

There's a bit ,more a wrapup than usual for these, but to make up for it there's a tacked on twist that was kind of dumb. That said, I liked the small sobering moments after the parents become dolls, where Robin (Kate in the episode/reprint for some reason) notes how sad it is the parents can't help them our during all this. It's small but I appreciated it.

Overall, pretty fun.

[Tim Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a good book and had many plot twists like when the parents turned into appleheads and the town became dead, also the intensity of the chase of the relatives was scary also.

[Joe Albanese · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book in the fourth grade. Matches any Goosebumps that I've read, and passes many of them.

[BookishBibliophile · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stop it.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lawrence family has just moved to Appleton, and wants to see some historical sights, so the night before Halloween, Katie, Andy and their parents visit the old apple orchard. Except this orchard is under the control of a vengeful witch, who wants to turn every adult into an applehead, and every child into a zombie. If Katie and Andy can't find a way to break the curse before midnight on Halloween, they'll all be stuck like that!
I really like the Deadtime series in general, and this was definitely one of my favorites of the series. I liked the whole Halloween vibe, and come on, that cover is amazing.

[brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

unnecessary backstory: i was going through old books when i realized i had a lot of books that i bought in middle school (whether it be at the bookstore or at the book fair) that i never got around to reading so i decided to finally start reading some, hence this book

i actually liked this book and it definitely gave off goosebumps vibes. i do remember this was a show on nickelodeon which prompted me to buy it from the book fair. i did have a bit of “criticism” but obviously it was made for kids and now an adult but i’m sure i would’ve ATE this up if i had read it in middle school when i originally bought it

[Arnela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely a great book for kids that love getting spooked. Though I have to correct the blurb, it's Kate and Andy Lawrence that have moved to Appleton, not Robin and Andy.

Regardless of that the book has a thriller aspect to it almost, the kids are constantly running away or to something, danger is always right around the corner, and to save the town they've got to get right up and personal with the big baddy.

I definitely recommend the entire Deadtime Stories series to all young horror fans.

[Luke M]

My book was called Invasion of the Appleheads by Gina and Annette Cascone. I liked it but it wasn't great. It didn't have enough detail. Sometimes I got lost because I couldn't picture the setting. I would recommend this book to someone who likes to read scary books.

[Veronica Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Invasion of the Appleheads" was a great young children's book. I thought I would read some books with young people in mind. It was well written; made me laugh and kept my attention. If you want to read something quick and entertaining READ this book. Have fun.

[Spencer Latsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

siblings go to a orchard the day before halloween but they feel like somethings off it has twists and turns and its super creepy

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much better than Goosebumps!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically One Day at Horrorland Fall Edition with Appleheads.

[Miroh Shriver · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first books I ever read ❤️

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great goosebumps inspired book!

[Evelynnm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and fun read for the fall time. I got really immersed in Appleton.

[Pariss · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like reading about scary books and mystery books then you will like this book . This book is about Katie and Andy Lawrence who thought moving to a new town named Appleton was the worst thing on the planet . They were beyond incorrect . Appleton is named for there famous apple orchard for their haunted hayride . Katie and Andy were in the car with there parents and weird things started to happen . All of a sudden Mr and Mrs Lawrence disappear at the apple orchard. Will Katie and Andy find there parent before it is to late? well you just have to read the book and find out what happens next.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is when ''Katie Lawrence was sure the torture would never end , she had struggled to hold back the scream in her throat''. '' Katie knew that if she screamed thing would only get worse''. That is, if things could get worse''. I choose these lines because it explains how Katie is feeling about the whole situation . If this was me I would be upset if I had to move to some place i didn't want to go and the my parents disappearing.
I liked this book I never really read a book like this before so it was something new. The plot is Appleton apple orchard . The main charters are Katie and Andy . I could relate to this because i have a little brother and if i was looking for my parents who disappeared i would make sure he was safe.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery . This book really made me wonder about if i was in that position , what would i do ? One thing i still don't understand is why the story ended like that . but i am not going to tell you any more you just have to read the book and see.

This was wrote by Pariss Civil

[Alisa Hedden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to be able to read 3 books from this series:
The Beast of the Baskerville
Invasion of the Appleheads
The Little Magic Shop of Horrors
Normally I would do a book by book review, but I wanted to make sure that these authors did not fall into the all too easy trap of having each book of a series essentially just is a repeat of the previous book. So before I recommended these books to anyone, I had to be sure.
Happily, the sisters manage to avoid the most common pitfalls of a series (which then quickly devolves into boredom and unhappy readers) while keeping the stories different. These are written at the correct language level for readers of about 8 – 12, without talking down to them, or dumbing the whole thing down enough that it is insulting to the readers. While doing a wonderful job of building suspense, the sisters also manage to build in enough plot twists so that the readers will have to pay attention to keep track of the action.
If you are a fan of the happy ending, you definitely will not enjoy these books. If, however you like something a bit creepy and that really should not be read in your room, after the light is out, with a flashlight or book light, then these books are definitely for you.

[Caleb Czeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is kind of weird, because it starts out with the creepy things happening and they don't give any background on Appleton's history. Robin and Andy are in their parents car at the beginning, with their parents in their car too. Then they go on a hayride and their parents turn into apple heads. They then bring their parents back to their house and put them in the fruit bowl, and call the cops. When the cops get there they are apple heads. Yaga's poison that is in all of the apples in Appleton, and is turning all of the adults into apple heads, and the kids into zombies. The only way to stop Yaga is by giving her poison. Then she turns into an apple head. Finally times goes backwards until everyone is back to normal. The only people that remember anything are Robin, Andy, and Owen, the scarecrow.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

New to Appleton, Katie and Andy Lawrence can barely tolerate the day trip their parents have scheduled of the town and a nearby orchard with unsavory history. Before they know it, their parents have disappeared, and their lives are being threatened by an evil witch who is poisoning everyone with apple cider. Late elementary and middle grade readers will enjoy the never-give-up spirit of the siblings even while they try to figure out a way to escape from zombies and save their parents who have been turned into appleheads. As with all the titles in this Deadtime Stories series, each chapter ends with a teaser leading to the next big event, and the ending promises even more troubles ahead.

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book that I read to my children at bedtime. Just enough creepy for a 6 year old.

Katie and Andy have moved the the township of Appleton. Their parents decide to tour the towns historic sights on Halloween night. As they come to the sight of the burned down orchard, they find that it is not burned down as the brochure said. But it is a alive with activity.

They drive in and encounter strange people, creepy witches, ghouls and zombies. While on a hay ride to tour the grounds, the parents were given cider and the kids apples to enjoy. They should not have partaken of the gifts....

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I were the target audience, this would have been a solid 4 star, so that's why it's so high.

A family, new to the town of Appleton, is on a sight-seeing trip when they enter a supposedly haunted orchard. Except - maybe - it really is haunted. The kids look a lot like zombies, and there's a mysterious fog that somehow separates the parents from the children. Can Katie and Andy save themselves, let alone the town? The suspense and horror are perfect for younger horror fans.

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful Amazing book is about when Katie and Andy go to the Appleton orchard with there parents there parents get kidnapped by drinking cider and Turing into applehead dolls and are stored in yaga and her ghouls gift shop and it turned out that yaga was a real witch. Read the book to find out what happens next!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was the first book I read more than once it always haunts me to this day because at the end you never really know if it was really resolved. I mean what happened to all of the appleheads? Did they return to normal?

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read for spooky season for the atmosphere alone. I haven't read this one since I was a kid so I didn't remember too much.

The descriptions are good and the plot itself is pretty solid. I also enjoyed the characters. Was a great way to kick off the end of September!

[Joe Albanese · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a bunch of times as a kid and enjoyed it every time. I doubt I would like it much if I read it as old as I am now, but would definitely recommend it to a younger reader who likes scary stories.

[Sharie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. Scary stories for the younger person. Definitely scary though.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book -in equal parts - terrified and intrigued me as a 3rd grader 🤣

[Brittainy Joins]

Really good book.

[Anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

F

[Meg Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids loved it. I will buy more of this series.