The Evil One

Phantom Valley #1

by Lynn Beach

Monica Case, a student at the Chilleen Academy, finds an old doll in her dorm room and discovers that it had belonged to Allegra Chilleen, who died along with her family in a fire years before

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

This is a pen name for author Kathryn Lance.

Kathryn Lance, the author or co-author (or ghostwriter) of more than 50 print books (fiction, nonfiction, for adults and children), has moved into the world of e-publishing. Several of her out of print fiction books are or will soon be up on Smashwords and other online venues; new work, including short fiction and a YA sci-fi series, will soon be in print online as well.

A member of Authors Guild and Science Fiction Writers of America, Lance grew up in Tucson, Arizona, then moved to New York City for several years. Now she is back in Tucson, where she leads nature tours, writes, and has fun with her husband and four cats.

Reviews

[Meghan K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na Stopách hrůzy jsem jako mladší dost ujížděla, četla jsem si je večer v posteli a pekelně se bála. Ovšem z těch příběhů si pamatuju akorát tak Abigail a Ezru. Příběhy nejsou špatné, ale ani nijak extra originální paranormálky. Některé pasáže byly dost skokovité, daly se více rozvést. A prkenný český jazyk tomu taky moc nepřidal (jenže kdy se to překládalo, že?). Jako oddychovka super :)

[Zuzka-knižníček · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pozor, pozor, kultovní věc :-)) Opakování četby z mládí, respektive snad lze říct až z dětství. Tento díl hodnotím spíše podprůměrně, no jo, věk holt dělá své :-) Ale určitě se pustím i do dalších knížeček. Také bych řekla, že velký vliv má, že čtu současné kvalitní thrillery, no a to se pak člověk u těchto "horůrků" vůbec nebojí, přesto nostalgie u mě převládá.

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love haunted doll books and for a life while I thought this book was going to fake me out and give me a haunting and a doll but not a haunted doll. Instead, it gave me an evil semi-sentient doll, which I'm totally satisfied with. The stakes seemed high, some of the boarding school kids were jerks, so it's all as expected and a nice, short, escape. Fun but not anything extra special.

[Elisabetth (Cecilka)]

Vždycky jsem chtěla mít porcelánovou panenku - ony jsou moc krásné. Už mě to přešlo. Radši chci obyčejnou Barbie.

[Kelly M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ztráta času.. Jako malá jsem Stopy hrůzy hltala, ale už jsem z toho vyrostla. Uvidíme, třeba jiné díly budou lepší.

[Karolína · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun! I really like the boarding school setting, and the storyline is good.

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stumbled upon this one in my used bookstore adventures and immediately recognized the cover as a book that I had read as a tiny human. Naturally, I had to have it and see how well it stood up to the test of time. The answer was: surprisingly well! Tech is never discussed, so any lack thereof can be passed off as boarding school quirks. It's kid horror, so not spooky or creepy at all, but the pacing is solid, the storyline is well plotted, and the characters are multi-dimensional. All in all, it was a quick little read that was heavy on the nostalgia. Tons of fun. After looking up some of the other books in the series, I recognize just about all of the covers, so this would have had to have been something I snagged from the library as a kiddo. I'll probably pick up the others in the series for the nostalgia, and with a little luck my tiny human will also enjoy them!

[Cassidy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the Internet Archive, I got to read (reread?) a book I remember from nearly 30 years ago! I think I was in maybe 5th grade when I checked this out from the library. It was a fun time reliving my childhood reading experience! Honestly, the story is pretty corny and predictable, but for an eager middle-grade reader in the ‘90s who was just getting into spooky stuff, it was perfect!

While digging around to find out more about this book, I learned that Lynn Beach was the pen name of Kathryn Lance, who died last year. Her obituary: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/...

Original
OMG 💀 I have been searching for this book for YEARS, and I’ve finally found it! I remember reading it (or at least starting to read it) in my school cafeteria. I knew some details (the doll, its glowing eyes, a bureau that it sat on?) but could never remember the title. AT LAST! Now if I could just get my hands on it…

[Tessie Dragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

No popravdě mi to moc jako horor nepřipadal, ale jako příjemná oddychovka...proč ne?

[Stellabooksss ❤️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5… I went through my moms old books and found this one. It was so SCARY?! Hahahaha no but felt so observed while reading🥲Yeah but overall a fast (scary) YA book lol!

[TheCultureVulture]

Fun dark academia for grade schoolers.

[Katrina Sutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a child and reading it again just brings back memories of Phantom Valley. I loved these books, especially this one where a doll is discovered and after that unexplained bad things were happening.

[Denisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another rating: 0/10
Another dull story, empty characters, everything is soo predictable. I really can't read something like this. Maybe good for 10 years old children but not for me.

[Zuzana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a teenager and absolutely loved it.

[Klára Chottová · Rating 5 out of 5]

No docela zajímavé :D