Strange Spirits of St. Ignace

Michigan Chillers #6

by Johnathan Rand

Kevin Barnes and his family are going camping in the forest near St. Igance, Michigan. It's sure to be a fun vacation filled with adventure and exploration. That is until Kevin, his sister Erin and brother Bobby, find themselves lost. When strange things begin to happen, the three realize they aren't alone. For there are other unearthly creatures that inhabit the forest...strange spirits from another realm!

Kevin, Erin, and Bobby are suddenly caught in the middle of a terrible, raging battle, and are forced to take sides. If they win, they can go home.

But if they lose....

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Childrens, Adventure

Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Christopher Wright is the author of dozens of horror fiction books for children and young adults. He writes under the pseudonyms Johnathan Rand and Christopher Knight. Almost all of Wright's books (save American Chillers) take place in his home state of Michigan.

Reviews

[Max Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to the bathroom and shit out several copies of this book because I just ate it up.

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

A camping trip in backwoods St. Ignace, Michigan, might be a real treat under the right circumstances, and those circumstances align mostly favorably for siblings Kevin (age twelve), Erin (thirteen), and Bobby (six) Barnes and their parents at the start of Strange Spirits of St. Ignace. A friend of their father's owns acres upon acres of unincorporated St. Ignace forest and has agreed to let the Barneses use it for their camping vacation, and after enduring the mind-numbingly dull six-hour car ride to the campsite, all indications are that the excursion ahead of them is going to be a blast. Little do Kevin and his siblings know that a wayward bear traipsing by their tents the first night will lead the three of them on an ill-fated search destined to leave them lost and stranded in the wilderness of St. Ignace, with no way to trace their way back to the campsite.

Two worlds connect in these woods: the spirit animals of the King of Fire, and the ghostly army of the wicked Avan-Dar, a malevolent being who intends doom for Kevin, Erin, and Bobby. Many, many years ago, the valiant forces of the King of Fire met Avan-Dar's iniquitous soldiers on the field of battle in an epic struggle that ended with the banishment of Avan-Dar. Now his term of banishment has expired, and it's up to Kevin, proclaimed the new King of Fire by the spirit animals, to again vanquish Avan-Dar in combat and exile him forever this time. Kevin has been equipped well for this conflict with a talisman knife that possesses powers equal to his wildest fantasies, but he must wield the knife bravely and not stand down from the aggressions of Avan-Dar if he is to win the day for the spirit animals counting on him to save them. Even with ultimate victory as his weapon's guaranteed inheritance, it isn't easy for a twelve-year-old and his brother and sister to stand courageously in the face of evil. Can Kevin come through as a worthy successor to the mantle of his magic knife?

A lot about the plot goes totally unexplained in Strange Spirits of St. Ignace, too much for me to comprehensively cover in this review. As with all Michigan Chillers, the writing and copyediting style is far from conventional, but I'm used to that after reading the first five books of the series. If Strange Spirits of St. Ignace can hang its hat on something, it's the three main characters, all of whom are likable and/or interesting in their own way. Who can help but smile at the way little Bobby covers his eyes and peeks through his fingers whenever he gets scared? The "American Chillers Picture Pages", a miniature black-and-white photo album with pictures of author Johnathan Rand (aka Christopher Wright) out and about at school events and book signings, is a nice add-on to the end of the book. I might give Strange Spirits of St. Ignace one and a half stars, and I appreciate it for the fun diversion it is. As long as you're not expecting storytelling on par with that of internationally renowned juvenile horror legend R.L. Stine, you'll be in a fine position to have a good time with this book.

[Steven Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

BAck when i was in fourth grade my favorite books was the Michigan Chillers series. I read 1-7. I couldnt wait for my teacher to get the next numbers. I liked that as i read i could visualize myself in the alternate world in the books. Also I liked that they were Michigan cities that i was familiar with.

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

At long last, I have found the first arguably perfect ‘Chiller. Jonathan Rand (aka Christopher Wright) has had many weaker volumes, with most of his genuinely decent works coming from the original Michigan Chillers series rather than the other, far inferior yet longer series. My theory? Probably just a symptom of his earlier entries; this is his sixth ‘Chillers ever, after all, and I’ll bet he put far more care into these earlier ones later on, wherever that line of quality dropping begins. So what made this one so good? Alike to the other books of the Michigan Chillers run, this one had a far more epic plot. This book is most notably similar to Mackinac Island, however this time it feels more realized and a bit slower, taking the time that it needs to more establish what’s happening, and I loved that. The writing is notably good, though still recognizable as Mr. Rand’s, whatever that entails about its quality. The ideas in here are great and the execution displays the vision well. There’s some great moments, some disturbing imagery alongside more epic takes (like the final boss), and a really solid main character with some level of depth with the reveals of the book involving his role. For a ‘Chiller, this book really impressed me and I have little room to complain about anything, not that I can pin-point much of an actual complaint. I will say that I kinda wish the villain had more depth/motive(s) and that there’s a battle with an enemy type near the end that feels a little too easy and brushed over, however these are minimal nitpicks that don’t deduct crud. Overall, 10/10. Finally, we have found the best of the series; this is what I’ve been waiting for… now I pray there’re others like this.

[JacobT · Rating 3 out of 5]

This MC book was more cool than scary

[Allyson Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very much fun existing book

[Patrice · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing, story and characters are not great, though the mechanic linking the books in the series is interesting. Not as bad as the first one though.

[Wolverinefactor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great idea but then it turns all fantasy. Nothing chilling about a fantasy story

[Alex Hoisington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a kid who went camping with his family. Later he and his brother and sister go looking at tracks in the woods and end up getting lost and then in the fire encounter a strange Indian in the fire. He tells them to leave the woods because a powerful spirit was being released. After the book is over you can see that that book is also part of another book in the series.

If possible I would want people to read it. Once I get ahold of a good book I can't put it down. Sometimes that book would be classified as a distraction and get taken away. Most of the books I read are very good and most will get taken away which is bad cause then I can't finish that book for this class.

[Marco A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a family of five go to a forest they never went too find something strange and weird about the forest and the three kids Erin big sister, Kevin middle child, Bobby the youngest, find a weird track markings that have toes. It gets dark really fast and they are now lost, Kevin has pocketknife and starts a fire and then something bad is about to happened to them. Do they ever make it out of there alive.
? My favorite part is when they go too the forest and everything gets weird. I recommend 5th to 8th graders who like to read Jonathan Rand books

[Michael Parisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is scary and fun to read

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kiddie horror set in Michigan. Not too bad at all. Maybe even give me leads to local writers within Michigan itself. Hilarious. A mildly interesting ghost story. =)

[Bryan Lemson]

read

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, just not really my style of story I suppose. I do like how in the end he introduces the characters and topic of the next book in the series.