You’ve entered the Haunted Mansion Library, where Amicus Crane greets you: “Your librarian and host. Your Ghost Host.” He’s the unseen narrator who introduces four thrill-seeking kids and regales them – and you – with stories that just happen to be about… them!

• Noah, Willa, Steve and Tim: four pre-teens obsessed with all things creepy. They form a horror club and dare each other to spooky stunts.
• Their Destination: a deserted Haunted Mansion, rumoured to be genuinely haunted.
• Once inside, Amicus Arcane introduces four short stories – each tailored to one of them.

Ghost-story one: noah’s nightmare

Noah’s story plunges him into his worst fear: being trapped in a portrait. In classic mansion lore, portraits can stretch. His reflection warps, elongates, and slowly pulls him into the frame. The painted version of Noah becomes warped and sinister – and at the end, he discovers his reflection in real life is missing, leaving just the grin in the glass.

Story two: willa’s mirror meltdown

Willa’s story takes a sinister turn when her reflection in the mirror starts acting on its own – smirking when she frowns. lingering when she looks away, and eventually moving independently. One night, the reflection steps out of the glass, a much more cruel, sharper version of Willa determined to take her place. By the time her friends notice, the swap is complete: the real Willa is trapped forever behind the mirror, while her imposter walks free, leaving only a mocking smile in the glass.

Third story: steve’s stretching specter

Steve’s story riffs on ride lyrics (“keep your hands inside,” etc). He sneaks into the hatbox room at the mansion, slicing with hatboxes that belong to 999 Happy Haunts. A ghost who loves stretching people grabs him, pulling his limbs to impossible lengths. By closing time, Steve collapses – but the final image: a ghost, now wearing Steve’s face, waving from the attic floor.

Final: tim’s tomb of terrors

Tim’s story is about a skeletal ghost host (think “Ghost Host” voice). It drags Tim through all rooms of the mansion – ballroom, conservatory, graveyard – ending in a crypt. Inside, skeletons dance, a dusty mirror shows his future skeleton self. When Tim escapes, he’s pale, shivering, and can never leave rain-soaked prints behind – like a ghost himself.

the big twist

After the four tales, the kids realize something eerie: Amicus Arcane has written these stories before hand, inscribed in the mansion’s library. Worse, the stories seem to be self-fulfilling. The mansion itself is feeding off their fears, ensuring the conclusion just so. The kids try to leave – but the mirrors stretch, pictures whisper, shadows follow. They escape at dawn shaky but intact.

Finally, Amicus Arcane cackles (creepily but with dry wit), pronounces them brave… and hints that next time, the Mansion might pick new victims.

creative highlights

• Narrative device: A spooky librarian/good ghost-host narrator who toys with the characters and reader alike.
• Illustrations by Kelley Jones: heavy-ink, atmospheric visuals that amplify each story’s atmosphere – distorted faces, stretching bodies, flickering candlelight.
• Ride call-backs: Portraits that elongate, Mirrors that act strange and hatboxes tumbling – straight from Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion experience.

why it works (and who it’s for)

• For younger readers (8-12): Goosebumps-style chills without gore – scary enough to feel grown-up but light enough to sleep later.
• For older fans: The book nods to attractions and Haunted Mansion lore – stretchy paintings, stretching room, eerie librarian voice, the hatbox ghost – triggering Disneyland nostalgia.
• For marathon readers: Though each volume stands alone, reading all three gives a satisfying arc through different facets of Mansion mythos.

final verdict

If you’re a fan of haunted attractions, ghost stories fuelled by psychological dread, or clever supernatural devices, The Fearsome Foursome delivers a short, punchy, atmospheric quartet of tales with just enough wit and weirdness. A perfect spooky flashlight read – or the seed that sprouts for bigger chills in Volumes II and III.

Rating 7/10 – All around an entertaining, fun, easy to read book with spooks.