Welcome to the Ghost Show by J.W. Ocker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Welcome to the Ghost Show is a Middle Grade Horror novel that took me completely by surprise.
I’m not even sure I ever actually read the synopsis. It was offered to me, I took once glance at this cover and said, absolutely, I’ll read that!
This story follows Hazel, known as Zel, and her two best friends, Theo and Lucien, who are the only members of their self-created Creepy Club. The purpose of the club is ghost investigations, and the trio is always looking for evidence of paranormal activity.
When a entity called the Ghost Show arrives in their town, people hardly know what to make of it. What is it exactly?
Zel and the boys have no idea, but Zel is still one of the first in line to find out. After all, it’s hard not to be drawn to the 5-story black skull that has just suddenly erected itself at the edge of town.
The Ghost Show is run by an Amadeus Everest Mancer, a carnival barker-type, who claims to be a ghost catcher. As the kids roam through the Ghost Show, they can hardly believe their eyes. The whole experience is outrageous, leaving them wondering, is any of it actually real?
When Mancer offers to show Zel a real ghost, and in fact the only ghost she would give anything to see, Zel quickly finds she’s let her desires get her in over her head.
Soon the entire town is infected by ghosts and it’s up to the Creepy Club to banish the Ghost Show and save everyone they know, but will they be able to fight back against Mancer’s frightening creations?
I’ll admit, I wouldn’t say this is a perfect book, but I just had such a wonderful time reading it, and that’s how I rate my books, on the experience. The first couple of chapters, I was worried. It did take me a minute to get used to the flow of the author’s writing, but man, did it end up pulling me in.
I worked a full day today; a full stressful day, and I still ended up reading this in its entirety. Once I started to get to know the Creepy Club, and the dangers they faced with the Ghost Show in town, I couldn’t put it down.
I feel like Ocker successfully channeled the 80s/90s Spooky Middle Grades vibes that I’m always looking for. And luckily, the writing is better than the majority of those books, but it still gave me such a nostalgic experience, which I adored.
I enjoyed the dark carnival atmosphere created via the Ghost Show. It gave it all an air of mystery and danger that I liked watching our characters interact with.
Also, the characters were so well done. They each have their own personal issues they’re working through, and you see how the creation of the Creepy Club was sort of a way for them to maybe not be so alone during difficult times.
I felt like Ocker did a great job of exploring those issues, and the friendship, while still keeping the intensity of the Horror aspects. IMO, that blending of the two was very well done and made the story feel more multi-layered.
My favorite character was Theo. He pretty much saw the world through the lens of his video recorder. He was filming everything and he frequently self-narrated things, and I found those narrations hilarious. I was frequently laughing out loud at the things he was saying, which made for a great break in the tension.
Overall, I feel like this is such a fun Spooky Middle Grade story. I would definitely recommend this to any MG Horror Reader. It’s fast-paced, engaging and fairly unique in the plot and conclusion. I’m so glad I picked it up. I need more from this author!
Thank you to the publisher, Storytide, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Come for the cover, stay for all the nostalgic vibes!!