Publication Date: October 31, 2013
In Funhouse of Horrors by Jazan Wild, the living impaired won’t leave Jake Stone alone, does he have any choice but to become a ghostwriter?
Readers of Fun House of Horror will not be surprised to learn that its author is known for his graphic novels. From the moment that Jake encounters Ole Scratch, the caretaker of a one-night-only haunted house, Wild’s prose is visual. The story of Fun House of Horror is not something I’ve read before, but the terror is reminiscent of a child’s reoccurring dream that once experienced enough, can be manipulated slightly so that the subject adjusts gradually to the setting and is eventually able to cope if not look forward to the events sure to unfold.
The characters are well developed if perhaps a bit unfocused. There are simply a lot of background characters and a lot of stories relating to those characters that leech attention from the main plotline. Standing at 333 pages, Fun House of Horror can afford a bit of a lack of direction but at more than a few points, the digressions become a bit much for a book of its genre and visceral style.
Fun House of Horror, while not a graphic novel, does contain some great and very topical artwork heading each chapter. Jake, especially at the beginning, experiences a lot of what my daughter would call “jump scares.” Disembodied beings appearing out of nowhere and the artwork gives the reader an idea of the horror Jake is experiencing. He is a young man, not looking for new companions and yet they keep coming. Jake is the Ghost Whisperer gone really bad and; typically, no one is listening to him.
So is Fun House of Horror the Halloween read you’ve been seeking? Ironically, because of the graphic novel nature of the writing, the reader is disconnected from the subject so that it’s not an especially scary read. It is; however, an interesting in its approach. Wild brings readers an individual work that could have been written a bit smoother but, really, that’s nitpicking. If you’re looking for a good holiday read that’s a little different and like the work of directions like Hershel Gordon Lewis of 2,000 Maniacs, pick this one up today and give it a try. You may not be frightened but you will be entertained.
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