R. L Stine’s The Haunting Hour is an excellent – and distinctly underrated youth horror series. It ran for four seasons from late in 2010 until 2014 on Discovery Family and should definitely be talked about more than it is.
In this essay, I’m going to highlight some of the best episodes of the series – adding to the list over time. I’d love to hear from readers – and viewers of the series – what your favorite episodes are.
The Bloodcurdling Book Club is our horror books podcast where Dawn and I rant and rave over dark and disturbing popular fiction. This week’s hair raising read is 1983’s The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright. This juvenile classic is the story of Amy, a young girl who escapes the fatigue of being her sister, Louanne’s, caregiver by fleeing to help her aunt prepare to sell her grandparents’ abandoned home. There she discovers a dollhouse that is the exact replica of the family home. But when the dolls begin to move of their own accord, Amy is thrown into a bloody mystery where some secrets are just not meant to stay in the past. An effective read that introduces the horror genre to young readers, The Dollhouse Murders remains relevant for its depictions of generational trauma and its deployment of uncanny dopplegangers.
Listen to the episode here:
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