I am quite disappointed by this book. I had really high expectations for this. I heard amazing things about Neal Shusterman and I love scary short stories. I thought it would be a win-win situation. I was wrong. The stories are mostly hit or miss.The thing that bothered me most about these stories is how rude most the protagonists are to others. It was unbelievably difficult to sympathize with them. Yes, sometimes having a mean protagonist is OK because it makes that character appear different then the others. It doesn't work though when MOST of the book's protagonists are like that.The book comes with twenty "twisted tales".1)Catching Cold: Marty is obsessed with trying to get ice cream from and ice cream truck that doesn't seem to ever stop for customers. He created a scheme to stop the truck, but he might not like what he gets. I didn't like that this is the first story in this book. It's only average. The story is similar to many that I've read before. Three stars.2)Who Do We Appreciate?: Danielle is a referee to soccer games. She attends a very early game with her younger brother on the bleachers.The players are all a bit strange. They don't behave like regular kids. And the coach, who was Danielle's old teacher, is acting weird too. Soon, she realizes that the outcome of the game will determine the fate of the Earth. I think this story is very predictable and way too long. One star.3)Soul Survivor: Peter dies during an incident. Instead of fading away or leaving behind the world, his soul is stuck. He can't return to his body, but he can go inside other people's minds along with other animals and objects. He decides to reside in Sam "Slam" McKellen's body and coexist within him. I loved this story. I thought it was creative and I never expected that dramatic ending. Five stars.4)Black Box: Karin's grandfather gives her a box that he said must never be opened because it can destroy the world. Her cousin, Randy, believes that the box is fake. There is no way that a box with a simple button inside can cause mass destruction. Strange things begin to happen ad Karin grew tempted to open the box. I found this tale to be simple and predictable. The only thing I liked is the way Shusterman handled the ending. Two stars.5)Resting Deep: Tommy's great-grandfather, Greaty, takes him to go fishing. The water is stormy. Greaty said and did things that disturbed Tommy as Greaty's intentions became clear. This story was just boring. There was nothing that captivated me. One star.6)Security Blanket: After throwing away her siblings' security blanket, Marybeth buys them a new one. This story is definitely creepy. While haunted objects isn't exactly an original idea, the way Shusterman presented it is. The way he wrote it kept me interested the entire time. I also loved the ending. It made the story even scarier. My only problem is Marybeth. She is the rudest girl ever. It is unbearable to read and it made me cringe. Four stars.7)Same Time Next Year: Ford is a new kid at school. He lives in a strange house where the basement is full of inventions left behind by Professor Wilmington after his disappearance. In the basement, Marla and Ford find a time machine. I didn't expect it to end like that at all. It's a very good story. Four stars.8)The River Tour: A tour guide named Sharon gives a river tour and points out landmarks that the boat passes by. This is such a predictable little tale. I caught on very early into the story and lost my interest soon afterwards. One star.9)Flushie: Duncan is constantly being picked on by his classmates. He wants to seek vengeance, so he plans a huge trick by inviting everyone for a party on a rooftop pool. This story is just messed up. It's weird. I'm really torn about this. Three stars.10)Monkeys Tonight: Ryan's sister wakes up screaming about monkeys. Ryan tries to scare her even more, because like I said, most of the characters in this book are really mean. Everyone thinks that the monkeys are only in her nightmares. I don't have anything to say about this story. It was only all right. Two stars.11)Screaming At The Wall: Grandma talks to the wall and ignores the real people around her. This story doesn't seem creepy to me, but it's definitely twisted. I didn't expect the story to end like that. Five stars.12)Growing Pains: Cody's best friend, Warren, wakes up screaming in pain and never stops. People believe he's crazy. Soon, Cody discovers the reason why. This tale is creepy and it made me glad to know that this doesn't actually happen in real life (or does it?). Four stars.13)Alexander's Skull: Packages for the Mortimer Museum is often accidentally delivered to Alexander Mortimer's house because of his last name. His mom hates it when that happens. She then has a happen of keeping the packages to spite the museum and the delivery service. One of the packages include a skull. I find the premise interesting, but it was lacking. Three stars.14)Connecting Flight: Jana Martinez boards a plane. While looking out the windows on both sides of the plane and conversing with other passengers, she notices something strange with the flight. This story is interesting, but I was confused throughout the entire time until the story's end. Three stars.15)Ralphy Sherman's Root Canal: Ralphy has a toothache and visits the dentist. This story is plain weird. I did not enjoy it at all. One star.16)An Ear For Music: Lee is a talented musician. He gets recruited by Madame Magnus to attend her school. He discovers that there is something wrong with her and her school. This was pretty dull. One star.17)Riding the Raptor: Brent's brother, Trevor loves roller coasters. However, he wants something new and exciting. They win a ride on the raptor. There was nothing that was unexpected. One star. 18)Trash Day: Lucinda's family is strange, so she wishes for replacements. This story is very creepy. The ending gave me chills. Five stars.19)Crystalloid: Phillip's grandma has a glass shop. She and Philip would make things out of glass to sell to tourists. One day, Phillip gets sand from the Sand Trap to make a glass figurine. It soon comes to life. It's a horrifying story, but it's not exactly creative. And I feel like it's missing a tiny thing that I can't name. Four stars.20)Shadows Of Doubt: This is just a short, creepy poem at the end of the book. It wraps up the book well, but it's not an outstanding poem. Three stars.
"In the blink of an eye, you might suddenly feel That your world's been invaded by all things unreal. They slink up behind you, and don't make a sound, But there's nothing to fear...if you don't turn around. In the face of the future we fly on our own. Hoping our wings never turn into stone. If you fall from that sky to the sea, will you drown? Well, there's no need to worry...unless you look down." —Darkness Creeping: Tales to Trouble Your Sleep, PP. 125-126 The handicap inherently facing this book is a substantial one; its brevity necessitates the use of very short stories, and it can be difficult for even an incredibly skilled writer such as Neal Shusterman to create a truly frightening feeling and scene when the allotted space to fill is only about fifteen pages. Some of the tales to be found in Darkness Creeping are more eerie than others. Car Four, for one, is a lot like a good horror movie, built with suspense toward the inevitable conclusion that something unbelievable is happening. It also has some real physical horror to underscore the terror that the characters are feeling and to drag us emotionally into the narrative. Screaming At the Wall takes the occurrence of an aging woman who at first glance seems to be losing her mental faculties, only for us to realize that she in fact has a far more effective grip on reality than any of her relatives who pity her "delusion." Each of the stories compiled in this volume contains a deep surprise in how they finish, or takes us onto horrifying ground in an absolutely original way. Some of the stories are even viscerally linked, such as Not It and Resting Deep, though the connection is not at all immediately apparent. Especially considering the lengths of the stories that comprise Darkness Creeping, I think that Neal Shusterman has done a terrific job in every facet of the book. In most cases when big-time authors write a collection of scary stories, they don't turn out to be as truly scary as I might have hoped, but this one definitely hits the mark at times, which is a significant accomplishment. I would give two and a half stars to Darkness Creeping. "At the back of your mind, there's a hole open wide, Where the darkness is creeping in from the outside, You can light rows of candles to cast the dark out, But it's always there hiding... ...in shadows of doubt." —Darkness Creeping, P. 126
What do You think about Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales (2007)?
I love the book darkness creeping
—Emiyta
Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales by Neal Shusterman is a collection of odd and unique stories. Each chapter contained an amazing plot with enough suspense to keep you wanting more. I liked how each character was entirely different from the last but just as interesting. The same goes with the plot. It makes you wonder "How does he even come up with this"? That's when the explanation for how he came up with story in every start of a chapter becomes handy. I've been waiting to find a book this strange and engrossing, I'd definitely read the continuation if there was one. This book was one of the best I've read and I highly recommend everyone to try reading it.
—Vel T.
3.5 rating. 20 twisited tales. I have to admit very few were actually scary like nightmare scary. Most of the book's stories were at least a little bit on the creepy side. A few in this book didn't really make sense to me and the ending just left me hanging. Next I have to mention this book is written by Neal Shusterman. Many of these stories are like simpler versions of his bigger books and a few are even directly used in the book (like Everlost and Full Tilt). Fans of Shusterman that are interested in learning about his ideas and how he gets them from everyday life or enjoy reading his books should try this book or at least a few stories.. :)
—Akila
I picked this book up on a whim a few months ago because I liked the cover. I'd never read anything of Shusterman's before, though I believe that I have a few (or at least one) other of his books on my mountain of a to-read shelf. These stories were interesting. There were some that were better than others, and some that were really good and impressed me. They were all unique in some way and it was very rare for me to know where a story was going. I didn't really think that any of the stories were scary, though. And I don't think that my younger self would have thought so either. Some of the stories seemed as though they were going to for a humorous direction rather than a horror direction, which is fine, but not really what I expect from a collection titled "Darkness Creeping". But still... Overall this was a good collection, and short stories are always good to fill gaps when you have a few minutes of time.
—Becky
