Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Still, I make sure of everything by switching on my night table light. There are no music posters on the wall, nor is there a single reference to the soccer I used to play. This one's dark, dark blue.Īnd there's an armoire in place of a vanity. It isn't pink paisley, like the one I had when I was twelve. Then I check and recheck my comforter, looking at it from different angles. I reach down and run my fingers over the thick wool threads, just to be sure. I'm seventy miles away from the crime scene. The moonlight shines in through the open window, enabling me to see.

I wish that he'd killed me along with them. I'm breathing so hard that it hurts-so hard that I wish for my lungs to collapse and my heart to stop. I touch my stomach, searching for a stab wound. Soaking into the bed covers, splattered against the wall, running through the cracks in the hardwood floor, and dripping over my fingers and hands. I wake with a gasp, covered in my own blood.

By the time Ivy and Parker realize what’s really at stake, it’s too late to wake up and run. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing. Except, things are already a little weird. It’s bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group?the girl who locks herself in her room the know-it-all roommate “Mister Sensitive” and the one who’s too cheery for her own good. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. Parker’s sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up. Ivy doesn’t even like scary movies, but she’s ready to face her real-world fears. And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project.

For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams. What’s your worst nightmare? For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights.

Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz