The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe - Dan Poblocki

Gabe and his family have lost everything when a fire consumes their apartment.  They move in with Gabe's famous grandmother.  She did illustrations for the well-known horror author Nathaniel Olmstead.  Gabe and Seth, the next door neighbor, start playing a game in the woods behind their houses.  They are princes looking for their enemy called The Hunter.  Before school starts Gabe is invited to a pool party at Felicia's house.  He goes over with Mazzy and everyone has a good time.  Just as everyone is about to leave all their bags and towels are thrown into the pool.  No one sees anything, but Gabe suspects Seth since he wasn't invited.  Seth and Gabe are playing their game after school on Friday, and Seth uses a M-80 to blow up a pile of rocks.  The next morning the pile of rocks is rebuilt.  Gabe tells Seth to fess up about rebuilding the pile, or Gabe will stop playing the game.  At school the following Monday Seth avoids Gabe until lunch when he tries to get Gabe to not sit with his friends. Seth then pours chocolate milk onto Felicia and takes off from school.  Gabe sees Seth after he gets home.  Seth warns him that the Hunter will come for him.  A few weeks later Malcolm is over to watch horror movies with Gabe.  The doorbell rings and Gabe thinks it's Seth playing a trick.  It turns out to be Mazzy, Felicia, and Ingrid coming over unexpected.  Gabe gives them a tour of the house and shows them the puppet his dad is working on.  All the sudden it comes to life.  They hear a growling sound from inside of the puppet.  Everyone thinks it is Seth playing a trick on them.  The next morning the puppet is missing and Gabe thinks Seth took it. He and his parents go over to Seth's house, but they can't find it there.  At school the science lab rat has disappeared.  When it appears again only the bones remain.  The Tuesday before Halloween Felicia's death by chocolate cake is blown up by a M-80 at the school bake sale.  The Wednesday night before Halloween almost everyone is visited by a ghost.  The next morning everyone at school is talking about the ghostly visitor.  Thursday night Gabe's Grandmother tells him about Mason, the man behind the story of The Hunter.  Is it really The Hunter causing all of this mayhem, or is it Seth using the story of The Hunter to cover up what he's really doing?

I enjoyed this book.  As I was reading it was like a horror movie in my head instead of on a movie screen.  I even had a few chills when Gabe's grandmother told the story about Mason.  The ending of the book is sad.  It wouldn't be a horror story without a death now would it?

T.B. 8/6/13