The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

[froodle]

When people go missing in the sleepy town of Smith’s Hollow, the only clue to their fate comes when a teenager starts having terrifying visions, in a chilling horror novel from national bestselling author Christina Henry.

When the bodies of two girls are found torn apart in the town of Smiths Hollow, Lauren is surprised, but she also expects that the police won’t find the killer. After all, the year before her father’s body was found with his heart missing, and since then everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than in spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids.

So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can’t just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to answers, she realizes that the foundation of her seemingly normal town might be rotten at the center. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.

My Thoughts: Have you ever seen that episode of Eerie, Indiana where Marshall’s name is drawn to be the town’s Harvest King (due to the meddling of the mysterious Dash X, who should have been the one drawn)? This book kind of reminds me of that (but with less John Astin, corn, and werewolves that mysteriously only need to feed once every 13 years). It’s even set in the 80s (yes, I know that Eerie was in the early 90s, but it’s closer to that than it is to modern day, so…ha!)

You all might know by now that I have a very real weakness for folk horror – and The Ghost Tree presents a very solid folk horror story that involves revenge curses, monsters, and human sacrifice. So- all the good stuff.