Werewolf Skin

R. L. Stine's Werewolf Skin is a scary story for 8 year olds about a city boy with a camera, some very strange neighbours and a very full moon.

What happens

Alex's parents have been called away to France just before Halloween, so he's sent to stay with an aunt and uncle he hasn't seen since he was four. They live in Wolf Creek, a town so small the grand tour takes about a minute. Alex doesn't mind. He's a city kid who's never really touched a tree, and he wants to photograph everything.

The trouble starts in the van on the way home. Aunt Marta asks what he's going to be for Halloween. Alex says a werewolf, and his uncle nearly drives them into a truck.

Why does everyone in town go quiet when he says that word? Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin won't talk about the Marlings next door. Their house is a wreck and the curtains inside look like they've been clawed to shreds. Hannah, the girl on the other side, says she's heard frightening stories and won't tell him any until after the full moon. Two boys from her class jump out of the bushes howling like wolves.

This is Stine doing what he does best. Short chapters that end on a scream. A narrator who keeps telling you he doesn't scare easily while his knees turn to jelly. And a mystery where every grown-up seems to know something they aren't saying. It's a real page-turner, and children who like to be spooked will love working out who's hiding what.

Alex also makes some brilliantly bad decisions. He leaves his precious camera in the woods and goes back for it on his own, in the dark, in the rain, the night before school. You'll be telling him not to go.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Out there in the woods, Alex hears something catch and tear apart an animal, then trips over two animals that have been ripped to pieces, and one of the boys describes a deer with its head torn off. None of it is lingered on, but it's gory for this shelf and it comes early. A child who hates animals being hurt might want to skip it. One who loves being scared under the covers will be gripped.

What to read next

If they want another werewolf after this, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is in the library. Twelve-year-old Grady has just moved to a house on the edge of a Florida swamp, and night after night something out in the swamp howls.