Just in time for the spookiest season of the year, horror writer Cullen Bunn brings CROOKED HILLS, a horror novel of otherworldly legends and ghost stories, to Kickstarter. This is the first book in a multi-book series for spooky kids and spooky kids-at-heart. While the book is suitable for middle grade readers, CROOKED HILLS presents a supernatural tale that will thrill readers of all ages.
Crooked Hills is the most haunted town in America. It's just the news that Charlie needs to salvage his forced vacation to the middle of nowhere. If he's got to take a family trip to visit relatives, at least he'll see some ghosts.
But the hauntings in Crooked Hills aren't the friendly kind, and soon Charlie, his brother Alex, their cousin Marty, and their new friend Lisa are surrounded by dangers: hellhounds, dead witches, strange dreams—and local bullies. Crooked Hills is far more exciting than Charlie expected, but it's a lot scarier, too…
For young fans of Stranger Things and Paper Girls, this brand new edition of Bunn's middle grade series starter launches readers into an earlier era of unsupervised adventures, childhood independence, and magical shenanigans.
Get ready to uncover the FIRST mystery of Crooked Hills.
"Crooked Hills, Missouri, is a combination of many of the small towns in which I grew up," said Mr. Bunn, "from Newton Grove, North Carolina, to Thayer, Missouri. (Thayer in particular helped to form a template for Crooked Hills.) Those towns were rich with interesting people and even more interesting legends and ghost stories. With CROOKED HILLS, I imagined sitting in the heart of a dark forest around a campfire, telling kids those kinds of spine-tingling ghost stories. So, it seemed to me that having a witch come back to life to kidnap kids and be eaten by a hell hound would scare the living daylights out of almost anybody. But in that nightmare, I also saw a chance to explore what happens when kids face their fears; to overcome them can be incredibly liberating and empowering."
CROOKED HILLS was originally published in 2011 by Earwig Press. The book has long been out of print, but Outland Entertainment and Cullen Bunn’s Outer Shadows imprint are bringing the story back to life with the author’s preferred (and updated) edition and a plan to continue the series for years to come.
Praise for CROOKED HILLS:
Not only does CROOKED HILLS deliver on the scares, but it’s also a brilliantly paced and plotted trip into the backwoods, feeling like one of those good, old fashioned yarns that can be told for years to come.
--Dreadful Tales
CROOKED HILLS is full of enough chills to keep the most seasoned young adult fright junkie entertained, but in that it is not where the magic of this book fully exists. Underneath the overall theme of spookiness lays a book about adventure and the thrill of childhood. Bunn captures the wonder in every tree and hidden pond in this small Missouri town.
--Geeks of Doom
Remember that feeling of not ever wanting the book to end, so close to the end, but begging for so much more to be satisfied, when you were under the covers as a kid with a flashlight, up way past your bedtime? CROOKED HILLS will make you feel like that all over again.
--HellNotes
Reading this book as an adult, I was struck with a sense of nostalgia for my youth. Young readers will find a well-told adventure story with real thrills.
--Serial Distractions
The Kickstarter campaign launched on October 4, 2023. You can follow the campaign HERE.
Cullen Bunn is the writer of creator-owned comic books such as THE SIXTH GUN, HARROW COUNTY, BONE PARISH, THE DAMNED, THE EMPTY MAN, REGRESSION, THE GHOUL NEXT DOOR, and BASILISK. He has also written books such as DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, UNCANNY X-MEN, and ASGARDIANS OF THE GALAXY for Marvel; SINESTRO and LOBO for DC; and SHADOWMAN and PUNK MAMBO for Valiant.
His website is www.cullenbunn.com
His free weekly newsletter can be found at https://cullenbunn.substack.com/