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Help a Reader Out: Hot Dogs On a Campfire

A mystery keyword searcher is looking for:

…books for kids with an orange cover and a hotdog on front of book by a campfire.

I think we’re looking at a series here. David Lubar has a great series for upper elementary kids and young adults, and all the books have hot dogs on the cover (the series, naturally, is called the Weenies Series). One of the books has an orange cover(Beware the Ninja Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales), and another has a hot dog hanging over a campfire on the cover (The Curse of the Campfire Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales). There are several other volumes in the series, including:

In the Land of the Lawn Weenies
Invasion of the Road Weenies
The Curse of the Campfire Weenies
The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies
Attack of the Vampire Weenies
Beware the Ninja Weenies

I haven’t read them personally, but they’ve been described as “perfect for fans of The Twilight Zone.” So I probably wouldn’t give them to the faint of heart. But if you or a kid you know are looking for something both creepy and funny, the Weenies Series will probably fit the bill perfectly.

Help a Reader Out: Can Christians Write Horror?

 

Well, this is not really a question of identifying a book. But it is interesting, so I’m going to share it anyway.
A mystery keyword searcher asked:

Can Christians write about vampire or werewolf books?

I am not a Christian, so forgive me if I’m misinterpreting things, but the answer seems pretty simple. Of course they can. The traditional vampire, with his allergy to the cross, seems ready-made for the Christian horror writer. And werewolves, who often have a conflict between animal nature and human morality, seem like they’d work out just fine as well. Demons, witches, all kinds of supernatural creatures, and even the end of days appear in the Bible– it seems to me that it is simply the framework the writer uses that makes the difference.

Horror is traditionally conservative– evil is usually defeated, at least temporarily. That’s not to say that all horror has a moral, or that evil is defeated in all of horror fiction, because it’s certainly true that horror, especially today, can deal with impersonal evil, or can even be amoral– a good story, but not necessarily with a definite stance on right or wrong. But horror as a genre does give writers an opportunity to address faith, and questions of faith. I think this very thought-provoking blog post by horror author Maurice Broaddus, is worth reading if you are interested in this topic. There are people who think that it’s not possible (or at least extremely difficult) for Christians to write horror, and there’s an interesting discussion of that here. I’d say that whether what’s marketed as “Christian horror” really falls under the umbrella of the horror genre (which I would argue has some pretty broad boundaries, based on the kinds of books we are solicited to review here) is a different thing, than whether horror can be written by Christians (which is addressed in depth in this blog post over at TheoFantastique). Personally, I don’t care whether a book in any genre is written by a Christian, pagan, atheist, etcetera, so long as it does the job for me without hammering me over the head with a message.

At any rate, the question at hand is whether Christians can write about vampires and werewolves, not whether Christian horror is truly horror. I really think the answer to the original question is “yes.” As Mr. Broaddus says “If God could communicate through a burning bush and a donkey, surely He could communicate through a few scary stories.” Very aptly put.

Editor’s note:  A 2020 update! I’m adding another link here regarding this topic that I just learned of thanks to Mike Duke. 

Merry Christmas!

A merry Christmas to you!

Interestingly, it’s a wonderful time of year and setting for horror fiction and horror cinema. If you grew up in the 1980s, as I did, you surely remember the movie Gremlins, and of course there are many, many others.

Horror fiction also celebrates Christmas, and Santa’s arrival. There is the ultimate in Christmas horror (to my mind) in the scenes of A Christmas Carol where Scrooge must face the Ghost of Christmas Future, and of course, for children, the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. The animated version narrated by Boris Karloff is a true homage to this classic. Of course, in both cases, the main characters are redeemed, so maybe you don’t consider them horror. To each his (or her) own. Perhaps The Little Match Girl is more your style.

Maybe you’re looking for something a little different, a little more current? Something that’s definitely not for children? I can offer you some reviews of some holiday horror (click here) that may fit the bill.

Of course, you may want a horror-free holiday as well. I know I will be spending it with my kids watching the Scooby Doo Christmas Special, and baking coffee cake. Their choice, not mine. I hope you are spending yours with family as well, and if you’re not, know that here we are thinking of you.