DOUBLE-DARE TO BE SCARED

San Souci follows up Dare to Be Scared (2003) with 13 more eerie tales, original but laced with tried and true locales, motifs, and dreadful fates. He leaves his monsters a bit vague around the edges, so that readers can fill in details: after a scary “Campfire Tale,” young Michael hears a twig snap right behind him; a spidery cloud of “Grey” turns out to be a mind-bending alien; a sinister pair of “Mountain Childers” always talk with their mouths closed; an old carpet in an abandoned house suddenly turns into a tongue. Victims are mostly third- to fifth-graders, and the author tones down explicit gore to the occasional rolling head or shoe with a foot still inside. Still, enhanced by Ouimet’s macabre tableaux (finished art not seen), these tales rate high in chill factor for any age. Warmly recommended for solitary, late-night, under-the-covers reading. Bwaa-ha-ha. (Short stories. 10-12)