Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll (Haunted States of America) by Thomas Kingsley Troupe #bookreview #middlegrade #horror

Title: Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll

Author: Thomas Kingsley Troupe

Publisher: North Star Editions

Publication Date: September 1, 2019

Page Count: 136

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

Alejandro Padilla isn’t superstitious and he doesn’t believe the stories that an old sailor doll in a Key West, Florida, museum is haunted. Robert the doll might look creepy, but that doesn’t mean the doll is cursed. So Al ignores the tour guide’s warning to ask Robert’s permission before taking the doll’s photograph. But isn’t long after Al’s field trip to the museum that strange things start happening. Al is quick to dismiss the odd occurrences as coincidence and bad luck . . . that is until they become more frequent and more sinister. Is the doll tormenting Al? And if so, what will Al have to do to get him to stop? Every state has its own spine-tingling stories of ghosts and mysterious hauntings grounded in its regional history. The Haunted States of America series uses real-life ghost lore as jumping-off points to new, chilling tales. An authors note provides historical origins and fascinating facts, but beware: sometimes real life is stranger than fiction.

Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll by Thomas Kingsley Troupe is a middle grade horror read. This book is a part of the Haunted States of America series which is a fictional collection of stories based on real life ghost stories and mysterious hauntings around the United States.

Middle grader Alejandro Padilla isn’t the superstitious type so when his class is set to  go on a field trip to a museum in Key West, Florida he isn’t worried about the stories he’s heard. The museum is said to be the home of Robert the Doll, a sailor doll that is supposed to be cursed and if one does not ask for permission to take his photo the curse will move onto that person. Of course Alejandro breaks the  rule and soon things begin to happen around him.

I love the way Thomas Kingsley Troupe has taken real stories from around the country and worked them into these books making this series not only entertaining horror but educational too. The horror in the book seemed to be right on point for the grade level, scary story worthy but not too overly done. Even being an older reader myself I’d be interested in reading more to learn about different ghost stories around the U.S.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon

About the author:

Thomas Kingsley Troupe has been making up stories ever since he was in short pants. As an adult, hes the author of a whole lot of books for kids. When hes not writing, he enjoys movies, biking, taking naps, and hunting ghosts as a member of the Twin Cities Paranormal Society. Raised in Nordeast Minneapolis, he now lives in Woodbury, Minnesota with his awe-inspiring family.