HAUNTED: Can YOU be Scared... to Death? (Click Your Poison) Paperback – January 18, 2022

A few days ago, I finished reading "Haunted" by James Schannep. This is the second book I've read in Schannep's Click Your Poison (CYP) gamebook series. I listened to the audiobook version of "Infected" a few months ago, and I enjoyed that adventure through a zombie apocalypse. With Haunted, Schannep explores a different and lesser-known side of the horror genre: the haunted house story.Prior to reading "Haunted," I read Shirley Jackson's classic novel "The Haunting of Hill House," to get some background in the genre before tackling Schannep's work. I wanted to get a sense of what came before and how Schannep's novel is different.I was not disappointed. Schannep's story feels highly original. Jackson's novel focuses on the personality, mental state, and relationships of the major characters, while her ghostly elements are comparatively minor and not that dangerous. While Schannep doesn't emphasize character development, he goes into greater depth about essentially everything else. The reader can dig to discover the twisted history of the house and its owner, Sheriff Tansky. The house is more interesting than the one in Jackson's book, including certain "historical elements that cannot be updated" (to borrow a spoiler-free phrase from the novel). The paranormal events are both scarier and more inventive. I particularly appreciated Schannep's fascinatingly ambiguous digital smart home assistant, a character that far outshines Mrs. Dudley, the dour caretaker of Jackson's Hill House. The branching paths of a gamebook work particularly well in Haunted, as they enable you to discover different and sometimes conflicting truths on different play-throughs, giving the house and Sheriff Tansky an eerie, shape-shifting quality that deeply fits the mood.The two CYP gamebooks I've read are closer to the novel end of the gamebook spectrum. There are no dice rolls. There are no checkboxes to manage game state. There is no inventory, nor a list of keywords to track. Everything is entirely based on your choices, similar to old Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books, but with higher literary quality. That makes CYP books convenient and easy to read on the couch or on the go. It also means that choices generally have one of two structures. Some choices lead you to flavorful text or discoveries but then return you to the current storyline. In contrast, "important" choices branch and never reconnect, requiring Schannep to write completely new material to flesh out each path, all the way to the end of the story.I find I like the systemless CYP style. Having to manage a character sheet full of keywords and inventory, make dice rolls, or draw a map can break the immersion of a story and slow the reading pace. Some gamebooks can feel like playing a computer RPG, but without the computer to help you handle bookkeeping. In contrast, the CYP books progress smoothly and easily. It's possible to finish a whole adventure in a couple hours. I appreciate the fluidity of the reading experience and the way the CYP books treat the reader's time as valuable by delivering more high-quality content per minute."Haunted" is structured with one very important choice a good ways into the book, once you have gained some background and general familiarity with the Tansky House. But it's not easy to find all the options, as there is a scavenger hunt-like quality to this choice. There are four ways the big choice can go, each with significant attention paid to fleshing out the consequences with a branching story path. (There is also a fifth, Easter egg selection, but it is very small.)One fun thing about the book is to decide which of these pathways you like best. They include climaxes that often reward cleverness rather than the bluntest solutions. That said, there is a destructive glee to some of the blunter options that makes them particularly fun, even as I question my character's sanity.The book does have some minor flaws. For instance, on my first read-through, I encountered an elevator for the first time rather late in the book, and the text was written assuming that I already knew about the elevator. Another issue is that the rewards in some of the positive endings felt unjustified; a reward is more satisfying if it comes naturally as a plausible consequence of what happened, instead of randomly arriving in the mail. An good example of this is the film "Slumdog Millionaire," which tells a story of rewards that flow from lived experiences as though guided by the hand of fate. It's a gritty movie and not for the squeamish, but its handling of this topic is masterful.In summary, I genuinely enjoyed "Haunted" and recommend it. While it's obviously well-suited to gamebook fans, I think it also could be a gateway gamebook to give to a reader who isn't familiar with gamebooks. The light game system, relatively low time commitment, and high quality of the writing and ideas work together to make the book approachable and gripping.I look forward to seeing what Schannep has in store for future CYP gamebooks!

I had so much fun reading this book. I can’t wait to order another one in the series.

I kept going back and forth to all the different "chapters" and still can't figure out which is my favorite. This was the first time I read go your own way via ebook and highly enjoyed it. I hope this author has more of these.. I would read them all.

If you love gamebooks, you absolutely HAVE to read this one to believe it. He manages to construct the book into a THREE DIMENSIONAL house where you can wander from room to room as you please. The freedom granted the reader to dive into the world as much or as little as they like is unlike anything I've seen in a gamebook before. He's managed to outdo himself once again in the series. And who doesn't want to see if they can survive three nights in a haunted house? It's straight top-of-intelligence fun, he's clearly a fan of the genre, it retains his characteristic sense of humor, and you won't be disappointed.

You’re welcome to binge read. These CYP options are great for intermittent reading, too. In fact, we played a drinking game with one of Schannep’s books. (INFECTED)I had an advanced copy, but still haven’t found all the endings. I’ve ordered the paperback copy to take my time experiencing each path to my demise.Just place a thumb on a fork in the storyline and explore all you please…I haven’t used Kindle much; I really prefer the feel of a solid book in hand.Anyway, the paperback version should arrive this week. I’ll be taking SUPERPOWERED on my next flights, but HAUNTED will be ready when I get back home.Nicely done, Mr Schannep.

I picked up this book on a recommendation from a friend. While not a horror aficionado, I have dabbled in some of the lighter end on the Stephen King collection. This story, a survive the night in a haunted house, has equal parts horror, mystery and thriller. Just enough creepiness to make my skin crawl, enough suspense to make my heart race and enough mystery to make me keep turning pages.What I think is really neat about this book are that there are genuinely 3 unique stories you can choose from. Each one does a really good job of exploring the lore he created in this world.

Do you remember sticking your fingers in the pages of game books of yore trying to figure out the best ending? Kindle makes it easier but I was doing it to survive this thrilling tale. This was just the right amount of terror for me, I had to keep going and survive to be able to get a good night’s sleep!

This book legit had some “EEEEEKKKK!!!” moments. The doll. Omg THE DOLL!!!! I’m a huge fan of this author’s series of “choose your adventure” spooky books. An adult version of the beloved Goosebumps “choose your own scare” books.

I've always loved a haunted house story... and so when it's an interactive gamebook by James Schannep... what not to like. Great story with that wonderful level of spooky. Great writer - recommended!

Bought as a present ,so not had feedback from this .it looked a good story and different scenarios when I glanced through it