Line #25 Literature/AnnaDressedInBlood


1	[[quoteright:241:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Anna_resized_8744.JPG]]
2	Cas Lowood is a ghost hunter, charged with dispatching harmful spirits. When one of his regular informants gives him a tip about a murderous ghost called Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas and his housewitch mother pack up and move to Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada.
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4	Things get messy when Anna kills one of Cas's classmates but spares him, leading him to wonder why she did it. Now finding himself with an unwanted group of teenage ghost busters desperate to help him, Cas has to stop Anna before she kills anyone else. But things aren't always what they seem...
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6	A sequel called ''Girl of Nightmares'' was released on August 2012, and the novel may be on its way to being made into a movie.
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8	----
9	!!This series provides examples of:
10	* AbusiveParents: Anna's mother and her soon-to-be stepfather.
11	* ActionSurvivor: Carmel and Thomas by the end of the first book.
12	* AllWitchesHaveCats: Cas's mother is Wiccan, and she has a cat that serves to "smell" ghosts; its name is Tybalt.
13	* AlphaBitch: Subverted with Carmel, who is the "queen bee" of the school, but [[LovableAlphaBitch just as sweet as her name]].
14	* ArtifactOfDoom: Strangely enough...[[spoiler: the athame.]]
15	* BatterUp: Carmel brings an aluminum bat near the end of the book [[spoiler:and whacks the BigBad pretty good with it, even though it doesn't stick.]]
16	* BestServedCold: Cas has spent the last several years since his father's death trying to become a good enough ghost hunter to track down the ghost that killed his father and kill it.
17	* BewareOfHitchhikingGhosts: The book opens with Cas hunting this kind of ghost, the ghost of a greaser from the 1970's who was killed in a car accident he's driven to replicate.
18	* BigBad: The main antagonist of both novels is [[spoiler:the Obeahman, the ghost that killed and ate Cas' father. Since his father's death, it's been haunting the athame and feeding off the ghosts that Cas has been killing]].
19	* BilingualBonus: ''Anna Taloni''; Finnish for "Anna's House" in a ''very'' possessive way. [[spoiler:The spell that Anna's mother used for her DealWithTheDevil was in Finnish, as well.]]
20	* BlackEyesOfCrazy: Beneath his stitched-shut eyes, [[spoiler:the Obeahman has black sclera and yellow irises.]]
21	* BlackEyesOfEvil: Whenever Anna's under the influence of the curse her eyes turn jet black and are often described as looking like two drops of oil.
22	* BlackMagic: [[spoiler:Anna's mother]] used it to curse Anna.
23	* BloodSplatteredWeddingDress: Anna Dressed in Blood wears the white dress she died in--covered in her own blood.
24	* [[BoyMeetsGhoul Boy Meets Ghost]]: Even the author said is "Your typical BoyMeetsGirl"... just that the girl is a murderous ghost. ''[[SarcasmMode Very]]'' [[SarcasmMode typical]].
25	* TheBully: Mike, who [[MurderTheHypotenuse tries to leave Cas for dead]] in Anna's house just for [[DisproportionateRetribution hanging with Caramel, his ex-girlfriend]]. This [[KarmicDeath backfires]] on him [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe spectacularly]] when Anna actually shows up.
26	* CatsAreMean: Tybalt dislikes Cas and never misses a chance to scratch him. [[spoiler: Even so, Cas is upset when the Obeahman eats Tybalt.]]
27	* CoolOldGuy: Thomas's grandfather definitely fits.
28	* CouldntFindAPen: The note Daisy sends Cas to get him to investigate Anna was written in his own blood.
29	* CultureClash: The Spanish boarder at Anna's house had a different idea of what was appropriate for a young girl to wear than Anna's Finnish mother.
30	* CurbStompBattle: Cas's attempts to slay Anna result in her handing him his ass.
31	* CuteGhostGirl: Anna falls under this... when she's not under the influence of the curse, that is.
32	* CuteWitch: Cas's mother, especially when she was younger.
33	* DeadpanSnarker: Cas. No one is particularly spared from his snark, save for his mother
34	* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler:Anna's mother]] cursed her daughter by making a deal with a demon.
35	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The cover of the first book is entirely in grayscale [[SplashOfColor except for the splashes of red]].
36	* DisappearedDad: Cas's father died fighting a ghost. Anna's father also died when she was younger. She makes a mention of him dying "on the lake", which might mean he drowned.
37	* DisproportionateRetribution: In ''Girl of Nightmares'', Cas fantasizes about [[spoiler:telling [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Anna]] that the Order of the Black Dagger intended to kill and replace him]].
38	* DraggedOffToHell: When the [[spoiler:Obeahman proves too much for even her, Anna tears open the portal to Hell her mother opened and drags them both in. This backfires in the sequel, as the Obeahman takes control of Hell itself and repeatedly {{Curb Stomp Battle}}s her. The sequel is all about Cas's attempts to help her get out.]]
39	* TheDreaded: Turns out those nightmares Cas has been having are thanks to [[spoiler:the same ghost that killed his father, and is now haunting his athame.]]
40	* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Anna, in both murderous ghost mode and not.
41	* EmbarrassingFirstName: Cas, whose full name is "Theseus Cassio Lowood", citing his mother's love of Shakespeare and his father's love of Greek Mythology as the sources of his unfortunate name.
42	* EvilDetectingDog: Tybalt can sniff out ghosts. Dogs are apparently better at the evil-detecting department, but cats will do.
43	* FriendlessBackground: Cas, thanks to changing schools all the time as he hunts ghosts.
44	* GenderBlenderName: Cas's informant, Rudy Bristol, who is often referred to by his nickname, Daisy.
45	* GhostAmnesia: Anna, like most other ghosts, can't really remember who killed her or the details of her death. [[spoiler:Cas helps her remember through a spell.]]
46	* GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler:Anna's mother]] cursed her but didn't realize that by saying Anna's spirit could never leave or have company, it inadvertently cause her to kill every person who entered the house.
47	* GotMeDoingIt: After all the ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'' references being thrown around, Cas almost slips up and says it, but catches himself just in time.
48	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Mike lures Cas into Anna's house and leaves him to be killed by Anna. Instead, Anna yanks Mike through the window and ''vertically'' rips him in half.
49	* HauntedHouse: Anna's house is haunted not only by her, but the ghosts of everyone she's killed.
50	* HeroicSacrifice: At the end of the first book, [[spoiler:Anna sacrifices her existence in order to save Cas and his gang, ''plus'' his mother and Thomas's grandfather, from the same monster that killed Cas's father.]]
51	* HeroicBSOD: Cas has a big one after seeing [[spoiler:Will's and Chase's corpses--particularly the familiar bite marks on them.]]
52	* HippieParents: Cas and Carmel both joked about this being the reason for their names. With Cas, it's mostly true.
53	* HollywoodVoodoo: Averted with Thomas's grandfather.
54	* IJustWantToBeNormal: Averted with Cas, but his mother and Gideon definitely want him to be.
55	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Cas ultimately [[spoiler:leaves Anna in her own personal paradise, despite her wanting to return with him, because he wanted her to be happy.]]
56	* ImAHumanitarian: It's revealed that [[spoiler:the Obeahman, the ghost that killed Cas' dad, draws power from people by eating them.]]
57	* ImmigrantParents: Anna's family was originally from Finland, and the traditions of their home country are what caused the rift between Anna and her mother.
58	* IntergenerationalFriendship: Cas and all of the people from his father's network, like Gideon.
59	* JacobMarleyApparel: Anna's white dress. Also all the other ghosts Cas sees and hunts.
60	* JerkJock: Mike and his gang, who Thomas refers to as the Trojan Army.
61	* KarmicDeath: Mike hits Cas upside the head with a wooden plank and leaves him for dead in Anna's house, [[DisproportionateRetribution all for hanging out with his ex-girlfriend]]. Anna shows up, takes stock of the situation, yanks Mike through the window, and rips him in half.
62	* LateArrivalSpoiler: The blurb for the sequel, ''Girl of Nightmares'', reveals that [[spoiler:Anna opened a door to Hell, that she sacrificed herself for Cas, and that Cas is in love with her.]]
63	* LustObject: Anna was this to her [[spoiler:soon-to-be step father, who ''clearly'' wanted to get married to her mother just to get the right to have "all" of her, including Anna. He even lusted for Anna while smelling a piece of her white dress.]]
64	* MeaningfulName: [[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet Tybalt]], Prince of ''Cats'' [[spoiler: who ends up dead.]]
65	* MementoMacguffin: The athame, the knife Cas uses to kill ghosts and which used to belong to his dad. It's later revealed that while it has a power of its own, [[spoiler: it was [[EvilWeapon cursed by the ghost that killed his father, empowering him with each ghost Cas kills]].]]
66	* MindProbe: Thomas does this to Cas on his first day, implanting the term ''Trojan Army'' in his head to refer to a group of jocks.
67	* MurderTheHypotenuse: Mike's solution to Cas befriending his ex-girlfriend is to lure him into Anna's house, knock him out, and leave him for dead. [[KarmicDeath It backfires]].
68	* MyBelovedSmother: Anna's mother, Malvina. [[spoiler:She probably takes the cake for going beyond her daughter's own ''death'', and also keeps her spirit trapped in the house.]]
69	* NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast: Come on, Anna's mother's name is '''''Mal'''vina''.
70	* NewTransferStudent: Cas constantly goes through the routine. He transfers school regularly as he moves from place to place, hunting ghosts. He's of the Loner variety, [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] {{Jerkass}} tendencies included.
71	* NightmareFetishist: Cas, definitely. Growing up with a white witch for a mother and a ghost hunter for a father will do that to you. He finds it difficult to relate to living people, or even find them interesting. [[spoiler:Naturally, he falls in love with Anna.]]
72	* NonActionGuy: Thomas, especially when compared to the [[JerkJock Trojan Army]] and Cas. [[spoiler:Carmel gets more physical then he does, thanks to her [[BatterUp aluminum baseball bat]].]]
73	* OffingTheOffspring: Anna's mother, Malvina, [[spoiler:killed her own daughter--and then bound her daughter's spirit to the house so that she would ''never'' leave.]]
74	* OneWingedAngel: In the sequel, [[spoiler: the Obeahman transforms into a spider-like monster after being dragged into Hell by drawing power from all the spirits he consumed.]]
75	* PerkyGoth: Daisy, and Thomas later.
76	* PlaguedByNightmares: Cas has had recurring nightmares, sometimes complete with CatapultNightmare, and attributes it to his ghosthunting. He doesn't tell anyone, thinking that it's either to be expected, or worse, that it ''isn't'', and Gideon and his mother will really try to get him to stop killing ghosts.
77	* POVBoyPosterGirl: The book has the name of Anna and her image is on the book, but Cas is our DeadpanSnarker of a narrator.
78	* PsychicNosebleed: Thomas can get them if he does too much with his mind reading abilities.
79	* RitualMagic: Used a couple of times. First [[spoiler: to help free Anna from the curse]] and also [[spoiler: to try to get rid of the monster that killed Cas's father]]. In the sequel, it's used [[spoiler: to let Cas talk to Anna and later to enter Hell to save her.]]
80	* SecretCircleofSecrets: Cas has to deal with one for much of ''Girl of Nightmares'', complete with blood sacrifice and the BlackCloak (which he absolutely refuses to wear). He is not very impressed.
81	* SecretSocietyGroupPicture: Cas gets a picture of a younger [[spoiler: Gideon]] wearing a BlackCloak and standing with a group of identically clad individuals, all carrying replicas of his athame. [[spoiler: In the sequel it turns out both Gideon and his father are former members of the Order of the Black Dagger, a druidic society dedicated to hunting ghosts, and they want their athame back.]]
82	* SequelHook:
83	---> '''Thomas:''' Where... where do you think she went?\
84	'''Cas:''' Maybe you and Carmel can help me figure it out.
85	** In ''Girl of Nightmares'', [[spoiler: it's almost a given that the Order will forge a new athame and bond Jestine to it.]]
86	* TheSmartGuy: Will to Mike and Chase.
87	* ShoutOut:
88	** Several to ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'' over the course of the book.
89	** Also Will Rosenberg, which is jarring, as ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' exists in universe.
90	* SplitPersonalityMerge: The ghost of the cop and the railroad worker. The cop personality tries to warn people away, since the railroad worker tries to murder anyone who comes too close.
91	* StringyHairedGhostGirl: Anna, when she's under the influence of the curse.
92	* SpellMyNameWithAThe: Technically, Daisy's nickname is "''the'' Daisy", though Cas usually just calls him Daisy.
93	* SuperPoweredEvilSide: Anna's curse causes her to transform into a murderous wraith with PrehensileHair, BlackEyesOfEvil, and TaintedVeins, clad in a dress made of blood. [[spoiler: Once the curse is lifted, Anna retains the ability to assume this form as a SuperMode.]]
94	* SympathyForTheDevil: Cas, Thomas, and Carmel are all hit with this when they find out more about Anna's past. [[spoiler:Will, not so much.]]
95	* TeensAreMonsters: Anna, obviously, but not by her choice. Mike also fits this trope to the t. [[spoiler:He gets killed for it.]]
96	* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: Anna becomes ''very'' protective towards Cas once they become a couple. [[spoiler:In the sequel, Cas actually fantasizes about cutting Anna lose on the Order of the Black Dagger as payback for their abuse towards him]].
97	* WeirdnessCensor: Definitely in play. [[spoiler: When Anna kills Mike,]] people immediately write it off as him running away, and the small search party that goes looking for him barely makes any real effort. Carmel's disturbed by how none of her friends even ask her about it.
98	* WhiteShirtOfDeath: Anna wore a white dress when she died, though her dress turns into blood when the curse takes over.
99	* WickedWitch: [[spoiler:Anna's mother, Malvina, who murders her own daughter and damns her spirit to forever haunt the house and kill anyone who enters it.]]
100	* {{Yandere}}: Why, hello, Anna!

Context Literature / AnnaDressedInBlood