Line #34 Literature/PointHorror


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pointhorrorcovers_5.jpg]]
2	''Point Horror'' was a [[LongRunner long-running]] line of TeenHorror novels published from [[TheEighties 1986]] until [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2005]], similar to the likes of ''{{Literature/Goosebumps}}'' (it was where their author, Creator/RLStine, got his start) but aimed at a slightly older teenage[=/=]{{young adult\|Literature}} audience. It was an imprint of Scholastic, the American publisher of numerous young adult and children's books as well as educational materials. Authors that published under the ''Point Horror'' label include the aforementioned Stine, Diane Hoh, Richie Tankersley Cusick, Creator/ChristopherPike, and Creator/CarolineBCooney[[note]]Fans of Cooney's Literature/LosingChristina series may be interested to know that it was actually released under the Point Horror line originally.[[/note]].
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4	The line was briefly relaunched with new titles in 2013, though it turned out to be short-lived.
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6	While there was once a time when ''Point Horror'' books could be found on any teen girl's bookshelf, the series died out and was largely forgotten in the TurnOfTheMillennium. Nowadays, they can only usually be found second-hand, either on Amazon, in car boot sales or in charity shops.
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8	In 2019, it was announced that Creator/HBOMax is developing a series based on R.L. Stine's entries, called [[https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/point-horror-books-tv-series-hbo-max-1203401142/ Point Fear]].
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10	!!This series provides (usually multiple) examples of:
11	* AccidentalMurder: Happens a few times.
12	** ''Dedicated to the One I Love'' from ''Thirteen Tales of Horror'' reveals [[spoiler: Marla and her friends intended to leave their ex, Richie, stranded in the middle of a swamp after they discovered he was cheating on all three of them, and then had the nerve to ask them to drive him to the airport. They sped off not realizing his tie was stuck in the car door.]]
13	** ''Unleashed'' title ''Amy'' reveals [[spoiler: Amy's mother Cassandra knocked her down the stairs while trying to hide her from her abusive father, accidently breaking her neck. Believing she has accidently killed her daughter; she tossed her body in the nearest bog, which is what actually killed her. Fortunately, Amy possesses protagonist Annie to tell her mother she knows it was an accident and that she forgives her.]]
14	** A couple of the passengers aboard the ''Fright Train'' have this as their backstory. [[spoiler: Simon burned down one of his warehouses but the security guard on duty died in the fire. Mandy gave new, experimental performance enhancing drugs to the athletes she was training- only for the drugs to kill them.]]
15	** ''Darker'': [[spoiler: Nick's dad confesses he accidentally killed a young woman by crashing his motorbike into her during a downtown brawl between Rockers and Mods during the last time Darker was active.]]
16	* AdultsAreUseless: A common trope throughout the series. Parents are constantly going away on long distance trips or vacations, leaving the teenage protagonists to combat whatever horror is facing them alone.
17	** Averted in some of the ''Unleashed'' titles.
18	*** ''Amy'' has all the adults in the story heavily involved with trying to solve the mystery of the titular character's disappearance when the protagonist's grandmother sees her run off with her.
19	*** ''The Bogle'' has the witch Jeannie MacClure who gives the protagonists everything they need to defeat the monster.
20	*** ''Darker'' has two useful adults in the form of Nick's father (who urges him to give things a chance with Carys and tells him of his brush with Darker's influence in the sixties) and his employer (who uses a spell to banish the evil spirit, saving Nick's life).
21	* AfterlifeExpress: ''Fright Train''. It's really obvious from the blurb where this ride is taking them and who their conductor is.
22	* AlasPoorVillain: At the end of ''Freeze Tag'' [[spoiler: Meghan rescues Lannie from freezing to death and brings her into the warmth believing, despite all the misery Lannie put her and West through, she doesn't deserve to die.]]
23	%%* AlphaBitch: Jessica from ''Identity Theft''.
24	* AmbiguouslyBi: In ''Funhouse'', Tess's description of her best friend, Gina, gives off shades of this:
25	--> "Gina dated a lot. Because everyone, girls and guys, liked to be around her."
26	* AmbiguouslyGay: Tristan from ''Followers''. While his sexuality is never confirmed, he is certainly flamboyant enough to fit the role.
27	* AnonymousPublicPhoneCall:
28	** Martha is harassed by these calls in "Trick or Treat" by Richie Tankersley Cusick, all threatening her with impending death.
29	** In Richie Tankersley Cusick's "The Mall", Trish is followed by a StalkerWithACrush who calls ''her'' on the mall payphones to tell her that he's watching her.
30	* BettyAndVeronica: ''The Carver'' from ''Unleashed'' has Maddie caught between her ex Alex and newcomer Gareth. Alex is the Betty as he is technically the 'safe' option but he's also a bit of a jerk. Gareth is definitely the Veronica as, despite him being nicer to Maddie and having a sympathetic backstory, he's the titular carver and clearly not the most stable of individuals.
31	** ''Darker'', also from ''Unleashed'' has the subplot where Nick (Archie) tries to get over his outgoing, flirtatious ex Louise (Veronica) as the more tomboyish but nicer Carys steps into his life (Betty).
32	* BittersweetEnding: ''Unleashed'' title ''Lowlake''. [[spoiler: Yes, the protagonists get their father back from the ghost children haunting their house and move away as a result... but the ghost children are still left without ''their'' father and refuse to move on because they promised to wait for him. If anything, narrator Amanda is more heartbroken for them than angry.]]
33	* BodyHorror: Mandy's vision in ''Fright Train'' features [[spoiler: her witnessing her body collapsing on itself as her muscles tear apart and her internal organs start failing. Given she prides herself on her beauty and athleticism, this is quite easily Your Worst Nightmare in addition to showing her exactly what the athletes she was training had to go through due to the drugs she gave them.]]
34	* BurgerFool: Trish, the protagonist of ''The Mall'', works at a muffin shop version of this, complete with a cruel boss and creepy customers.
35	* ChekhovsGunman: ''Fright Train.'' Darren and Vicky accidently bump into a couple named Baz and Shel as they rush to catch their train. Shel hands them their tickets as a goodwill gesture, despite Baz's protests. [[spoiler: It turns out ''they'' were supposed to be on the train, instead of Darren and Vicky. To make matters worse, the duo is a pair of thrill killers, with the seemingly nice and patient Shel being the ''worse'' out of the two.]]
36	* CrazyJealousGuy / {{Yandere}}: ''Very'' often.
37	* CreepyChild: Plenty of these show up in ''Unleashed''. There's Eve from ''Eve's Party'', a host of vampire-esque children in ''The Vanished'', [[spoiler: Peter from ''Scissorman'' and the ghost children from ''Lowlake'' are notable examples due to them being creepy while having very sympathetic motives behind their creepiness.]]
38	* CreepyDoll: ''Thirteen Tales of Horror'' gives us ''The Doll.'' Not only is the titular toy creepy but actively malicious due to causing numerous "accidents" that hurt, maim and eventually kill people the protagonist cares about.
39	* CreepyHousekeeper: Mrs Ferdinand in ''Unleashed's'' ''The Bogle.'' A grouchy and strict old woman with a [[ScareEmStraight Scare 'Em Straight]] philsophy. She creeps out Peter and Morag so much they suspect she murdered her previous employer. On investigation [[spoiler: they find his body in one of the many nooks and crannies in the house. Mrs Ferdinand's reaction to this discovery is to burst into tears over and even thank them for solving the mystery.]] When the Bogle enters the picture [[spoiler: she begins to soften, taking pity on the afflicted Johnny and later on Morag when she falls victim. On seeing both of them suffer she realises her philosophy has done more harm than good and morphs into a [[KindlyHousekeeper Kindly Housekeeper]], even supporting the local witch in getting rid of the Bogle despite her strong Christian beliefs.]]
40	* CruelTwistEnding: ''Unleashed'' had a number of these where the protagonists think they've overcome or survived the horror pursuing them, only for it to claim them shortly afterwards.
41	** ''The Hanging Tree'' ends with [[spoiler: Willow and her new boyfriend heading off to college and then going for a drive through the new tunnel built in place of the road that would have gone through the forest. As they go through, they see the villainous abbot in the rearview mirror and fatally crash in the wall, with the abbot revealing he intends to start the cycle over, so this is only going to be the first of many crashes in that tunnel.]]
42	** ''Scissorman'' reveals [[spoiler: stepmother Fiona is the titular monster. She serves the protagonists' pet rabbits for tea and then terrifies them into being good, obedient children.]]
43	** ''Amy'' ends with [[spoiler: the titular character switching places with protagonist Annie, leaving her to die in the morgue while she lives her life instead.]]
44	* DarkerAndEdgier: The entire series could be seen as an adult version of ''{{Literature/Goosebumps}}'', given their concurrent dates of publication and often similar themes.
45	** Had its own [[DarkerAndEdgier Darker and Edgier]] series in the form of ''Point Horror Unleashed'', which tended to be set in the UK with supernatural threats such as vampires, werewolves and ghosts being a much more common occurrence.
46	* DarkAndTroubledPast: All the passengers, save for the protagonists, aboard the titular ''Fright Train''.
47	** Maria, the ex-dictator's wife [[spoiler: had one of her maids executed when she believed she was having an affair with her husband. To make matters worse, it wasn't an affair. Her husband repeatedly raped the woman.]]
48	** Simon, the yuppie businessman [[spoiler: burned down one of his warehouses to cash in on some insurance to save himself from financial ruin but forgot to tell the night working security guard who burned to death in the fire.]]
49	** Mandy, the attractive athlete [[spoiler: is really a drug cheat who was banned from competing in sporting events so became a coach instead. She encouraged two upcoming athletes to take some new, experimental drugs meant for cattle that wouldn't be detected, only for the drugs to later kill them.]]
50	** Greg, the heavy set [[JerkJock Jerk Jock]][[spoiler: bullied a co-worker into committing suicide.]]
51	** Evelyn, the retired nurse [[spoiler: forced water down an elderly patient's throat, killing her in cold blood. She claims it was a [[MercyKill Mercy Kill]] but Old Scratch will have none of it.]]
52	* DeadlyPrank: In ''Trick or Treat', a prankster ([[spoiler:Wynn]]) pulls various tricks on Martha, including nearly setting the house on fire.
53	* DealWithTheDevil: Happens in some of the more supernatural orientated books.
54	** Althea from ''The Cheerleader'' offers victims to the vampire in her attic in exchange for popularity.
55	** Devnee from the sequel,''The Return of the Vampire'' hands victims over to the same vampire in exchange for beauty and then brains.
56	** Mr Vane from ''House of Bones'' [[spoiler: made one with a druid doctor. In exchange for eternal life, he would move people into houses built upon Britain's [[LeyLine ley lines]] where the newly housed residents would be dragged into the walls of the houses as a sacrifice. However he realises there is [[WhoWantsToLiveForever a downside to immortality]] and offers the same deal to the protagonist, who refuses.]]
57	* DisproportionateRetribution: In "Bone Meal" from ''13 More Tales of Horror'', Eunice's father [[spoiler:abducts a door to door salesman who insulted his wife and throws him alive into his woodchipper machine in the garden. He also does this to Eunice's ex-boyfriend, when she pretends that he is raping her in order to anger her father enough to do this.]]
58	** In ''J.R.E. Ponsford'' in the same book, a boy is being bullied at his boarding school; so he re-animates the corpse of a former star cricket player at the school, who beats the bullies with a cricket bat, killing or severely maiming them (it's not clear which.) Lampshaded when the boy's mother is called into the school and admits it was a tad excessive of her son's "friend" to do this.
59	* TheDogWasTheMastermind: Often.
60	** In ''The Baby-Sitter II'', the person who has been terrorising Jenny turns out to be the [[spoiler:psychiatrist's receptionist, Miss Gurney. She is [[{{Yandere}} jealous]] of Dr Schindler's attention (as she perceives it) of Jenny. Gurney is able to get details of Jenny's past problems (in ''The Baby-Sitter'') by listening to the tapes recorded of her and the doctor's counselling sessions.]]
61	* DomesticAbuse: Comes up in ''Amy'' courtesy of the titular character's father. [[spoiler: This becomes a major factor in Amy's death as her mother accidently killed her while trying to shield her from her father's wrath.]]
62	* DramaticIrony: The ending of ''Fright Train'' from ''Unleashed''. [[spoiler: Darren and Vicky wake up in the hospital with no memory of what happened. They read about the crash in the newspaper and feel guilty because they made fun of the passengers who died by giving them silly nicknames. Given these people are now all in Hell due to being responsible for at least one death in their lives, a silly nickname is going to be the least of their problems.]]
63	* DrivenToSuicide: ''Fright Train'' highlights this as [[spoiler: part of Greg's backstory. He bullied a co-worker so badly the man slit his own wrist. Not even his family calling for him was enough to dissuade him from this action. Greg witnesses the suicide in his vision ''in first person.''']]
64	* EldritchAbomination: "The House that Jack Built" from ''13 More Tales of Horror''. At the end, Caleb discovers some [[spoiler:horrible ''creature'' that is controlling the living house.]]
65	** [[spoiler: The Pytha in ''The Yearbook'' is a tentacled monstrosity that gives boils and tumours to her targets and kills students to sustain herself. In the end it cannot be defeated, only held back for a few years.]]
66	* EvilTwin: [[spoiler: Madrigal from ''Twins.'']]
67	* FateWorseThanDeath: In "Something to Read" from ''13 More Tales of Horror'', [[{{Bookworm}} Annabel]] is accidentally drowned by her classmates. Once she gets over the shock, she thinks that it could be great, but then discovers that [[spoiler:she cannot touch anything, such as the pages of a book. So she has all the books in the world, but cannot enjoy them.]]
68	* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Played ridiculously straight in ''Fright Train'', to the point it's a wonder why none of the characters figure out what's happened until they reach their 'final destination.'
69	* FolkHorror: Some of the ''Unleashed'' titles fell into this.
70	** ''The Vanished'' spends a lot of time on local folklore via the school newspaper's new column Psi Files. There are many horror stories told about the local woodlands to explain why children keep disappearing, and there is even an IronicNurseryRhyme about the Seven Steps, which are said to cause your death if you descend them. [[spoiler: It turns out the steps are real and lead to a TunnelNetwork, and are full of vampiric children that always seek to add to their numbers.]]
71	** A good chunk of ''Darker'' is Nick researching the history of his town, which has a history of the local kids turning into violent delinquents for no apparent reason. [[spoiler: It turns out to be the influence of the titular entity, who demands a sacrifice and uses the local kids getting out of hand to pull this off. Nick is only spared because his employer stepped in to save him and seal Darker away.]]
72	** ''The Bogle'' is essentially a Scottish bogeyman. If one is touched by it on the dark of the moon, then one is likely to die before the next dark of the moon. [[spoiler: The only reason Johnny lasted as long as he did was because Peter was unable to get the potion needed to Morag in time, resulting in it getting her as well.]]
73	* FreudianExcuse: Lannie from ''Freeze Tag''. [[spoiler:Her parents pay their dog more attention than her. When they divorce, Lannie initially lives with her mother and new stepfather, until her mother ditches him. After that she lives with her father and new stepmother- only for him to abandon them both with her stepmother outright stating she doesn't want Lannie around.]] You can see why she's so resentful of others and desperate for West's love. [[spoiler: It's also why Meghan chooses to save her from freezing to death in the end.]]
74	* FromNobodyToNightmare: Peter from ''Scissorman'' starts out as a well mannered, if timid eight year boy who's bullied horrendously by his older stepsiblings. However when they rope their friend Dig into pretending to be the titular monster, he rapidly turns into a horror- starting by beating up a classmate who reassured him that all the horrible things his stepsiblings were not true. [[spoiler: And when he learns his mother is the Scissorman and he's like to be one as well, he's only likely to get worse from there.]]
75	* GoodNewsBadNews: ''Scissorman'' plays this for horror. [[spoiler: The good news is Stu and Jane no longer have to clean out the rabbit hutches. The bad news is because their stepmother is the titular monster and she's going to make them eat their rabbits for tea.]]
76	* HalloweenEpisode: ''Trick or Treat'', and the ''Halloween Night'' duology.
77	** ''Unleashed'' title ''Amy'' takes place on Halloween and [[spoiler: has a good chunk of the town solve the mystery of what happened to the titular character the previous Halloween.]]
78	* HauntedHouse: The series uses supernatural creatures like ghosts, vampires and demons as well as serial killers to create fear.
79	* HauntedHouseHistorian: Blake and Wynn in ''Trick or Treat''. Justified, since the events only happened fairly recently.
80	* HumanSacrifice: Happens in ''Unleashed''
81	** Midway through ''The Hanging Tree'', Willow and Brian [[spoiler: receive a vision from the titular tree, in which a man, woman and 'a bundle of rags' are pushed into the hole that the tree is about to be planted into. When the monstrous abbot who serves as its avatar mentions the three lives that will be sacrificed, and a loud wail echoes up from the pit, the teens realize the bundle of rags was actually a baby.]]
82	** ''House of Bones'' is an even more messed up example. [[spoiler: Thought you would live happily in your new home? Better not touch the walls, and be careful where you stand... because some ghostly figures might start pulling you in as a sacrifice. And judging by Liam's horrified reaction, it's not a pleasant way to go. The only thing that can stop the process is the cross... and even then, you'll need someone to pull you out.]]
83	** ''Darker'' is a bit more subtle. Every thirty six years, the local kids suddenly turn violent and aggressive, and engage in anti-social and destructive behaviour. [[spoiler: The titular entity fuels this rise of aggression to fever pitch, until somebody ends up dead, then the kids turn back to normal. To make matters worse, Darker selects the sacrifice, and the current selection happens to be the protagonist Nick.]]
84	* InvisibleToNormals: Inverted in "The Devil's Footprints" from ''13 More Tales of Horror''. Everyone at the party can see the mysterious goat costume guy, but [[spoiler:Brian the house-controlling computer cannot see him on the camera footage.]]
85	* IronicEcho: "When you let the Scissorman in, he never goes away again." First said by Stu to terrify Peter after he and Jane convince their friend Dig to dress as the monster. Then said by [[spoiler: Fiona at the end when she reveals that she is the Scissorman and serves them their pet rabbits for tea.]]
86	* IronicNurseryRhyme: ''The Vanished'' has one about finding the town's Seven Steps, with local folklore stating those who find and descend them would die before reaching the seventh.[[spoiler: The steps turn out to be real and mark the entrance to the [[TunnelNetwork Tunnel Network]] beneath the town.]]
87	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Happens a couple of times in ''Unleashed.''
88	** ''Scissorman'': [[spoiler: In the second half of the book (called "The Haunting"), Stu and Jane's friend Douglas 'Dig' Delaney is absent from school and then reported missing. He turns up seemingly unharmed at the end of the book but cannot remember anything after helping them torment their little brother. He just knows something horrible happened to him and he would be better off not remembering it.]]
89	** ''Fright Train'' concludes with [[spoiler: Darren and Vicky in hospital, recovering from a horrific train crash that claimed the lives of all the other passengers in the carriage with them. Darren notes their birth certificates were found on scene and have a burned handprint on the back of them. Like Dig, they know ''something'' happened (see Dramatic Irony above) but decide they would be better off not remembering what happened.]]
90	* LateArrivalSpoiler: The back blurb for the combined edition of both ''Halloween Night'' books (as well as ''Halloween Night II'' itself gives away that [[spoiler: Dina is the killer in the first book]].
91	* LeyLine: Features in ''House of Bones'' with the properties of Mr Vane being built on them. [[spoiler: The people who live in them become human sacrifices with ''something'' dragging them into the walls of their new homes.]]
92	* LivingToys: "Softies" from ''13 More Tales of Horror'' takes place in an AlternateUniverse in which each human has a living toy friend called a 'companion'. The problem is, the companions are [[spoiler:angry and secretly planning an uprising against their owners.]]
93	* LouisCypher: In "The Devil's Footprints" from ''13 More Tales of Horror'', the Devil mixes among a house party in England, though everyone thinks he is simply an ordinary guy in a goat costume.
94	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Although, as a rule, is it nearly always [[spoiler:mundane.]]
95	* MeaningfulName:
96	** The protagonist of ''The Hanging Tree'' is called Willow. Justified, because her mother is a NewAgeRetroHippie.
97	** The main protagonist of ''Fright Train'' is Vicky Amis. Her last name means 'friends', and she happens to be the kindest and most empathetic person on the train.
98	* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead: In "The Ring" from ''13 More Tales of Horror'', Kate acquires a cursed ring that enables her to read the minds of everyone around her and is soon driven insane when she hears the thoughts of friends and family who don't like her. In the ending, the ring returns to TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday where Kate bought it, and is purchased by a woman whose husband is about to kill her to claim on the insurance. So while the ring is cursed, it isn't in itself technically malicious - and we keep our thoughts to ourselves for good reason.
99	* MixAndMatchCritters: The skoffins are a (theoretically impossible) mixture of a male fox father and a female cat mother in "The Cat-Dogs" from ''13 More Tales of Horror''. And they're as mean as both put together.
100	* NastyParty: ''The Invitation'' starts out with a non-lethal version of the trope as the Alpha Bitch lures in five unpopular students so she can entertain the other guests with a people hunt. Unfortunately one uninvited guest turns it into a straighter example of this trope by moving the unpopular kids to more lethal locations.
101	** ''Eve's Party'' [[spoiler: has this as the backstory. The titular Eve threw a birthday party where she poisoned all of the village's children, save the ones who were too ill to attend. She returns and intends to repeat the process, targeting the survivors and their grandchildren.]]
102	* NobleDemon: [[spoiler: Fiona, the titular ''Scissorman''. After she hears of what her new stepchildren and their friend did to her son, she terrorises them in response to [[ScareEmStraight Scare Em Straight]]. And she ultimately uses this knowledge to calm her own son's nerves after the prank. Her methods might be extreme but she certainly stopped the bullying.]]
103	* OffToBoardingSchool: In ''Twins'', Mary Lee gets sent to a boarding school against her wishes, while her twin sister Madrigal is allowed to stay at home. She's heartbroken and believes she's being sent away because her parents don't love her. [[spoiler:They are actually trying to ''[[EvilTwin protect]]'' her from Madrigal.]]
104	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: ''Blood Sinister'' from ''Unleashed'' plays with this a little bit. The diary entries in the first half of the story paint the picture of such a stereotypical vampire that Ellen, the protagonist reading them makes the connection instantly. In the second half of the book the same vampire reveals he's changed tactics when he's revealed to be a doctor at the hospital Ellen is admitted to. Instead of draining her directly from the neck, he opts for a long distance and more subtle option.
105	** The vampire in the trilogy consisting of ''The Cheerleader'', ''The Return of the Vampire'' and ''The Vampire's Promise''. He's hideous and feels like a rotting corpse when the protagonists touch him. Similarly he's more of a [[DealWithTheDevil Deal with the Devil]] type who offers people their heart's desire in exchange for being given victims.
106	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: ''Moonchildren'' and ''In Spirit''. In the former, the titular Moonchildren have wolf-like eyes from puberty onwards and shapeshift into wolves at will to satisfy their urges. In the latter, the lobisomen (or wolf-woman) has eyeless sockets and only targets women and girls who belong to the same bloodline to ensure that bloodline is extinguished.
107	* ParentalAbandonment: Happened to [[spoiler: Lannie in ''Freeze Tag.'' Her parents split up so Lannie ends up with her mother and new stepfather. Lannie's mother runs off somewhere so she goes to live with her father and stepmother. Then Lannie's father abandons her so her stepmother takes her back to live with her stepfather as she doesn't want her. Her stepfather thus becomes her guardian because there's no one else to do the job- and even he's only putting in a half hearted effort.]]
108	* PiranhaProblem: In ''The Hitchhiker'', James, Christine and Terri are threatened to be [[spoiler: thrown into a pond full of piranhas by Art, the son of the old man the two girls killed in a hit-and-run accident. Art [[HoistByHisOwnPetard himself ends up inside the pond and gets devoured]].]]
109	* PragmaticHero: Willow from ''Unleashed'' title ''The Hanging Tree'' due to having a forgetful, [[NewAgeRetroHippie New Age Retro Hippie]] mother. It's most notable at the end when it's revealed the bulldozers are set to demolish the forest a few days earlier than scheduled. Willow advises against telling the protestors so they all get a good night's sleep instead of getting drunk and high, thus being less effective at protecting the non-harmful trees.
110	* ThePrankster: Julian from ''The Boy Next Door'', whose pranks get steadily more serious and dangerous.
111	* RapeAsDrama: In ''Amy'', it emerges that [[spoiler:Amy was raped, and when she came home, her mother Cassandra panicked; realizing that Amy's abusive father would almost certainly blame her. This led to Cassandra accidentally killing Amy.]]
112	* RearWindowHomage: ''The Window'' is about a girl who sprains her ankle on a ski trip and gets sucked into a murder mystery when she starts spying out her window with binoculars.
113	* RevengeBeforeReason: The wronged person in any of these books will often go to extraordinary lengths to punish whoever wronged them/their relative or friend.
114	* RunicMagic: ''House of Bones'' from ''Unleashed'' has [[spoiler: the properties of Mr Vane beset with this, with rune stones set into the fireplace to make the houses absorb those who live in them. The story ends with the protagonists going to each house to remove them so the homes become harmless again.]]
115	* ScareEmStraight: Mrs Ferdinand from ''The Bogle'' used the titular monster to scare Morag into being good. She later does the same to Johnny. [[spoiler: When both of them are caught by the monster, she rethinks this tactic, realising neither of them deserve such an awful fate.]]
116	** Fiona from ''Scissorman'' uses this tactic at the end [[spoiler: when she reveals she is the titular monster and serves the protagonists' pet rabbits for dinner, even [[IronicEcho echoing the very same words]] they used against her son earlier in the book.]]
117	* ScoobyDooHoax: Frequently. As a general observation, many of the stories where murders/injuries are believed to be the work of a ghost or other paranormal entity turn out to be [[spoiler:caused by jealous/crazy living people.]]
118	* ShortStory: A few anthologies of them, most of them surprisingly good and original with regard to the full novels. They are:
119	** ''[[ThirteenIsUnlucky Thirteen: 13]] Tales of Horror (1991)''
120	** ''13 More Tales of Horror (1994)''
121	** ''13 Again (1995)''
122	* SinisterSubway: In "The Station with No Name" from ''13 More Tales of Horror'', the eponymous station, which is abandoned and full of ghosts from World War II.
123	* {{Spinoff}}: The series had a couple, such as the aforementioned ''Point Horror Unleashed'' or the ''Nightmare Hall'' series, about a cursed college dormitory.
124	* TheSpook: Julian from ''The Boy Next Door''. He simply appears in the seemingly abandoned house next door to Randy and she knows very little about him.
125	* StalkerWithACrush: The motivation behind Athan's actions in ''The Mall''.
126	* StrictlyFormula: A typical book will follow a teenage female character, who falls in love with another teenager boy, set amidst seemingly paranormal occurrences. As mentioned above, the spooky happenings usually turn out to be perfectly explainable.
127	** ''Unleashed'' has its own formula. The book opens with a scene relating to the horror the book deals with, has the main characters research the background and lore of said horror while having occasional brushes with it to keep them on their toes. The lead, or someone they are close to, falls into danger at the hands of the horror and [[CruelTwistEnding hopefully]] overcomes it.
128	* TeensAreMonsters: ''The Invitation'' has the [[AlphaBitch Alpha Bitch]] invite five relatively unpopular students to her annual party, only for it be revealed they are the subject of a 'people hunt' that quickly turns lethal when an uninvited guest [[spoiler: hijacks the game to off each of the characters out of a [[NeverMyFault misguided revenge]].]] And that's not going into all the teenaged characters who turn out to be the killer due to revenge, jealousy or wanting to eliminate a love rival.
129	** ''Unleashed'' has Stu and Jane, the teenaged co-protagonists in ''Scissorman''. They bully their little stepbrother and rope their friend into dressing as the titular monster to terrify him. Then there are all the teens and [[EnfantTerrible kids]] who go off the rails in ''Darker'' [[spoiler:(although that's due to them being temporarily [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Brainwashed and Crazy]]).]]
130	* TokenGoodTeammate: Darren and Vicky from ''Fright Train'' are the only people on board who are not [[spoiler: guilty of the murders they are accused of. They only ended up in the buffet car because of a mix up between their tickets and the tickets of the couple they crashed into on their way to the train. The couple who are revealed to be thrill killers.]]
131	* TomatoSurprise: Many throughout the series.
132	** In ''The Hitchhiker'', we are led to believe that James, the boy that Christine and Terri pick up, is a dangerous criminal who beat up (or possibly worse) his girlfriend before he left Florida and that he may have something to do with the news on the radio about a hit-and-run accident. In the last few chapters, we discover that [[spoiler:James himself is completely innocent and his girlfriend in Florida is alive and fine (albeit upset); it is Christine and Terri that are responsible for the accident.]]
133	* TownWithADarkSecret: Several throughout the book series.
134	* TunnelNetwork: The titular mall of ''The Mall'' is loaded with these. This is due to the mall being so old that it's been renovated constantly over the years, leading to it being filled with many hidden tunnels, passages, and hallways. Athan takes advantage of them to get around the huge building secretly.
135	** There is one under the town in ''The Vanished'' where a host of vampiric children live. The protagonists discover it when they find the Seven Steps (seven stones jutting out of a hillside that lead into the cave).
136	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: "The Devil's Footprints" from ''13 More Tales of Horror'' takes place in 2004 (the short story collection was published in 1994). Apparently, by that point, everyone should have had house-controlling supercomputers.
137	* TwinSwitch: In ''Twins'', Mary Lee switches places with her twin sister Madrigal when Madrigal visits her boarding school; hoping to make Mary Lee more popular with her classmates when they realize the charming "Madrigal" is really her. [[spoiler:Madrigal is then killed in a skiing accident and Mary Lee takes over her identity ''permanently''. Ultimately subverted when her parents reveal they knew all along; they were just afraid of Madrigal and didn't want to take the chance that they were wrong.]]
138	* WickedStepmother: Laura's stepmother Sally in "The Piano" from ''13 More Tales of Horror''. She pushes her stepdaughter to practice the piano constantly. Laura is not too saddened when [[spoiler:her piano]] causes Sally's death, thereby freeing her from oppression.
139	** Fiona from ''Scissorman'' is seen as this by Stu and Jane. Initially it's because she forces them to eat healthy food and demands good behaviour from them so their bias is clearly on show. [[spoiler: It's later played terrifyingly straight as she's revealed to be the titular monster, and serves them their pet rabbits for dinner.]]

Context Literature / PointHorror