YMMV / The Thief of Always

• Complete Monster: Mr. Hood runs a magic house where children can be young forever and gain anything they want. Naturally, it's nothing more than an elaborate spider's web. Hood lures children in under these promises before draining them of life and soul, imprisoning them in the lake forever to prolong his own life. Calling himself the Vampire King, Hood delights in what he does to children and tries to seduce the young heroes to his side. When one of his minions tries to take his place after he believes Hood is dead, Hood seizes him and rips his head clean off.
• Friendly Fandoms: With Coraline - many people have even gone so far as to have the two works crossover or ship the main characters with each other.
• Heartwarming Moments: "And love... love enough for a thousand Christmases."
• Nightmare Fuel: Lulu is slowly turning into a fish, see Body Horror. She used to be energetic and fun according to Wendell, but when she realises what was happening to her she became insecure and kept herself to herself. When she finally transformed into a fish-monster, she tells Harvey not to look at her. She is forced to go in the lake to survive, where she is reduced to a large fish. Harvey becomes a vampire briefly and loves it. The idea of coming home to realize you've been gone for thirty years... the list goes on.
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: This book is pretty dark for a children's story and contains some pretty mature themes to boot, as to be expected of Clive Barker. Those who pick up this book that are blissfully ignorant of Barker's writing style are in for quite the wake-up call.

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