History Literature / TheHauntingHour

%% * ABoyAndHisX: An interesting example with Flash, the chimpanzee in "Can You Draw Me?" Justified in-verse, in that Dylan's father works at an animal hospital. %% Add more context to describe their relationship and what effect it has on them. %%

* HalloweenEpisodee: The setting of "The Halloween Dance", a time when the dead can appear in the land of the living.

* AllHallowsEve: The setting of "The Halloween Dance", a time when the dead can appear in the land of the living.

* ABoyAndHisX: An interesting example with Flash, the chimpanzee in "Can You Draw Me?" Justified in-verse, in that Dylan's father works at an animal hospital.

** [[spoiler:"The Halloween Dance" ends with Mark trying to reverse the dance, so as to bring himself and Jake back to life. Unfortunately, the ghouls refuse to let go of him, and he is regressed back to when he was an infant. Even worse, the narration suggests that he's consciously aware, but trapped in his infant body and unable to tell anyone]].
** [[spoiler:After Lulu is defeated when Muttley eats her "mud cookie" at the climax of "The Bad Baby-sitter", Matt and his sister possibly suffer the same fate when the dog unwittingly gets ahold of the ones Lulu made of them]].

** [[spoiler: Connor of "The Mummy's Dream" turns out to really be Prince Akor, who had dreams of the future and was mummified prematurely to ensure that he would not be murdered and left unmummified by his enemies]].

* AndIMustScream: Billy, TheFriendNobodyLikes of "Revenge of the Snowman", relates the fact that someone can freeze up permanently out of fear. [[spoiler:At the end of the story, Billy's prank on Rick works too well, causing Rick to stiffen up and be rendered silent when he thinks Billy came back from the dead and wants revenge]].

* DemonicPossession: Of a sort. Dylan, the protagonist of "Can You Draw Me?", is forced to illustrate gruesome images when he holds any of the paintbrushes formerly used by his late art teacher, [=MacKenzie=] Douglas. [[spoiler:The twist of the story is that [=MacKenzie=] Douglas deliberately sought out someone who could paint well, so that he could continue his work from the afterlife by using the paintbrushes he could control. Whether they like it or not]].

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:The judge that forced Tammi and Artie's parents to leave them at the Wayside Motel determines them failures in the test to determine if they're smart and brave enough to justify keeping around as a means of population control. They failed after opening a door containing two (mercifully chained) attack dogs, which was prompted by their mutual love of dogs. However, the two kids prove they're smart by siccing the dogs on the judge, forcing him to pass them and let them go home with their parents]].

* TomatoInTheMirror: "The Halloween Dance" does an interesting take on this trope. [[spoiler:At first, Mark is increasingly worried that the mirror the girl ghoul passes around at the party will reveal that he and Jake are living people pretending to be ghouls, due to them having reflections (which ghouls apparently lack). They don't cast a reflection, which is relieving...until the realization that they're dead, and thus really are ghouls, sets in]].

* GenreAdultery: "How to Bargain with a Dragon" is set in a DungAges fantasy world, being a sequel to "The Most Evil Sorcerer" from ''Nightmare Hour'', contrasted with the other horror stories.

''The Haunting Hour'' (having no real relation to [[Series/TheHauntingHour the show of the same name]], aside from some stories that were adapted as episodes), is a followup collection to the previous ''Literature/NightmareHour'' by Creator/RLStine. In the same vein, ''The Haunting Hour'' is a collection of nine standalone tales, as well as a sequel to the previous book's story, "The Most Evil Sorcerer". Among the stories within include a ghoulish Halloween dance, a haunted set of paintbrushes, and the truth behind one's imaginary friend.

* InfantImmortality: Played straight in certain tales, as to be expected. [[spoiler:But awesomely averted in "Are We There Yet?"]]

* SecretTestOfCharacter: [[spoiler: The twist of "Are We There Yet?" is that Tammi and Artie were subjected to a governmental test to confirm whether or not they were brave and smart enough to be worth saving, in order to keep the population low. They fail, due to opening a shed with two attack dogs in it and are considered "brave, but not smart". They manage to turn the tables on the judge, however]].

* AdultFear: As usual, given the child protagonists and the dangers that befall them that are typical of Stine works. However, this is particularly emphasized in "Are We There Yet?", wherein Tammi and Artie's parents are notably sorrowful the night they stay at the Wayside Motel. The following morning, Tammi and Artie wake up to find their parents gone and the place absolutely devoid of life. They're forced to walk through a field cemetery and brave an area where nasty, angry dogs reside. [[spoiler:Even worse, the whole thing is revealed to be a governmental test to determine if the kids are smart and brave enough to be worth saving. Their parents are horrified when they fail, but Tammi and Artie manage to avert this fate]].

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:The judge that forced Tammi and Artie's parents to leave them at the WAYSIDE MOTEL determines them failures in the test to determine if they're smart and brave enough to justify keeping around as a means of population control. They failed after opening a door containing two (mercifully chained) attack dogs, which was prompted by their mutual love of dogs. However, the two kids prove they're smart by siccing the dogs on the judge, forcing him to pass them and let them go home with their parents]].

* KarmicDeath: Using the "mud cookie" recipe, [[spoiler: Courtney creates a "mud cookie" of Lulu, who immediately attempts to grab it. When she tosses it to Matt, its head comes off, causing Lulu's head to become severed, but still alive. Lulu is finished off when the family dog, Muttley, devours the Lulu "mud cookie"]].

* NothingIsScarier: "Are We There Yet?" has Tammi and Artie wake up in the WAYSIDE MOTEL, which they and their parents spent the night at. The place is completely deserted once they wake up, with no cars in the parking lot, a cemetary set in the middle of a nearby field, and a bare skeleton residing at the office desk. It's even foreshadowed by [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness the oddly and disturbingly somber tone]] their usually jovial parents take the night before. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a test set up by the government to determine if children are brave and smart, and thus worthy of living]].

* HoistByHisOwnPetard/KarmicDeath: Using the "mud cookie" recipe, [[spoiler: Courtney creates a "mud cookie" of Lulu, who immediately attempts to grab it. When she tosses it to Matt, its head comes off, causing Lulu's head to become severed, but still alive. Lulu is finished off when the family dog, Muttley, devours the Lulu "mud cookie"]].

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:In addition to the aforementioned twist of "The Halloween Dance", Connor of "The Mummy's Dream" turns out to really be Prince Akor, who had dreams of the future and was mummified prematurely to ensure that he would not be murdered and left unmummified by his enemies]].

* TomatoSurprise: [[spoiler:In addition to the aforementioned twist of "The Halloween Dance", Connor of "The Mummy's Dream" turns out to really be Prince Akor, who had dreams of the future and was mummified prematurely to ensure that he would not be murdered and left unmummified by his enemies]].

* TomatoSurprise: [[spoiler:In addition to the aforementioned twist of "The Halloween Dance", Connor turns out to really be Prince Akor, who had dreams of the future and was mummified prematurely to ensure that he would not be murdered and left unmummified by his enemies]].

* {{Mummy}}: "The Mummy's Dream", which is set in the Egyptology wing of a museum, naturally involves one. Considering the author, [[Literature/Goosebumps this is not new territory]].

* AndIMustScream: Billy, TheFriendNoOneLikes of "Revenge of the Snowman", relates the fact that someone can freeze up permanently out of fear. [[spoiler:At the end of the story, Billy's prank on Rick works too well, causing Rick to stiffen up and be rendered silent when he thinks Billy came back from the dead and wants revenge]].

** [[spoiler:After Lulu is defeated when Muttley eats her "mud cookie", Matt and his sister possibly suffer the same fate when the dog unwittingly gets ahold of the ones Lulu made of them]].

* HollywoodVoodoo: Lulu, the babysitter of, well, "The Bad Baby-sitter", has Matt and his younger sister make "mud cookies", which are gingerbread-like blobs of mud that resemble another brother and sister pair that the both of them don't like. When Matt accidentally breaks off the right hand of one, the boy breaks his hand. And when his younger sister cuts off the hair of the girl's "mud cookie", it makes her hair fall out.

* DemonicPossession: Of a sort. Dylan, the protagonist of "Can You Draw Me?", is forced to illustrate gruesome images when he holds any of the paintbrushes formerly used by his late art teacher, MacKenzie Douglas. [[spoiler:The twist of the story is that MacKenzie Douglas deliberately sought out someone who could paint well, so that he could continue his work from the afterlife by using the paintbrushes he could control. Whether they like it or not]].