The Ghost Prison: 05/30/15

The Ghost Prison by Joseph Delaney is a first person account of a night guard at a prison. Billy's job is to help feed a prisoner who is more monster than person, and to keep watch on the ghosts of prisoners who have died while serving their sentences.

This is a very short book and heavily illustrated. It's really more like a short story repurposed as a tween horror because the main character fits into the age group. As introduction to the horror short story genre, it's an acceptable stepping stone to the likes of Poe, Lovecraft, or du Maurier — if it were taken as part of a larger collection.

But as a standalone it lacks punch beyond what Scott M. Fisher's dark and moody illustrations bring. The surprise ending is anything but. It's drawn from the same sort of story telling of the summer campfire, lacking even the twists and turns of an R.L. Stine book.

Two stars

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