Tom DeFrank seemed to be a perfectly ordinary teenage boy. Like many other boys of his age he had developed an all consuming hobby but whereas most children would be obsessed by cars, motorbikes, trains or dinosaurs, Tom was fascinated by the work of stop-motion animation. He liked nothing more than to sculpt mythical creatures, make them into moveable figures and film his own stop-motion movies. His personal idol was Ray Harryhausen.

When, one night a friend convinced him to go into an abandoned railway tunnel they had no reason to believe it would be anything more than a good laugh. But as they went further into the darkness Tom discovered some discarded robes and strange symbols painted on the walls – and started to experience vivid visions.

From then on Tom became obsessed with animating a new creature – Fau'Charoth. He even dreamed of the creature at night. But when his dreams started to get even more realistic and reports similar to his experiences appeared in the newspapers Tom began to wonder if these were truly just dreams. Soon Tom finds himself in the middle of a supernatural horror story as the demon Fau'Charoth tries to use him to gain a foothold on Earth. It is down to Tom's friends to try and save him before it is too late.

This is one hell of a creepy story! At first it seems to be a fairly normal tale of a demon trying to break through to our world and using a young man as a conduit but as the story progresses you discover that there are many more aspects to the tale that add additional texture to the story and result in one of the best and original horror stories I have read in a very long time.

If you think of all the best features of supernatural horror this book has most of them – demonic possession, astral travel, brutal murders, black magic, human sacrifice and just a little bit of teenage lurve to finish it all off!

For a horror story to grip me like this one takes some skill and Joseph Laudati has it in spades. I am looking forward to reading his next book to see if he can maintain the same high standard.

Synopsis
Teen-aged filmmaker Tom DeFrank, through his hobby of stop-motion photography, conceives a monster: he builds and animates a demon puppet. Unbeknownst to Tom, however, the "toy" creates a subliminal bond with a dark entity. As he labors with the miniature beast, making his movie, the boy unwittingly summons a force that wreaks the terrible vengeance of Tom's repressed rage.

Only reclusive psychic Stephen Parrish and his daughter Julie know of the ancient evil awakened in their little town. As romance blooms between the teens, Parrish senses the strange presence within the troubled young filmmaker and seeks to unravel the mystery of the demon.

But people are dying as bitter grudges come to the fore. Rumors abound of a strange creature loose in the countryside, and a fearful public turns suspicious on Parrish. Will he be able to leash the monster and the will of its creator – a boy little conscious of his power to create … or destroy?