From My Reading Chair…
Spooky Spooky House is a bit of a post-fair, adrenaline-soaked sugar rush of exploration.
Andrew Weale’s story keeps issuing utterly useless warnings: do not open this; do not go there; absolutely do not investigate the suspicious thing. Every prohibition becomes a delicious dare. The pop-ups and fold-outs have me doing precisely what the story tells me to avoid. I struggle to open the flaps with any kind of calm precision; instead, it’s all a blur of excited grabs and lifts in a bit of a pop-up waltzer of movement!
There’s a lovely little pause before each reveal, though, when I know something is waiting. The tension ratchets up, and I’m already bracing for the next drop. All the anticipation of a haunted-house ride, held between two covers.
Lee Wildish’s illustrations fizz with frantic energy. Bright, crowded and unruly, they send my eyes ricocheting around alongside the paper surprises. The zigzag lightning bolts, the exaggerated faces… it’s all gleefully obvious. The sort of freedom you feel in a fairground house of mirrors, pulling faces instead of worrying about how you look.
There’s plenty to revisit in the illustrations as well as the mechanisms. Chaotic, messy, interactive fun, with one last trick tucked into the ink. The final page asks us for stillness and warmth. No, literally.
The heat-sensitive ink makes me keep my hand on the page while the monster slowly appears. After all that lifting and unfolding, I have to leave my hand there and wait. The anticipation stretches a little longer before the creepy reveal.
I didn’t heed the warnings. I regret nothing, and I’m saving tokens for the next ride around.
Creep on Reading, Pumpkins!