Contemporary American horror literature for children and young adults has two bold messages for readers: adults are untrustworthy, unreliable and often dangerous; and the monster always wins (as it must if there is to be a sequel).
Examining the young adult horror series and the religious horror series for children (
Left Behind: The Kids
) for the first time, and tracing the unstoppable monster to Seuss's
Cat in the Hat
, this book sheds new light on the problematic message produced by the combination of marketing and books for contemporary American young readers.