Award-winning author Stephen Graham Jones returns with Night of the Mannequins, a contemporary horror story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose: is there a supernatural cause, a psychopath on the loose, or both? We thought we’d play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead. One last laugh for the summer as it winds down. One last prank just to scare a friend. … One last prank just to scare a friend. Bringing a mannequin into a theater is just some harmless fun, right? Until it wakes up. Until it starts killing.
Luckily, Sawyer has a plan. He’ll be a hero. He’ll save everyone to the best of his ability. He’ll do whatever he needs to so he can save the day. That’s the thing about heroes–sometimes you have to become a monster first.
“Suffused with questions about the nature of change and friendship, “Night of the Mannequins” is a fairy tale of impermanence showcasing Graham Jones’s signature style of smart, irreverent horror.” —The New York Times
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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A night at the movies, a prank gone wrong and a town turned on its head. I never know what to expect from Stephen Graham Jones, and this novella is no exception!
Told in the first person, Sawyer explains how his group of friends found an old mannequin in the mud near the river and how they dug him out, dressed him up and put him in a bunch of different situations. They named him Manny. As teenagers often do, they quickly tired of him and now he, (it?), resides on top of Sawyer’s dad’s old motorcycle, parked in their garage. Manny is resurrected though, to play a prank on a movie theater manager. A prank that, tragically, goes wrong and now Sawyer has to right that wrong-and soon. Will he be successful? You’ll have to read this to find out!
It’s really hard to discuss this tale without spoilers, but, as usual, Stephen Graham Jones threw me a curveball. Everything I thought this story was about was wrong. What I thought was going to happen? I was wrong. What I thought Sawyer would do? He didn’t. Why? I can’t tell you, you’ll just have to read it.
Easily read in an hour or two, I’ve often mentioned that I think the novella form is one of the best ways to present a horror story. Every word has to count, every action leads to the next. It’s tight, it doesn’t waste time, and when it’s done well? It’s a perfect little package of darkness that leaves you thinking for days. Bravo, once again to Stephen Graham Jones!
Highly recommended!
If you follow Stephen Graham Jones long enough, it becomes clear the man has an unabashed love for slasher horror. With Night of the Mannequins, he puts his own distinctive spin on this particular subgenre, creating one hell of a compelling work.
With their high school years fading, Sawyer Grimes hatches a plan for one last prank against their friend, Shanna, and her managers at the local movie theater by employing the mannequin they discovered some past summer. The prank fizzles and, to make matters worse — and stranger — Sawyer watches the mannequin get up and leave the theater of its own free will. How could such a thing even be possible? And then Shanna dies a grisly death, and Sawyer has it all figured out. The mannequin is going to kill him and his friends, unless he saves them all.
Night of the Mannequins is a wild ride, one that never quite goes as you expect it to. Jones’s authorial voice is strong and assured, and he writes Sawyer with an incredible wryness, turning in a number of brilliant phrases that begin straight off with the book’s opening paragraph before chalking up several more highlighter-worthy sentences. This is a strong and easy read, and I loved the conversational tone Jones strikes here, switching with supernatural ease between friendly comfort and disconcerting insanity.
Jones’s killer is absolutely freaking nuts, with some wildly twisted motivations. A number of passages, and, yes, a few of the kill scenes, left me open-mouthed at just how messed up and mentally deranged this killer is. This might just be the most wonderfully twisted slasher killer I’ve read about in 2020 thus far, so hats off to Jones for that!
Equally compelling are the metaphors for growing up and being left behind. At its heart, Night of the Mannequins is a slasher through-and-through, but it’s also a coming of age story. Sawyer is an immature sort, and his circle of friends are growing apart and finding other interests, yet become bound together through tragedy. There’s a certain desire to stop the clock and crystallize these last days of high school revelry that are not just affecting but downright effective and sympathetic.
Night of the Mannequins is a unique and supremely twisted horror novella, coming hot on the heels of Jones’s other Summer 2020 release, the excellent The Only Good Indians. Both of these books are equally compelling and showcase this author’s range and talent, as well as just how scarily good he is at crafting some seriously shocking moments that take you by complete surprise. This particular book, though, is a wicked, and wickedly fun, descent into madness. Highly recommended.
Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones is a twisted little gem. I had read and enjoyed, The Only Good Indians, so when I saw this novella I was excited to see what he could do in a shorter story, and Jones does not disappoint. There is a level of creepiness throughout, first with the supernatural element and then with the total craziness of what is actually happening…. And I didn’t even think of it as an option to the death and destruction until it was revealed.
As with many horror short stories or novellas, the reader is often dropped right into the action without a lot of background. Jones does give us some background throughout the story and there is just one mention as to why this may be happening (at least that I caught). It is a brief sentence and isn’t brought up again, but for me at least, this added to the trepidation. I really enjoyed that Jones didn’t dwell on the why and just gave us the horror filled action.
Jones has a lot of other books published, which is great for those who want to read more of his books. A few that look good to me are; The Last Final Girl, Zombie Bake-Off, and The Least of My Scars. If you have a favorite by Jones, I would love to hear about it.
NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS is a novella by Stephen Graham Jones. This gave me a “B-movie” feeling throughout, that was fast paced and full of dark humor. In addition to the horror, there was a strong coming-of-age theme here, that underlies the entire tale.
The opening sentence really sets the tone for how our unreliable narrator views things, and instantly grabs your attention.
“So Shanna got a new job at the movie theater, we thought we’d play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead and I’m really starting to feel kind of guilty about it all . . . ”
We have a group of five friends–who have been close for years–now in high school. What begins with our narrator reminiscing about a summer years ago–where one of them found a discarded shop mannequin in a creek–goes on to explain the fun they had staging various pranks with “Manny”. It’s easy to see that this is viewed as one of the “best years” of his young life.
“. . . Is it just automatic to steal any mannequin you happen to encounter? . . . ”
Now that Shanna is working at a movie theatre, the rest decide to bring “Manny” back for one last prank like the “good days”.
What happens next sets up a chain of events that I never would have seen coming.
“. . . This is what I do, I save people. And dogs. . . .”
The story never loses its dark comedic style, even in the midst of more horrifying incidents. That’s a strong reason as to why this story was so easy to flow along with. The way our narrator speaks, sees, and interprets things around him give us an added sense of consistency that helps balance out the action.
“. . . the way you know you’ve done good is that the whole town hates you and wants you dead . . . ”
Overall, an unexpected experience that I had a lot of fun with. Nothing in this novella felt the least bit predictable, and I feel that was why it stood out so well.
“. . . If you take the first domino away, do all the others keep standing? . . .”
Recommended.
Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones is an unnerving story of prank gone very, very wrong.
This is a must read for fans of horror that will make you want to grab and shake the main character to make them see sense in a dire time! It’s dark, it’s brutal, and it certainly makes you question things! But the biggest question of all you’ll be asking yourself is, can I trust my friends?
This is a weird one. I love Stephen Graham Jones and appreciate his talent. You can’t stay the man isn’t an original.
I love the early parts of this one, the rest makes sense in a crazy person way, but I was hoping for a more creature feature type of story.
Still, Jones fans will still dig this one. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!
Scream + Weekend at Bernies + American Psycho
Here’s the part where I usually do my own synopsis. However, for maximum impact when you read, I want to avoid spoilers as much as I can for you. The first line of the book is “So, Shannah got a new job at the most vie theater, we thought we’d play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead, and I’m really starting to feel kind of guilty about it all.” That, coupled with the title, is all you need to know going in.
I don’t get why it’s fine for a movie to be a fun, mindless slasher film, and not a book. That’s the best way to describe this book. Towards the beginning I was getting a headache from trying to dive deep and figure out what the book was really about. After I just let go, it became so much more enjoyable (although I still can’t really say I understood)!
Buy this for yourself or anyone looking for something different. If you’re twisted, get it for someone who grew up watching the Canadian kids’ show, “Today’s Special.”
It was great to follow actual killer ( not a spoiler ). First time read something that involves prank going wrong and having such circumstances. Liked the character but atmosphere was awesome. First time reading by the author so it felt hard to understand sometimes.
Sawyer Grimes and his teenage group of friends stumble upon a mannequin in a creek buried in the mud. Things take a dark drastic turn when an attempted prank utilizing their discovery evolves into a psychotic break down of reality.
Stephen Graham Jones delivers an abstract style of storytelling to his novella Night of the Mannequins. His quirkiness advances into magical thinking and conspiracy theories developing into a slow spiral of madness. Readers will be compelled to believe in a blank facemask killer that has a warped view on “survivors guilt”. A giant department store dummy Kaiju that begins a rampaging course of destruction leaving only rubble in its wake. A mannequin answering to the name of Manny that lives in the wild surviving only on fertilizer, bubble wrap and packing peanuts.
The author digs deep in his creative mind for this one. I enjoyed trying to follow the thought process of one who decides taking matters into his own hands is the right decision, even if it’s to the point of delusional reasoning. Stephen Graham Jones has an exceptional back catalog of well written books, and this one is no exception to his excellence. So when you hear that tornado siren slowly begin to roar in the distance, you might want to set the book down and make sure nothing plastic and colossal is heading your way.