Nightmare Hall: Silent Scream
Jess is eager to start college - until she arrives at her off-campus dorm. She can see why everyone calls it Nightmare Hall. Especially when she learns the dark secret hidden within the house. A girl named Giselle hanged herself there. In Jess’s room.
But was it really a suicide? Or was Giselle murdered? Echoing through the house, Jess can still hear the sound of Giselle’s last scream…
GOT U COVERED 📙
Author: Diane Hoh
Published: 1993
Series: Nightmare Hall
Tagline: Where college is a scream (reprinted edition)
Description: A young woman is sprawled face down on the floor with a broken rope hanging above her.
They stared at the clouded but visible image of a girl with long, pale hair and a painfully sad expression on a very pretty face, looking solemnly into the camera from behind Ian and Jess. Only two people had gone into the photo booth. But there were three people in the pictures. - pg. 63
SYNOPSIS 📖
Welcome to the chilling halls of Nightmare Hall, where fear takes on a life of its own. In the first instalment of the spine-tingling series, author Diane Hoh presents "The Silent Scream," a haunting tale that will leave readers breathless, peering over their shoulders long after they've turned the final page.
Jess Vogt is ready to start anew. She’s worked extremely hard to be able to afford tuition at Salem University. But how can one have a fresh start when old secrets of Nightingale Hall creep back up?
After hearing about the tragic suicide of a former student, Giselle McKendrick, which happened just a year prior, Jess and her housemates are shaken up. Especially since Jess now stays in the very room that Giselle was found hung from the ceiling. However, the past is better left buried and they are determined to create their own pleasant college experience and make this the best next few years possible.
Then a series of strange things start happening around the dorm. Things that can’t be explained.
Could Giselle be back from the dead? Is that why everytime her name is mentioned something creepy seems to happen?
Jess starts to investigate what exactly happened to Giselle, but as she gets closer to the truth, someone is willing to silence her…forever.
Something moving on the wall opposite the foot of her bed caught her attention. Something…moving…Jess gasped in horror and instinctively yanked the purple bedspread up to her chest in a protective motion. She sat perfectly still, her eyes making round O’s of disbelief as she stared in shocked silence. The wall in front of her moved with the clear, unmistakable shadow of a body swinging back and forth from the light fixture. - pg. 100
THOUGHTS 💭
The Nightmare Hall series is one that I'm ashamed to say I'm unfamiliar with, but oh boy am I glad that I found this book😊…and the first one in the series no less. Diane Hoh is an author I know all too well though. Her books in the Point Horror series have kept me entertained and are some of the most memorable to come out of that era. So how did this book fare against the rest of her work? Did it have me screaming for more …well, this book had all the makings of a typical YA thriller novel: an interesting mystery, a group of characters to place doubt and suspicion on and an ending which was satisfying. What I didn't bank on, was how well written this book was. Hoh has a way of not only understanding how to write these characters, but to write them realistically.
Jess, our main protagonist, is everything you want in a young adult horror heroine. She is written with such authenticity that it actually took me by surprise how relatable and sincere her character was. She is sympathetic, caring and even nurturing to her fellow housemates. Often interacting with them in a way that felt genuine and how a female her age would actually speak or think. She has the ideal qualities to make her the final girl: likeable, girl-next-door charm, intelligent and vigilant. However, what I particularly like most about Jess is that she never once comes across as helpless and naïve. Throughout the book, we are able to see how she handles the strange occurrences which start happening and once she starts to suspect her fellow housemates, she showcases the same logic and evidence behind her suspicions as the reader would, which I found refreshing.
The way I’d describe Silent Scream’s pacing, especially the first half, is slow but steady. In the beginning, as with every book (particularly horror) we are introduced to the various characters and the dynamic they bring (not only with each other, but to the story itself). I feel that while these characters are written well, it can at times feel like moments/scenes in the book are just a big set-up for us to start suspecting one character before there is yet another set up to start suspecting the next character. This was very obvious and something I caught onto rather quickly and thus was able to guess the antagonist fairly early into the book. However, I will say there are moments I did question my own suspicions as a result of the strong writing by Diane Hoh.
My favourite moment in the book was between Cath, Milo and Linda. After a student paper goes missing📝, tension goes through the roof and an argument ensues🤬. Why was this my favourite moment? Well, the way it was written made the event so real that I felt like I was a fly on a wall and all I needed was a bowl of popcorn to enjoy the verbal back and forth I was bearing witness to. It had me both cackling, smirking with delight🤭and at some points even made me uncomfortable. Diane Hoh’s talent is truly shown when she writes dialogue between characters, particularly in response to the other💬. She has a clear idea on how each character would act in relation to the personality and persona she has created for the reader.
The climax was also very satisfying. I won’t give any spoilers but let’s just say #ghostwomansupportingwoman. Usually I always make connections to other movies if a scene reminds me of something and this gave me What Lies Beneath energy. Which ironically also investigates the mysterious death of a young college woman and a characters involvement thereof.
My grading of this book is A+. It’s definitely an enjoyable quick read that will get you through the day and leave you with the satisfaction that you'd want from a typical YA thriller.
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