Seven teenagers went into the woods one night in Rapture,
Maine. Only one teenager walked out. Fifteen years later,
the Rapture Slayings Mystery remains unsolved. Did the
survivor, Willa Renfri Greene, get away with murder? Or is
there something more nefarious buried deep in the Maine
woods in I AM THE MONSTER UNDER THE BED by Emily
Zinnikas?
Willa lives a life of solitude in Pennsylvania, focusing
on her paintings and career. Her childhood trauma never goes
away, and when the anniversary of the massacre rolls around,
Willa is thrown into the spotlight again. As reporters
descend on her doorstep looking for answers to the unsolved
massacre, Willa flees back to her hometown to attend the
funeral of her favorite art teacher. But Willaβs
hometown holds secrets, and the townspeople never forget.
Furthermore, Willaβs return brings up old memories,
and the former PE teacher, who had an inappropriate
relationship with a seventeen-year-old Willa, has moved back
to town. Willa needs to keep an eye on him. Also,
Willaβs imaginary friend, Elliott, doesnβt seem
to want to engage with Willa anymore, ominous sounds are
coming from the basement, and the forest needs feeding. What
really happened in those woods fifteen years ago?Β Did
Willa get away with murder? Or did someone or something else
slay the teenagers, and now lie in wait for Willa?
I
AM THE MONSTER UNDER THE BED is a chilling horror debut
with plenty of atmosphere, engaging writing, and creepy
elements. The plot is filled with all the trappings of a
good horror story: thereβs a horrific massacre, a
reclusive survivor with unreliable perceptions, a pushy
psychic, a haunted, hungry forest, a childhood stalker, an
entity under the bed, and ghosts in the basement. Willa's
past trauma is front and center, fueled by a secondary
character who becomes a captive with her. The story has many
moving parts and subplots, and some of those could have been
stronger with further explanation. The pacing is generally
good, although the story does keep us in the basement a
little too long with repetitive scenes and outcomes. A
little more focus and tightening would have improved the
plot, but those who donβt mind a few loose ends and
revel in dark, mysterious, unexplained horror elements will
find this story enjoyable. Overall, it is an impressive
debut, and I look forward to seeing what the author does
next.
A contemporary horror debut in which a reclusive painter and the only survivor of an unsolved teen massacre returns to her hometown to confront her past, with the help of her childhood boogeyman and the possessed forest that surrounds her haunted house.
Something lives under Willa’s bed. As an adult, her fondest childhood memories are of the invisible entity under her bed who taught her how to read. Now thirty‑two, Willa Greene is a reclusive but successful painter until a bombshell news reporter exposes her identity as the controversial survivor of the unsolved Rapture Mystery Slayings, a small‑town tragedy that splashed across headlines her senior year of high school. Six teenagers died in the woods while Willa walked free, and everyone thinks she did it.
Reporters arrive by the dozens and park themselves on her lawn. When an old classmate calls about a funeral, Willa reluctantly escapes to the last place anyone would look: her sleepy hometown where the possessed forest that stole her friends looms. The trees whistle for her attention, but she knows better than to listen. And the unexplained knocking from the shadows in the basement of her decaying childhood home is honestly the least of her problems.
Once back, her troubled past comes back to haunt tenfold. A past stalker is creeping on her once again, and she resolves to show him the rage of a grown woman. Nights spent stalking her stalker draws Willa to discover a chilling truth ‑ another stalker is behind the stalker, and one of them is determined to destroy her. Her defense will draw her closer to the hungry forest she swore she’d never return to, to the monster at home she chose to forget – and to becoming the villain her hometown has always suspected her to be.
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