Hampton Heights

One Harrowing Night in the Most Haunted Neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

De: Dan Kois

Narrado por: Gary Tiedemann

"Splendid . . . what really sells this imaginative, scary, verge-of-growing-up tale is its characters, each with a distinct voice and personality. . . . Kois' surprising second novel is a natural for fans of the character-based horror fiction of Grady Hendrix or Paul Tremblay and will win him a whole new sphere of readers."—Booklist

"Marvelous, tender, and unpredictable, Hampton Heights captures the uncanniness and discomfort of early adolescence. There’s a pinch of Ray Bradbury, a soupçon of Stephen King, a dash of fairy tale logic, but Dan Kois makes something entirely his own out of this familiar and always pleasurable territory."—Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love

"Like Stand by Me mixed with Stranger Things and The Twilight Zone, Hampton Heights is a rollicking chronicle of youth set loose among mystery and monsters. Dan Kois deftly conjures a boundless world that's chilling, wondrous, and delightful."—Adam Sternbergh, author of The Eden Test

From the author of the Washington Post notable novel Vintage Contemporaries, something completely unexpected: a hair-raising and rollicking adventure set on one night in 1987, when six paperboys must confront a slew of monsters as well as their own personal demons in a haunted Midwestern neighborhood.

On a cold winter’s evening in 1987, six middle-school paperboys wander an unfamiliar Milwaukee neighborhood, selling newspaper subscriptions, fueled by their manager Kevin’s promises of cash bonuses and dinner at Burger King. But the freaks come out at night in Hampton Heights. Sent out into the neighborhood in pairs, the boys will encounter a host of primordial monsters—and triumph over them.

Sigmone, who is bussed to a white school, is stuck with Joel, a white kid who idolizes Black culture. Mark, who's wrestling with his sexuality, joins his secret crush, Ryan. Nishu and Al are outsiders; one is a second-generation immigrant, the other a poor kid in a rich school. Over the course of one eventful evening, the three pairs will encounter the wild things of Hampton Heights—werewolves, witches with a centuries-old story to tell, and a creepy, ancient monster who feeds on memories. Meanwhile, Kevin is having an adventure of his own, seducing a beautiful woman in the neighborhood’s tavern . . . but who is actually in control?

Funny, thrilling, outrageous, and sneakily beautiful, Dan Kois’s Hampton Heights captures without sentimentality the dreams and fears of teenage boys in a tender horror-comedy about camaraderie, bravery, vulnerability, and the terrifying prospect of growing up.

©2024 Dan Kois (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Spooky Fun in Milwaukee

Super fun story about middle school, the 80s, and the city of Milwaukee. Other than some raunchy language I look forward to listening with my kids.

Weird Little Story

I didn’t like or dislike it…it was a little weirder than I was thinking it was going to be based on the title information. But good overall

Fun coming of age story

Enjoyed a Gen X com horror story. Each character adds depth to the story. Liked the imagery

Not what! I was expecting

This would make a great t v series. I love all the twists and turns, especially each boy has basically their own story.

Epic Tale and So Fun!

Loved this book! Full of great supernatural creatures, some laugh-out-loud humor, and adolescent worries that are universal to us all. Really liked what he did with the supernatural aspects and how he tied it all together. Great ending too.

Nice and Spooky

This was a fun Halloween season listen! It took me back to the days of paper routes and riding my bike around my neighborhood.

Four stories and a van

“Like a murder scene, but with pee.”
Kinda weird, kinda fun, definitely 80’s and chock full of middle school hormones, bodily functions, and occasional F Bombs. Oh, and some horror.

I expected more of a cohesive tale of six boys selling papers and encountering things together. Instead, it’s four separate scary stories (three stories of each pair of boys and one story for their manager Kevin) connected at the very beginning and end by a white van and the lure of Burger King.

unpleasantness

I was expecting a scary story meant for 13 year old kids but it felt like a fantasy written by a 13 year old. out of place stupid sex scene. I didn't get too very far before I realized I didn't want to hear anymore.

Boring

This was awful. I kept listening with the hope it would get better. It didn't. The performance was mediocre at best. As if the reader could gave preferred to read any other book but this one. Save your money.