Great horror stories draw from real life horror. We don’t find monsters under the bed, but we could find a serial killer in a dark alley. We don’t have goblins that will steal children, but we do have human beings who snatch them on their way to the bus stop.
Author Jonathan Pongratz has added to that tradition of starting with a simple, horrific premise, and expanding it into a supernatural tale that touches on family dynamics, bravery, and the occult. Below is my review of Book 1 of Reaper followed by an interview with Pongratz.
Reaper plot summary
Thirteen-year-old Gregory is granted permission to babysit his seven-year-old sister, Imogen, on Halloween night. Greg is excited because this job will bring him his first real income and cash to burn.
While Greg is busy passing out candy to trick-or-treaters, Imogen keeps nagging him to play hide-and-seek. While playing, they discover a strange door in their basement, and the creature that emerges from this door takes Imogen away. After a few weeks, the police search for Imogen has ceased, and Greg no longer trusts the adults around him to help find her. So, he goes searching for answers.
In his search, Greg finds an older boy in town with a similar story and additional information. Together, the two team up to unearth an ancient secret surrounding their town, their families, and the reason behind their siblings’ disappearance.
The story
Reaper is a very fast-paced, action-packed horror story that crams a lot of elements into a short book. The plot is standard for a middle grade audience: mature older character embarks on a rescue mission to save their annoying younger sibling when adults can’t or won’t help. The narration and dialogue too feels very R.L. Stine in its word choice and style. However, some of the language and violence in this book would be rated more towards a YA novel.
I like the idea of a story set in a character’s own backyard, or more specifically, their basement. It also contains an interesting twist that I didn’t see coming. And though it is a part of a series, I would have liked to have learned more about the backstory and characters in this volume, including Greg’s family dynamic, particularly between he and his parents.
The characters
Speaking of the characters, the main cast is small and easy to keep track of. Greg reads more like an 11 than 13-year-old to me, though he does have to grow up really fast throughout the course of this story. Imogen is your typical annoying sister. Her age and title alone allow you to root for her and for Greg to get her back from The Reaper.
Without giving anything away, Greg’s parents are the most complex in the story. They are not the typical middle grade or YA parents who are unaware of or stay out of the plot. They play a very active role in the story, and their motivations and actions are the most interesting elements of the book, from an adult reader’s perspective at least.
Then, there is Trent, the seasoned, older victim who has been through this before and agrees to help Greg, not only because he can help but because it will bring him closure as well. Trent is what Greg will become if he doesn’t act now. He was alone in his backstory, and Greg’s persistence gives him the courage to fight when the last time, all he could do was run.
My recommendation
In the end, Reaper is a good start to what promises to be a dark and complex horror story for older middle grade or young YA readers. I would have liked to have seen more character development and less generic dialogue. It also may have been better to shorten it into a short story or extend it into a full-length novel in order to either tighten up on the plot or extend it into a fully-developed read.
It doesn’t offer much in the way of jump scares or gore. But Reaper will leave you thinking about the lengths you would go to in order to protect your family and how you would react if you failed.
My rating
An interview with Jonathan Pongratz
How did you come up with the idea for Reaper?
The idea for Reaper came to me one September while I was watching a lot of classic horror movies (Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.) to get in the mood for the upcoming Halloween season. It’s something of a yearly ritual for me, but that time around I was so inspired that an idea started forming in my head. I wanted to create a terrifying monster, something that was the stuff of nightmares. Some months later, this became my first published work, and I couldn’t be prouder!
What is your writing background?
I’ve always been something of a writer, but I started working on my writing professionally about ten years ago when I moved to Kansas City. In those days, I found an online writing website called Scribophile to work on my craft and also meet other hopeful writers.
Over the long term, I worked on developing my writing skills and built some great relationships with other authors around the country. Networking with other writers and getting lots of feedback on how to improve my skills has been vital to me getting to where I am today. There’s always room for improvement with writing, but I know I’m in good hands with my ‘Scribe Tribe’.
What were your favorite horror stories, or who were your favorite horror authors growing up?
My parents didn’t want me to watch anything too scary when I was growing up, but that never stopped me from staying up past my bedtime so I could watch late-night airings of Nightmare on Elm Street and other 80’s horror movies on TV.
As for books, I was obsessed with Goosebumps by R.L. Stine and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark in elementary and middle school. In high school that shifted to Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles and anything by Stephen King.
How did you decide to make this a novella versus a full-length novel or short story?
With this work, I didn’t really consider length as I was writing. I focused more on what I had plotted out and what I wanted to happen. I had a clear vision of the end point, and once all the dots were connected, I was very happy with the end result. I think quite a bit more on story length these days and how it can impact publication, but for this work I figured it out as I went along.
Do you have any siblings? If so, is your dynamic similar to Greg and Imogen’s?
Yep! I’m a middle child and have two sisters and two brothers. Growing up, I was the trickster in the family. I would often blame things on my older sister and roughhouse with my brother, so I was more like Imogen in the troublemaking category. A lot of Greg and Imogen’s interactions came from my experiences growing up.
Did you do any research on missing children or any of the supernatural elements in the book? Is the book’s villain based on any particular belief or legend?
I did a lot of research on missing children and FBI involvement in such cases since I didn’t have much knowledge beforehand. I felt it was a real world element others could relate to, so that was a small but important part of the story.
All of the supernatural elements in the book came to me from all the films I was watching at the time. I’ve always loved the idea of a scary basement, and the thought of a door manifesting with something dangerous behind it felt so eerie to me.
With my creatures the Reapers, I basically created them from scratch. Certain bits came to me naturally, while others I took inspiration from scary films and books.
What is your relationship with Halloween? Did you ever have a scary or supernatural experience on Halloween?
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I’ve always been fascinated with the unknown and anything supernatural. Outside of that, there’s just something alluring about dressing up and being someone or something else for a day. Who doesn’t love a good masquerade?
Unfortunately I don’t have any scary stories from Halloween, but that hasn’t stopped me from having interactions with shadow people, ghosts, and other unexplained phenomena outside of the holiday over the years.
Who is your favorite character?
For this work, it’s a tie between Gregory and Trent. Each of them is a small part of me. Gregory is the horror-loving, imaginative kid that I was, while Trent is a bit more seasoned and has experienced the supernatural much like I did in high school. It was so much fun taking those bits of me and creating characters from it.
What’s next for you?
I published a paranormal short story in May 2022 centered on the theme of black-eyed children called The BEK Curse. If you haven’t heard of this phenomenon, I highly suggest looking into it or reading my story. There is a swath of documented cases, and many podcasts cover this scary topic in haunting detail.
As for current writing projects, I’m working on an LGBT horror novel entitled The Ruins. The story is centered on a paranormal vlogger and his boyfriend as they attempt to find the location of some supposedly haunted ruins in South America. In their search, they uncover an ancient and seemingly unstoppable evil. I’m hoping to finish a solid first draft sometime this summer and have this ready for publication at some point this year.
Author links
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Buy it!
Buy a copy of the sequel Reaper: Aftermath here, and help support local bookstores! This is an affiliate link, and I will earn a commission on any sales.
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