The Monsters of Morley Manor

The Monsters of Morley Manor

by Bruce Coville
 
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003
 
240 Pages
 
Young Readers
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
The story opens at an estate sale in an old mansion slated for demolition. There, Anthony Walker and his sister Sarah find a set of monsters set in a box like chess pieces. (The scene reminded me of the toys from the 80’s: Monster in my Pocket.) It just so happens that the protagonists’ mother keeps a pet monkey named Mr. Perkins, who gets all flustered and splashes the statues with water and the figures begin to come to life!
 

I couldn’t sleep thinking about that tiny hand, stretching and grasping. It was horrifying– but not as horrifying as the idea that a living creature was locked, frozen, in my desk.

 
In true Coville form, however, it doesn’t -just- pop back to life. In what could be the eeriest scene in the entire book, the arm of one monster becomes living flesh and starts moving while the rest of the creature is still frozen in stone. Does it hurt to be in that condition? Is the creature in pain? Tension mounts as Anthony and Sarah fully revive the monsters and discover that they must get them back to the mansion to be returned to their original size. Unfortunately it’s the middle of the night.
 
Gaspar, a lizard man; Melisande, who appears like a gorgon; Ludmilla, a vampiress; and Albert, who is reminiscent of Igor, (along with their faithful were-human, Bob,) are the family Morleskievich… minus one: their brother Martin– the one responsible for changing them in to statues!
 
The back-story: Gaspar and Martin once found a library in a ruined castle in the Old Country where they began playing with magic and met a being called Wentar. They helped Wentar by freeing his imprisoned soul and began working with him– until one night Martin fell through a hole in the world, and was never the same again.
 
At this point, the creepy old 1940’s horror movie setting of Morley Manor turns toward Mad Science. The children are asked to aid the Morleskievich family in saving the world from the Flinduvians, and they set off on otherworldly adventures filled with clones, giant frogs, angels, and a trip to the Land of the Dead. The Flinduvians, it appears, mean to use the souls of dead humans as batteries in their galactic war machine.
 

“I made a mistake once,” whispered the angel in a voice that would have made Mozart weep with envy because he could never write music that beautiful. “I chose the wrong side in an ancient war. I am paying for my sin.”

 
The entire cast of characters is taken prisoner by the Flinduvians. Then the body swap begins. Anthony and Sarah’s grandfather, who had recently passed away, comes back from the dead. Anthony gets sucked out of his body and awakes to find himself in the hideous corpse of a Flinduvian, and Martin –or his clone– returns!
 
This is a fast-paced adventure that won’t let go until the end! Though it’s more science fiction than the cover lets on, it is entirely true to the spirit of the horror movie matinee. You can hear the crackle of the Tesla coils and feel the ominous storm clouds roll in. Just when you think the rest of the adventure is all spelled out, Coville continually throws in another twist that seems impossible to escape!
 

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