The Nightmare Club: The Wolfling's Bite

This new, scary series for younger readers doesn’t hold back when it comes to horror, blood and gore.

The series’ premise is a playful one, evoking childhood memories of campfires and sleepovers. Annie Graves (the series’ ‘author’) hosts The Nightmare Club and invites young friends to share a spooky story, each of which is presented as its own book in the series.

In The Wolfling’s Bite, Jonah delivers a disturbing tale about a seemingly innocent cuddly toy. Wolflings are robotic animals, and Jonah’s little sister immediately falls in love with hers, cuddling it in bed every night. Very quickly, Jonah realises that something is not quite right. The Wolfling’s fierce eyes have an intense stare—one that, for Jonah, feels very much alive, following him around the room. His suspicions deepen when his sister starts suffering unexplained injuries—and so do her pet rabbits.

Jonah takes to the Internet to learn more about these creepy toys and discovers that he’s not alone…other children have noticed strange things happening around Wolflings too.

Jonah’s tale maintains a high level of tension throughout, with a constant sense of threat. This is heightened by the presence of vulnerable characters (fluffy bunnies, little sisters), the apparent absence of any helpful adults, and plenty of classic horror elements including blood and gore. The black-and-white illustrations intensify the creepy atmosphere, offering just enough disturbing detail to get under the skin.

While it is fairly clear from the start that something sinister is going to happen, the final twist is still genuinely shocking, violent, and gory.

This is a short, pacey read with accessible language – perfect for less confident readers eager for a proper scare. The Wolfling’s Bite is a delightfully dark introduction to horror fiction and is likely to be devoured by fans of creepy tales and gruesome endings.