NIGHTMARES series

David Renklint

Book 1 – Farewell

They say there’s a ghost in the house, by the upstairs window, right above the front door. And if you wave to it… you die.

Max is on a camping trip with his family, and what at first seems like just another boring campground soon reveals itself to be something much more. The local kids whisper about a haunted house deep in the woods, and Max laughs off the story of a curse and the ghost who waves. But then, while playing catch outside the house, Max raises his hand to ask for the ball, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees a movement in the upstairs window. A wave. Could the ghost story be real? If it is, Max’s life is in danger.

Farewell is the first book in the Nightmares series of stand-alone horror stories for children aged 9 and up. Just like the classic Goosebumps books, the frightening twists will leave the reader with chills!
Farewell won the Bollnäs Children’s Book Award 2025 as the best book out of 250 titles, voted by children. A series that dares to be truly scary.

Book 2 – The Hatchet

It feels like something is crawling in the walls, like shapeless shadows in the dark wood. Then, they form faces. Wrinkles. I see three old women, wearing kerchiefs, their skin deeply lined, their eyes pitch black. They stare at me, and I can’t close my eyes.

Siri wishes she could do something fun over the winter break, like her friends. But instead, she has to tag along with her dad on a job. He’s repainting the Hatchett Hotel, a remote hotel in the middle of nowhere that has closed for the season. It used to be a prison long ago, and Siri actually thinks that’s kind of cool.

But it doesn’t take long before “cool” turns to creepy.
Her dad’s coworker died while working at the hotel, and now her dad is getting sick, too. And those three old women Siri keeps seeing? They seem to be trying to tell her something… Maybe they don’t want her to leave the hotel. Maybe they want her to stay— forever.

The Hatchet is the second book in the Nightmares series.

Book 3 – Troll Night 

It stomped slowly down the stairs. First, we saw its massive body, the swirling smoke that surrounded it, the legs like twigs and roots. Then the arms and hands. The sharp claws.
And finally— the whole troll. Its white eyes stared at us, cold as ice.

Alex and his little brother Hugo have to stay home alone for the night while their mom is away. Even though the house is filled with antique furniture and old paintings, Alex has never really found it scary—until their mom brings home the painting. A large, disturbing painting of a troll and three crying children. Alex can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong. It’s as if something is moving inside the painting…And Hugo can’t stop staring at it. Then, in the middle of the night, the impossible happens. The brothers wake up—and the troll is no longer in the painting. At the same time, heavy footsteps
echo from the attic…

Shortlisted for the Crimetime award in the children’s section 2025.

“Who hasn’t felt haunted by a portrait in a painting? Here, two brothers are forced to face their greatest fears, in order to save themselves and each other. Captivating, well-written and terribly scary. A chilling horror for those who dare.” Crimetime award, 2025.