Amazing YA/Teen Spooky Magic Reading Program
I LOVED reading scary books when I was growing up! When other kids my age were reading “Seventeen” or the latest celebrity gossip magazine, I was reading Stephen King’s The Stand, or Salem’s Lot. As I got older, I moved on to authors such as Clive Barker and Dean Koontz. When I went to college, I discovered past masters such as H.P. Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe…it was all so glorious!
Helping people discover a love of reading is one of my main passions. You can probably tell, because I have THREE different school assemblies themed to reading, along with about a dozen different library programs!
Young adults and teens are often some of the hardest people to draw into your library. They are quick to abandon something if it doesn’t immediately captivate their attention. A good YA/teen library program must be visual, fast-paced, interactive, and on their level. I’m proud to say my newest YA/teen program does all of this in a way guaranteed to leave teens hungry for more!
In “Horror In The Library,” I have taken several YA/teen horror novels and wrapped their plots around strange, bizarre, and scary magic tricks! Although there’s no blood, there are plenty of moments where your teen patrons will say “Ewww, gross!” There’s also a few moments where they will scream!
Here’s A Sample Of What Your YA/Teen Patrons Will Experience:
- A chosen page from Dracula vanishes and reappears in the strangest of places
- An unusual cure for a disease will have patrons laughing while they are grossed out
- YAs will have their minds read as they freely select words from popular books
- Psychokinetic activity is demonstrated in a dramatic way with a shocking ending
- A cell phone reveals a teen’s thoughts
- An old Edgar Allan Poe story inspires a routine with poisoned cups
- Guests are each given a list of FIFTY YA/horror novels they can check out from your library
Although the selection of YA/teen horror novels will change from time to time, here’s just a few of the books typically featured in this engaging library program:
- Carrie by Stephen King
- Chain Letter by Christopher Pike
- Devils Unto Dust by Emma Berquist
- The Merciless by Danielle Rollins
- There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
- #murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil
- And MANY more!
Here are some key features of this fun-filed YA/teen library program:
- A running time of 50-60 minutes
- Geared for ages 11 to 17!
- Poster and customized press release available to publicize the event!
- State-Of-The-Art Sound System included for larger groups at no additional fee!
- Highly interactive spooky fun
- Unusual props, creepy decorations
- Gross, surprising, and scary magic perfect for modern teens
- Free list of 50 YA/teen horror novels for each attendee
- Fast set-up
- No deposits
Call me at (716) 940-8963 (that’s my cell phone) or email me at [email protected] for more information or to book your preferred date.
“Fantastic program! One of the BEST young adult programs we have ever had at the Sully Branch Library. ALL of the teens were extremely engaged and fascinated with Cris’ combination of storytelling, historical knowledge, and unique set of artifacts. Not only did our teens have fun, they learned a lot of important historical and cultural facts. Every teen who attended the program wants Cris to come back as soon as possible! The teens really enjoyed the stories and artifacts relating to voodoo, the Titanic, Lizzie, Borden, and many others.”
Tim Ryan, Young Adult Services Librarian
Sully Branch Library
Rochester, NY
“The guests really enjoyed the whole show–the stories, the paranormal coincidences, the presentation, and the presenter! Cris was great to work with, very professional and personable. I liked that he plugged librarians and books! I’d recommend his show to any libraries–and will! I hope we can have him back again soon.”
Tina Dalton, Youth Services Librarian
Cuba Circulating Library
Cuba, NY
“The tweens and teens definitely thought the act was creepy and cool! This show featured a lot of historical mysteries that a lot of kids did not already know, so they got a LOT out of it! The kids LOVED the creepy artifacts and the Reanimator was a big hit!”
Merrie Haumann, Library Staff Member
Ahira Hall Memorial Library
Brocton, NY
“I loved the Reanimator! This was creepy fun!”
Larry Schultz, Library Staff Member
Hulbert Library of the Town of Concord
Springville, NY
“The teens enjoyed the weaving of historic accounts in with the illusions! Very entertaining and good visual program use of the artifacts!”
Lynda Page
West Elmira Library
Elmira, NY
“Our show was AWESOME! My group had such a great time listening to and participating with all the different stories. A guaranteed awesome, spooky time! Highly recommended!”
Katie Smith, Teen Services Librarian
Wood Library
Canandaigua, NY
“Cris is a great story teller! The artifacts he brought were great, and we loved the history behind the artifacts.”
Kimberely Graham, Librarian
Wimodaughsian Free Library of Canisteo
Canisteo, NY
“WOW! Totally awesome show–our audience was blown away! Also learned quite a bit about some historical facts. I recommend for libraries to have Cris Johnson come and present a show.”
Kate Puehn, Librarian
Elma Library
Elma, NY