First published 1667
You stand outside the gleaming new toy shop that appeared overnight on Main Street. Christmas is only days away, and the window display sparkles with mechanical dolls and wind-up soldiers that seem almost too lifelike. Inside, the salespeople watch you with fixed smiles and unblinking eyes. The toys whisper among themselves when no adults are looking. Every choice you make determines what happens next. Do you pick up the music box that plays a tune you've never heard but somehow know by heart? Do you follow the store manager down the basement stairs when he claims to have something special to show you? Each decision leads you deeper into the mystery of why this shop opened so suddenly and why the other children who entered ahead of you haven't come back out. The employees grow stranger by the hour, and the toys seem to move when you're not watching. Christmas morning depends on the choices you make tonight.
Genres: mystery, fantasy, horror, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: choose-your-own-adventure, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Main Street
Period: Christmas
88 pages · Library Binding · Gareth Stevens Pub