Spirit Hunters is a spooky ghost story, touching family drama, and intriguing mystery all rolled into one entertaining tale. The characters caught up in this tale are believable and sympathetic, and Ellen Oh’s personal Korean American heritage breathes life into several of the characters, making their Korean culture come alive. Harper is a girl whose life has been upended by a recent move, and the author uses that sense of unfamiliarity in the setting to lead the reader into a supernatural adventure, as Harper’s usually cheerful little brother begins to behave in disturbing ways. When the little boy’s behavior becomes darker and more erratic and Harper begins to feel an increasing creepiness about their new house, Harper seems to be the only one to notice that maybe this move wasn’t such a good idea. Oh skillfully brings to life the terror that Harper faces, along with the love that is the only thing that might see her family through.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 1 mild obscenity.
Violence/Gore: A character knocks food out of another’s hand in anger; a child attacks another child, causing a mild bleeding wound (twice); report of a character injured during an exorcism; report of character killed by a drunk driver; report of character hospitalized for injuries including broken bones; a character dreams of having their eyes poked out; a character mentions many past injuries, some including broken bones; account of a child being killed in a fire; a child beats another child with fists; a child bites their own lip until it bleeds; a character falls down the stairs and is hospitalized; a character pushes another repeatedly; a character burns their hands on an oven; child abuse is mentioned; a character attacks an animal, causing broken bones; a dead rat is used as a prank; pervasive supernatural creepy/spooky scenes including things like cold spots and slamming doors; a character is attacked by a supernatural entity, resulting in bloody injury; reports of humans undergoing torturous experimentation; an extended, strongly creepy scene (4 pages) in which a character is graphically described with a broken neck; a character is locked in a dark basement; a character is possessed by an evil spirit and gives the details of the experience first-hand; an act of arson is detailed; an account of a deadly accident in the past involving a fall; characters explore an attic and experience creepy phenomena; a supernatural creature invades a character’s bedroom in a creepy scene; there is an extended scene (15 pages) dealing with an exorcism in which the walls ooze black slime and bleed, a room lights on fire, a maggot-infested living corpse is seen, furniture and shards of glass are flung as weapons, and a character is strangled.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
Self-harm (reference), racial discrimination, death, death of a family member, suicide (mention), therapy, quija board, spirit possession, mediums, spiritualism (mention), séances (mention), tarot cards (mention), magic rituals, human experimentation, arson.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Painkillers (hospital setting); rum; strychnine (as a poison).
