After her parents disappear and she is turned over to the care of a strange "great-uncle," Molly must rely on her dreams about an old Mohawk story for her safety and maybe even for her life. - (Baker & Taylor)

After her parents disappear and she is turned over to the care of a strange "great-uncle," Molly must rely on her dreams about an old Mohawk story for her safety and maybe even for her life. - (Baker & Taylor)

A chilling middle grade novel featuring a brave young girl, missing parents, and a terrifying stranger, based on a Native American legend. R.L. Stine, New York Times bestselling author of the Goosebumps series, raved, "This book gave ME nightmares!'

Molly's father, who grew up on the Mohawk Reserve of Akwesasne, always had the best scary stories. One of her favorites was the legend of Skeleton Man, a gruesome tale about a man with such insatiable hunger he ate his own flesh before devouring those around him.

But ever since her parents mysteriously vanished, those spooky tales have started to feel all too real.

Don't miss The Legend of Skeleton Man: a spine-tingling collection of Skeleton Man and its sequel, The Return of Skeleton Man!

A chilling middle grade novel featuring a brave young girl, missing parents, and a terrifying stranger, based on a Native American legend. R.L. Stine, New York Times bestselling author of the Goosebumps series, raved, "This book gave ME nightmares!”

Molly’s father, who grew up on the Mohawk Reserve of Akwesasne, always had the best scary stories. One of her favorites was the legend of Skeleton Man, a gruesome tale about a man with such insatiable hunger he ate his own flesh before devouring those around him.

But ever since her parents mysteriously vanished, those spooky tales have started to feel all too real.

Don't miss The Legend of Skeleton Man: a spine-tingling collection of Skeleton Man and its sequel, The Return of Skeleton Man!

Trust your dreams. Both my parents said that. That's our old way, our Mohawk way. The way of our ancestors. Trust the little voice that speaks to you. That is your speaking. But when those feelings, those dreams, those voices are so confusing, what do you do then?
"Help," I whisper. "Help."
I'm not sure who I'm talking to when I
say that, but I hope they're listening.

Ever since Molly woke up one morning and discovered that her parents vanished, she has had to depend on herself to survive
-- and find the reason for their disappearance.

Social Services has turned her over to the care of a great-uncle, a mysterious man Molly has never met before. Then Molly starts having dreams about the Skeleton Man from a spooky old Mohawk tale her father used to tell her...dreams that are trying to tell her something...dreams that might save her, if only she can understand them.

Booklist Reviews

Gr. 5-9. What will Molly do now that her parents have vanished? The answer may rest with the elderly stranger who claims to be her great-uncle. Credulous local authorities hope he is, and they're glad to send the sixth-grader to live with him. But is he who he claims to be? And why does he appear in Molly's increasingly vivid dreams as the skeleton monster she heard about in her Mohawk father's stories? Will Molly ever see her parents again? Will her dreams and reality merge with disastrous results? Although it's steeped in Mohawk lore and tradition, Bruchac's story is contemporary both in its setting and its celebration of the enduring strength and courage of Native American women. The plot occasionally seems as skeletal as the monster that stalks the pages, but Molly's plight will still engage readers' sympathy as she struggles to prove herself worthy of her namesake, Molly Brant, a dauntless eighteenth-century Mohawk warrior. ((Reviewed September 1, 2001))Copyright 2001 Booklist Reviews

Horn Book Guide Reviews

When her parents disappear, Molly is handed over to a sinister, skeletal man claiming to be her great-uncle. Drawing on her Mohawk heritage, the sixth grader unravels much of the mystery of her parents' whereabouts and the stranger's identity, although his evil motivations are never fully explained--which makes the story even spookier. The plot sometimes strains credulity, but the narrative is fast paced and suspenseful. Copyright 2002 Horn Book Guide Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Bruchac (The Journal of Jesse Smoke, p. 655, etc.) sets this short nail-biter, based on a Mohawk legend-about a man with an appetite so insatiable that he eats himself down to bones, then goes after his relatives-in modern New York state. Despite her protests, when Molly's parents suddenly disappear, she's handed over to a tall, thin stranger claiming to be her great-uncle. Molly can't convince anyone, except a sympathetic but powerless teacher, that she's in danger. But as she is locked into her new room each night, seldom catches even a glimpse of her captor's face, and discovers that he has a closed-circuit TV camera trained on her door, she recalls a scary tale her Mohawk father tells. She also begins having strange dreams: of being pursued, and of a rabbit who offers warnings and guidance. Those dreams turn real when she escapes, finds her parents imprisoned in an adjoining building, then leads her captor on a desperate run through dark woods to a (perhaps final) confrontation on a high, rickety bridge. Bruchac adds believable details, vigorously cranks up the suspense, and pits a deliciously ghastly creature who likes to play with his food against a resourceful young heroine who draws both on courage and cultural tradition to come out on top. A natural for under-the-blanket reading. (Fiction. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus 2001 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved

Publishers Weekly Reviews

According to the gutsy sixth grade narrator of Bruchac's (Heart of a Chief; Sacagawea) latest novel, the book draws from the traditions of Native American stories, especially one about a "skeleton man," for its spine-tingling effects. Not long after Molly's parents mysteriously disappear one night, her "great-uncle" shows up to claim her, with photographs of her family that convince the adults around her (but not Molly) that he is a relative. In fact, the photos look suspiciously like those that belonged to her father, who grew up on a Mohawk reservation. Each night, the bony guardian locks her into her room, allowing her to attend school during the day. Molly relies on the deciphering of her dreams, her "warrior-girl" courage and the support of her quirky but compassionate teacher to solve the mystery and rescue her parents. The eerie figure of the semi-human creature pretending to be Molly's uncle is particularly well drawn: "His fingers spread out so wide that they look like the talons of a giant bird.... His eyes are twin blue flames burning from within his skull." The mix of traditional and contemporary cultural references adds to the story's haunting appeal, and the quick pace and suspense, particularly in the last few chapters, will likely hold the interest of young readers. Ages 10-14. (Sept.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 4-7-Bruchac weaves an incredibly scary story of a girl whose warm, contented family is suddenly torn apart. Molly's knowledge of and immersion in her Mohawk heritage is something she takes for granted, as are the wisdom and strength that come from understanding the traditional tales and listening to one's dreams. She sets the stage as she tells one of her father's favorite stories about a man who is hungry and eats himself and then everyone around except for one clever young girl. Molly then discloses that her own parents have suddenly disappeared. An eerie, stick-thin old man arrives claiming to be her only kin using the pictures from her father's wallet. Adults on the scene vary from being clueless to well intentioned but ineffectual. Brought to skeleton man's house and locked in a room every evening, Molly keeps trying to find a way out, eventually finding that heeding her dreams, combined with some great detective work, does the trick. Better than many mystery writers, who make the clues obvious, Bruchac makes every word add to the tension right up to the final few pages. Details of video cameras and computers help to sustain belief in a highly improbable plot. The suspense draws readers in and keeps them engaged. In the classic horror tradition, Bruchac offers a timely tale that will make hearts beat and brows sweat, and it has the bonus of a resourceful heroine to put the world right again.-Carol A. Edwards, Sonoma County Library, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.