The Dead Children's Playground

American Horrors, Book 1

By: James Kaine

Narrated by: Melinda Melendez

A cemetery filled with innocents. A ghostly chill in the air. Will a short walk through the woods awaken a dark power?

Kylie Macklin is eager to live a normal life. Freshly moved from Florida to Alabama and finally in remission from cancer, the optimistic nine-year-old is used to dodging her overprotective mom’s warnings. So when a new playmate invites her to hang out, the happy girl thinks nothing of the playground being located in a graveyard for young victims of the Spanish Flu… and a local serial killer.

Kayla Macklin hates starting over. Forced to relocate after her little sister’s recovery, the sullen nineteen-year-old despises her new home more when she sees a terrifying vision in the nearby crypt. And as kids around town start to fall gravely ill, she begins to suspect there is something sinister at play.

Tormented by a frightening specter’s ever-closer appearances, Kylie turns to her older sibling for help. But as Kayla digs into the history of the haunted ground, the twisted truths she discovers hint at a bloodthirst that can never be sated.

Can they face down the malevolent force without tripping into their own graves?

The Dead Children’s Playground is the bone-chilling first book in the American Horrors series. If you like dark twists, scary puzzles, and poignant moments, then you’ll love James Kaine’s supernatural spine-tingler.

Buy The Dead Children’s Playground to start a fatal game today!

©2024 James Kaine (P)2024 James Kaine

the title caught my eye

I liked the whole the thing I predicted the end, I am glad you made it so she gets to play on the playground.

Entertaining ghost story

I really disliked the narrator and wonder how she ever got hired. She consistently glottal stopped her t's, which is just bad enunciation and irritating for the listener. I hope she doesn't narrate book 2.

LOVED THIS STORY

I've always been a fan of supernatural stories, and this book had me hooked. I look forward to more on this series from the author.

Kaine knows how to write

This book is a straight ghost story. The stakes are real. Kaine continues to connect with the reader, and draw you into his worlds. This is much more tame than his other works, but being the masterful story teller he is, he pivots without missing a beat.

Just Wow

I loved this book from beginning to end! I literally could not…did not want to sleep so I could see what happened next!! Scary, thrilling, heartbreaking, all of it!! I cannot wait until the next installment in this series!!

What an ending!

Awesome ghost story that really sucks you in. It's not crazy violent or gross, which I really liked. The ending is really impactful and it's cool that it's based on a real place.

ancient and modern

I don't typically like ghost stories. However the title and the cover art grabbed my attention. with just the title and prolong I was intrigued. he does an amazing job mixing modern folklore with anancient mythology. and the narrator did and amazing job making it feel like your sitting around a campfire listening to a truly edge of your seat ghost story. I'm truly excited to see what he brings us next I will be reading the rest of his books definitely. A GREAT haunting story.

the story is gripping from page 1 to the end. I found a new favorite writer to add to my list.

I liked everything but the epilog, but that's for my own reasons you will have to make your own choice.

The afterword from the author was an added creepy bonus.

Excactly the kind of spooky/horror that I was craving. Not gory, which I was thankful for. I had heard of the "real" children's playground from ghost tv shows, which is why I picked this book. The storyline did not disappoint. The after word from the author at the end gave me delicious chills!

Narrator delivers on this chilling ghost story

I just saw a TikTok about audiobook narrators who give voice to an entire cast of characters....and amazingly, pull it off. Melinda Melendez did just that in The Dead Children's Playground. She made each voice distinct. What she did with the mom's voice was subtle, but worked to great effect. Kaine delivers a terrific, high-stakes story about a haunting with historical roots and family drama that ratcheted up the stakes. And oof, that ending! This was my first book by Kaine and I'm excited to see what follows in the American Horrors series.