- Horror
- Dread Wood collection
- Ages 9–12
Dread Wood
Part of the collectionDread Wood→Six funny-scary horror adventures as Club Loser battle engineered monsters and their vengeful old enemies. Genuine chills, big laughs and a gang worth rooting for.
- Books6 / 6
- Arcs1
- Span2022–2024
- StatusComplete
The series
At a glance.
Jennifer Killick's six-book funny-scary horror series follows Club Loser, a gang of mismatched classmates thrown together in Saturday detention who discover their school sits above a nest of engineered monsters. Book by book the vengeful caretakers Mr and Mrs Latchitt unleash ever more inventive horrors, giant spiders, a fear-feeding app, vampire birds, deep-sea creatures, venomous rats and killer moths, while the gang's friendship deepens and the personal stakes rise towards a genuinely moving finale. The winning formula never wavers: real chills and sustained peril balanced by sharp, laugh-out-loud banter. Short chapters, cliffhangers and a self-aware voice make it a standout for reluctant readers who want to be scared and to laugh in equal measure.
Six funny-scary horror adventures as Club Loser battle engineered monsters and their vengeful old enemies. Genuine chills, big laughs and a gang worth rooting for.
Read in publication order, book 1 (Dread Wood) first. The friendship group and the Latchitt storyline build across the series to the finale in Terror Tower.
One arc
The shape of the series.
- INarrative arcBooks 1–6 · 2022–2024Moderate sensitivity
The complete Club Loser saga
Six monster-of-the-book adventures building to a final showdown with the Latchitts.
The whole series forms one running story: each book is a self-contained monster showdown, from engineered spiders and vampire birds to a deep-sea horror and killer moths, but the vengeful caretakers Mr and Mrs Latchitt thread through all six, and Club Loser's friendships deepen with every scrape. The register is consistent throughout, genuinely creepy peril offset by fast, funny banter, with short chapters and cliffhangers that pull reluctant readers straight to the next book. The finale, Terror Tower, brings the Latchitt storyline to a gripping and surprisingly moving close, giving the gang the send-off long-time readers will want.
Fit check
Right for your reader?
Where the series lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- 15
- 17
- 19
- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 8–11
- Independent · 9–12
Reluctant-reader friendliness
Very high
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Adult crossover
Low
Grows with the reader
Not especially
Sensitivity envelope
Moderate overall, and consistent.
Content notes
- Scary imagery
- Violence
- Animal harm
- Death of character
Where it sits
In conversation with other series.
Similar in feel
Different shelves, same wavelength.
- Goosebumps →
About the author