The Accursed Playground! Featuring the Man-Eating Slide, the Seesaw of Sudden Near Orbital Insertion, the Tube Maze of Homicidal Hobos, and the Swing of Really Uncomfortable Hugs.
This is just. so. excessive. The cut-out cover, the florid metallic script, the swing hanging from the script, the broken rope on the swing, and then the St. Elmos Fire or ectoplasm or whatever that is.
I’m not sure how the kid has a normal head, but only 1.5 ghostly hands and a few other ecto-bits.
The font, font color, and embossing truly combine to be evil.
@The Blue: I was going to rate this an 8, but now that I’ve seen the inside cover, it’s up to 9. Had it been the outside wrap around, we might have seen a new entry into the top 10.
@Bruce: The Metal Slide in the Summer Sun was always accursed enough for me.
That swing doesn’t look like any I’ve ever seen on a playground. Way too cutesy and not industrial enough. Part of the curse?
@Tor: I thought he was a new replacement for Space Sheep and CS Lewis Head at first glance too!
@Tor M—Great idea! Then after admin removes the kid’s head to use as the new modesty sheep, they could reuse the cover by putting new heads on top of the swing, like Jim Baen’s head, or Harlan Ellison’s.
September 16th, 2021 at 9:40 am
The Accursed Playground! Featuring the Man-Eating Slide, the Seesaw of Sudden Near Orbital Insertion, the Tube Maze of Homicidal Hobos, and the Swing of Really Uncomfortable Hugs.
September 16th, 2021 at 10:01 am
But they’re no match for the gang of surly teenagers drinking cider.
September 16th, 2021 at 10:03 am
Incidentally, this looks to be a case of the cut out cover, two covers for the price of one – does anyone have a pic of the inside?
September 16th, 2021 at 12:18 pm
I found a video review !
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9kx6mbEQ6Ak
The reviewer shows off the covers from 0:45 to 0:55. He should be on GSS.
The inside looks like a rejected front cover. That creepy guy really has an eye for the boy.
September 16th, 2021 at 1:12 pm
The lack of a safety bar on the swing accounts for some of the deaths. Splinters probably did in a few more.
September 16th, 2021 at 1:59 pm
The breaking rope on the right claimed the last victim.
September 16th, 2021 at 4:36 pm
Worst cyborg ever. (Until you see what the other kids got for bodies.)
September 16th, 2021 at 4:40 pm
@The Blue AC—The fake bookshelf vinyl backdrop behind that video book reviewer is cheesier than the cutout cover. Thanks for posting.
September 16th, 2021 at 4:42 pm
@The Blue: Oh dear, I shouldn’t have asked! I suppose if they’d made it a pop up cover it would have been an improvement.
T.M. Wright was a darn good writer, A Manhattan Ghost Story is an excellent book (and has a sensible cover).
September 16th, 2021 at 6:16 pm
This is just. so. excessive. The cut-out cover, the florid metallic script, the swing hanging from the script, the broken rope on the swing, and then the St. Elmos Fire or ectoplasm or whatever that is.
September 16th, 2021 at 8:35 pm
For a moment there I thought someone had glued a photo of a kid onto the cover.
September 16th, 2021 at 9:12 pm
I nominate this kid’s face to be the new censor-sheep.
Imagine that grinning face on top of the naughty bits.
September 17th, 2021 at 12:25 am
I’ve been lurking here for years. Only today did I learn why it’s a sheep.
Thanks for explaining the pun, Tor 🙂
September 17th, 2021 at 6:04 am
I’m not sure how the kid has a normal head, but only 1.5 ghostly hands and a few other ecto-bits.
The font, font color, and embossing truly combine to be evil.
@The Blue: I was going to rate this an 8, but now that I’ve seen the inside cover, it’s up to 9. Had it been the outside wrap around, we might have seen a new entry into the top 10.
@Bruce: The Metal Slide in the Summer Sun was always accursed enough for me.
That swing doesn’t look like any I’ve ever seen on a playground. Way too cutesy and not industrial enough. Part of the curse?
@Tor: I thought he was a new replacement for Space Sheep and CS Lewis Head at first glance too!
September 17th, 2021 at 6:35 pm
Looks like dad isn’t so handy at building safe swings. I admired his persistence to keep trying despite all the children that died.
September 17th, 2021 at 7:20 pm
And JuanPaul takes it !
Good show, sir 😎
September 18th, 2021 at 4:25 am
Does anyone else think the blurb started out to be a poem, but gave up partway through when it was about to run into the giant embossed title?
September 18th, 2021 at 4:52 am
@GSS ex-noob:
“If you hear their swing giggle,
tell yourself it’s all in your head.”
September 19th, 2021 at 1:30 am
@Bruce: Something like that. It definitely begins like a sing-song Evil Children rhyme, but flumphs out.
“But their games are just starting
So don’t lose your head”
(like the cover kid did)
I mean, it’s not that hard if you don’t have that other crap taking up so much of the cover.
September 19th, 2021 at 6:20 am
@Tor M—Great idea! Then after admin removes the kid’s head to use as the new modesty sheep, they could reuse the cover by putting new heads on top of the swing, like Jim Baen’s head, or Harlan Ellison’s.
September 22nd, 2021 at 3:15 pm
The world’s first bad photoshop, circa 1982.
That CAN’T be what the cutout was meant for, can it?