Upas Street: Shocking Specter

Do you dare enter Dr. Frankenstein's la-BOR-uh-tree? 

A fearless quartet of teen sleuths, the Botanic Hill detectives, travel to Llanfair, a fictitious Welsh village in present-day California, to solve the mystery of the Shocking Specter. The green-glowing apparition reportedly roams the countryside, setting fire to buildings and meadows during the new moon. The occurrences began shortly after a motion picture stagehand Scotty Roberts's accidental death by electrocution in this case inspired by the filming of Universal Pictures' 1931 classic horror movie Frankenstein. Supernatural? Coincidence? Or is criminal activity at work? And why, nearly a century later, has the Shocking Specter returned? Readers will enjoy learning about real-life horror film star Boris Karloff, Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, other key players in the movie's production, and some early Hollywood cinematic history. Our fabulous four might need to kick some monsters to the curb to solve this challenging mystery!