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Halloween is on the horizon, and for many of us that means binge watching and reading all the scary stories that we can get our hands on! To help you get in the spirit YA horror and thriller authors Rin Chupeco, Natalie Richards, Patty Blount, and Allan Stratton share what scene from their books they would use to cast leads for the film versions.

Rin Chupeco (The Suffering)

For Okiku, it would always be THE GIRL FROM THE WELL's first chapter. Okiku technically doesn't speak throughout that scene, and my criteria for any actress playing her is to see if she can express Okiku's intent – not just with the murder she commits during this, but also what comes after - without the need for words. For Tark, I'd be looking for a teenage Dr. House, so I'd use the scene he had with his therapist, when he was at his grouchiest. For Callie, it would be the third chapter, when she's teaching her class. Callie's the one source of normal throughout the book, and I want her to look and feel natural.

The Suffering by Rin Chupeco

Natalie Richards (My Secret to Tell)

Oh, man, wouldn’t that be a bummer. My book is a movie. And now I have to cast the leads. Woe is me! ;-) Please, I beg you, bring me this problem anytime.

One of the pivotal early scenes in My Secret to Tell is when Emmie comes into her bedroom and finds Deacon with blood on his hands. Emmie has just received a frantic phone call from her best friend, and Deacon’s sister, Chelsea, so she’s just learned that there was an attack on Chelsea and Deacon’s father. She’s also just learned that Deacon’s missing.

Except he totally isn’t.

Because he’s in her bathroom covered in blood.

It was an intense scene to write and I went over it countless times because it was so critical for both characters. This isn’t just a scene that reveals a catalyst and launches the whole thing into action—it’s also the first raw portrait of their relationship. It reveals who Deacon and Emmie really are at their core and what roles they’ve played to each other.

I think it would be the perfect scene to determine chemistry and characterization. Thirty seconds of that scene would probably tell me everything I needed to know.

My Secret to Tell by Natalie D. Richards

Patty Blount (Nothing Left to Burn)

If NOTHING LEFT TO BURN were a movie, I think the best scene would be when Reece and Amanda are at the fire academy practicing their training and win that month’s award. It’s the first time Reece felt part of something instead of on the sidelines looking in. I could picture the look on the actor’s face who’d win the role. It has to be the right expression – part pride, part shock, part awe, and part kiss-my-ass.

Nothing Left to Burn by Patty Blount

Allan Stratton (The Dogs)

I’d use the scene where Cameron first sees Jacky. It’s the middle of the night and Cameron should be alone, but there’s a strange boy sitting on his desk dressed in clothes from fifty years ago. This can’t be real, can it?

The actor playing Cameron needs to try to stay calm. But as his vision of Jacky becomes more real, he loses his grip. Is he off the rails?

This scene also tests the young actor playing Jacky. Whether he’s a murdered ghost boy or a creation of Cameron’s mind, he exists. He’s been alone for years in this abandoned farmhouse. When Cameron tells him to go away, it hurts. “What did I do wrong? I thought we’d be friends.”

Jacky is vulnerable. He thinks his mother abandoned him. He knows about the pack of wild dogs and the truth about his father’s horrible death. He longs to have a friend. This scene is key in that struggle.

Finally, this scene tests the actress playing Cameron’s mother. She knows Cameron is humiliated by the night terrors that come every time his father has stalked them down and they’ve run to a new place. How does she comfort and reassure him, while knowing that there’s no escape from their situation?

The Dogs by Allan Stratton

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Sourcebooks Chills & Thrills Tour + Giveaway!