Night of the Mannequins

Paperback, 128 pages

English language

Published Feb. 24, 2026 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom..

ISBN:: 978-1-250-41281-2

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Stephen Graham Jones, comes a slasher story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose in a small town. Winner of both the 2020 Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Awards!

We thought we'd play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead.

One last laugh for the summer as it winds down. One last prank just to scare a friend. Bringing a mannequin into a theater is just some harmless fun, right? Until it wakes up. Until it starts killing.

Luckily, Sawyer has a plan. He’ll be a hero. He'll save everyone to the best of his ability. He'll do whatever he needs to so he can save the day.

That's the thing about heroes—sometimes you have to become a monster first.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Stephen Graham Jones, comes a slasher story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose in a small town. Winner of both the 2020 Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Awards!

We thought we'd play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead.

One last laugh for the summer as it winds down. One last prank just to scare a friend. Bringing a mannequin into a theater is just some harmless fun, right? Until it wakes up. Until it starts killing.

Luckily, Sawyer has a plan. He’ll be a hero. He'll save everyone to the best of his ability. He'll do whatever he needs to so he can save the day.

That's the thing about heroes—sometimes you have to become a monster first.

4 editions

Amber Herbert reviewed Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones

A Twisty Tale of Horror, Delusion, and Madness

4 stars

Stephen Graham Jones delivers with Night of the Mannequins. The narrator, Sawyer Grimes, weaves a twisty tale of horror, delusion, and madness. While the story is simple in its prose and progression, it gripped me from the opening paragraph. The voice is raw and full of angst. It didn't feel like I was reading a SGJ novel; instead, Sawyer's teenage narrative sucked me into the setting and dragged me along like an inanimate mannequin—no resistance whatsoever.

I recommend this to anyone seeking a quick read that subverts genre tropes and follows an unlikable (and unreliable) protagonist.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the reprint ARC.

Stephen Graham Jones delivers with Night of the Mannequins. The narrator, Sawyer Grimes, weaves a twisty tale of horror, delusion, and madness. While the story is simple in its prose and progression, it gripped me from the opening paragraph. The voice is raw and full of angst. It didn't feel like I was reading a SGJ novel; instead, Sawyer's teenage narrative sucked me into the setting and dragged me along like an inanimate mannequin—no resistance whatsoever.

I recommend this to anyone seeking a quick read that subverts genre tropes and follows an unlikable (and unreliable) protagonist.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the reprint ARC.

Amber Herbert

rated it

19 hours ago

Citoyen MR

rated it

Oct. 5, 2020

Subjects

Fiction, horror