Hazel's phantasmagoria - Leander Deeny

Hazel, the heroine, travels to her Aunt's country house for a holiday. Her Aunt is bitter, angry and rude, so Hazel expects her stay to be a nightmare - little does she expect, though, that there are actual nightmares living in the garden. These creatures - scary amalgams of different animals such as gorillas and leopards - haunt her Aunt every night in her dreams with horrific scenarios. Much to her surprise Hazel is drawn into their world of creating and rehearsing these nightmares. With her new social circle consisting of gorillas crossed with leopards, pythons crossed with porcupines, ducks who smoke cigarettes, wooden-headed dogs and murderers and lunatics Hazel finds herself exploring the scariest depths of the unknown and learns a useful lesson along the way about the nature of friendship. The lively, exciting and fast-paced narrative and quick humour makes this book an addictive read.