If you grew up in Singapore or other parts of Southeast Asia in the 90s or 2000s you’ve probably read or encountered the Mr. Midnight series of children’s books. Written by author Jim Aitchison (who uses the pseudonym James Lee), the incredibly successful series deals with low-grade horror and mild morbidity aimed at pre-teens, putting it in the same genre as the iconic Goosebumps series from the US.

The Mr. Midnight series has sold millions of copies in English and other languages (including Burmese, Malay and Indonesian) and even spawned a Netflix TV series.

Aitchison credits Mr. Midnight’s appeal to understanding the sensibilities of Asian children and what shocks them. But now that the series has grown to over 100 titles, we think it’s time for some fresh ideas so that the books can freak out a new generation of jaded Singaporean readers.

To do so, we plumbed the depths of Singapore’s psyche to come up with nightmare scenarios that we know keep people in the Lion City up late into the night.

The results are these pitches for new Mr. Midnight titles that should terrify any true Singaporean.

#1

“Why God, why?”

Read more:

Singapore church defends singing Christian on flight “The beauty of this nation is not in the exclusion of religious practices and views but a neutral platform for the free exercise of all cultural diversities.” Read more.

#2

“It’s just like that Alfred Hitchcock movie, Psycho!”

Read more:

Singapore’s NParks to euthanize crows following attacks in Bishan The angry birds were captured swooping down and pecking on people’s heads. Read more.

#3

“If only I was an Olympic gold medalist…”

Read more:

Explainer: Why Singapore made it illegal to take drugs overseas & other things you can do abroad that’ll get you prosecuted here Following the Joseph Schooling saga last week, some were surprised to learn that, under Singapore’s current law, any Singaporean citizen or permanent resident found to have abused controlled drugs overseas can face criminal penalties. Read more.

#4

“But the portal to the dark dimension actually increases the square footage to 3̵̡̛̲̠̬͓̜̯̩͓̗̫̓̏̈͗5̵̛̯̯̲̜̳̜̥̥͇̪̦͚̗̒̃̋0̴̘̯̳̐͐̈́́̄̇́̆́̋̚͜ ̷̛͖̮̱͓̞͖͗͒͒̀̾̕s̸̳͍̥̟̺̬̩͇͔͆́͆̈́͜q̷̬͗f̷̧̥̭̻̠͚̺̀͂͆͂͊̉̂̾̎̕ͅͅt̶̨̬͎̼͔̰̳͖͚̰̆̆̓̿͝!̵̧͈̝̩̞̭̺̫̩͉͙͕̌̋̃̒”

#5

“I already told you I can’t find my old policy number!”

#6

“You sure that’s not him? Well, maybe he rose from the grave to see how things are going lah!”

Read more:

Singapore loses its mind over Lee Kuan Yew look-alike (Video) Deep fake? Read more.

#7

“If you want to eat raw fish, you gotta take the risk.”

#8

“And they still have a paywall!”

Read more:

Not Being Strait Forward: The SPH circulation scandal & its impact on Singapore’s media scene explained The Straits Time publisher admitted to inflating circulation figures, in some cases printing newspapers that were counted and then destroyed. Read more.

#9

“You think they’re so cute. Have you ever seen them after they raided a koi pond?”

#10

“A.I. revolution my ass…“

Read more:

ChatGPT is smart, but can it pass Singapore’s notorious PSLE math exam for 12-year-olds? We tested the supersmart AI against the infamous ‘Ivan and Helen’s coins’ problem. Read more.

Other stories you should check out!

Agent tries to sell ‘cheapest’ private residential land in Singapore – that you can’t actually build a house on Property agents will really try to sell you everything. Read more.

‘Secret’ McDonald’s Big Mac lunchbox now selling on Carousell Singapore Run, don’t walk when it comes to getting freebies from McDonald’s in Singapore – because it might end up on Carousell for a ridiculous price. Read more.