Actually, I thought most of the characters/communities were pretty scary! The voodoo dolls and the manequins were especially so.

Guess I should flip through my book again and see if there were any places where I "enjoyed" the journey.

I think the book was intended for an age group that loves adventure, that likes to be scared, that likes to face danger and win. Not only boys, but girls as well. So danger and battle was naturally the more predominant theme.

The hill or mountain of rusty weapons of war was nightmarish to me because of the representation. And, especially Katerfelto. Most of the other "villages" were intriguing upon initial presentation and exploration. But, then, each had it's particular challenge which changed the initial attraction. Had a dark side. It certainly made for much excitement!

Well I'll start with the most nightmarish because that seems to be more dominant in the book. Like many of you I was afraid of the voodoo dolls because they were so aggressive. I was fearful at first for Nelson before I realized he could take care of himself. The bald mannequins creeped me out but even they didn't seem as aggressive as the voodoo dolls. The monster on the mountain of weapons didn't scare me quite as much for some reason.

My favorite was the water tank ocean. The sea even when its dangerous is beautiful. The flying sea dragon, and undersea monster, and the maelstrom were all so like the real mysteries of the sea.

My favorite was Punch and Judy (is that considered a village?). Not only did it show a softer side of Punch that is not generally exposed, but they were very helpful and kind to the children.
As for scarey - I agree with others that the voodoo dolls were most agressive and extreme. Remember the "Chuckie" movies and dolls? That scared me even as an adult!!!!

Gemini, my favorite area was the water tank also. I’m always attracted to water. Plus, I found the idea so clever and bizarre.

My favorite Atticans, though, were the mannequins. They were scary enough to create excitement and tension, but not as vicious as some of the other Atticans. I also appreciated the originality of such beings in their description, in how they navigated through their village and how they chose to punish humans. I found them a tad humorous. What scared me more about them was that I was afraid that Alex would never be reunited with Chloe again because I was wondering how they would find each other.

Ladylinn, I never saw Chuckie, for this exact reason. When I was a kid I saw this movie where all of these dolls came alive and began to attack and eat the humans with their sharp teeth. It got pretty gory. Scared the you-know-what out of me.

Ladylinn, you beat me to Punch and Judy. Their happy home with their friend the policeman as neighbor was so out of character that it was very appealing. I half expected them to turn evil, but they proved to be only helpful. I also found Jordy's camp among the grandfather clocks an appealing place.

The voodoo dolls and the ink imps and the scissor birds were all extremely scary, but I think the areas where the kids' control of their own destiny was almost taken away were the most fearsome: the Katerfelto and the grim mountain of weapons, the collector of souls and his ghoulish "dorm", the forest of mirrors where Chloe saw her Daddy and Alex was also tricked by some vision.

All in all, I was totally fascinated with Attica and couldn't wait to see what was coming up next.

The Garden of Eternal Rest and the Collector of Souls was the creepiest to me. Those paintings and the shrouds were definitely nightmarish images. Chloe's being half-sleep & thinking her mother was tucking her in, but she had black, hairy claws instead of hands. . . And, running a close second would be the voo-doo dolls, although I was amused at how Nelson took care of the one he encountered. Oh, the scissor-birds were scary too!

My favorite 'area' was the piano fort, I guess because Amanda was my favorite character. The story was very imaginative at that point, too. Amanda was a pretty smart gal in more ways than one!

The scariest for me was the territory of the ink imps -- there were so many of them, and they were relentless. I don't like being stuck with things, and their attack made my skin crawl.

I too was surprised at how pleasant Punch and Judy were, and I like that take on their characters very much. I'm way behind on tidbits, but I was going to comment in the Punch and Judy thread how much I hated those puppet shows as a child. They were never funny to me, just scary and unsettling. I rather like the thought that they were just actors playing a role, and had perfectly normal and pleasant lives when off stage.

Well, I thought mannequin village was priceless. It was creepy but I love the idea of inanimate objects bent on revenge against humans. Unlike the wardrobe people, with their knives and clubs, the worst Alex would have suffered was a bad haircut and ugly clothes. But the Vale of Mirrors was scary. I guess some would say that while voodoo dolls and ink imps are terrifying, nothing beats the horror of self-reflection. It must have been hard to have all those images forced on you, especially the one of the father. That was sad.