Book excerpt: In his secluded bedroom-studio, young filmmaker Tom DeFrank builds models of fantastic creatures, and brings them to life through the old-Hollywood technique of stop-motion animation. In this cinematic 'netherworld', Tom reigns supreme, unlike in the real world, beset with loneliness, peer rivalry, and parental neglect. But when Tom constructs a new model in the likeness of a demon, he unwittingly creates a subliminal bond with an ancient entity. Now, when he animates, he summons a sinister force that wreaks the terrible vengeance of his repressed inner-rage. With every flare of the boy's passion, a strange creature is sent rampaging through the countryside, and it bears an eerie resemblance to Tom's miniature beast! Terror ensues! Only reclusive psychic Stephen Parrish, and his teen daughter Julie know of the evil awakened in their little town. Will he be able to solve the mystery in time? Will Tom learn to control this monster he's unleashed, through his astonishing ability to create ...or destroy?