When his mischievous antics get so bad that his family is forced to move, Jay Gardner arrives in a new neighborhood where all of the houses have lawn gnomes and people are afraid to go out at night, a situation that leads to a horrific discovery.

Visiting an uncle rumored to have the same madness as their ancestor Victor Frankenstein, Kat discovers that her uncle is a quiet scientist interested in building robots before a lab accident involving a fluffy dog triggers strange events.

Cherished by a family that appreciates his "good kid" nature, Jack Stander encounters the sinister ventriloquist dummy, Slappy, at his grandfather's house and begins to act in bizarre and disturbing ways.

When Tommy is sent to a special camp to make him into a "winner," he discovers that his fellow campers are competitive to the point of obsession, and that a particular teacher, Mrs. Maargh, takes winning very seriously.