The Neighbourhood Watch

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

When it becomes clear that adults are blind to supernatural disturbances popping up around town, a group of kids realize it will be up to them to save their city from the mysterious threats.

They formThe Neighbourhood Watch, a club whose sole purpose is to investigate and dispel the supernatural occurrences.

Written in the form of journal entries, each Neighbourhood Watch adventure documents the club's efforts to protect their town.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2025
Author: Spider_Pyg

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 23
Views: 7,515

Chapters(28 total)

What readers say about The Neighbourhood Watch

“Review: The Neighbourhood Watch – The Red Cedar Incident by Spider_Pyg At its core, this is a tale about three kids, a hollowed-out tree, and something beneath it that feeds on memories. Told through sharp and emotionally textured journal entries, The Red C…”
AncienthipsterRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“This is genuinely one of the most charming and quietly unsettling openings I’ve read in a while. The tone hits that perfect sweet spot between childhood innocence and creeping “something-is-very-wrong” horror. The recordkeeper format adds a delightful layer…”
DanielMRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

AncienthipsterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Review: The Neighbourhood Watch – The Red Cedar Incident
by Spider_Pyg
At its core, this is a tale about three kids, a hollowed-out tree, and something beneath it that feeds on memories. Told through sharp and emotionally textured journal entries, The Red Cedar Incident begins with the innocent mystery of a missing soccer ball and gradually morphs into a dreamlike descent through a shape-shifting labyrinth of forgotten history, eroded identity, and the relentless grip of supernatural hunger. What elevates this from a simple adventure is its balance of humor, horror, and heart—a story where memory becomes a battleground, and anger, strangely, becomes salvation.
Spider_Pyg writes dialogue like someone eavesdropping on a soul. Every voice—Sasheen’s steady logic, Maisel’s chaotic confidence, Murlocke’s quiet intensity—emerges fully-formed and emotionally true. The footnotes, far from being a gimmick, act as relational subtext, mapping the tensions and affections between characters in real time. Pacing, too, is a standout strength: each entry adds strangeness or insight without filler, and the structure is tight without ever feeling rigid. Scenes snap together like magnetic puzzle pieces, delivering both tension and warmth in equal measure.
Story – 4.5 / 5
What begins as a slow mystery becomes an emotionally resonant tale of identity, survival, and escape. The supernatural mechanics are revealed patiently—the angler feeds not just on thought, but on emotion, and prefers docile prey to fiery minds. That twist lands hard and recontextualizes the entire adventure. The only reason this isn't a full 5 is that the threat lacks clarity in the early entries. Still, the latter half delivers such emotional precision and narrative control that it leaves a lasting imprint.
Characters – 5.0 / 5
Sasheen anchors the narrative with a voice that is both vulnerable and fiercely observant. Her logic is a defense mechanism, and her reflections—especially memories of being lost—add haunting
DanielMRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is genuinely one of the most charming and quietly unsettling openings I’ve read in a while. The tone hits that perfect sweet spot between childhood innocence and creeping “something-is-very-wrong” horror. The recordkeeper format adds a delightful layer of authenticity — it feels like we’re reading real field notes from a group of kids who take their supernatural investigations just as seriously as adults would. Sasheen’s commentary and the little footnote-banter between her, Maisel and Murlocke make the characters immediately likeable, and it establishes their dynamic without ever needing heavy exposition.
What really works is the escalation. It begins like a funny local mystery (“a scary tree ate my soccer ball”) and slowly shifts into full, almost cosmic unease — each underground floor becoming more surreal and uncanny. The red cedar replicas (mayor’s office, library, museum) are a fantastic narrative device — nostalgic, slightly absurd, and gradually more disturbing as the logic behind them unravels. The payoff with the gold nugget is great and effectively flips the tone from curious to “oh no, we’re trapped”.
The dialogue feels natural, the humor doesn’t undermine the tension, and the pacing is extremely well controlled. It’s like Gravity Falls crossed with House of Leaves.
Honestly, if the mysteries continue to deepen at this rate, this could become something really special.
emssitumorangRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Alright, there are already 7 chapters here and we're already quite into the mystery. I'll be honest and say that I've yet to read a paranormal mystery investigation on this site before this story, but I'm always open to trying new things and this didn't disappoint. I'll probably update this review once more chapters start rolling in but it really is a cute story.
First off, grammar and style is great, I caught no errors and the words and diction used are indeed simple enough that I can believe that a bunch of 12 year olds are the ones writing the journal entries. In fact, this is one of the only kind of stories where I say typos and mistakes would in fact make it more realistic as we see the entries as how these self-proclaimed paranormal investigators. I also enjoy how very neat, colour-coded, and organised the entries are as is suited to Sasheen's character which we'll get to in a second.
Story wise, the plot is such a great mix of suspense and mystery. in the hopes that I don't spoil the plot, the setting is super great and we're lead as readers to explore along with our small trio of protagonists as they stick their noses in places where they shouldn't be. I'm only docking a little bit of the score because it's not exactly unique and is instead a very classically troperiffic story within the media I'm used to consuming when it comes to this genre.
Now finally, the characters (so far there's only three of them that make up the team) are all adorably cute little 12 year olds who are rushing into things that are way over their heads. Their voices are distinct (my favourite is Maisel) and they provide interesting interactions. Real great kids.
All in all, I highly encourage people to give this a try.
happymangoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So right off the bat - the first chapter is written in a way that I've never seen before. It's punchy, quirky, unique, and formatted in a way that immediately introduces the three main leads in a memorable way. At first glance, it actually may seem a little daunting to see the different colours, head/footnotes, but it helps so much with distinguishing characters and gives a GREAT way to show off their personalities.
The story is humorous, well-paced (for me it picked up at Entry 18-21 which is about halfway through) and obviously per my title - adorable. The lingo and logical reasoning behind their motives and actions is believable enough for a bunch of 12 year olds. Which... honestly is harder than you'd think.
A detail that I've noticed also is that the author takes care to show off Sasheen's thought process well in regards to calculations - it adds a logical trait to her, helps with making it believable (even though I'm terrible at math, I TRUST it anyway lol). So instead of "Sasheen does mental math and realizes the equation is X", Spider_Pyg ACTUALLY writes it all out. So extra kudos for that!
The only feedback I'd give is that while the atmosphere is imaginable and the prose is strong, I would like to see more environment descriptions - sound, smell, sight. What currently exists is good, but it can get a bit dialogue heavy in the later chapters, which for me loses a bit of sense of what I should be seeing. Otherwise, it's still a VERY strong book and I'm excited to see more. :)
MelaculiRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This vivid, journal-style excerpt blends friendship, mystery, and supernatural intrigue with a strong middle-grade voice. Sasheen’s narration is funny and authentic, and the group dynamic with the others feels real. The ancient, unnatural tree is a standout setting, both magical and creepy.
Strengths:
Great pacing and tension
Relatable characters
A strong sense of wonder and dread
Could Improve:
Some emotional moments need more depth
Verdict: A gripping, eerie adventure that hooks you with charm and mystery.
Story:
The story opens with immediate tension and intrigue. The kids’ exploration of the tree and their banter about its legends pull the reader in quickly. There’s a good balance between the eerie and the playful, with just enough mystery to keep us hooked.
Style:
The writing style is confident and engaging, with a strong voice that feels age-appropriate for middle grade while still appealing to older readers. The pacing is well controlled, with atmospheric descriptions that build tension without over-explaining.
Character:
The group dynamic is believable and authentic, especially in the way the kids talk and challenge each other.
Grammar & Mechanics:
The grammar is solid throughout, with few errors. Sentence structures vary well, and the prose is polished. A few punctuation choices and occasional wordiness could be tightened for smoother flow, but nothing stands out as distracting.
O.P.H.A.N.I.M.Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Neighborhood Watch is an easy story to love.
I won't go into too much detail on each individual score grades, because I think there are multiple well made reviews that reflect my own thoughts quite nicely. The one thing I can offer some unique insight on is the story and style. (Which I'll try to keep brief.)
The story reminds me a lot in structure to something akin to children's books I read growing up, namely The Magic Treehouse and Goosebumps. At least with this first installation in The Neighborhood Watch series, the main characters find themselves dealing with something supernatural, and must come up with unique ways to deal with the threat.
I have only read the prologue, (which is the only reason I cannot give the story full marks as of the time of writing this) I can safely say this. There is a stronger understanding of the characters and how they interact with each other in The Neighborhood Watch than the other stories I mentioned above.
This is made obvious to me by this story's style being all structured around this notebook that everyone takes turns writing notes in.
Every interaction both in the story and in the footnotes of the notebook show off the author's strengths. The animated dialogue and character interactions highlight the story for me as this is what makes the story such an interesting read.
For those of you who skim to the end of a review this is my summary:
You should read this novel if you like fluid stories that have fun character dynamics and banter, all while they try to get to the bottom of their hometown's mysteries.
Tiberius21Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is a ton of fun and incredibly easy to get through in a short sitting.
The style blends humour with sincerity, giving it a sense of earnest charm. It feels like a classic kids' adventure book, but with a sharper edge.
The concept of a series of supernatural occurrences that only the kids can deal with will be great for younger readers who will enjoy the idea of being superior to the adults! I love supernatural investigation stories, and this one is a great addition.
I like the idea of the whole thing being conveyed as though it's a series of journal entries, feels like a literary equivalent to found footage movies. The idea that the whole thing is being recorded by kids is a lovely touch and will probably help younger readers identify with the story and characters all the more, while also helping older readers get into the right mindset for the story, and maybe think back to a time when they were younger and full of wonder.
It’s hard not to get swept up in the characters’ enthusiasm as the plot unfolds. Their banter is genuinely charming and makes them easy to root for. I especially liked Murlocke, his introverted, melancholic nature is oddly comforting and deeply relatable. Maisel, with her ego and blunt wit, brings a ton of comic relief, and Sasheen herself is full of heart. Having the story told in her voice adds a lot of personality to the narration. Each of them is distinct and memorable, and having them interact leads to some innately great banter.
The Angler is a fascinating concept, and I’m really curious to see how it develops. The story’s already pulled me in, and it feels like the beginning of a truly memorable adventure.
As for the writing itself, the grammar is mostly spot-on and the prose flows beautifully. Looking forward to more!
chris#1SupermanClarkkentfanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
“The red cedar incident” is an urban fantasy story that takes place in a small town known as Harrington. Our three main characters are a group of friends, young children, comprised of two girls and one boy. Their names are Sasheen, Maisel and Murlocke and they own and operate the neighborhood watch, a club that has the sole mission to monitor and protect their town from various supernatural entities.
We open our story on the group going to investigate a new mystery, involving a missing soccer ball. We follow them to an ominous red cedar tree located somewhere in the forest near their town. As they find a secret latter, they travel down it entering a truly chilling atmosphere. They find a near exact replica of a museum comprised entirely of red cedar.
The first thing I found interesting about the book is that it’s written in a journal entry style. As the kids embark on the mission Sasheen makes various entries into the group’s journal, writing down her thoughts and making observations about the strange situation they found themselves in. Additionally, as the story goes on Murlocke takes a turn with the book. As I was reading it, I was suitably convinced that a different person was writing in the book. It gave the story a sense of internal consistency that made the experience more enjoyable to me.
Without spoiling too much, as we follow the group’s adventure and hear their banter, it becomes easy to think that Sasheen is the leader and the brains. But thankfully the other two are given plenty to do. It’s only because each member of the group contributes their fair share that the mystery gets solved and they survive. However, what I find great about the book is that this was only the beginning of a long series of adventures. Even after the secret of the red cedar tree is revealed you get the sense that the kids still missed something, that there are still countless more mysteries to burn through in their small town.
Conclusively, I must say enjoyed the book thoroughly
shriraa.shaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
From the get go, the Neighbourhood Watch establishes itself as a quirky yet strenuous. With a primary environment guaranteed to leave unease pooling within you, it has a gripping opening which pulls you by the collar and refuses to release.
The characters are all enjoyable and distinct, set apart by dialogue which matches them accurately and dynamics sweet and heartfelt. By far they are one of the notable aspects of this novel aside from the thrill the plot provides. From jubilant to curious, this novel has it and weaves them effortlessly and seamlessly- hats off to the author!
In regards to the grammar, there are certain areas for improvement but it does not cause much disturbance to the overall pacing and flow of the story. Other than that it was decent :)
The story itself is thrilling and gradually drags you to intrigue: initially portrayed as your typical urban legend, the plot unveils into something more sinister as the chapters pass on. Each hint and foreshadowing embedded throughout leaves readers on their toes and at the edge of their seat for more- a fantastic plot device the author utilises well. Overall, would highly recommend this for what its worth- hope you enjoy!
DeadToolRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
This fiction is more a novella than a novel, so it's a fast read. I didn't mind that at all. It's a good story, and I enjoyed who it was structured with diary entries and comments. Something different, and to be honest, something I've been dabbling with myself. So I know the challenge of taking care with the formatting to provide clarity to the reader (something which I have not done).