What has fangs, a cape, and hangs upside-down in her bedroom closet? Why, Mona the Vampire of course! Mona is an eccentric ten year old girl with a penchant for the macabre. She sees herself as a crusader of sorts, the one-and-only expert with the know-how to get to the bottom of a mystery. Whether she's on the trail of a giant carnivorous slug, trapped in the cemetary by a scarecrow come to life, or investigating the local swimming pool for a Loch Ness Monster relative, Mona the Vampire has a nose for sniffing out the strange and the supernatural - and the power to bring those around her along for the ride. Unruffled, vigilant, happy and optimistic, she is ever-ready for anything...except, of course, cleaning her room.Whenever there are poltergeezerthingies, witches, giant hairy hands, or just plain ol' monsters in the neighborhood, you can count on Mona the Vampire to be out there where most fear to tread. With her cat Fang by her side.
FANG
Mona's pet cat, Fang is her accomplice in the nether realms of her imagination. Most important of all, he is Mona's sounding-board and confidante, always by her side, ready and willing to follow her anywhere, anytime, no questions asked. And the fact that he can't talk back makes him the perfect sidekick. Positively gregarious, he's as keen as Mona when it comes to setting out on adventures. However, when things take a ghoulish turn, he tends to be the first one ducking for cover under the nearest sofa. Besides solving mysteries, filching table scraps, and having Mona hairstyle him in the latest coif, Fang is one of those rare cats who enjoys swimming a few lengths at the local pool - much to the chagrin of the lifeguard on duty.
LILY DUNCAN
Mona's neighbor Lily is shy, pensive, and generally afraid of her own shadow. Until, that is, she gets together with Mona. Then it's "So long, Lily Duncan; hello, Princess Giant!" Princess Giant, Lily's alter-ego, is daring, outspoken, and outrageously impulsive. Accompanied by her lion Golden (formerly Mona's stuffed animal), she joins Mona on her adventures into the unknown.
CHARLEY KNEES
His real name is Charley Bones, but his pals call him Charley Knees on account of his bony knees. Charley is a nerd with guts, a walking encyclopedia of science. A wannabe stuntman, Charley is notorious for never having cried. Ever. Not even when he fell off the fridge and knocked his front teeth out of his skull. Not even when he had eight squillion cactus thorns stuck in him. Charley leaps before he looks and, being the science-geek he is, is as likely to have a slug or spider in his pocket as he is a marble or a stick of gum. Always ready for action as his alter ego Zapman, Charley is the friend of Mona's most likely to get into as much trouble as she does.
MOM
Mona's mother rules the house with an iron first (of fury). A student in the ancient art of karate, she is not to be messed with...especially when she asks you to clean your room. Tough but fair (as tough mothers are wont to be), Mom can be more fun than a roomful of jelly ghouls - and, alternately, more intimidating than a closet goblin. By day, Mom is an advertising executive. At night, she attends her karate classes and hosts her weekly Healers meeting, a gathering of locals homeopaths. Maybe it's because she's a karate expert, or maybe it's because she simply knows what's right, but Mom is always a moral force to be reckoned with. Especially when you have yesterday's make-up still on your face and your bedroom's an awful mess.
DAD
Whereas mom is a straight arrow, dad is more of a curved bow. With an imagination as active as Mona's, he loves nothing better than to read a good ghost story or make the occasional cameo in one of his daughter's fantasy sequences. Unlike Mona's mother who takes her daughter's imaginative ramblings with a grain of salt, dad is more than likely to play along. He always imagined he'd one day write an exciting novel based on all the wonderful things he would do if he wasn't a civil servant.
ANGELA
Angela is Mona's snobby rival - even though Mona is not conscious of even having a rival. The daughter of nouveau riche lottery-winning parents, she loves to show off her abundant wealth: a skipping rope that sings, fancy shoes that tie their own laces, a lunchbox that also sends faxes. Forever scheming, Angela is the type to throw a ritzy pool party just so she can not invite Mona. She is an out and out snob to most everyone in her school - with the exception of Lawrence, the object of her unrequited love. With all she has going for her, Angela can't understand why Lawrence, her social equal, prefers Mona and Charley's company to her own.
MISS GOTTO
Miss Gotto walks that fine line between caring teacher and hysterical basketcase. Given to frequent anxiety attacks, she has little patience for tomfoolery. And having a couple of students like Mona and Charley Bones doesn't help matters. Between Mona's vampire antics and Charley's fascination with bugs (that have a nasty habit of getting loose in the classroom), she isn't far from that last glorious anxiety attack that will send her packing to some remote kid-free island somewhere in the Carribeans.
GEORGE JAMELL
George Jamell has the notorious distinction of being the most disliked boy in any school at any time in the history of education. Not only is he a super bully, but he's also a tattle-tale extraordinaire. If there is mischief occurring to which he is not a party or if students haven't done their homework, George is there to tell Miss Grotto. George is pushy. He's nasty. And, like all successful bullies, he has a preference for bullying those smaller than him. Worst of all, his tattling has made him the Principal's pet. That and the fact that he is Principal Shawbly's nephew.