_The Polar Express_, reprise

I picked up a copy of the book at the mall the other day and leafed through
it. There was no sign of any of the creepy or scary stuff that was so
overwhelming in the movie.

Bizarre acrobat waiters? No.
Stern, almost threatening conductor? No.
Ghost hobo? No.
Lost ticket and implication of girl going to be thrown off the train? No.
Walk/climb/ski along the snow-covered roof? No.
Creepy leprechaun stoker? No.
Hundred-and-seventy-nine-degree decline? No.
Train skittering across a frozen lake? No.
Said lake ice breaking and the train nearly sinking? No.
Weird elves? No.

It was just a sweet story with some nice pictures. The text was so plain it
was almost boring. So where did the producers get all the rest of that?