Lord Loss by Darren Shan

Grubbs Grady's family is going to a ballet, and, since he hates ballets, he's going to be staying at his aunt's house while they're there. But there's something wrong. Grubbs can tell. His parents are acting weird, and his sister's acting weird. Well, weirder than usual. He knows that they know something that they don't want to tell him, but what? Is he going to die soon? Is that it?

When he gets to his aunt's house, he finds the best possible time, and sneaks out of the house. Grubbs walks back to his house. He checks all the windows to see if anyone's home. He goes to the back door, and he unlocks it. He walks through the kitchen and up the stairs to his parents' room. While he does, he peeks into his and his sister's bedrooms, and sees his chess board smashed to splinters.

He walks up to his parents' bedroom door. It's hot. Really hot. But there's no smoke, no fire. What's going on? Grubbs slowly opens the door, and is faced with a sight that no one should have the luck to see......

It gives him waking nightmares. When the police arrive at his house, they can't believe what they see inside. They question Grubbs about what happened in there, but they don't believe the truth. He's sent to an asylum. The doctors and nurses try everything to get him to come out of his nightmares, but it won't work. Until his uncle Dervish visits him.