31 Days of Goosebumps Part 1 - 31. Night of the Living Dummy Part 2

Book 31: Night of the Living Dummy Part II

Well it’s been fun. I’m excited to get to end this first round on the only sequel that’s arguably more famous than the original. You see while most people talk about how much they loved Night of the Living Dummy... usually they’re actually talking about the sequel. There’s two reasons for this.

Reason 1: People remember “SLAPPY” who wasn’t the evil dummy in the first book. In fact he only comes to life in the last sentence of the original book

Reason 2: It’s a way better book

The book follows Amy who loves Ventriloquism, however her dummy Dennis’ head always falls off. Eventually her dad buys her a new dummy Slappy. She’s excited until the dummy starts causing trouble around the house and Amy is getting blamed.

Suddenly Slappy begins speaking to her and telling her that if she doesn’t be his slave he’ll make sure that her life is miserable forever. Eventually she convinces her family to believe her and the put together a plan. Her brother Jed will dress up in Dennis’ clothes and attacks Slappy, cracking his head. 

However as they celebrate Jed runs out of his room admitting her forgot to set his alarm. Dennis came to life all by himself.

THE BAD: I realize the supernatural circumstances and all but the parents are pretty quick to just believe that their daughter (who before the whole dummy showed up was typically good) is suddenly this cruel and destructive monster. Also the ending is basically the same as the first book... just less dark.

THE GOOD: Slappy is a great villain and that’s why he’s always been the face of Goosebumps. I believe he’s also had more books than any other Goosebumps creature (if you don’t count Horrorland having an entire spin-off series).

THE TV SHOW EPISODE:  It’s a pretty good episode. They sped up the plot to keep it down to just 20 minutes. The dummy is terrifying looking which is kind of the point. While there’s been plenty of these episodes where the horror is downplayed they really keep the horror of the situation at the forefront. That being said when Slappy is walking around the midget in a costume effect looks pretty awful.

<------ 30.="30." a="a" book="book" href="http://saintmort.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-goosebumps-part-1-30-it-came.html">It Came From Beneath the Sink

31 Days of Goosebumps Part 1 - 30. It Came From Beneath the Sink

Book 30: It Came From Beneath the Sink

I didn’t expect to like this one as much as I did. I think because there’s such an underlying feeling of hopelessness throughout the book. When I put myself in the shoes of Kat and her possible “forever bad luck” I couldn’t help but think about how it would have driven me crazy. 

You see when Kat and her family move into a new house she finds a weird living, breathing sponge under the sink. After further investigation she discovers it’s a Grool. It feeds off bad luck and can’t be killed by violence. Furthermore if she gives it away she’ll die in 24 hours.

People all around her are getting injured and no one will believe her or her brother Daniel. Kat decides that she’s clearly going to be stuck with bad luck forever until she realizes the only way to stop the Grool is to love it.

Okay so the ending is a little cheesy but overall imagine having to choose between bad luck for the rest of your life or death. Pretty heavy shit for a 12 year old. 

I realized that this is probably the 15th book out of the 30 I’ve read where the main character is celebrating their 12th birthday. Pretty lazy R.L. Stine.

THE BAD:  The ending. It’s usually the best part of the book or the worst. This one it’s actually both. The killing the monster with love is kinda lame but the very very end (which I won’t spoil because it involves way too much explanation) is a nice one.

THE GOOD: As I stated before (much like Cuckoo Clock of Doom) this one proposes some pretty heavy issues for a 12 year old to handle.

THE TV SHOW EPISODE:  Holy Hell! Ginger from Ginger Snaps! That’s awesome! It’s been a while since I’ve seen a ‘recognizably well know actor/actress’ before they were famous. The look of the Groll (the few times that they show) isnt’ terrible looking. However when I read the book I continually wanted it to look like the parasite from Brain Damage. 

For obviously reasons this one is rushed to fit into 20 minutes but I’d argue this is another one that could have been a two-parter quiet comfortably.

<----- 29.="29." a="a" href="http://saintmort.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-goosebumps-part-1-29-monster.html">Monster Blood III

Book 31 ----->

31 Days of Goosebumps Part 1 - 29. Monster Blood III

Book 29: Monster Blood III

So while I really liked the first Monster Blood I still don’t get why there were so many sequels to this particular story. It’s not really sequel worthy. Even The Blob didnt’ get this many reboots.

This particular book kind of annoyed me though because this time it’s Evan who eats the Monster Blood and grows giant. This already happened in Monster Blood II but throughout the book they just act like that never happened. That really annoyed me.

The book revolves around Evan, Andy and Evan’s obnoxious super-genius cousin Kermit. Kermit spends all day in a lab making weird mixtures that alway lead to Evan getting in trouble. Finally Evan has had enough and decides to put some Monster Blood in one mixture and see what will happen. It causes the experiment to explode and Evan accident eats some of it causing him to grow to giant proportions.

Kermit manages to mix up something that shrinks him down to normal size, however in the morning he realizes that he has shrunk to the size of a mouse. His dog picks him up in his mouth and the book ends.

THE BAD:  There’s a lot of things that just never get brought up. I’ve already mentioned that they never mention that Evan has eaten Monster Blood once previously, but they also never mention how Evan’s aunt (Kermit’s mom) reacts to the destruction in his house. He talks about breaking railings, walls and shelves, but he seems to never get in trouble for this. Meanwhile in the middle of the book she flips a shit that he drank all the Orange Juice.

THE GOOD: This was definitely the most depressing Monster Blood book ending. The fact that Monster Blood 4 didn’t come out until 30+ books later I’m sure scarred a few kids into thinking that one of their favorite characters was eaten by his own dog.

THE TV SHOW EPISODE:  None Ever Produced

<---- 28.="28." a="a" href="http://saintmort.blogspot.com/2012/10/31-days-of-goosebumps-part-1-28-cuckoo.html">The Cuckoo Clock of Doom

Book 30 -------->

31 Days of Goosebumps Part 1 - 28. The Cuckoo Clock of Doom

Book 28: The Cuckoo Clock of Doom

I’ve seen this pop-up on quite a few ‘best goosebumps book’ lists and even read that this is R.L. Stine’s favorite book. I will say this much, while it’s not my favorite book of Stine’s it’s very different than his previous books and has a very psychologically deep ending.

Michael is about to celebrate his 12 birthday however his sister Tara ruins everything. When his father buys a weird cuckoo clock Michael sees his chance to get Tara in trouble as revenge for all the times Tara has gotten Michael in trouble. He decides to turn the cuckoo birds head backwards.

When he wakes up the next morning it’s his birthday again. Michael continues traveling backwards in time. When he walks up as a one year old baby he knows that this is his last chance to turn the head back into the correct direction otherwise erase his entire existence. 

Luckily his parents go to the antique shop that the clock was first found in. Michael manages to crawl up the clock and turn the birds head, when he returns to the present day Tara is no longer around. The book ends with Michael promising one day he’ll go back for her.

THE BAD: The book is a little slow at times. Michael is a little whiny and Tara is total bitch (even if she is only 7)

THE GOOD: The ending of the book pitches a delightfully dark question. WIll Michael actually go back in time and get Tara? Most likely not. It raises some questions of what you’d do in that situation. Obviously deeper than R.L. Stine probably intended but what the hell’s the point of reading these books 15 years later if you’re not gonna read into this stuff.

THE TV SHOW EPISODE:  They did a good job of telling a rushed version of this story, it managed to not be nearly as slow as the book and actually had some interesting camerawork. Since there’s no much new though there’s really nothing to say in relation to the episode vs. the book.

<------ 27. Night in Terror Tower

Book 29 ------>

31 Days of Goosebumps Part 1 - 27. A Night in Terror Tower

Book 27: A Night in Terror Tower

I know I never read this book. In fact I think it’s possible this book was around the time I stopped buying every Goosebump book. This was definitely not a book who’s cover would have enticed me back then, specifically do to my lack of interest in things from Medieval Times... perhaps it’s a weird irony that I’m now 27 and writing this the night before I got celebrate my birthday AT Medieval Times... oh how things change.

Sue and Eddie are in England for their parents job. While their parents attend a big meeting Sue and Eddie are on a tour of Europe. The final stop is the infamous Terror Tower where a cruel king tortured and slaughtered his enemies (including his niece and nephew Susannah and Edward out of fear they’d over throw him). The room instantly brings deja vu to the two children.

They suddenly find themselves separated from the tour group and being chased by a strange man dressed in executioner garbs. As they attempt to escape him they realize they can’t remember there parents, last names or anything else. Suddenly they find themselves taken back in time.

It’s revealed to them that they are Prince Edward and Princess Susannah. Their Magician friend Morgred had transported them forward into the future to save their lives. In a last ditch effort they try the time travel one last time, bring Morgred with them as their surrogate father.

THE BAD: They reveal the “Prince Edward and Princess Susannah” thing too early in the book in my opinion. It became obvious to me that they were at least descendants.

THE GOOD: The book is just a good book. I genuinely was curious as to the answers to all the mysteries and the fact that they couldn’t remember their parents names or their own last names was a nice touch. It reminded me of great ‘what is reality’ stories. I enjoyed it this far more than I anticipated.

THE TV SHOW EPISODE:  This is a very very faithful adaptation, but I don’t think everything in the story was important. This could have been a 20 minute episode instead of a two-part 40 minute episode. All the child actors are good in it though... which makes it a shame that the girl who plays Sue only did Goosebumps episodes and then never acted again.

<------ Book 26. My Hairiest Adventure

Book 28 ------>

31 Days of Goosebumps Part 1 - 26. My Hairiest Adventure

Book 26: My Hairiest Adventure

Fun fact... this book is what inspired this 31 book idea. About a year ago I drove my dad to have some blood drawn. While sitting in the waiting room I saw this book amongst the magazines so I picked it up and re-read most of it. I decided it’d be fun to revisit these books. When I found out that the original run of Goosebumps was 62 books I decided that I would do this for the next two Octobers.

Larry and his friends are in a rock band. They hate their classmate (and drummer of rival band) Howie and practice every day after class with the hopes of beating him in the battle of the bands. It’s after one particular practice they find a bottle of Insta-Tan that expired a few years earlier.

The next morning Larry starts to find thick black hair growing on his body. He tells his doctor about it during his bi-weekly insulin shot but the doctor just laughs at him about it. 

Soon his fellow band mates Lily and Manny go missing. However when Larry finds a dog who has similar features as Lily Larry begins to fear the Insta-Tan is causing them to transform. He runs and tells his parents who tell him their dark secret.

All kids in town were dogs who the local doctor turned into children through bi-weekly shots (aka the insulin shot). The serum has stopped working and Larry is returning to his original dog form. The final chapter is from the perspective from Larry (now a dog), his former parents return home with a new baby who has eyes exactly like their cat.

All in all I like this story and always have. I love most stories about werewolfs, transformation and anything else related to people becoming animals (In the near future I want to re-read and review all of the Animorphs books). It has a great red herring with the Insta-tan. I’m glad this book continues to hold up.

THE BAD: In retrospect the whole “expires in 1991” thing seems ridiculous in 2012. I’d definitely not put 20 year old lotion on my body. Also I didn’t enjoy that the bands only played music from the 70’s, I mean sure kids like that stuff... and sure there’s the occasional band that would play classic rock but for both school bands to play only classic rock (as well as everyone fucking LOVING it) is a little far fetched. This was written when Rap, Grunge and Punk dominated the radio.

THE GOOD: The red herring is awesome and Larry is one of the more likable Goosebumps main characters. He doesn’t play pranks, he’s not whiny... he’s just a kid in a shitty situation. I like that.

THE TV SHOW EPISODE:  This book isn’t interesting enough to be a two part episode, but it’s kinda dull as a half hour episode. Most of the parts that made the book interesting (Howie, Larry’s friends mocking him, The battle of the bands) have all been cut to sped up the story, the band is basically just a side thing now, where as in the book it was almost as important as Insta-Tan.

<---- Book 25. Attack of the Mutant

Book 27 ----->

31 Days of Goosebumps Part 1 - 25. Attack of the Mutant

Book 25: Attack of the Mutant

It’s pretty obviously that I loved yesterday’s book Phantom of the Auditorium so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Attack of the Mutant. I was on a pretty solid Goosebumps high. I was not disappointed at all. Attack of the Mutant is a very different novel than some of the other Goosebumps books and while it has a few serious problems all in all it’s fun book (not too mention any geeks dream).

The book follows Skipper Matthews who collects comics. While most of them he collects with the hope of selling them when they’re valuable he can’t help but read every issues of the Masked Mutant. The comic follows a super Villain who can shapeshift into anything solid.

One day Skipper is riding the bus to his comic shop when he meets Libby. He misses his stop and gets off on her’s where he sees the masked mutants secret headquarters. He becomes obsessed with entering it. Once he walks in he finds a printing press of the comics and disappointedly realizes that it’s probably just where the comics are printed.

The next day however he gets the newest issue of Masked Mutant and sees himself in the comic. This makes him decide to enter the building again where he finds the Masked Mutant. Skipper thinks he’s about to die but then Libby walks in and shots the mutant with a toy gun melting him.

That’s when LIbby transforms into the real Masked Mutant. The mutant tells him that he is now made of ink and part of the comic book world, he must fight the mutant or die in this issue. Skipper says his only weakness is Acid. The mutant transforms and Skipper leaves the building giving up on comics forever... until he pricks his finger and bleeds ink.

THE BAD: Skipper visits Libby’s house... it’s never explained how the masked mutant had a second place to live strictly for tricking people. Also Skipper is a douche’ for the first 50 pages. He always brags about how expensive his collection is and treats everyone else like idiots.

THE GOOD: It’s just a fun concept. I know I’d have loved this as a kid (although I’m sure this was one of the many books I owned but never really read).

THE TV SHOW EPISODE:  I couldn’t find the episode but apparently they made a video game of this and someone also uploaded the audiobook... but no one uploaded the episode. I was pretty stoked to watch it too, apparently Adam West was in it.

<----- Book 24. The Phantom of the Auditorium

Book 26 ------>