Goosebumps Review: Let's Get Invisible!

Now you see him.
Now you don't!

Let's get Invisible! is my favorite Goosebumps book I've read so far. This is actually funny because this was the first book I was dreading going into. I was not fond of this book as a child and barely remember anything from it whatsoever. It took me quite a bit longer to read this than I would have liked, and all throughout the process I was fighting myself to get through it, not knowing it would be as good as it turned out to be.

This is actually quite a good book, easily the best of the six I've read so far. It's also easily the scariest. This one gave me a chill down my spine with this line, "I had the strangest sensation that the mirror was pulling me, tugging me toward it, holding me down." Something about this line and what subsequently occurs is actually quite creepy. Maybe it also helps that this has been an October full of mirror horror movies- for some reason. Not sure why. I certainly didn't go out of my way to plan these reviews all that far in advance. I just kind of grabbed random horror movies and this is what came for me to review. It might be that all of those mirror-based horror movies were getting to me a little bit as I read this. Or maybe this book does deliver the scares just a little bit better than the other five so far.

The book starts out with Max, our main character, having a birthday party and eventually finding a hidden room in his attic containing an old mirror with a light switch on it. He pulls the switch and goes invisible. So, we're talking another relatively simple premise. Max has some friends (and his younger brother) who are also involved, but they're there much more for window dressing than being actual characters. Max and the mirror are the main pieces of the story when you come right down to it.

And the mirror is basically an SCP.

Oh no, you might say, he's going on about SCPs again! Let's all hide forever!

Wait! Don't do that! It'll only be a second! Look, it's a mirror that makes one invisible by pulling the light string attached to the mirror. Nothing else is explained except that in becoming invisible it allows the reflections in the mirror to come alive. Kind of. They come alive when the person first gets invisible, but they can only do anything when the person stays invisible for a long period of time. That right there, that I like. It's about a slow burn of horror rather than a stick in the eye of horror. It doesn't happen instantaneously, and actually takes a while to actually happen. Even Max, the careful one of the group, still goes invisible on his own despite having misgivings. The mirror is so awesome! And what could go wrong, right? WHAT COULD GO WRONG, RIGHT?

SCP, that's what, you idiot.

And that's why this book is so good. It holds onto the horror with an element of mystery. Even the point-of-view character has no real idea whether he should be afraid, nonchalant, or adventurous. His fighting spirit is the only thing that saves him in the end, but so much of this book isn't even about the ultimate ending. It's about fooling around with something dangerous, exciting, and ultimately unknown. It grabs the attention by having an actual mystery to it, a mystery that is never solved, as well as showing how kids (and adults in their stead) would act around a mirror that would make one invisible. I think it's very effective. It works really well for me.

Max finally being pulled into the mirror and facing off against his reflection is an idea I really like. The execution is well done, and the fear is there as well. The inexorable pull towards the mirror while invisible makes one feel both powerless and unreasonably claustrophobic. I truly liked it.

There isn't anything else to really talk about. The story is solid, if simple. The characters are the for set dressing except for Max. And the mirror is literally the most important thing there. I mean, if anything this book would be based on some kind of body snatcher story rather than anything to do with either mirrors or invisibility since neither of those aspects of the story really feature in the main plot of the story. Other than that-

I did not like this story as a kid. I don't remember much from it, and that's actually a huge shame. This is a really good and really effective book. It's kind of creepy, and that's more than I can say for the earlier five books. I hope by this point in the series R. L. Stine finally realized that perfect spot to scare kids and adults alike. Because that's what I want: horror, even if it is horror for the very young.

Fear Street Review: Cheerleaders: The Third Evil

Fight, fight, fight or die, die, die!

It's Back!

Well, I guess R. L. Stine learned from his mistake of a second book of this series and hit a homerun with this one. I know it sounds a little odd for a grown man to be praising a teenage horror book, but you do have to remember that these are from my childhood and that I actually have really fond memories of them despite their corniness. And yes, this book is actually quite good all the way around. While it never quite hits the powerful moments that the first book in this series does, it still hits some great notes.

Unlike the second book which had no ultimate point except for killing off Chip, having the evil possess Kimmy, and telling the backstory of Sara Fear, this book has a greta deal more to say. First of all, it touches back on those social issues from the book. Yes, it does it in a very different way with completely different issues, but it still hits those points. And what are those points? Well, jealousy, friendship, trust, and teamwork just to name a few. See, the second book should have hit upon the emotional issues of loss, mourning, and dealing with grief for the teenager. Instead it failed at all of that, but we seem to get a decent amount of those issues in this book as well, which is a little crazy since this is a pretty short book to pack all of that into.

I think this is one of the most interesting R. L. Stine books I've reviewed so far (and may be one of the most interesting I review period). It twists both the story and reality to its own devices, so that you're never certain what's happening and what isn't happening until the reveal. Even moreso, the twist also involves emotional impact, something this series had been lacking throughout the second book and the first half of this one.

Anyway, there's a lot to say, and I want to get the ball rolling, so let's do this thing.

"Corky stared inside Bobbi's head. And gasped.

In the darkness the inside of  Bobbi's skull appeared to pulsate and throb. But Corky's eyes adjusted quickly to the pale light, and she saw what was moving in there." 

The story starts out yet again with Corky, this time part of the cheerleading squad and relatively happy. It's been a while since everything went down in the last book, and a new cheerleader, Hannah, has joined their ranks. The problem is that everybody thinks that Hannah is a showoff, so much so that most of the girls do not like her very much. At the same time, there is a cheerleading camp the girls are going to, and that promises to be interesting.

There's not much I can really say about the first half of this book. It's pretty dry, mostly there to set up things later in the book rather than to really be terrifying (or crazy interesting) right away. That being said, the story here is more interesting than the last book already. The writing is much better, and there are no mystery people or graveyard visitors or weird anti-mournings going on. Corky seems to have adjusted to her life in Shadyside pretty well, becoming fast friends with the girls on the cheerleading squad, especially Debra and Kimmy. I mean, that's what's basically established in the first half of the book, that and the fact that the girls don't like Hannah all that much.

The only real issue here is that Corky keeps dreaming of her sister opening her skull and showing her what's inside. These dreams are pretty well done and establish early on that something isn't quite right, although, we, as the readers, have no idea what's wrong yet.

"Hannah is doomed." 

We see Corky become afraid of the other cheerleaders again, suspecting them of possibly being possessed. We see all the motions of what Corky was worrying about in the last book. Once the girls get to the cheerleading camp, the issues start cropping up again. Accidents and sick pranks start occurring. Hannah's braid is cut off, a girl on another team is tripped and breaks some teeth, and Corky and Kimmy are suspected of basically hazing Hannah because of jealousy or a dislike of her. Corky believes that Kimmy is to blame, that perhaps the evil never truly left.

And that's when the story gets interesting. The jealousy is an important part of the story. Corky feels alone. She's feels afraid of losing the small bonds of friendship that she has made over the course of the year. She is ultimately afraid of being alone again, without even a sister to fall back upon as a friend. I know this is a much more supernatural story than those explanations, but those explanations also still hold. Her fears as a teenage girl are important to her. She feels like she could be replaced with Hannah, forgotten about, thrown aside like trash. And she hates that feeling. She is afraid of that feeling. There doesn't need to be supernatural evil spirits to see the darkness and horror of what high school can be, and how fleeting friends sometimes feel.

"Red then black. Red then black.

She shut her eyes, but the flashing colors continued on her eyelids.

The roar in her ears grew louder.

She thought she heard laughter, evil laughter, somewhere far away."

The twist though, is that Kimmy, although she is acting odd and strangely suspicious, is not to blame for anything. Shockingly, Corky is to blame. It was the old unreliable narrator trick! Oh, man! But here it works. It's good. The jealousy and hatred she seems to be feeling, the dreams of Bobbi, and her odd thoughts and antics at times point to her own possession by an evil spirit. It could all be seen as a metaphorical possession. I could certainly work on that hypothesis. Mostly though, she is possessed by a murderous evil and has to find out how to control it or how to kill it.

I think this is when the story enters into its best territory. Corky leaves her companionship behind, distancing herself from her friends to save them. The evil goes after what she doesn't like, who she has issues with. It targets and tries to kill those people she is annoyed by. So, she becomes antisocial for the most part, taking away the very thing she certainly craved so much in the first half of this book and the other two books as well.

I have to say that the evil within plot here is done very well. Her conversations with the evil, her trying to find out how to defeat it using the past memories of its possessed victims, and her tenacity to fight it really drive home Corky's character that was barely defined at all in the first two books. She becomes both interesting and her own person through this book. Her fighting spirit, and sometimes even her cowardice as much as her courage, shape the reality of her character. I guess I find it really well done, especially for a glorified kid's book. There is meaning here in between the lines, and, to me, that makes the book and the series worth it.

"I'm going to vomit forever. Forever! Corky thought, her entire body trembling as the green gas spewed out." 

There is some horrific imagery in the last third of the book, specifically Corky's inability to control herself. She spews forth "putrid smelling" green gas from inside of herself, becomes a bit unhinged with and without the evil spirit controlling her, and dives into her subconscious mind for a good long while trying to figure out what to do about the whole possession thing. It may not sound "scary," but to her it very much is. Losing control of one's body to a foreign entity is a terrifying prospect, and Corky's worst fears are realized. She can do nothing to save herself except (as she finds out) to die with the evil inside of her as Sara Fear did nearly a century ago.

To me the flashback is very well done. It's probably the only thing that the second book set up that actually is worth anything at all. Corky, for a time, is reliving Sara Fear's last moments alive, seeing her decision to kill herself and take the evil with her. Because, unlike what the last line of the second book stated, the evil can be drowned, but only if the person possessed is willing to die first. I like this a lot, and obviously so did R. L. Stine. He focuses on Corky's fear of death and her willingness to both die and balk at death very well. She doesn't want to die, but she has to die to save the others. But she doesn't want to die.

To me this shows the nature of not only a teenage girl, but of humanity as well. It is a very human response to fear death, to fear suicide, and to ultimately want to save others when you can prevent terrible things from happening. The problem is that Corky isn't strong enough to stop what the evil wants to do. She can't kill herself yet, and so the evil goes after Debra and fails because of bad timing. Then it goes after Kimmy, and we see something interesting. It isn't the scene with Kimmy that's interesting here, but rather the way the evil operates. We can imagine that in the previous books with Jennifer and then Kimmy being possessed, it probably acted very similarly, isolated victims and trying to make the deaths accidental rather than clearly murderous. It's interesting to see both intent and a modus operandi. I like that. And I also like that this is how it probably operated in the past as well.

"A grin spread over Corky's face as she stood, hands on hips, and watched Kimmy plunge to her death."  

Corky is the worst killer by the way. She killed fewer people than Kimmy or a dead girl. Just remember that. It's kind of sad actually. I assume it's because the girls are more careful and because Corky is actually fighting pretty hard against the evil spirit. Sure, Corky tries to kill Kimmy, but she fails. Yes, despite that quotation up there, Kimmy actually survives being pushed off of a cliff to her death in the waters below. Kimmy is hardcore. The thing is that Corky isn't. She's the one that actually dies here.

"I'm choking. I'm going to die.

But I don't want to die.

I want to live!

I can't drown. I can't die!

I have to live. I have to!

But I can't. I have no choice.

I have made my choice.

To die!"

Yes, believe it or not, R. L. Stine actually kills off the main character yet again! And in water again too! It's kind of crazy actually, but also incredibly well-written. Corky basically sacrifices herself to save those she cares about- her friends and her family. She wants to end the evil spirit once and for all, and if her death is the only way to do that than despite her conflict about death and life, she is willing and does sacrifice herself for the greater cause of killing something truly evil.

Corky drowning is actually quite poignant, written in a very high tone throughout. It works as a beautiful image of a strong girl doing what she needs to do. I like it a great deal. Believe it or not, this is how female empowerment is written. Sure, Corky is a cheerleader, but not once is there oversexualization or a reliance on a relationship. She doesn't need to be protected by some guy nor does she ever cry out for her crush to come and save her. She relies on herself to see this through to whatever bitter end there will be.

I know R. L. Stine was primarily writing for a female audience, but this is actually fantastic. This isn't Twlight with a girl being literally defined by who she wants to love. It's not a supernatural romance. It's not her running around and screaming and crying because she's frightened. I can't focus enough on how this is all about Corky coming into her own, being the hero of her own tale, a true hero of the ages, sacrificing herself against both evil and horror.

And winning.

"And then Corky drowned. She felt as if she were shrinking.

Shrinking until she was nothing but a tiny acorn floating in the water. Then a dot. A lifeless dot. She knew the evil spirit had shrunk too.

And knowing this, she died."

Because of course, she has to die. She has to die to defeat the evil.

While this book is never truly horrific nor ever truly scary, it piques emotions that aren't often brought out in simple teenage stories. You want Corky to survive because she goes through so much hell. Her character has emerged like a butterfly from a cocoon only to see her drown and thus die before she can truly spread her wings. I know this is a horror review for an October Night, but the horror here, possession, is so far removed from what the horror of this story truly is. Corky's death doesn't matter as much as her emergence from possession by society and by the evil spirit. Dying shows that she has thrown off the shackles and finally learned what life truly is about.

In many ways the spirit could have been removed from this story entirely, showing more of a young woman coping with high school, expectations, jealousy, and hatred. The evil could easily be her own evil being intensified, and I'm sure that that was what was meant. it works too well to be a simple coincidence.

I'm probably saying too much and reading way too much into this, but there are such beautiful words and images in the last few chapters of this book that I have a hard time not speaking at length about it.

"The evil faded, then disappeared. Washed away forever in the rain-stirred brown river current."

And with that death, Corky's death, so too does the evil die.

Yes, Corky is saved by Kimmy (who didn't die), and with her being saved the world is a better place. Yes, people died because of the evil spirit, but with it gone somehow and (ha ha) finally, there is a brightness in the story despite the image of rain hanging over them. They have survived. They have persevered. And mostly, they have transcended the spirit world and become something more, if only for a moment.

The Third Evil

Well, R. L. Stine wrote an amazing "ending" to the trilogy here. While there are two other book in the series, this really does end this powerhouse of a horror trilogy. The book is a little lesser on its own, but as the final piece of a trilogy, it works incredibly well. It is effective in what it does and how it uses the set-ups from the previous books to make a payoff that works incredibly well.

This book doesn't have the iconic images that the other books do have though. There are no deaths here (besides Corky's temporary death), and while that works within the narrative, it does take away from the memorable moments. Besides the Bobbi dream I didn't remember anything about this book at all despite reading it quite a lot as a kid. See, the first book has Bobbi's death which is both tragic, hard-hitting, and tough to stomach. It comes out of nowhere and is iconic because of how abruptly it happens. The second book, although basically terrible has Chip's death, which, for me, is one of the most iconic deaths I read in my early life. Something about the saw cutting off his hand and him lying there bleeding to death in shock really hit me hard. It's something I remembered very well throughout my life. This book doesn't have those images, but what it does have is a great narrative about jealousy, anger, hatred, and perseverance.

Corky comes into her own character, becoming nearly as strong of a character as Bobbi was. She sacrifices herself, dies, and is reborn without evil. And the way it happens is so well-written that it's pretty spooky. The cheerleading camp is telling, showing a darker side of Corky than we had ever seen before, even before we knew she had the evil spirit inside of her. She isn't bland here, but amazingly resourceful even in her own weakness at times. I like that, her being both human and hero. It makes the whole story come together. Both sisters, the main characters of this trilogy, dying in water, and both being reborn in a way, Bobbi being a spirit of good, and Corky living in the end.

I really like this book. It has a lot to offer even if you have to read the second book to get a lot of it. The convenient characters are gone, replaced by Corky's own resourcefulness, and while the other cheerleaders don't factor in the story as much as previous books, the focus on Corky as a character (especially as a character I thought was bland and uninteresting before this book) really worked well. I'm glad it ended up working that way.

There is some horror to be had here, even if it is kind of heady horror. I think the book has a very psychological slant to it that makes it fascinating and not a slasher story so much as a possession story with a twist. I don't know. I think it's a fitting book for itself and for the series. I liked it quite a bit and recommend it completely for everybody to read even if it is a horror book and series for teenage girls. It's good and worthy of a look. This is one of my favorite horror series, and while the second book wasn't great, the series itself wasn't disappointing. I was glad to read through them all again.

Anyway, that will be the last Cheerleaders book for a while. We'll get to another eventually, but that seriously could be years from now. So, let's enjoy this decent little trilogy and see where we go from here...

Fear Street Review: Cheerleaders: The Second Evil

Cheers- from the grave!

Out of the Grave

It's been a long time since I had one of these. I hate to say it, but I had a tough time reading during the summer even though, embarrassingly, I took this book with me to work literally almost every day after my last review of an R. L. Stine book. I know, I know, shame on me. Even more than that I must have looked mighty strange carrying around the same book (with a title like Cheerleaders) for months. I finally finished it, and here is my mostly kind of lackluster review. Sorry I'm not very bombastic with this one, but this book is very safe in my opinion.

What do I mean by safe? Well, it's simple enough. This book doesn't do anything new or different from the last book. Sure, it introduces a few new plot points and a new character or two, but mostly it is just like the first book except less interesting. Without the tension of the main character being blamed and hated for literally everything (and the subsequent mystery about what is actually going on), the book becomes a very simple evil spirit exorcism story. And an ineffectual one at that.

"The hooded man with the strange ghostly eyes- he must have followed her home."

This second Cheerleaders book starts a little after the last one. It is fall, and Corky is in the graveyard visiting her sister's grave. She's almost made out to be an odd sort of person for doing this, but she's obviously disturbed by the whole incident. Who can say that she's wrong to show her grief in this way? What is kind of weird and wrong is that she started dating her sister's boyfriend Chip. That does seem a little creepy, although I don't know if it's creepier for her or for him. You just know that relationship won't last...

I guess the story is pretty simple. Corky is trying to get her life back together. The other cheerleaders want her to rejoin the team, but she's reluctant to do so. And that's the basic premise of the majority of this book. Sure, a few new characters are introduced. John Daly, the brother of Jennifer from the first book, is shown in basically a single scene. He promptly goes missing and dies after threatening Corky. And Sara Beth, a college girl who seems to know a lot about the occult and the titular Fears of Fear Street. It's later explained that she is a Fear herself, which is why she is so knowledgeable and interested in the subject matter.

It's not very exciting to say the least. Most of the book revolves around Corky dealing with her issues, trying to pick her life up, and then slowly realizing that the evil is still around, although she has no idea where it could be. Her subsequent search for both history and truth is decently entertaining with the most interesting aspect of the story being the background on Sara Fear and Sara Beth telling the sordid tale.

"Chip's hand, cut off at the wrist, rested like a glove beside the blade."

There are a couple of deaths in the story, the most prominent being Chip, who dies after getting his hand sawed off. I will say that from my younger days this was the death from this series that was most ingrained in my mind besides Bobbi's own death from the first book. For whatever reason though, I had remembered Chip being more important than he ultimately turned out to be. He honestly did absolutely nothing in the narrative besides date both sisters and Kimmy. Then he died and left nothing else. Hell, he's barely mentioned after his death. Corky seemed to have gotten over it all fairly quickly. Then again she has to be numb about the whole thing at this point.

The gruesome bits in this book are few and far between, and the problem is that nothing here is all that interesting. I don't really care about Corky. I don't know why her character is so bland and uninteresting compared to her sister, but she truly comes off as a very dry character. Her mourning doesn't even really mean anything, and it should. There is an emotional detachment throughout this book. While the first book really pushed what bullying could do, showed some truly graphic deaths, and ultimately hit hard and didn't pull punches, this book does the opposite of all of those.

It doesn't show Corky's personality or grief, shoehorning her with Chip because he was a male character that was mentioned and dated Bobbi, I guess. It should be a book about her dealing with the death, ultimately finding a way to move on. Yeah, put the spirit story in there. Hell, even better, have her research the thing to see what it had been. But bringing the same story back again with simply another person possessed seems like lazy writing more than anything else. This whole book misses a ton of marks, and ultimately feels bland and uninspired.

Shame on you, R. L. Stine. For shame.

"A disgusting green liquid poured from her mouth. The stench of it rose up from the tossing water.

Corky gagged, struggled to hold her breath, trying not to breathe.

The thick green liquid oozed out of Kimmy's mouth. Took shape. Formed a long snakelike figure.

Longer. Longer."

Kimmy was ultimately the one possessed by the evil spirit. While this is perfectly acceptable, I guess, it also comes off as kind of stupid. Kimmy survives the book. But two guys are dead by her hand. I suppose the whole point of the spirit is that it doesn't (or isn't supposed to) get its hands dirty, but then it goes and tries to drown Corky with Kimmy's bare hands. In reality, a person who kills other people may actually get arrested and thrown in prison or something. There might be some sort of police investigation. Just maybe? But no. Those deaths were accidental evidently. Kimmy is never even looked at, and the spirit defense doesn't ever come up in court. That's really disappointing.

I'm being a little silly, but I do have a point here. This book clearly doesn't take place in our world, certainly not as I know it works. When I was younger this book worked so much better, back when I didn't know as much about things and stuff. But now it comes off as really stupid at times. I cannot suspend my disbelief as much as it wants me to, and thus my entertainment is stymied.

In the end Corky drowns the evil spirit out of Kimmy. It seems to work, giving a great description of what an evil spirit looks like in its native form. I don't mind the end of the book so much as the rest of it. At least there was some action rather than a reliance on Corky's personality like the rest of the book. I liked the apparent death of the spirit. And I liked how Kimmy's memory of all of the events since the graveyard were completely gone. That was a neat twist even if it was also pretty silly.

"IT CAN'T BE DROWNED."

In the end, there has to be a trilogy of books. So, the evil isn't gone, obviously. And it'll come back. That's for sure.

The Second Evil

I think it's obvious I didn't like this book. While it may have narrative important to the five book Cheerleaders series, it is wholly uninspired. I started reading it a while back, hoping to whip out a quick review of this months ago, but found myself unable to continue reading through pure lack of desire to want to read it. I found the writing lesser than the first book and the story completely uninteresting. There was no mystery, no great moments, nothing to really read and be in awe over.

The characters are mostly bland and uninteresting, especially Corky, who has no defining characteristics beyond "teenage female." Her mourning for her sister and her boyfriend should have been the main focus of the plot, but even though those aspects of her character were mentioned, very little ever came of it. He mourning was glossed over, becoming less about her character and much more about the fact of her mourning. That really seems like a poor choice to me. The emotional impact should have been there. It would have made the whole book much more than it was.

And what was it? A schlocky overdramatic evil spirit story. There were some good moments here and there, mostly involving Sara Beth Fear, who I don't think comes back in any of the other books (although egg on my face if I'm wrong). The history of Sara Fear was both interesting and nicely handled. It should have been the main focus of the book, showing Corky searching for answers about what really happened, rather than forcing a plot of the spirit possessing and killing others. Maybe that's just me though.

There are a few other creepy scenes, but most of them are simply written to be creepy, which in this case actually made me less interested in them. The graveyard scenes and the scenes with Corky in the school before she finds Chip dead really stuck out at me as those kind of scenes.

I don't know. There's not much else I can say. I didn't like this book, and would suggest others not to read it unless the Cheerleaders saga is important enough for you to read all the way through. The younger me loved this book, but older me sees it as an utter mess that could have been a whole lot better if it were planned out better. Corky finding Chip was still pretty good though. I liked that a decent amount. And I liked Sara Fear's backstory. Other than that, this book was utter dreck. Easily the worst R. L. Stine book I've reviewed so far.

Goosebumps Review: Monster Blood

It's a monster blood drive!

This is the first Goosebumps book I've been afraid to open. I must have read it a great load of times because it has a very well worn cover and pages. This book was one of my favorites of the original run of Goosebumps, and I regard it and its sequels very fondly. Actually throughout the first dozen or so books this was always my favorite. I love the premise, the characters, the writing, and what happens throughout. While never explicitly terrifying, the sci-fi and "magical" elements of the book are all really part of its appeal.

Monster Blood was released in September 1992, the same month of the release of the next book I'll review as well.

While the first book was a bit of a miss for me and the second was surprisingly good, this one hit the mark exactly. It is both very well done and never boring. Some elements of it could have been more concise and less hand-wavy, but the story works in general. I liked the idea of a mysterious substance ultimately ending up as both something harmful and truly unnerving. I mean, I can't even imagine what I would do or think if a substance I bought just starting growing and changing consistency without warning. I'd probably freak out and act much like these two kids did, plopping it into multiple containers and hoping for the best.

Anyway, the main characters are one of the strengths of this book. Andy and Evan are basically the stars of the book here and of the series as a whole. They pop back up in the next three sequels to Monster Blood, and are about as likable and amazing as protagonists can be in this series. They are believable as kids of twelve or so and work really well. Andy (Andrea) especially always worked well. The way all of what she's wearing is described every time she's shown really gave her a personality well beyond what any dialogue could. Sure, she's quirky and tomboyish and fun. And being able to give her that kind of character worked really well in establishing something about her beyond the mundane. Evan is also well established, being sarcastic and a little whiny, certainly not the perfect hero, but one who works in the book anyway. Kathryn, Sarabeth, the twins are also well done here even though they appear in none of the other books as far as I remember. Sarabeth works well as the villain without any reason or care. Kathryn, the great-aunt who doesn't care, is both intimidating and a question mark throughout the book. And the twins are the first real bullies we get to see in Goosebumps, a theme that will become more and more pronounced throughout the books.

I like that the protagonist is thrown into an awkward and foreign situation from the first page. I like how that leads to all of the problems. I guess I should tell the plot? I don't know. It's simple. So, Evan Ross is left with his great-aunt as his parents try to find a house in another state. Evan is alone with her, she's deaf and refuses to learn any real way of communication. Evan brings his dog Trigger as well. Eventually he meets Andy and they strike a friendship up. They go to an old toy store, buy some Monster Blood "SURPRISING MIRACLE SUBSTANCE," and begin playing around with it. It's just some bouncing goo at first, but after a day seems to become sticky and awful, growing and changing as time goes by. Evan's dog eats some of it, which can't be healthy, and starts growing himself too! Well, this can't do. Andy and Evan try to figure out what to do, only to learn that the Monster Blood is seemingly hungry as well, pulling things inside of it. As it grows, it finally gets out of its containment and goes after them, reaching a final confrontation where Evan's great-aunt's cat, Sarabeth, is the mastermind of a spell put on the Monster Blood and is looking to murder the children because "they know too much" even though they really don't know anything and probably wouldn't know a single thing if this cat-lady had just not been evil and ready to murder them. You know? Hospitality among cat-ladies is really awful today. Well, she ends up being eaten up by the Monster Blood and disappears for... reasons. And everything's good after that. Yup. Obviously there will never be a single sequel to this because it was all a spell by a lady who no longer exists. Right?

Right?

...?


Well, we'll wait to answer that until book 18.

Specifically that book.

I wonder why...

*Cough*Cough*

So, yeah, the book works pretty well at being coherent and quick, but surprisingly well put together too. The characters are so good here and the plot isn't too shabby either. Out of the first three books this is easily my favorite. It explores heavy subjects as well, just like the first two tried to do. Moving seems to be a surprisingly common theme, mostly because there are certainly people who have to move around, and, for a child, it must be difficult to cope with those moves. The fear and terror of moving and dealing with it is kind of within the books as well, the plot basically reinterpreting what it means to move to somewhere new. Or maybe that's just me over-thinking things.

This book takes on the subtheme of bullying and what that means much like how Welcome to Dead House deals with what moving to a new town does to a young kid. Evan and his family are also moving, but the move to a new place is never important to Evan like it was to Amanda in Welcome to Dead House. Hell, he hardly mentions it at all besides stating that's what's going to happen. The bullying though is a pretty main theme, with the twins not only bullying and hurting Evan, but also doing the same to Andy, nearing concussing her against a sidewalk while they steal her bike for a joyride. There is something sickening about the characters of the twins. Their utter inhumanity and eventual cowardice really say a great deal about bullying in general. I think this subtheme is wonderful and really shows a clear difference between those who are picked on and those who do the picking. The most shocking thing is when Andy is hurt. But almost as shocking is Evan being beaten to a pulp by them. Yes, I know Monster Blood's main plot has literally nothing to do with this theme, but I think it's way too important not to discuss. The kids reading these books would almost surely identify with the victims (I may be profiling here, but seriously, I used to be one of those kids, I think I have a good idea about this.), and see the bullies as awful people. I guess I like how it's handled. I like how Evan deals with it. And I like how the bullies get their comeuppance.

Monster Blood. Well, I don't really know how four (five?) books are made about this substance. This could have been a standalone book, and I would have been fine with that. I hate to admit this, but my memory of the other Monster Blood books is pretty spotty. While I remember this book well, and perhaps the beginning of the second book too, none of the others have stuck in my mind at all. I assume because they are simply not as... uh... not as good as this one. Then again I might eat my words when I get to them. We'll see...

I liked this book a great deal as a kid. It was one of my favorites in general of the series, like I mentioned, but it also had some of the more memorable moments of the books. I really liked the characters, Evan's sense of abandonment, and the friendship between Andy and Evan. Those things all worked so well here, and Monster Blood makes other books pale in comparison to its absolute brilliance at times. There is a great deal to praise here, and I do wish that every book could be this good. Well, there are some things to mention, mostly small things, but...

Okay, so one of my big questions: Why does the old toy shop close up inexplicably? I'm not sure I understand that detail. It had obviously been open for a very long time, then suddenly the owner sells the Monster Blood to Evan and closes shop? Was he not doing a good business? Did he die? I mean, as far as we know the Monster Blood's properties were specifically created by Sarabeth because she's a witch or something. So, did she kill the proprietor because she wanted to trick Evan? Or am I seriously missing something here? I just have no real answer. I guess it could have been a coincidence, but in horror like this I don't believe in coincidences. So, it's a problem that doesn't wrap up nicely or easily.

This is also the first cover that really has nothing to do with the contents within. Look at that book cover by Tim Jacobus. That never happens in the book. I have no idea if any of the characters even wear glasses. I don't think any do. So, unlike Stay Out of the Basement where that scene could have happened because plant-dad did happen or Welcome to Dead House where the house did exist, this cover never actually happens. It always struck me as odd, but I know things like this happen all the time. I'll continue to pay attention to covers and talk details. None of the covers have been particularly striking yet, but some are certainly brilliant eventually (or really baffling), and I'll be sure to speak about them at length when they come.

So, the last thing I want to speak of is a relationship between characters. Evan and Andy seriously have one of the best relationships in any of the Goosebumps books or series. I have no idea why, but their friendship works incredibly well. I'm pretty sure back when I was twelve I might have acted similarly to girls I liked. Or liked if that should be highlighted. Anyway, I like their dynamics and am looking forward to the other books with them together.

This book gets a good rating from me. It's a great read for an older or younger person to read. It works well even if some questions are left lingering in your mind. It doesn't really easily set up a sequel, but I can understand how this book became popular enough to warrant some when only one other book in the first ten books of the series did (The Night of the Living Dummy) (I have no idea if there are other more recent sequels now though.). Anyway, I highly recommend this one, and I look forward to more.

The next book up is the sequel to the first Fear Street review I did, Cheerleaders: The Second Evil.

Fear Street Review: Cheerleaders: The First Evil

When the cheers turn to screams...

"Give me a D-I-E!"

So, here we are at our first R. L. Stine teenage book released in August 1992 called Cheerleaders: The First Evil. Unlike the Goosebumps books these really weren't for kids at all. Now, that didn't stop me from reading them when I was very young, but it is a fact. These are pretty creepy even for an adult to read. They are not baby books for babies, but I don't think any of these R. L. Stine books are. They all have that little special piece of horror that most books, especially those made and written for kids and teenagers, seem to be missing. And how ballsy must it have been for R. L. Stine to actually write these books for teenagers at all? I mean, look at the teenage books that are popular today- supernatural romance, vampires, werewolves, supernatural romance, fantasy romance, romance, and maybe a little fantasy for the adventurous. But that's about it. You don't get horror books written for teenage audiences anymore, and certainly not horror books for teenage girls starring teenage girls! That's insane! That's just crazy!

And yet here it is- a book that involves no romance elements written for teenagers- specifically teenage girls- that is good in every way. Well, saying this book is good is underplaying the quality. It is an excellent book, standing up to my memory in every single way. I remember this being one of the best R. L. Stine books and series around, and it certainly didn't disappoint me thus far.

I know that a story centered around cheerleaders seems like it would probably make a pretty uninteresting book, but it really works amazingly well. One can relate to the characters, the situation therein, and the emotions. The horror, very vague for most of the book- more similar to paranoia and regular high school drama than actual horror- really hits a stride that I haven't seen equaled in many other horror books at all.

"When you jump up, everyone can see your underpants."

The story begins in such an innocuous way and goes to very dark places. It begins in an almost typical Goosebumps fashion- a prank set upon a younger sibling. The lead character, Bobbi, and her sister, Corky, set up a prank on their younger brother. They plan to scare him with a fake rat, succeed, and enjoy the evil of their deed. This works so well at establishing their characters. They become strong from the get-go, each with her own personality, and each with her own establishing moment. Corky is the younger one, in Bobbi's shadow more than likely, but not caring all that much about it. Bobbi is the perfect one, the more mischievous one, and the one who the story follows around. They are both new to the town of Shadyside (where the Fear Street books take place) and are looking to try out for the cheerleading squad even though it's a bit late in the season for that. But they're good, and it shows. They're given a chance, and the story kicks off.

Is it about cheerleading though? No, not really. You could substitute any high school activity into here and get the same results. Drama club, football, chess club, etc. It doesn't really matter since high school kids will be themselves in the end. The cheerleading squad works well though because of what they have to do, because of the trust they need to have, and because of the utterly non-horrific imagery associated with cheerleaders.

"Jennifer's startled scream was drowned out by the squeal of the skidding tires.

By the crunch of metal.

By the shatter of glass." 

The sisters are allowed onto the squad to their elation because of their obvious talent. The problem is that things go wrong quickly. Kimmy, one of the cheerleaders, does not like the sisters at all and seems bent on turning the other girls against them. Jennifer, the captain, seems able to keep everybody together- but then an accident. The bus they are traveling on to get to a game crashes, Jennifer gets hurt, so much so that she is thought dead, fallen on top of the tombstone of "SARAH FEAR." She awakens, but is paralyzed, and a new captain is to be chosen.

The book has a limited third person narration. It follows around certain characters' thoughts. Though it mostly focuses on Bobbi's own thoughts, Corky's, Kimmy's, and Jennifer's are also seen. While Bobbi is the main character, it becomes very obvious that the whole plot is much larger than her. Corky is largely forgotten in the background, just another girl in the shadows as Bobbi's teenage life goes through its moments. A boy, Chip (the football quarterback himself no less!), asks Bobbi out, she is chosen as the new cheerleading captain, and everything seems to be going her way.

And yet...

And yet.

"Everyone is watching me, Kimmy thought, forcing back the loud sobs that pushed at her throat. Everyone is feeling sorry for me."

One of my favorite aspects of this book is how right it gets the teenage mentality. Everything is in the moment. Each thought is hectic and pumped up and ultra-emotional. Both Bobbi and Kimmy act in emotional manners, both lashing out because of jealousy or anger or a million other little emotions that they cannot hide. This book gets it so right though. It hits that pitch-perfect feel of teenage and high school life. I can remember going to high school football games with my girlfriend at the time, watching the cheerleaders, feeling the charged atmosphere, and hearing the noise throughout the bleachers. And R. L. Stine captures that atmosphere perfectly, right down to every little description. The teenage life reminds me of those teenagers I used to know and those that are left behind in my memory- and it works- it works so well that it's scary.

I think that's the point really.

"He's dead, she thought.

It was so silent in the stadium. So unearthly silent.

We're all dead. All."

The narrative keeps going as Bobbi's new "boyfriend" freezes during a game. This comes back as she later freezes as well while trying (unsuccessfully) to catch a girl during a routine. And this all happens as her relationship is straining with the other girls on the squad, even her own sister. It seems like only Jennifer seems to have any time for Bobbi, but even that is- strange. Bobbi keeps seeing and sensing odd things. First some lockers seem to shut on their own, then she freezes and is completely unable to move, and then, finally, she sees a paralyzed Jennifer, in silhouette, seem to stride across her window.

This seems impossible, but she feels the need to believe her own senses. She tell Corky who thinks she's cracking, and they leave each other to sleep, both angry at the other.

"'Help me! I can't- breathe!'

She closed her eyes and covered her ears.

The roar didn't go away.

The pain didn't go away.

The roar grew louder.

Then all was silence."

The twist in this tale is that Bobbi, our lead, is the one to die. She dies, or is killed, in an incredibly gruesome fashion, drowning and being scalded to death all at once in the girl's locker room. This has always stuck in my mind as one of the creepiest and most descriptive deaths I read about in my early life. I can't say I enjoyed it, but the artistry and the writing are just so incredibly well done. To write a death that has stuck with me for well over a decade has to mean something. I always remembered this scene, was even looking forward to it in a sick kind of way.

I can't seem to remember a single other death in an R. L. Stine book, but this one sticks out so vividly, perhaps because of the twist that Bobbi was never the main character, she was never the one we were supposed to be following, and she was nothing more than a false protagonist. And something about that shattered the illusions that I had always known in my young mind. I no longer could trust the narrative or the author. I was tricked into a false sense of security. Surely nothing could happen to the lead character, nothing bad could befall that character, that would be silly.

And when something bad did befall Bobbi, I found myself a little shattered. I was shocked and upset. I didn't understand how this could happen. And I realized it could never be any better. In many ways this book introduced me to an adult narrative, a gave me a huge distrust of horror that has continued to this day.

"'Fear Street,' one of the policemen had said grimly, shaking his head. 'Fear Street...'" 

See, Corky figures it all out after Bobbi's death. She first thinks that Kimmy killed her after she noticed that she found Kimmy's pendant on the floor with Bobbi's stuff when she found Bobbi's body. but Kimmy had given the pendant to Jennifer, but poor paralyzed Jennifer couldn't-

Well, she could actually. She wasn't paralyzed. She wasn't anything. She had died in that bus accident and was possessed by the spirit of Sarah Fear... or something, it seems. Corky sees Jennifer walking, then driving, then dancing near Sarah's tomb. Corky confronts Jennifer, and after a few chapter long struggle, defeats her, leaving only a body of bones and dust behind, much to the confusion of literally everybody, police included. Although, it seems everybody knows something is wrong with Fear Street, but they're unable to do anything about it... 

The First Evil

Well, here we are, again through another R. L. Stine book. And what a great book this one is. It stood in my mind as a high point of horror in my young life, and it didn't disappoint. It is an excellent book from beginning to end. The characters are brilliant, each fleshed out in turn. The setting of the high school works well, and it is incredibly surprising just how right the details seem, even to me, who went to high school a decade after this book was released.

It is a horrifying book, one with creepy and incredibly descriptions. The deaths are so well detailed, and yet still left ambiguous, not gory exactly, but leaving a great deal to imagination. It still is a teen book, but the terror is a much older and thicker terror than that. It works so well that it has to be one of the very best R. L. Stine books out there. And I wouldn't be surprised if it is the best teenage horror book as well. 

I don't think this book will ever leave my mind. I've thought about it a lot in the years since the last time I read it, which was well over a decade ago. It is one of the few R. L. Stine books that comes back to me from time-to-time, and I have no clue why. Maybe it was because this was the first Fear Street book I read and therefore the first teen horror book I read as well? Maybe the descriptions were brilliant even to my much younger mind- or maybe it did truly scare me, and maybe it still does even today.

I can't help but recommend this book. It works so well at everything it does. It is incredibly well-written, well-paced, and well thought out. I can't think of a single negative- unless I include the slightly too quick ending and the lack of characterization of Corky. Then again... well, I know what's coming, so neither seem like huge flaws because of that.

Well, now I have a choice. Monster Blood and Cheerleaders: The Second Evil were both released in September 1992. I'm going to choose Monster Blood to review next to shake stuff up a bit, but realize that very soon we'll be hitting the sequel to the first Cheerleaders book...

Anyway, see you next time, readers.

Goosebumps Review: Stay Out of the Basement

Something's waiting in the dark...

Book number two of the Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine is an interesting one and one that started a couple trends among these books. Stay out of the Basement was first published, like Welcome to Dead House, in July 1992. It was the first of many Goosebumps books that would feature a mad scientist and the first of many that would, in my opinion, act as a young adult homage to famous sci-fi or horror movies/books. In this case the movie this book most resembles is The Fly, either version of it, with the genetic splicing and monstrous results. Even the ending seems to pay homage to those movies, particularly the older one with Vincent Price from 1958. I'm reminded of the iconic, "Help me! Help me!" from that movie in the ending to this book.

My memories of this one are all over the place. While it was never one of my absolute favorites, my copy of this book is well read. I remember having a good time with this book even if I didn't understand the references to The Fly back when I first read it. It had a creepiness to it that not many of the Goosebumps books seemed to equal. The funny thing is, for whatever reason, I remember the television version of this book almost as much as I remember the book itself. It is quite possibly the only book I can say that about.

This book certainly hits a much higher mark than the first and improves upon almost everything from Welcome to Dead House. While it may not quite be as gory or repulsive as that book, it is quite creepy, showing a paranoia about one's parent that I have not often seen before in any other book or piece of fiction. It almost seems to have a message that could read, "If your parent is doing something really weird and creepy and wrong, maybe it really is weird and creepy and wrong."

I was always struck by the way the dad in the book acted towards his kids. And I was confused that not more was done by the kids to do something about their nearly absent parental figure. I don't know, but I kind of figure this book was trying to say something even if it never quite had the message absolutely picked out.

Reading it through today, I found it really well done. If I were scoring this one compared to last week's Welcome to Dead House this one is not only improved in almost every way- its narrative, characters, setting, situation, and creepiness- but it also drew me in much more than that first book, which was always a weak one in my memory and seemed even weaker as I read it back. While I wasn't exactly excited to read this book, it was one I knew I wouldn't have any issues with getting through. I knew it wouldn't be a slog and, mostly, I knew it wouldn't be Welcome to Dead House. Sorry, but that was a book I simply do not think is very good at all.

"The dirt was filled with dozens of moving insects. And long, brown earthworms. All crawling through the wet, black clumps that lined her father's bed."

The plot here is pretty simple. Two kids, Margaret (the lead) and Casey (her younger brother), become curious as to what their dad is doing int he basement. He had been laid off from his previous job as a university botanist and for weeks had been toiling in the basement to find a way to get his job back with some experiments with plants. Obviously he is a scientist MAD with SCIENCE. And somehow he makes a weird genetic electronic thing that splices genetic material between organisms. His DNA gets spliced into a plant and vice-versa, and the plot kicks off.

While the kids' mother is away, things start going awry with their father's experiments. He starts acting weird, seems to be becoming a plant, and warns them from going into the basement. The title is even thrown out in dialogue within the first chapter of the story, something which I have to giggle about.  Well, anyway, the kids obviously have to be curious and not listen to their dad. They snoop around, get into some trouble, suspect him of lying and being a creepy plant-man, and ultimately find out that a plant has been imitating their father- but to what end? That we don't know. A lingering question I have is why did he kidnap his boss, Mr. Martinez? And why wouldn't the police be around questioning him about the man's disappearance since it was the last known place he had been? It's a question that seems to be shrugged away, but I was wondering it as I read the book.

Anyway, the book ends with a confrontation between the kids, their two dads, and their mother to figure out which one is the real one. Plant-dad is axed down and all seems well with the world- except that a flower seems to be screaming to Margaret that he is her actual father...

Live Plants... Dead People?

I realize, too late now, that the book also seems to reference Little Shop of Horrors. Okay, I didn't realize it too late. It's an obvious reference, but the plot doesn't seem to follow that plot so much as the plot of The Fly. Again, I'm probably a little wrong for not mentioning this sooner, but it's so obvious that I realized it was a reference back when I was ten. The problem is, it's only a surface reference, with the main plot being very different indeed.

This book is creepy. No, it's not the scariest Gossebumps book I remember, but it has both aged well and works well even today, especially at bringing out the feelings of paranoia- and even more especially in regards to a parental figure. Something about that seems incredibly well done to me, and something, I suspect, that could not be done today in quite the same way, which saddens me. It's upsetting to see that fiction can be influenced by the way the world is, but it's absolutely true. This is a book that could only exist in the 1990s.

All of the characters are fleshed out. They all feel real, and seem like they could live in a real, albeit twisted, world. The kids act and seem like kids that age, both curious and a little hyperactive. The dad is a workaholic and the mother's expressions in the early parts of the book seem to say just as much about her tension as it does about what the kid's perceive. It almost hits on the idea that work could put a strain on a marriage or on a relationship- which is essentially what this book is about already. I find that both intellectually stimulating and that it is amazing these things existed in a horror book for kids. 

The setting- winter in a warm climate- worked well too, although I couldn't exactly say why. Something about a time that is supposed to be bleak being like summer creeps me out, possibly because I grew up and live in New England, where there's no such thing as a warm winter. I guess the whole humidity and warmth thing works well for me, it is exactly what a greenhouse would feel like, and it's also what this book reads like, if that makes any sense at all.

Anyway, while this is not one of the fondest remembered books of the Goosebumps library to me, it certainly works well now that I'm reading it as an adult. It is much better than Welcome to Dead House, and has excited me for more books. I mean, seriously, if a book I wasn't looking forward to made me this happy- then what will happen with the books I really am looking forward to?

So, the next book will be Goosebumps number 3-

-wait-

-no.

No, actually, Monster Blood will not be next even if it will be the next Goosebumps review. See, I mentioned I was going to do R. L. Stine books in some kind of chronological order- and while I don't own all of the Fear Street books like I used to (I didn't like a good portion of them, and sold them off half a decade ago, a thing I still don't regret.), I still have some that I was incredibly fond of back when I was a younger. Actually I read them alongside of the Goosebumps  books, so I find the way I'm reviewing these appropriate.

So, instead of Monster Blood, the next review that you can expect from me will be a Fera Street book. In particular I'm going to start my Fear Street Review series (of the eleven books I'm planning on reviewing from that series) with August 1992's Cheerleaders: The First Evil.

Goosebumps Review: Welcome to Dead House

It will just kill you.

Hey! Saquarry here. So, I'm starting up a new review series where I plan to review every Goosebumps book and books kind of or semi associated with that series or R. L Stine in general. This is quite the endeavor, I hope you understand, but it's something I've been wanting to do for years. And now I finally have the energy and the resources to see it through to the end. And when I say end, I do mean even the current stuff- eventually.

I'm going to review these books chronologically when they were published, so it may seem all over the place at times, but that's what I would like to do. I also have some teen R. L. Stine books I'd like to talk about at some point, most notably some of my favorite of the actual Fear Street books. But we'll get there. I'm excited for the possibilities and the reviews. For the most part I haven't read any of these books in about twelve years or so, but I still have them all from the original run of the series. Now, I may have to buy a couple, most notably in the Ghosts of Fear Street books (especially the later books int hat series which were nearly impossible for me to find back then) as well as some of the short story collection if I decide to do them.

Anyway, this whole review series will involve everything with the Goosebumps name, even the Give Yourself Goosebumps choose your own adventure stories. And that's about it. I won't be touching any movies or television shows of Goosebumps though. I never watched them as a kid and have no real interest in them now. I guess I could talk about them at some point if interest is shown in this review series, but I'm not biting to do it.

I grew up reading these books, and they certainly have had a sizable impact on the person I am today. I probably wouldn't love horror half as much as I do without these books. They led me to many other avenues and other great books and movies as well, since a decent portion of these books play off of more famous actual horror or sci-fi movies, books, television shows, etc.

The series as a whole is fairly reminiscent of The Twilight Zone for kids, specifically the books with the crazy twists at the end. I will spoil these books as well, so read at your own risk. Since I'm sure people are terrified of having a twenty year old children's horror novel spoiled for them. I'm sure that keeps them up at night.

As for formatting, these reviews will come in two sections. The first will be what I recall of the book. I'll talk about my memories, whether I was fond of it or not, if it ever scared me, and how well the book stuck with me. Sometimes this section will be very long. Other times it may not exist at all. The second section will be my impressions and thoughts about the book now after reading it.

And that's about all I have. So, without further ado-


-let's go to Dark Falls.


"I'm surrounded by death, I thought."


Welcome to Dead House was published in 1992, the month of July. It was the first Goosebumps book released, and was numbered 1 in its original binding. It is the only book of the entire series that really felt like it was written for an older audience back when I first read it. The imagery, the nightmare that Amanda has, and the dog, Petey, dying in the book makes this one both memorable and slightly more intense than any other books in the series, in both my opinion and in my memory.

Now, for whatever reason this is probably the only book from the original series that ever scared me as a kid. I did not like some of the content, and the writing, to me back then, was so different than the other books of the series, that I tended to liken it much more to the older audience R. L. Stine books, like the Fear Street books or those Babysitter books. I didn't read this book very often, and tended to avoid rereading it unlike some of the others that I absolutely loved. It was probably one of my least favorites of the original series, but only because I felt that it was so different from the rest.

I have no real fond memories of it, and my memory of this book (not pleasant memories) was the biggest hurtle to actually starting these reviews in the first place. I tend to remember most of the other Goosebumps books having a lot of personality, but for whatever reason this one always struck me as very flat. The characters and the story barely seem to be able to work in a real world setting, and, in fact, the whole premise falls apart if you think on it too much. I did as a child, and I didn't like the answers my mind came up with.

I will say that the name Dark Falls was something I really enjoyed and remembered for years afterward. I would use the name to describe any town or area near me that had heavily shaded roads for miles around. Where I live has a ton of thick forests and trees that cover over the roads throughout the year. So, Dark Falls was a very real place to me, just not by that name.

Reading it again, I found this book interesting. It read better than I remembered, giving a ton of characterizations I simply didn't remember, mostly to Amanda, the main character and first person narrator. She starts a trend of R. L. Stine leaning (from my memory) to more female protagonists than males. Usually the protagonists are twelve and their sibling is ten. Their sibling is generally the opposite sex to them as well.

Amanda easily has the most characterization in the book, with her brother, Josh, a distant second as the annoying sibling who sometimes does useful things. The book moves slowly in the beginning, establishing the move in a long-winded way that grew tiresome. The slow build to the house being haunted was also flat, as nothing truly seemed to happen that wasn't also explained away. Nothing seemed scary exactly so much as slightly annoying. Even Amanda doesn't truly act scared. She seemed to think away most of the spooky elements so that nothing in the early part of the book really ever seemed ambiguous or actually creepy.

Once they're actually in Dead House and have met the other kids in town, that's when the story both picks up and grows much more interesting. I mean, it still largely falls flat around the edges, but it also starts having some personality. The set-pieces are well done, starting with Amanda's nightmare and the way she vividly describes it. Her not being able to move in the nightmare is a sticking point for me since that actually happens in real life, and it is legitimately terrifying. I know this from personal experience.

Petey's "death," or at least the kids finding him dead is also awful. I can't think of many other children's horror books (or adult horror books) that have the steel determination to actually do that and pull it off well. It's awful, but effective at being the turning point of the book.

Honestly, the second half is much better than the first at being an action piece, but the beginning is much better at having a creeping fear in the back of the mind. Both parts of the book undermine one another though, with neither coming off quite as effectively because of the other. The heavy characterizations of the first half are thrown out for action set-pieces in the second, whereas the action set-pieces are fun but are undermined by the slow-paced trudge of the first half. Many elements of the story never come back into play, for instance Kathy, Amanda's bets friend who she talks about at decent length in an early chapter, has no significance to the story besides showing up in her nightmare. The parents likewise have no real use to them, only showing up as damsels in distress at the end of the book, but having no real characterization besides that.

The cemetery, while a good set-piece, literally is never scary. There is never one moment that the cemetery is supposed to be scary. It is almost the most friendly and inviting part of the entire story, which should never be the case. It's a graveyard. They're supposed to be creepy and uninviting. Part of that is in the descriptions, which seem so strong for the nightmare and the skulls of the dead people, but seems very flat for the environments and locales. From my memory R. L. Stine fixes this very soon, but right here it's very evident that he had very odd priorities while writing this one. The transition from teenage horror and adult horror to kid horror must have been a difficult one, and this book hasn't seemed to quite hit the mark.

The story is pretty obvious. Parents and two kids move into a house supposedly left to them by a great-uncle. It's in a town called Dark Falls surrounded by shade. They meet some odd kids, see that the town is kind of dead, think that the house is haunted, and eventually are surprised when all their worst fears are realized. Their dog is killed because it can sense the dead people. And the family is ready to be put up as a sacrifice for the town, the newest dead people to enter and never leave, but Amanda and Josh save the day, the dead people are killed yet again, and they leave the house forever just as another family goes to check it out.

The twist at the end, with the question of whether or not everybody in the town is truly the at rest kind of dead, is a good one, but this town is not truly scary, and I never found investment in the story anyway.

This book is okay. It leads me to many questions about the logic of the story, but that's to be expected at times, especially with stories of this nature. I can't really use those problems as sticking points though. It would be as unfair as using cold hard logic against a Twilight Zone episode. It would unfair. And it would not be what the story was trying to do or say. Instead I focus on the parts of the Goosebumps books I used to like, and where I think this one didn't hit its marks. The characters are mostly very flat, the set-pieces, although good at times, are not consistent, and the goriness seems to be there for shock value but not really for good writing or storytelling. It's a quick, non-nonsense story that has little to offer beyond a little shock and awe and some dry characters.

As a kid, I didn't like it. As an adult, I'm not in love with it, but I see its value. It's not bad even if it has a ton of problems. The writing is mostly solid, and the issues there are seem more related to the nature of a kid's horror novel and what that means than to anything else. I think I appreciate this book slightly more now than I did as a kid, but I doubt I'd ever read it again. I don't really like it so much as tolerate it and understand its important as the first one. It's a weak book of the original series, but one worth starting out to read. They seriously can only get better from here.