Britney thinks her cousin Ethan is pretty weird—and she happens to be right. Ethan won't stop tormenting Britney with an old ventriloquist's dummy. And the puppet has plans for Britney, too!
After eight years, the bestselling master of middle-grade horror returns, this time with the first book of a new, deliciously chilling 12-book series. As is planned for the other titles, this suspenseful opener is broken into two equally enjoyable sections-a standalone story and the first installment of what already reads like a ghostly serial at its spookiest. In the same tried-and-true style as the older Goosebumps stories, the standalone involves two smart yet vulnerable kids as they try to bury "Mr. Badboy," an evil ventriloquist's dummy with a mind of its own, and a Mumban doll with a shrunken human head that steals minds when touched, before the two dolls can do any major damage. In Part Two, the same characters embark on another petrifying adventure to a mysterious theme park advertised as "HorrorLand: Where Nightmares Come to Life." All the essential tricks of the trade to keep readers up at night are front and center: the ominous noises at just the right moments, the grisly visual descriptions and the cliffhangers around every corner. Combined with the promise of an ongoing story, this series should easily garner a new crop of scare-addicts. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Gr 3-6
Alissa Hunnicutt does a more than capable job reading these two related stories (Scholastic, pap. 2008) by R.L. Stine. In the first story, Hunnicutt superbly conveys the mounting fear that Britney Crosby feels towards her cousin Ethan's creepy old ventriloquist's dummy named Slappy, voicing him to sound like Donald Duck gone psycho. Of course, she has every reason to be terrified of the wooden sociopath, and she and a friend try to get rid of the cursed item. As usual, her parents don't believe her, sand this comes back to haunt them in the second story. The Crosby family and Britney's best friend go to Horrorland for a vacation. While most people might have suspected something weird was happening, the family falls for it hook, line and sinker. Stine ups the chills level by concluding the second story with the girls realizing that Britney's parents have disappeared, and Slappy is responsible. The abrupt ending leaves no doubt that the girls are doomed to the nasty fate hinted at in the Horrorland story. Effective and nearly constant sound effects enhance the telling and increase the tension. This production will definitely be a hit with the author's fans and listeners who relish scary tales.-B. Allison Gray, Santa Barbara County Library, CA
However believable his plots seem to his readers, Stine insists he has never lived one of his stories. "I've never turned into a bee -- I've never been chased by a mummy or met a ghost. But many of the ideas in my books are suggested by real life. For example, one Halloween my son, Matt, put a mask on and then had trouble pulling it off. That gave me the idea for The Haunted Mask."
Although he never experienced terror first hand, he did enjoy reading about it. "When I was a kid, there were these great comic books called Tales From The Crypt and The Vault of Horror. They were gruesome. I discovered them in the barbershop and thought they were fabulous. I used to get a haircut every Saturday so I wouldn't miss any of these comic books. I had no hair at all when I was a kid!"
His ideas came from two sources: his memory and his imagination. "When I write, I try to think back to what I was afraid of or what was scary to me, and try to put those feelings into books." He also keeps a tribal mask and a skeleton hanging in his writing studio to provide eerie surroundings. Although he handles the writing by himself, Stine says he gets "lots of help from my editors, my readers, and my friends."
Kids reading Goosebumps may be looking for a scare, but the laughs they get are no accident. Before he was R. L., he was Jovial Bob, author of such works as 101 Silly Monster Jokes, and Bozos on Patrol and editor of Bananas magazine. His ability to know what kids will laugh at , as well as what will frighten them, makes the Goosebumps series all the more enjoyable for his readers.
Stine started writing when he was 9 years old! He would write stories and jokes on an old typewriter and hand them out at school. "The teacher would grab them and take them away," Stine says, "but I kept doing it." He wrote for his high school newspaper in Columbus Ohio. After graduating from Ohio State University, he moved to New York City, where he worked on a variety of writing jobs.
Although his books are fun and exciting, writing them is serious stuff. He treats writing "...like a job." To unwind after work he enjoys playing the pinball machine conveniently located in his own apartment.
For aspiring authors, Stine feels reading is as important as writing. He offers this advice: "If you want to be a writer, don't worry so much about writing. Read as much as you can. Read as many different writers as you can. Soak up the styles. You can learn all kinds of ways to say things." As a boy he read Norse legends, Greek myths, Edgar Allan Poe and baseball stories. "And Mad Magazine changed my life." Author biography courtesy of Scholastic, Inc.
"My first job in New York was making up fake interviews with movie and TV stars for a group of six movie magazines. I never spoke to the stars I wrote about. I wrote three-to-four "interviews" a day, all out of my imagination."
"'I've written over 300 books but I never learned to type. I use only one finger, the pointer on my left hand -- that's all. Three hundred books on one finger! The finger is very ugly now -- completely bent and curled and callused. When I show it to audiences, they can't believe it! This is my sacrifice for my art!"
"Sometimes kids show up at my country house and ask if my son Matt can come out and play. That's because they saw him mentioned in the back of my books. But they're very disappointed when he comes to the door -- because Matt is in his mid-twenties now! They were reading very old books! Matt is a musician, composer, and sound designer. You can hear his music at my web site, www.rlstine.com."
"I hope my readers get a chance to see my 4-D movie, R. L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse. The movie stars Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Lea Thompson, Weird Al, and others. You can find it playing at four parks: SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld San Diego, Busch Gardens Tampa, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia. Watch out -- you might get very wet!"
Anonymous
Posted September 6, 2011
This book was a awesome book.I couldn't stop reading.I read 23 chapters in one night.Then the next night I read 11 chapters,before I knew it I had already finished the book.This book is scary but cool I would recommend this book to every one who likes a good scare.
This book is amazing as well as it's author.The next book I'm reading is night of the living dummy.It sounds interesting don't you think?I know it will be interesting because every goosebumps story is filled with cliff hangers,adventures and, horror. I love goosebumps story, don't you?
JNicks23
Posted May 25, 2010
This Goosbumps book is very good because it has alot of action. Iv read alot of these book and they have ispired me to watch scary movies. This book was great because it had action,but was scary,and because something u think would not have happened happened. This book stood out from all others because of its intensity.Overall,this is my favorite Goosbumps book. I recomend this book to grades 4-6
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Posted May 19, 2009
My favorite part of this was when the little girl, Brittany, saw the dummy awake at night when she was getting her shower and the dummy said, "I don't like you Brittany." I also loved the part when the dummy comes to the nursing home and does all the funny stuff to the old folks person. You should read this book because it will be scary and fun.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 26, 2008
I think it was one of my favorite goosebumbs.I liked the big suprise where she thinks the dumies alive and she acsedintly brings it alive.I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted August 12, 2008
this book is really great when you read the pages to this book you want to know what happens next.i read this book in two days and i loved it!
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Posted June 5, 2008
r.l. stine strikes again in this wonderful fast paced novel about a girl and a living dummt how cool is that readers will be on the edge of there seats and chringing for the next instalment
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Posted July 8, 2008
Revenge of the Living Dummy is my first book of Horrorland and it was cool.
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Posted May 25, 2008
it was really good! i would tell a lot about it but i dont wanna spoil anybodys apetite to read the book! its funny how you think something about the book and its not the way you saw it! and the extra chapters at the end just make you want to read it again! read the book!
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Posted April 24, 2008
what is it about and is it scary or really scary
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Posted March 8, 2008
good book
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Posted March 9, 2008
this book kept me on the edge of my seat. It was so suspensful.I reccomend this book to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted March 11, 2008
this book is a wonderful book i would reccomend this book to ANYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted December 7, 2007
This book had a lot of suspense, and left me on the edge of my seat the entire book. I would recommend this book to mystery lovers of all ages.The story line is fantastic.
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Posted December 14, 2008
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Overview
Britney thinks her cousin Ethan is pretty weird—and she happens to be right. Ethan won't stop tormenting Britney with an old ventriloquist's dummy. And the puppet has plans for Britney, too!