And now we've reached the sixties. I can't believe it. We're nearing the end. We only have three more books to go. And today, we're putting on our best outfit as we tear into yet another classic Goosebumps tome. It's Werewolf Skin AKA I Want To Be A Werewolf For Halloween. That's not a pun title, that's the book's actual original title.
COVER STORY
Cover's solid. Some notable Tim classics like the warping, the pinks, blues and oranges, and the banner with "Wolves" on it. We've come a long way from "University". It's as basic looking a bedroom as we've seen in many of these covers. The main attraction is of course the box with the werewolf skin and it's gorgeous looking. Great creepy detain on the wolf head that makes it look scary. It really helps stand out without giving much away as to what is required of something like a werewolf's skin.
STORY
Alex Hunter is spending Halloween at Wolf Creek with his Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin while his parents fly off to France for a "business trip". Wolf Creek is a tiny town, barely anything special about it. But Alex, having an interest in photography, is more interested in going into the woods to take pictures for a Halloween photo contest he's entering. Aunt Marta asks what Alex plans to dress up as for Halloween. When he says he'll be a werewolf, the two panic and almost send the van careening into a truck. The two then start talking about people known as the Marlings, but won't elaborate on who they are to Alex. They also argue about the possibility of werewolves in the woods, still being super vague in front of Alex.
They make it to Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin's place, which is between a house where a girl Alex's age named Hannah lives, and on the other side is a run down place belonging to the Marlings, which they warn Alex to stay away from. Alex gets introduced to Hannah, who has a low husky voice according to Jovial Bob. They hit it off pretty well. The kids head out to the woods to take pictures, but Alex decides he wants to take a picture of the Marlings house, which causes Hannah to panic as well. Regardless, Alex looks in one of the front windows and sees the interior looking like some animal tore it to pieces. Hannah gets him away from the house and says she'll explain what's going on after Halloween. After the full moon.
Hannah and Alex make it into the woods, but soon run afoul of a pair of bullies named Sean Kiner and Arjun Khosla. Maybe I need to double check, but this may be the first Indian-American character in this entire book series. They pick on Alex for a bit, swipe his camera and whatnot, then warn Alex and Hannah that they saw some sort of creature tear a deer apart. The two scoff at the bullies, then Alex mentions that he's going to dress up as a werewolf, to which Sean and Arjun mention there's already enough werewolves in Wolf Creek. That night, Alex goes to bed, but is unable to sleep. He sees what looks to be an orange light emitting from within the window of the Marlings house, and some sort of man or animal inside. Alex tries to take a picture, but can't find his camera anywhere. He does find Hannah, who says that Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin let her stay up there to find some clothes for Halloween. Alex ultimately accepts this suspicious claim and runs outside to hunt for his camera, despite Hannah's warnings to stay inside.
He runs into the woods in the pouring rain with nothing equipped but a flashlight. he finds the camera, but it doesn't take long for him to hear beastly noises. Some sort of creature is in the woods, and it's clearly tearing into some animals and eating them. Alex panics and runs deeper into the woods, eventually tripping on the animal carcasses. Eventually he finally escapes the woods and returns to the backyard of his aunt and uncle. But before he goes inside, he spies the backyard of the Marlings. There's animal footprints that seem to lead right into the bedroom. The next day, Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin get phone calls from the Marlings complaining about Alex trying to spy. Alex asks about the Marlings and the animal prints, but Uncle Colin just says that they must own some big German Shepherds. Alex promises to not bother the Marlings anymore, but if you've read as many Goosebumps books as I have at this point, you know that promise means nothing.
He goes to school with Hannah the next day, where the teacher Mr. Shein (R.L. Shein?) is conveniently talking about lycanthropy, the study of werewolves. Makes sense though since Halloween is still coming up. He also mentions werewolf skin, as in a literal skin that can be shed by werewolves. If the skin gets destroyed, the human afflicted by the werewolf curse will die. The entire class raise their hands when asked if they believe in werewolves, all but Alex who is still skeptical. Sean and Arjun tell him later that they can prove to Alex that werewolves exist, and Alex, realizing he still needs a photo for the contest, decides to agree with whatever they have in mind. That night, while his aunt and uncle are out, he heads out to the woods to meet with them. But hits a snag when he can't leave the house. After his trip outside last night, his aunt and uncle seem to have locked him inside. He also hears more noises from the Marlings house. Despite being defeated tonight, he swears he'll see a werewolf tomorrow.
Alex goes to Sean and Arjun the next day who laugh at him. They never went to the woods last night, they were sound asleep. So Alex dodged a bullet. He then leaps right into a bullet by lying about seeing a werewolf, only to be reminded that, oh right, he takes his camera with him at all times, so he should have photographic evidence. So, he decides to hell with everything, he's going to sneak into the Marlings house the next night and get the answers he needs once and for all. That night he sneaks into the bushes that separate his aunt and uncle's house from the Marlings and gets his camera ready. He hears the noises and sees the light glow again. This time however he sees two people enter the backyard wearing what looks to be a cape of some sort. On closer inspection, the cape looks more like an animal hide. Like a wolf's skin. The Marlings are werewolves all right! Alex can't get a good look at the faces, but tries to get a picture. Only in his panic to drop the camera and attract the attention of the werewolves.
Thankfully the werewolves give up looking for Alex pretty quickly and leap into the woods. He follows the werewolves into the forest, and spots them cornering a deer. Alex saves the deer by letting out a howling noise. Before he gets caught himself however, the werewolves go after a rabbit instead. Unfortunately Alex can't save the rabbit as we get some grisly details about them snapping the rabbit's neck and feasting on its entrails. This gives him enough time to take pictures of the werewolves. Eventually the werewolves return to the Marling's house and turn back into their human forms. It's here where Alex finally sees their faces. And to his horror, it's Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin!
Alex thinks to run away, knowing he can't possibly stay with a pair of werewolves, but then becomes concerned about what happened to the Marlings. He sneaks to the windowsill and sees that there's no furniture or signs of life at all. There are no Marlings! This was all a lie made up by his aunt and uncle. Alex goes to warn Hannah, but gets caught by Aunt Marta. They act normally, and don't seem to suspect Alex of knowing anything. It's now Halloween and Alex finally gets a chance to tell Hannah about seeing his aunt and uncle in the werewolf skin. Hannah says that she might have a plan to fix this. She says that if they wear the skins, maybe it will break the spell. They grab the skins and are ready to destroy them, until Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin catch them. Before the kids end up done for, the full moon comes out, and somehow the fact that Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin aren't in the skins during the change manages to cure them of the curse.
TWIST ENDING
CONCLUSION
Werewolf Skin is a solid Goosebumps book. It's paced well, ramps up the mystery throughout, contains some rather gory details involving animal slaughter and works in some excellent multilayered twists. From the misdirect of the supposed Marlings to the aunt and uncle being the actual werewolves, to the final kick with Hannah being a werewolf too. I guess they were right to call this place Wolf Creek. I even like the wrinkle that Marta and Colin, being werewolves for years, seem to control themselves from attacking humans, instead taking their fury out on woodland creatures. It makes sense why Hannah would be different since Stine establishes she's new at this.
Honestly, this book feels like what I wanted out of The Werewolf of Fever Swamp. A story that gives us lots of werewolf action throughout and not in quick blurbs by the book's end. The concept of the skins themselves seem very well thought out as well. Clearly the concept of wearing an outfit that changes ones persona isn't something Stine came up with, but his spin on the lore is still intriguing. I do feel they rush the ending with Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin being cured, but if you can excuse that, you still have one of the finest books in the original 62. Werewolf Skin gets an A.
No comments:
Post a Comment