The Werewolf of Fever Swamp (Goosebumps #14)

## Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?

Fever Swamp invokes a layered mythos atypical of the Goosebumps series. The swamp harbors old, sick memories of a fever that drives inhabitants insane, ultimately killing them. Given the title, there are obvious parallels to lycanthropy.

[N.B. This review includes images, and was formatted for my site, dendrobibliography -- located here.]

For Grady Tucker and his family, the swamp is full of mysteries worth investigating. His parents -- both scientists -- research the local fauna, namely swamp deer and their ability to survive in Fever Swamp*, while Grady quickly gets wrapped up in the werewolf mythology. He makes friends with two competing locals, Will and Cassie, and a giant dog named Wolf. The four show more spend their days exploring the swamp, hiding from a mad hermit, and stumbling upon mauled corpses of animals. Every night, the backwoods echo with wild howls, and the animals' corpses show up closer and closer to home, and a wild beast starts clawing to be let in....

Even though R.L. Stine writes the swamp as a basket of swamp cliches, the plot's so focused within the neighborhood that the swamp cliches never get out of hand. (See How I Got My Shrunken Head or the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena for how ignorant R.L. Stine could be of the world beyond a white, safe suburbia.) The Werewolf of Fever Swamp continues the trend started in Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, portraying scientists and science very negatively -- Grady's parents are belittling, and their 'research' is introducing invasive species just to see what happens. It was a bad habit on Stine's part that always bewildered me, but also seemed to be a trend among '90s YA and TV.

The Werewolf of Fever Swamp does a lot right despite its problems: The mystery is effective, the setting oppressive, and the cover art among Tim Jacobus' best work (it was my favorite when I was a kid!). The plot's rife with red herrings, pointing the finger every which way -- the hermit, Will, Cassie, the dog, the parents -- for the werewolf's identity, and no one's trustworthy. Like many of the best Gooseboops yarns, the twist ending fits perfectly within the rules of the story (not to mention how dark it is!), making the Werewolf of Fever Swamp one of the best original Goosebumps novels.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#13 Piano Lessons Can Be Murder | #15 You Can't Scare Me! show less

Occasionally, I like to dip back into easier-to-read books from my childhood as a way to ease my brain a little bit after a particularly tough book. After having finished Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms", and dipping my toes into Antoine Augustin Calmet's "Phantom World" essays, I've realized that I needed something slower, simpler and easily readable to just sort of relax the ol' grey muscle.

Plus, I've been watching YouTube videos by John Wolfe where he goes back to read Goosebump books and rates them, and I thought, why not? I've already read and reviewed two of them from the perspective of an adult (of which you can see in my profile), and I still have around ~60 of the things to get through. Feeling in a Werewolf mood since I love show more werewolves, I picked up "The Werewolf of Fever Swamp" because it has a werewolf and John Wolfe reviewed it.

That was a mouthful. What did I think of it?

Honestly, I liked it! The other two Goosebump books that I reviewed at this point "Vampire Breath" and "Attack of the Jack-o-Lanterns" weren't very well written and were clearly written by Ghostwriters at that point, seeing as they're later additions to the Goosebump franchise. The earlier ones, such as this book, still have a polish to them where it's clear R.L Stine had a clear goal in mind for the story, and personally wanted to make sure they were well written enough to still be entertaining for both adults and kids.

While the Goosebump books aren't terrifying as an adult, I still like to imagine myself as a 10-year-old boy again reading these in the dead of night, and remembering what it felt like to be scared by them. Unfortunately, this book isn't exactly frightening, but I still enjoyed how there's really not much filler aside from some obvious padding here and there to hit the novella page length.

If you're a child looking for a decent children's horror book, an adult who either knows a child getting into horror or want to start horror yourself with something that won't keep you up at night, then I recommend this book. Goosebumps can be pretty hit or miss, and this one is a decent hit. show less

This was one of my favorite Goosebumps books growing up. I can't tell you how many times I read it and reread it, imagining the transformation sequences and the air of the swamp itself. I've always adored werewolves, and having a Goosebumps book about them seemed like a great way to scratch that itch. So, when I was a kid this book was utterly perfect for me. As an adult, that isn't quite the same case.

The overarching plot of [b: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp|865736|The Werewolf of Fever Swamp (Goosebumps, #14)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389235883s/865736.jpg|870702] is as follows. A brother and sister are brought down to the swamp by their parents due to their father needing to study "swamp deer" in their natural show more habitat. While swamp deer are apparently a real thing the Indian subcontinent is their natural habitat, no really penned up in the backyard of a house in Florida. Anyway, due to Swamp Deer Experiment Related Moving they are now living in Fever Swamp - so called because the first settlers of it all did of a fever. Or something. Also, there's supposedly a werewolf living in there but it definitely isn't the random dog found early on in the book or the weird hermit. Right?

This book is a bit ridiculous. It has one of the lowest monster instances of any Goosebumps book, which is somewhat disappointing for a werewolf lover like myself. The action is likewise lacking, although at one point most of the swamp deer end up eaten. So there's that. The swamp as a creepy place was a bit better utilized in [b: How to Kill a Monster|125555|How to Kill a Monster (Goosebumps, #46)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867790s/125555.jpg|120920] and I hear [b: Werewolf Skin|125565|Werewolf Skin (Goosebumps, #60)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1401921187s/125565.jpg|870701] is pretty decent so... maybe Goosebumps will deliver later? At least the cover art is pretty great. show less

My favorite Goosebumps book since I was a kid! I devoured these books when I was younger, and if I'm not mistaken, this was my first Goosebumps book. I Loved the ending and the leadup to it! It's a fun tale that's a classic staple in the horror community to this day since it's one of his more famous titles.

One of the better goosebumps stories, mainly because of the ending. Dark for this sort of age group, it wasn't as cheesy as some of the others. Kids who like this series and type should have no problem getting into it and enjoying it.

Despite being written for children, the Goosebumps books are good reads. Light enough for those days when you just can't concentrate, R.L.Stine still manages to entertain. This book is great for tweens and teens as it is thrilling enough to give them a chill while lacking the (often graphic) descriptions of adult werewolf stories.

Took a third of the book before werewolves were even mentioned, which did not leave much for the suspense to really build.