Bride of the Living Dummy (Goosebumps Series 2000 #2)

Two and a half stars. never--I never thought I'd have to do this, but: TRIGGER WARNING FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DURING THE FINAL TWO CHAPTERS OF THIS BOOK.
In an RL Stine book?
Yeah.
Still surprised.
I consider it domestic violence because they're stated to be married even though both of them are screaming at one another about it.

I hate dolls. Haaaated Slappy's stories as a kid. I reread this to learn if I could cope with it easier. Uhhhh no. Still terrified. RL Stine seems to use twin siblings as set dressing in his books a lot, and it's annoying and pointless. Unless he's the sibling of twins; then it has a totally different spin on it. Okay, I looked it up and he has two siblings, not noted if they're twins. Aaaaand Slappy and his stories show more are his favorites. So, this book was unsettling to me as an adult, but nowhere near the bone-chilling stuff I remember. Not gonna read it again. Juuuust unhappy with doll horror.

Lord Ravenscraft, a Youtube entertainer, discussed RL Stine's "Goosebumps" series in the first two videos he did on Animorphs. The two series came out side-by-side in the 90s, so kids read them side-by-side, is why he talked about them in the review. He referred respectfully to them as "softball" horror, which, yeah. These books were introductions to Stephen King and others. Now, the reason I think they're not emotion-inducing is because...I was already introduced. Still a lot of fond memories and deep respect because these books turned me into a horror book fan. show less

When Slappy—the world’s most evil ventriloquist dummy—shows up after being abandoned by his previous owner, chaos follows. Bride of the Living Dummy turns up the chilling factor with an eerie new puppet antagonist, blending haunted dolls, twisted humor, and psychological suspense. R. L. Stine masters the art of dolls‑gone‑wrong horror in this fast‑paced installment sure to delight Goosebumps fans with a flair for spookier scares.

Goosebumps. This is the series that kept me reading through my childhood. More than any other series, Goosebumps kept me interested in reading, and R.L. Stein is a wonderful children's writer. I applaud his efforts, and can't express enough my gratitude for the series.

Horror