Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine (Book 7 of the Goosebumps Series)

I would classify Goosebumps as a pre-teen book. These books are scary. They are meant to be creepy. I really encourage parents to read a sample at least first and then decide if your child is old enough not only to appreciate these books but to understand that they are works of fiction. Genres: Horror, Children's Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal.

Trigger Warning: Younger children will be frightened by these books. Possessed dolls, talking puppets, mean and rude behaviour, scary, creepy. 

"She had only gone one step when Slappy reached up and grabbed her wrist."

Twins Lindy and Kris were inseparable, as most twins are. But like any siblings, they argued, and jealousy sometimes crept in. While exploring an abandoned house near their own home, Kris and Lindy find a ventriloquist's dummy abandoned in a Dumpster. The girls rescue the dummy, and they decide he should belong to Lindy. Kris becomes incredibly frustrated by this; the dummy, now called Slappy, seems like one more way that Lindy gets all the attention thrown on her. Wanting to make sure Kris doesn't feel left out, her father goes to a local pawn shop and buys Kris her own dummy, Mr Wood. 

While the two girls enjoy playing with their dummies and practising their ventriloquist acts, strange things begin to happen. But surely Mr. Wood and Slappy can't be the cause of all these nasty things. Could they?

The Review

I am a chicken. There is no way around it. I am a chicken. I hate scary stuff. I hate scary movies, am not a huge fan of Halloween, and really not interested in horror whatsoever. I have never been. Goosebumps was not my cup of tea, at all (and by that I meant I knew enough about them to decide without ever opening a single book that they would give me nightmares for a week). At the ripe old age of 30, I watched the movies for the first time. And it still kinda freaked me out even at thirty. So I know I made the right call. But I remember how popular they were in school. I think I was in the fourth grade when the boys mostly started borrowing them from the library. And then by grade five, a lot more people started fighting over them. (Not me, I was still perfectly happy with The Stinky Cheeseman!) 

There is no denying that these books were huge, especially in the 90s. They made TV shows inspired by them, movies- you name it, they cashed in on it. After listening to this book, I think I can see why. To me this would be the starting point for any young "horror" buff. Chances are if you liked Goosebumps as a kid, you read Stephen King now. But I can say that they are well written in my opinion, and I think most curious kids would enjoy them as long as they don't have overactive imaginations or sensitivities to these types of things (like myself). 

SPOILER ALERT

The book is about two girls who find these dummies. One dummy is mysteriously moving around and seems to be coming alive when no one is looking. One sister eventually confesses that it is her and that she was trying to freak her sister out (which works). But after reading a magic incantation in the dummy's pocket, the other dummy really does come alive! (Yes, it's terrifying.) The dummy seems unstoppable until he is finally "killed". 

 

I listened to this book through my local library (on the Libby App). 

Rating and Recommendation

Rating these books is always a tricky thing for me. This book's target audience is children who like horror, and I am neither. It is not my cup of tea. But as I said, it is well written, and it was the it thing before books like Harry Potter came around. Many people my age and a bit older will have grown up on these books, and it is not surprising that they were the books children learned to read with and found a love of reading because of them. So I highly recommend them for middle schoolers who enjoy being scared or these suspenseful, creepy-type stories.  

I do not own this book. I am a little old to be buying this book now. (I have a huge list of books that I already want to buy without adding some childhood books I don't own yet.) But if I saw the series (a box set) on sale, I would jump on it. That being said, I think it is a great investment if you have children. 

Conclusion

If your child likes creepy stories, spooky campfire tales, or is just starting to get their feet wet when it comes to horror. This is the series for them. There are a lot of books, and they don't necessarily follow (unless they say so), so jumping in with any book is easy to do. 

You can find Night of the Living Dummy in its respective mediums below: 

 

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