Book #33
99 Fear Street: The House of Evil (Collector's Edition) by R.L. Stine
Take a tour of the scariest house on Fear Street in this spooky trilogy. "The First Horror": Twins Cally and Kody Frasier have moved into the scariest house on Fear Street. Will they become its next victims? "The Second Horror": The minute Brandt moves into town, he's got three girls fighting over him. But Cally's ghost wants him most of all. "The Third Horror": Kody returns to the infamous 99 Fear Street to make a movie about her life--and find her sister. But soon the horror film is becoming all too real.
(Sorry about the miniscule book cover! This isn't the newest or most popular book, so I found it difficult to find a clear cover picture, unfortunately!)
I must have read this trilogy a thousand times many moons ago. I loved scaring myself, and I loved reading about the supernatural. I can't remember, however, being as scared reading it as I was this time. I am the grand old age of twenty-three (almost twenty-four!) and I was jumping out of my skin when I heard the slightest noise in my empty house. This is what R.L. Stine is all about. I am a grown woman, it's ridiculous.
I find it amazing how kids can read these books, actually. All three were filled with such gruesome and gory scenes, terrible cliff-hangers at the end of each and every chapter, and trauma every few pages. It was delicious.
The first book in the trilogy is exciting, but upon reading the next two it's soon quite obvious that it's also an excellent set-up for what's to come in the next two installments. The ending is absolutely shocking - my book is the Collector's Edition (three books in one), I have no idea how I would've felt if I only had the first book and wasn't able to read on afterwards.
The second book becomes darker and a bit more creative, with Stine dabbling in ritual magic and voodoo. I found our male protagonist to be slightly irritating, particularly when he has three girls fawning over him at one point, making him think he was a bit of a ticket. His ending, though, was almost as delightful as the last! The twist was perfect, and I had forgotten all about it. Although I did work a few things out before they happened in book two (which, to be fair, is to be expected with an adult reading literature aimed at a younger audience), it was in no way as predictable as Call Waiting.
The third was probably my least favourite, but was still enjoyable. I found the plot to be slightly unbelievable to begin with - all of these horrible events happen at your old house, so you decide to go back so you can star in a film about it? Nonetheless, I enjoyed the gore, and I enjoyed the casualties. It was possibly the most gruesome of the three, but this is a very close call. I'm not too sure if the second or third installments would be as exciting if the reader hadn't experienced its predecessors, however.
I am an absolute sucker for being scared. I love it, and I had forgotten how wonderfully spine-tingly R.L. Stine's stories and words were. I have no idea where all of my old Point Horror and Goosebumps books are, but I really will have to have a look because I had lots of fun reading this one, despite having to put all of the lights on in the house before going downstairs for a glass of water during the night.
Normal service will resume soon; two more children's novels to go!