The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

Last updated
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp
Werewolf of Fever Swamp.jpg
First edition cover
Author R. L. Stine
Cover artist Tim Jacobus
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Goosebumps
Genre Horror fiction
children's literature
Publisher Scholastic
Publication date
December 1993
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages123 (first edition)
ISBN 0-590-49449-X
OCLC 29391346
LC Class MLC R CP01334
Preceded byPiano Lessons Can Be Murder 
Followed byYou Can't Scare Me! 

The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is the fourteenth book in the original Goosebumps, the series of children's horror fiction novellas created and authored by R. L. Stine. The story follows Grady Tucker, who moves into a new house next to the Fever Swamp with his family. After a swamp deer is killed, his father believes Grady's dog is responsible, but Grady is convinced a werewolf is the culprit.

Contents

The book was well received by critics, and was featured on the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller list. In the mid-1990s, it was adapted for television, and was later released on both VHS and DVD. In 2006, the book was adapted into a comic book story in the volume Creepy Creatures .

Plot

Grady and his family, the Tuckers, have moved to Florida into a house next to Fever Swamp because his father Mr. Tucker, a scientist, wants to determine if swamp deer from South America can survive in Florida. Grady's father keeps the deer in a pen but plans on releasing them in the swamp. Grady and his sister Emily get lost while exploring the swamp and meet a swamp hermit who lives in a shack. As the hermit chases after them, they run away ultimately making their way back home. A few days later, as Grady is going outside to meet Will Blake, one of his new friends, a big stray dog jumps onto Grady. Grady thinks the dog resembles more a wolf than a dog and decides to call the dog Wolf. One morning, Will tells him that a neighbor, Ed Warner, went missing after hunting in the swamp. Cassie O'Rourke, a girl who lives in the neighborhood, suggests that a werewolf is the reason for Mr. Warner's disappearance.

After going out to investigate some howling, Grady finds a hole that had been ripped from the deer pen and a slain deer laying on one side. Mr. Tucker sees paw prints around the pen and blames Wolf for the killing. He plans on taking Wolf to the pound, but Grady is convinced that a werewolf killed the deer and other animals in town, and he helps the dog flee before Mr. Tucker can capture Wolf. That night, Grady hears howling and observes Wolf slowly moving towards the swamp shortly afterward. As Grady follows the dog he runs into Will, who says he heard the howls and decided to investigate them. While they are following Wolf, Grady gets separated from both Will and the Wolf.

Eventually, Grady comes across the swamp hermit's shack and begins to hear loud howling coming from nearby. Worried that the swamp hermit is a werewolf, he starts to flee before he is attacked by Will, who is revealed to be a werewolf. During the struggle, Will sinks his fangs into Grady's shoulder, causing Grady to become a werewolf. Wolf reappears and fights off Will before Grady passes out. When Grady regains consciousness, he learns from his mother that the swamp hermit found him and carried him home. His parents also let Grady keep Wolf after discovering that the dog saved his life. During the next full moon, Grady (now a werewolf) and his dog go out to hunt.

Release and reception

The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was first published in December 1993 by Scholastic, and reissued in October 2009 under the Classic Goosebumps rename. [1] The book was featured in USA Today's Top 150 Best-Selling Books database for 73 weeks, attaining a peak position of 24. [2] In 2001, it was listed as the 209th bestselling children's paperback book of all time by Publishers Weekly , having sold 1,577,808 copies. [3]

Gary Westfahl, writing in Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture: Coming of Age in Fantasyland, described the book as a story of victimization. [4] Nathan Reese from Complex.com, who listed it as his fifth favorite book in the Goosebumps series, called it a story of alienation and transformation. [5] Writer Brian J. Frost felt The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was one of the best werewolf novels in the series, stating it "heightens the suspense by concealing the identity of the werewolf until the very end." [6]

Television adaptation and home media

In the 1990s, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was adapted into a television special, which first aired on May 17, 1996 on the Fox Network. [7] [8] The special was later split into two parts and denoted as the 18th and 19th episodes of the Goosebumps television series' first season. [9] The special starred Brendan Fletcher as Grady Tucker, Maria Ricossa as Grady's mother, Mairon Bennett as Emily, Geoffrey Bowes as Grady's father, Michael Barry as Will, and Don Francks as the swamp hermit. [8] Neal Shusterman wrote the special, while Steve Levitan served as producer, and William Fruet served as director. [10] Kimberly M. Hutmacher from Kaboose described it as "a suspenseful well-crafted mystery." [11]

The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was released on VHS in 1997. Billboard listed the video as the 19th best-selling children's video in 1997, the only Goosebumps video on the list. [12] In 2004, the TV special was also released on DVD. [13]

Comic book story

Gabriel Hernandez adapted the book into a comic book story in Creepy Creatures , published on September 1, 2006, as the first book in the Goosebumps Graphix series. [14] Kat Kan, writing for Booklist , stated that Hernandez "uses sketchy but expressive art to convey the spooky atmosphere" in the story, and the ""gotcha" ending of the tale is particularly well done." [15] The comic book story reappeared along with three other Goosebumps book adaptations in the Goosebumps Graphix book Slappy's Tales of Horror, published August 25, 2015. [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Haunted Mask</i> 11th novel by R. L. Stine

The Haunted Mask is the eleventh book in the original Goosebumps, the series of children's horror fiction novels created and written by R. L. Stine. The book follows Carly Beth, a girl who buys a Halloween mask from a store. After putting on the mask, she starts acting differently and discovers that the mask has become her face; she is unable to pull the mask off. R. L. Stine says he got the idea for the book from his son who had put on a Frankenstein mask he had trouble getting off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. L. Stine</span> American writer and producer (born 1943)

Robert Lawrence Stine, sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor.

<i>Goosebumps</i> Series of childrens novels by R. L. Stine

Goosebumps is a series of horror novels written by American author R. L. Stine. The protagonists in these stories are teens or pre-teens who find themselves in frightening circumstances, often involving the supernatural, the paranormal, or the occult. Between 1992 and 1997, 62 books were published under the Goosebumps umbrella title. R. L. Stine also wrote various spin-off series, including, Goosebumps Series 2000, Give Yourself Goosebumps, Tales to Give You Goosebumps, Goosebumps Triple Header, Goosebumps HorrorLand, Goosebumps Most Wanted and Goosebumps SlappyWorld. Additionally there was a series called Goosebumps Gold that was never released.

<i>Give Yourself Goosebumps</i> Childrens horror gamebook series

Give Yourself Goosebumps is a children's horror fiction gamebook series by R. L. Stine. After the success of the original Goosebumps books, Scholastic Press decided to create this spin-off series in 1995. In fact, Stine had written gamebooks in previous years.

Goosebumps Series 2000 is a spin-off of the original Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine. The cover design of the Series 2000 books was different from the original books, though the cover art was again by the same person, Tim Jacobus. There was no back tagline anymore, and the paragraphs at the back were excerpts from the book rather than a short summary of the story as the original books' back covers had. There was another difference with back covers too, as the "Reader Beware, You're In For A Scare!" of the original series was changed to "2000 Times The Scares!" and "Welcome to the new millennium of fear". Only 25 books were printed because of a dispute that R.L. Stine had with Scholastic. A 26th book, called "The Incredible Shrinking Fifth Grader" was planned and while it was canceled, Stine retooled it into a standalone book called "The Adventures of Shrink Man".

Scott Morse is an American animator, filmmaker, and comic book artist/writer.

<i>Welcome to Dead House</i> 1992 book by R.L. Stine

Welcome to Dead House is the first book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in July 1992 along with Stay Out of the Basement and Monster Blood, the second and third books. Additionally, it was re-released in 2010 as the thirteenth book under the Classic Goosebumps title, featuring new artwork by Brandon Dorman.

<i>Goosebumps</i> (1995 TV series) Horror anthology television series

Goosebumps is a children's anthology horror television series based on R. L. Stine's best-selling book series of the same name. It is an anthology of stories involving children and young adults in strange situations. The series is centered around the same supernatural or occult elements featured in the novels with most episodes being direct adaptions of the novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slappy the Dummy</span> Villain in the Goosebumps book series

Slappy the Dummy is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the Goosebumps children's series by R. L. Stine. He is one of the series' most popular villains, the main antagonist of the Night of the Living Dummy saga and the mascot of the franchise. He is also the main antagonist of the Goosebumps film and its Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween sequel, where Stine describes him as a "ventriloquist's dummy with a serious Napoleonic complex". He comes alive by these words: "Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molanu Karrano", and they can be found on a sheet of paper in Slappy's jacket pocket. After coming to life, Slappy will try to make the person who brought him to life serve him as a slave, to the point that he will frame that person for bad things that he does.

Goosebumps HorrorLand is a horror novella series by R.L. Stine, a spin-off of his popular Goosebumps books. There was an almost ten-year gap between the publication of the initial installment in the Goosebumps Horrorland.

<i>One Day at HorrorLand</i> 1994 book by R.L. Stine

One Day at HorrorLand was originally published in February 1994 and is the sixteenth children's horror novel in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series. It was adapted into a two-part episode for the television series, which was later released on VHS and DVD. A comic adaptation of the book was included in the graphic novel compilation Terror Trips, part of the Goosebumps Graphix series. There were two video games, an audiobook, and an adult-aimed interactive show based on the book. A sequel in the spin-off series Goosebumps Series 2000 titled Return to HorrorLand was published in 1999. The HorrorLand theme park was expanded upon in the book series Goosebumps HorrorLand. The two-part episode was released on VHS and DVD. The book and episodes received positive reception.

<i>Goosebumps</i> (film) 2015 American film by Rob Letterman

Goosebumps is a 2015 American horror comedy film directed by Rob Letterman and written by Darren Lemke, based on R. L. Stine's children's horror book series of the same name. The film stars Jack Black as a fictionalized version of Stine, who teams up with his neighbor and his teenage daughter, to save their hometown after all the monsters from the Goosebumps franchise escape from his works, wreaking havoc in the real world. It also stars Amy Ryan, Ryan Lee, and Jillian Bell in supporting roles.

Goosebumps is a series of children's horror fiction novellas by R. L. Stine. 62 books were published under the Goosebumps umbrella title from 1992 to 1997; the first was Welcome to Dead House; the last was Monster Blood IV. The cover illustrations for this series was done primarily by Tim Jacobus.

<i>Creepy Creatures</i> 2006 novel

Creepy Creatures is the first book in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps Graphix series. It is a comic book that contains three stories; TheWerewolf of Fever Swamp adapted by Gabriel Hernandez, The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight adapted by Greg Ruth and The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena adapted by Scott Morse, all based on the Goosebumps books by R. L. Stine. The book was first published on September 1, 2006 by Scholastic in the United States.

Goosebumps video games are a series of action-adventure games based on Goosebumps book series.

<i>Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween</i> 2018 film by Ari Sandel

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is a 2018 American horror comedy film directed by Ari Sandel and written by Rob Lieber from a story by Lieber and Darren Lemke. A stand-alone sequel to 2015's Goosebumps, it is based on the children's horror book series of the same name by R. L. Stine. The new cast consists of Wendi McLendon-Covey, Madison Iseman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Caleel Harris, Chris Parnell, and Ken Jeong. The plot follows two young boys who accidentally release the monsters from the Goosebumps franchise in their town after opening an unpublished Goosebumps manuscript titled Haunted Halloween, causing a wave of destruction on Halloween night.

Goosebumps SlappyWorld is a series of Goosebumps books by author R. L. Stine.

<i>Goosebumps</i> (comics)

From 2006 to 2019, several comic book adaptations have been printed, based on the Goosebumps books by R. L. Stine. The first was Creepy Creatures, a graphic novel compilation book in the Goosebumps Graphix line. This series began when Stine starting receiving letters from fans asking him to write more Goosebumps books. The comics have been adaptations from original books and new stories from various artists. IDW publishing would produce goosebumps comics that are more original stories but contain characters from the books.

<i>Goosebumps</i> (2023 TV series) 2023 American TV series or program

Goosebumps is an American supernatural horror television series developed by Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller for Disney+ and Hulu. It is based on the book series by R. L. Stine. The series abandons the anthology format of the 1995 original TV series to focus on a serialized style of storytelling instead, while still featuring some of the existing Goosebumps monsters and items.

References

  1. ↑ Stine, R. L. (October 2009). Classic Goosebumps #11: Werewolf of Fever Swamp. Scholastic. ISBN   978-0-545-15886-2.
  2. ↑ "Goosebumps: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp". USA Today. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ Hochman Turvey, Diane (December 17, 2001). Roback, Diane; Britton, Jason (eds.). "All-Time Bestselling Children's Books". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  4. ↑ Westfahl, Gary (2000). Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture: Coming of Age in Fantasyland . Greenwood Press. pp.  44–45. ISBN   0-313-30847-0.
  5. ↑ Reese, Nathan (October 27, 2014). "The Definitive Ranking of All 62 Original "Goosebumps" Books". Complex.com. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  6. ↑ J. Frost, Brian (2003). The Essential Guide to Werewolf Literature. The University of Wisconsin Press. p. 234. ISBN   0-87972-859-0.
  7. ↑ Martin, John (May 17, 1996). "Kids can get goosebumps from 'Swamp'". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  8. 1 2 The Werewolf of Fever Swamp (VHS). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. 1997. ISBN   0-7939-4394-9.
  9. ↑ "Goosebumps - Episodes". Zap2it. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Werewolf of Fever Swamp". New York Times. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  11. ↑ M. Hutmacher, Kimberly. "Goosebumps- The Werewolf of Fever Swamp". Kaboose. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Top Kid Videos". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 2. 10 January 1998. p. 62. ISSN   0006-2510.
  13. ↑ The Werewolf of Fever Swamp (DVD). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. 2004.
  14. ↑ Carter, R. J. (August 28, 2006). "Book Review: Goosebumps Graphix: Creepy Creatures". The Trades. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  15. ↑ Kan, Kat (October 1, 2006). "Creepy Creatures". Booklist. 103 (3): 53. ISSN   0006-7385.
  16. ↑ "SLAPPY'S TALES OF HORROR". Kirkus Reviews. June 6, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.