Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Scholastic (2015), Edition: 4th edition, 160 pages
Description
Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML: Something scary is happening in GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND, the all-new, all-terrifying series by R. L. Stine. Just how scary? You'll never know unless you crack open this classic prequel! Discover the fan-favorite thriller and chiller that first introduced the world to the wooden face of fear. The puppet who pulls all the strings. None other than Slappy the Dummy!.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Sopoforic
Kris and Lindy Powell are twin sisters. They share not only their birthday, but also their room, their clothes--just about everything. It's a blessing and a curse--they're very close, but they can really irritate each other, too.
One day, when looking around next door, where a house is being build,
However, strange things start to happen with the dummies. They seem to be moving around when no one is looking, fighting with each other. When Lindy tries to demonstrate to Kris how to move Mr. Wood, the dummy says cruel things, and Lindy claims that she isn't doing it--that the dummy is speaking for himself. Is it all just a practical joke? Or could Mr. Wood be... alive?
The seventh book in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series, Night of the Living Dummy explores the classic 'evil dummy' story. It's undoubtedly one of the most famous Goosebumps books, though, for my money, the best ventriloquist and evil dummy are Batman's Arnold Wesker and Scarface.
(Spoilers removed. The full review, including spoilers, is available here.)
Night of the Living Dummy isn't bad, but it's got poor characterization, even for a Goosebumps book. The story's okay, though, and as usual it's a quick read. It's probably worth reading once, or rereading for the sake of nostalgia. It's available for the Kindle as Classic Goosebumps #1, so those who want Goosebumps ebooks can pick it up that way, or else get one of the abundant used copies--the world is fairly drowning in used Goosebumps books.
One day, when looking around next door, where a house is being build,
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Lindy finds a ventriloquist's dummy among the garbage, and names it Slappy. As she practices and gets skilled with the dummy, Kris becomes jealous, wanting her own dummy. Their father finds one at a pawn show, very cheap--the owner of the shop seemed to be glad to be rid of it. Kris names her dummy Mr. Wood, and sets to practicing.However, strange things start to happen with the dummies. They seem to be moving around when no one is looking, fighting with each other. When Lindy tries to demonstrate to Kris how to move Mr. Wood, the dummy says cruel things, and Lindy claims that she isn't doing it--that the dummy is speaking for himself. Is it all just a practical joke? Or could Mr. Wood be... alive?
The seventh book in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series, Night of the Living Dummy explores the classic 'evil dummy' story. It's undoubtedly one of the most famous Goosebumps books, though, for my money, the best ventriloquist and evil dummy are Batman's Arnold Wesker and Scarface.
(Spoilers removed. The full review, including spoilers, is available here.)
Night of the Living Dummy isn't bad, but it's got poor characterization, even for a Goosebumps book. The story's okay, though, and as usual it's a quick read. It's probably worth reading once, or rereading for the sake of nostalgia. It's available for the Kindle as Classic Goosebumps #1, so those who want Goosebumps ebooks can pick it up that way, or else get one of the abundant used copies--the world is fairly drowning in used Goosebumps books.
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LibraryThing member kittyjay
After watching the new(ish) Goosebumps movie with Jack Black playing R.L. Stine, I felt an overwhelming wave of nostalgia crash over me. I remember avidly reading the Goosebumps series before eventually moving on to Fear Street, then Christopher Pike, who was at the cutting edge of middle-school
With an ounce of misgiving - what if it didn't stand the test of time? - I opened the classic Night of the Living Dummy. It's been so long since I've read any Goosebumps that I didn't remember anything, aside from a vague knowledge that Slappy was the main bad.
How. Could. I. Have. Forgotten.
The puking scene! The fact Slappy was the secondary character!
But I get ahead of myself. Night of the Living Dummy features a pair of twins who are a trial to their parents, who are oddly supportive of their pre-teen daughters taking up ventriloquism. I recognize that this is an actual talent, but I have to say, I'd be worried if I were a parent. Anyway, one of our twins finds a dummy in a dumpster and decides to become the queen of ventriloquism. The other twin gets jealous enough to coax her father into buying another dummy for her.
Then strange things begin happening, because this isn't Night of the Very Much Dead and Not at All Interesting Dummy. The dummies begin to seemingly move on their own and wind up in weird positions; the twins find themselves spurting awful, hateful things when they hold the dummies.
At the end, a conveniently placed steamroller manages to kill one of the dummies, but it's not quite over for the twins.
Is it cheesy? Oh yeah. Is it clearly written for pre-teens? Yup. Is it still crazy enjoyable if you have deep nostalgic feelings for this series? You betcha.
Despite the simplistic writing - which, again, written for pre-teens! - Goosebumps holds up. It's got just enough bite to still hold up after all these years, and a wicked sense of humor running underneath.
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terror. But Goosebumps always held a special place in my heart.With an ounce of misgiving - what if it didn't stand the test of time? - I opened the classic Night of the Living Dummy. It's been so long since I've read any Goosebumps that I didn't remember anything, aside from a vague knowledge that Slappy was the main bad.
How. Could. I. Have. Forgotten.
The puking scene! The fact Slappy was the secondary character!
But I get ahead of myself. Night of the Living Dummy features a pair of twins who are a trial to their parents, who are oddly supportive of their pre-teen daughters taking up ventriloquism. I recognize that this is an actual talent, but I have to say, I'd be worried if I were a parent. Anyway, one of our twins finds a dummy in a dumpster and decides to become the queen of ventriloquism. The other twin gets jealous enough to coax her father into buying another dummy for her.
Then strange things begin happening, because this isn't Night of the Very Much Dead and Not at All Interesting Dummy. The dummies begin to seemingly move on their own and wind up in weird positions; the twins find themselves spurting awful, hateful things when they hold the dummies.
At the end, a conveniently placed steamroller manages to kill one of the dummies, but it's not quite over for the twins.
Is it cheesy? Oh yeah. Is it clearly written for pre-teens? Yup. Is it still crazy enjoyable if you have deep nostalgic feelings for this series? You betcha.
Despite the simplistic writing - which, again, written for pre-teens! - Goosebumps holds up. It's got just enough bite to still hold up after all these years, and a wicked sense of humor running underneath.
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LibraryThing member t1bclasslibrary
In this book the twin sisters make a mistake common to Goosebumps characters- they attempt to tell adults about their paranormal encounters and expect to be believed. That kids would be stupid enough to believe that would work isn't particularly believeable, but it keeps coming up in these books.
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Anyway, these twin sisters can't seem to get along, and when one finds a dummy, she finds even more competition. What ends up being worse, however, is when the other gets a dummy, and he comes to life! He's completely out of control and nasty, but they get him run over with a steamroller. Show Less
LibraryThing member the_hag
The books in the Goosebumps series regularly seem to take the vein of a morality tale (of a twisted sort) where one virtue, evil, personality flaw, or issue is taken up as the focus of the story, and Night of the Living Dummy is no exception. The order of the day here is competition...in this
As we join them, the twins are exploring the house across the way from theirs when Lindy discovers a ventriloquist dummy in the construction dumpster...even better he appears to be in excellent shape. To Kris' horror, Lindy keeps the dummy, which Kris initially distains as stupid, gross, and boring. Shortly after finding him, Lindy manages to gain some skill and when her act becomes popular with their classmates...popular enough to get her some gigs doing birthday parties with her act, Kris decides that she too MUST have a dummy. Her parents initially rebuke her, dummies are expensive and try to get the girls to share which outrages Lindy...she becomes quite cruel toward her sister calling her a copy cat and really wanting this one thing for herself.
When their father manages to conveniently stumble upon a second dummy in a second hand shop for a good price, it seems like the problem is solved...but Lindy is still angry at her sister for trying to steal her thunder and begins to pose the dummy so that it appears to be alive, frightening her sister terribly...when the secret is revealed, Kris is crushed...but shortly after the dummy DOES come to life and the twins are left without their parents support (they are just fed up with talk and whining about the dummies to hear a single thing more about them). Will the girls be able to stop Mr. Wood? Will he make them his slaves? You'll have to read to find out...what you get is always different than what you expect with these stories, and Night of the Living Dummy is no exception, it does have a signature "got ya" moment at the end.
Overall, Night of the Living Dummy is well written and the characters are simple but adequately written. The girls are sympathetic in some instances and not in others...there are times in the story when you think they are getting what they deserve for the way they behaved...but in the end, you want them to pull out of it and save themselves from Mr. Wood. At the very end, just when you think it's all going to be ok, boo...an abrupt shock at the end and the story is over, leaving the reader wondering how the girls will get out of their predicament...this one reeks of sequel, which I understand there are several of. I give it five stars, this is much better written than some of the other books I've read in the series and for taking something that's already kind of creepy (the dummy) and making it horrific several times over.
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volume we meet twins Lindy and Kris Powell who are constantly competing, arguing, trying out do, out wit, and one-up one another. Their parents are frazzled and fed up with these beautiful twins who seem to frequently cross the line into cruelty and viciousness, and often behaving without sympathy toward one another and others. As we join them, the twins are exploring the house across the way from theirs when Lindy discovers a ventriloquist dummy in the construction dumpster...even better he appears to be in excellent shape. To Kris' horror, Lindy keeps the dummy, which Kris initially distains as stupid, gross, and boring. Shortly after finding him, Lindy manages to gain some skill and when her act becomes popular with their classmates...popular enough to get her some gigs doing birthday parties with her act, Kris decides that she too MUST have a dummy. Her parents initially rebuke her, dummies are expensive and try to get the girls to share which outrages Lindy...she becomes quite cruel toward her sister calling her a copy cat and really wanting this one thing for herself.
When their father manages to conveniently stumble upon a second dummy in a second hand shop for a good price, it seems like the problem is solved...but Lindy is still angry at her sister for trying to steal her thunder and begins to pose the dummy so that it appears to be alive, frightening her sister terribly...when the secret is revealed, Kris is crushed...but shortly after the dummy DOES come to life and the twins are left without their parents support (they are just fed up with talk and whining about the dummies to hear a single thing more about them). Will the girls be able to stop Mr. Wood? Will he make them his slaves? You'll have to read to find out...what you get is always different than what you expect with these stories, and Night of the Living Dummy is no exception, it does have a signature "got ya" moment at the end.
Overall, Night of the Living Dummy is well written and the characters are simple but adequately written. The girls are sympathetic in some instances and not in others...there are times in the story when you think they are getting what they deserve for the way they behaved...but in the end, you want them to pull out of it and save themselves from Mr. Wood. At the very end, just when you think it's all going to be ok, boo...an abrupt shock at the end and the story is over, leaving the reader wondering how the girls will get out of their predicament...this one reeks of sequel, which I understand there are several of. I give it five stars, this is much better written than some of the other books I've read in the series and for taking something that's already kind of creepy (the dummy) and making it horrific several times over.
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LibraryThing member gabriella_26
It wasn't the best goosebumps book I've read but it wasn't the worst either
LibraryThing member austinwood
A dummy causes trouble for Juvenile.
LibraryThing member Bobby3457
I think that R.L. Stine is one of my favorite authors. I think that this is one of the best books that he has done too. This was a great book. I mean it wasn't really scary when it meant to be, but it still had a great story that I really liked. I don't know what made me like this so much but it
This book is about a dummy that comes to life and tries to kill the people that own him. The people try to stop him the only way that is possible and that is killing him. Simple right, not really. It get kind of hard to kill something that can pop up where ever you least expect it. It is kind of like Chuckey, but R.L. Stine doesn't have much blood or gore in his books seeing as they are for kids. Now the movie on the other hand is a completely different story. He has many other stories that could easily be bloody but he doesn't because he writes for the amusment of the whole family, not just young adults and parents that feel like getting scared. Now in the end, he gets struck by lightning and that seems to be the only thing that kills him. There are other books about this dummy and his name is Slappy which is a pretty awesome name for a dummy. I think that I will read the rest of the books about Slappy because I really liked this character and I really like this author.
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just appealed to me. I really liked the things that the dummy said and what he did. I thought that a dummy that could talk for himself would be scary I guess and it was a good idea and I loved it. I think that later I will read more of the books that R.L.Stine has made. If anyone likes the books that he has made they will love this book. it was truely great.This book is about a dummy that comes to life and tries to kill the people that own him. The people try to stop him the only way that is possible and that is killing him. Simple right, not really. It get kind of hard to kill something that can pop up where ever you least expect it. It is kind of like Chuckey, but R.L. Stine doesn't have much blood or gore in his books seeing as they are for kids. Now the movie on the other hand is a completely different story. He has many other stories that could easily be bloody but he doesn't because he writes for the amusment of the whole family, not just young adults and parents that feel like getting scared. Now in the end, he gets struck by lightning and that seems to be the only thing that kills him. There are other books about this dummy and his name is Slappy which is a pretty awesome name for a dummy. I think that I will read the rest of the books about Slappy because I really liked this character and I really like this author.
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LibraryThing member odinblindeye
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.
LibraryThing member Shirezu
The childrens version of Chucky. An excellent book to read before bedtime.
LibraryThing member caleb.v
this book is really cool i would recomand this book to anyone atcally cause its really cool and super easy to read
LibraryThing member Jiraiya
A bright start followed by a poor middle and third act is how I'd describe this book. The two kids here are twins, and I don't get the significance of that decision to make them twin sisters. I liked the prods and nudges towards how Lindy is funny (although her ventriloquist act is off screen), and
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of course poor Kris is unfunny(her jokes are predictably shown). I also noticed how the mother is herself not funny, meaning that Kris takes after her. I felt that the mother was not funny because she always greets her children in the morning with the same words. The father got to make only one joke. I picked on that. Maybe Lindy inherited her humor from the dad. I thought R.L Stine put those details deliberately. Those were the only highlights of this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member DianaLynn5287
Reading this book as a kid, I was actually pretty scared by this one. One of the best in the series.
LibraryThing member EdenSteffey
Read it with my children. They really liked it. I thought it was fun to read.
LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
Having read one of the sequels, I was highly confused throughout this whole story, but I cannot say more without giving the ending away.
LibraryThing member SumisBooks
#7 "He walks. He stalks..."
Kris and Lindy are twin sisters. But when Lindy finds a ventriloquist dummy and names it Slappy, she starts getting all the attention. It's when Kris gets her own dummy to show up her sister that things get weird. Dummies aren't real... are they?
Kris and Lindy are twin sisters. But when Lindy finds a ventriloquist dummy and names it Slappy, she starts getting all the attention. It's when Kris gets her own dummy to show up her sister that things get weird. Dummies aren't real... are they?
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1993-05
Physical description
160 p.; 7.95 x 5.28 inches
ISBN
1407157442 / 9781407157443
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DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |