#barking ghost

[fitsofnostalgia]

I had heard The Barking Ghost was one of R.L. Stine’s least favorite Goosebumps books, and I can see why. The first act of the story showed a lot of potential and was setting things up nicely. So much so that I was beginning to think that the book’s reputation was misplaced. I was wrong. There was a fun concept hidden, but it was buried beneath a half-baked plot that descended into sheer stupidity by the end. I understand that some kids do find dogs scary. I think those kids were the target audience of this particular book. I was never one of those kids. In fact, I think I wanted to be a dog when I was in third grade. So this whole concept wasn’t exactly scary for me at any age. In many ways, The Barking Ghost was a culmination of some of Stine’s worst tendencies in this series. Too much time was spent on fake scares and not enough time was given to developing the villains or their predicament. This is one of the few instances where the TV adaptation made significant improvements to the book. Which is to say the book really could have been good with a few significant edits. It’s a shame when a good idea suffers in order to meet a deadline. Everything in The Barking Ghost, Stine has done before and he’s done it better.

Score: 1.5

For my full snark-filled recap with spoilers, gifs, and memes to illustrate my very important points, check it out on my website blog Fits of Nostalgia!

[jprandamonium]

Let’s do it!!!

[willyappelman]

THE BARKING GHOST

OK, first off- ghosts are scary.  Second off- dogs are scary.  THIRD OFF- GHOST DOGS ARE SUPER SCARY!  And thus begins our tale... Cooper Holmes just moved to a new house in the middle of Maine.  Cooper and his family are from Boston and they LOVE the Red Sox (as is mandatory when you live in Boston).  Cooper has an older brother named Mickey (soooooo Boston) and Mickey is a practical joker!  Mickey loves to scare Cooper, but one night, Cooper hears dogs barking outside his window, he looks outside, but doesn't see anything (weird....). The next day Cooper meets a 12-year-old girl from the neighborhood named Margaret, but she goes by Fergie (Yea R.L.!  I see what you did there).  Fergie tells Cooper that his house is haunted and that he has to leave immediately!  She also screams "DOGS!" at him over and over, which is actually pretty frightening.  Cooper runs back home, convinced his house is haunted, but his parents tell him it's nothing. Cooper and Fergie meet up later that week, and she tells him that what she said was all a joke, and Cooper's brother Mickey put her up to it.  Cooper is enraged and they create a plan to scare Mickey.  Later that week Fergie sleeps over Cooper's house, and in the middle of the night they sneak into his room to scare him, right when they're about to do it, they hear growling from Mickey's closet and...it's Mickey, in his closet, already hiding to scare Fergie and Cooper (that's commitment)!  When they leave Mickey's room, they hear barking outside and decide to investigate.  They find two evil dogs! The dogs don't actually attack them, they actually lead them to a shack in the woods (not scary and totally normal).  They get to the shack and they fall!  They fall deep down into oblivion and then when they open their eyes, they're dogs!  Whaaaaaat?  You see, the dogs were possessed by the ghosts of two kids, these kids wanted human bodies.  So they switched with Cooper and Fergie and now Cooper and Fergie were dogs!  Got it- ok cool. Cooper and Fergie (the dogs) try to go back tot he house and convince Mr. and Mrs. Holmes that the fake Cooper and the fake Fergie are just that, fake.  But their parents call animal control.  Cooper and Fergie (the dogs) finally burst into the house, and drag the kids to the woods.  The parents determine the dogs are not a threat and they want to show them something (not the reaction I would have, but OK).  Cooper and Fergie (the dogs) get the fake Cooper and Fergie in the shed and they all fall down!  Yes!  But then...Cooper and Fergie see the dogs walk away.  Then they see Cooper and Fergie (the humans) walk away...what are they?  They are chipmunks!  There were chipmunks in the shed...duh!  Now they're chipmunks for life, and they go and get acorns!  Hahhaa, let's all have nightmares forever! THE END! Wow, that was confusing and scary.  Not a happy ending and very derivative of Why I'm Afraid of Bees and My Hairiest Adventure.  All in all, I was moderately impressed with the not completely happy ending, for that I give this book, 51 Goosebumps.  Ok, bundle up, it's very cold outside.

[rabidfurr]

black and white version of a page in the Monster Edition zine i was lucky to be a part of thanks to erin rei and the creators, So many talented artists i cant wait to see this thing out! 

[peteneems]

Goosebumps - The Barking Ghost