Monster Blood (1992) is the third short children’s horror novel in R.L. Stine’s GOOSEBUMPS series. It’s a stand-alone, so no need to read the previous books.
While his parents are out of town, Evan has to go live with Aunt Katherine. She’s a scary one — a large hulking deaf woman with a deep voice who is often seen carrying her meat cleaver. Evan hates living at Aunt Katherine’s house, especially because she insists that his elderly dog stay chained up outside and there are bullies in Aunt Katherine’s neighborhood.
Things get a little better when Evan meets a girl named Andrea who likes to do the kinds of things that he likes. One day Evan and Andrea are shopping in a shabby toy store where they purchase a can of a slimy substance called Monster Blood. It provides hours of entertainment… until Evan’s dog swallows it.
That sets off a terrifying chain of events that involve weird dreams, relentless bullies, and a very nasty cat. The bizarre ending was surprising and quite horrifying! Though Monster Blood is scary, it’s also funny and engaging, especially in the audio edition which is three hours long and humorously performed by Kirby Heyborne. I loved his interpretation of Aunt Katherine.
There are a few plot problems such as Evans’ dog acting like a puppy when he’s actually quite old, as well as the kids neglect to tell adults what’s going on. I really hate it when kids don’t get adults involved because they think the adults won’t believe them when, in fact, they have proof. Evan didn’t do anything wrong, and he had incontrovertible evidence of the problems the Monster Blood caused. Why not ask an adult for help? Because that would ruin the story, I guess.
Update: Yesterday was Independent Bookstore Day and I ordered the first two volumes of this.
Well done, Mandy! Thanks for your interesting and VERY well-written review. Your enthusiasm for the book in question will likely…
thanks for this! While I enjoy graphics, I confess it's an area I'm always far less aware of (save for…
Mandy, thank you for this great review. Today is Independent Bookstore Day and I will be at a specialty store…
Me, too! I think independent bookstore are enjoying a golden age, and I plan to continue to support that. One…