Monster Blood is by far one of my favorite Goosebumps titles. This is mostly due to the fact that the TV series, based in Canada, did a two-part special on it, which I cannot help but remember fondly. The show does deviate from the original book a little bit, and the second episode, More Monster Blood, was created purely for the young audience, rather than drawing from any of the books. R.L. subsequently wrote a total of four Monster Blood titles, but the first one is my favorite. Monster Blood II is pretty great, too. Shockingly, I have never read Monster Blood IV (nor did I own it during my childhood), and being the final book in the original Goosebumps run (book #62), it fetches a pretty penny at around $50. There is a trend where the latter books in the series seem to be rather expensive. At any rate, on to the review!
Plot: Evan Ross is dropped off by his mom at his great-aunt Kathryn’s house while mom attends to a sick relative in Atlanta. Evan wants more than anything to go with his mother, and not be forced to stay with a family member he hasn’t seen in 10 years. Plus, great-aunt Kathryn is completely deaf! Evan’s cocker spaniel, Trigger, accompanies him. Kathryn comes to the door holding a bloody butcher’s knife, giving Evan and his mother quite the fright!
Overall, Evan doesn’t get along with his great-aunt; and he has to spend (potentially) weeks with the crazy old bat! She keeps asking him if he has a girlfriend. Her hulking appearance and ash-white skin contrasts sharply with her shock of black hair, despite her age. Mom tells Evan to just try getting along with Aunt Kathryn, for her. She quickly leaves, without Evan and his dog. Needless to say, Evan isn’t enamored with the numerous books his aunt has stashed in the study he’s staying in. Old books, leatherbound tomes, that look like they haven’t been read in a hundred years. Bor-ring.
Evan meets Andy while he is exploring the town. Andy is snarky and sarcastic, but Evan quickly takes a liking to her. Evan and Andy decide to go to the old toy store, even when there’s a newer one in town. Andy says she likes the older one better. They find the mysterious can of Monster Blood in a dusty back room. The store owner eventually, although with copious amounts of chagrin, sells Evan the can for only $2.
Andy and Evan rush back to Kathryn’s to check out the Monster Blood. It glows in the dark. It bounces. It stretches. It looks like some kind of radioactive Jell-O. It’s just too strange! They decide to play catch with globs of it, and go in the backyard to keep the dog company, who has been removed from the house by Kathryn. She’s set up a dog run there. Trigger seems to be interested in the Monster Blood, too. He likes it so much, he licks it. Then, he even eats some! Evan is horrified. What if Monster Blood is poison? What will happen to him?
It turns out Mom may have to stay in Atlanta longer than she anticipated. Evan is distraught at the thought of having to stay at Kathryn’s even longer. Evan walks over to Andy’s house one day; along the way, he meets a pair of brothers (the Beymer twins) who, it turns out, aren’t very nice. They threaten Evan, telling him he must pay a toll to walk along “their” block. Andy comes by on her bike, and tells him the twins act big and tough, are imposing physically, and they push around all the kids in the neighborhood.
Evan returns home to find Trigger, choking to death on something. Or is he? Alarmed, he sees that Trigger’s collar is too tight. He removes it, Trigger licking his face appreciatively. What could possibly be happening here?
Evan sees great-aunt Kathryn is wearing some kind of a bone around her neck. Odd, he thinks. And what about Kathryn’s strange black cat, Sarabeth? Why does she have those creepy, yellow almond shaped eyes, that seem to be staring right through you?
Evan takes Trigger to the vet after he realizes the cocker spaniel is growing in size since eating the hunk of a disgusting substance. The vet gives Trigger a clean bill of health, saying he is just experiencing a late-stage growth spurt. While this seems unbelievable, this is after all a Goosebumps book. Evan is, at least, temporarily relieved at the report on his dog.
Something odd is happening to the Monster Blood. It seems to be growing and swelling in size. Pretty soon it has outgrown its can. Andy and Evan must find a new home for it. And he has his friend take some home with her. They are horrified when the green goo multiplies into even more Monster Blood. Evan takes quite a while to associate Trigger’s growth spurt directly to the Monster Blood. But it makes sense, doesn’t it?
Of course, great-aunt Kathryn is no help with his Monster Blood problem. She either treats everything like a big joke, or she completely ignores Evan. One night, Evan has a freaky nightmare that Trigger is suddenly even more monstrous in size! A dream in which Trigger chases the Beymer twins down the street as they flee for their lives. In the dream, Evan himself has even grown to a ridiculous size! Evan and Andy are forced to move the Monster Blood all kinds of weird places, like a bathtub. He even takes a swim in the gunk! Then a garbage can with a lid, followed by two giant garbage bags. What could possibly happen next?
Well, actually, quite a lot. But…as it happens, I don’t want to give away the climax of the book. I will mention great-aunt Kathryn has more to do with the Monster Blood than Evan and Andy realize. There’s much more to Sarabeth than meets the eye. The Monster Blood even swallows a robin, whole. And what will happen to Trigger, now that he’s humongous? Oh, the humanity!
Final Thoughts: In Monster Blood, Stine uses a lot of great words to describe a horrifying premise: a boy and his friend purchase a toy, something that’s supposed to be fun and pass the time, which turns into a living nightmare. How do Evan and Andy get out of their predicament? Will they be able to return the Jell-O-like stuff to the old, dusty toy store? Will the Monster Blood outgrow all of the containers they try to put it inside? Perhaps. Escaping it won’t be easy. I think the Monster Blood wants to eat you, for dinner!
Rating: A. This book is great fun, with some wicked imagery. You cannot ask R.L. for much more fun than this. As an adult reader, I quite possibly enjoyed Monster Blood even more than I did as a kid! It’s no wonder Stine decided to write four books in total on this fascinating…blood, er…stuff. Substance. Whatever it is, it’s hideous and dangerous for all the wrong reasons. When it comes to Monster Blood, just what will Stine think of next?
Have A Good Day!