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Goosebumps #3
Es wächst und wächst und wächst...
"Monsterblut" steht auf der Dose, die Evan in einem alten Spielzeugladen kauft. Eine klebrige, glibberige Masse quillt bald aus ihr heraus, füllt nach kurzer Zeit schon die ganze Badewanne und verschlingt alles, was sich ihr in den Weg stellt. Mit der "Gänsehaut"-Serie geht ein Lesephänomen um die Welt. Der Schöpfer der Reihe - R. L. Stine - versteht es, mit seinen Gruselgeschichten die Kinder zu fesseln. Die "Süddeutsche Zeitung" urteilte: "Gut gemachte Spannung, ohne Grausamkeit und Brutalitäten." 200 Millionen verkaufte Bücher in nur fünf Jahren sprechen für sich, und für eine begeisterte Lesegemeinschaft.
139 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1992
386 people are currently reading
6358 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,679 books18.6k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,122 reviews
February 20, 2023
Not the best one.
I remember reading a handful of Goosebumps novels as a kid. Sadly I don't have them anymore, but I remember reading this one and finding it kinda lame.
I still want to read many more. Goosebumps legendary fame was rightfully earned for a reason. Regardless of a few duds.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1992] [144p] [Children] [Horror] [Not Recommendable]
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No fue la mejor.
Recuerdo leer varias novelas de Escalofríos cuando niño. Lamentablemente ya no las tengo, pero recuerdo haber leído esta y hallarla algo aburrida.
Igualmente quiero leer muchas más. La legendaria fama de Escalofrios fue justamente ganada por una razón. Independientemente de algunos fiascos.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1992] [144p] [Niños] [Horror] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
I remember reading a handful of Goosebumps novels as a kid. Sadly I don't have them anymore, but I remember reading this one and finding it kinda lame.
I still want to read many more. Goosebumps legendary fame was rightfully earned for a reason. Regardless of a few duds.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1992] [144p] [Children] [Horror] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
No fue la mejor.
Recuerdo leer varias novelas de Escalofríos cuando niño. Lamentablemente ya no las tengo, pero recuerdo haber leído esta y hallarla algo aburrida.
Igualmente quiero leer muchas más. La legendaria fama de Escalofrios fue justamente ganada por una razón. Independientemente de algunos fiascos.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1992] [144p] [Niños] [Horror] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
September 12, 2025
This is the first one and probably not the last one out of this series I didn't like. Concept was great but it felt a little flat. I did like how most chapter ended with a little cliffhanger which compelled you to turn the page, but the outcome most of the time fell flat. 2.5 rounded up.
July 26, 2015
Uhhhhhhh... m'kaaayy then.
Look. I know that these are supposed to be for kids. But they should also be good stories. And this one was just... not. It was the kind of book where, if it was aimed at adults, would never have seen the light of day. It was formulaic, all over the place, repetitive, oh-so-conveniently introduced characters, and the ending was so ridiculously out of left field that I sat there reading it with this expression on my face:
Because... REALLY. REALLY. What the hell WAS that?
I'll tell you what that was. That was a "Shit... My deadline for this book is in 3 hours, and I've written 94.3% of the book, and I have NO IDEA WHAT THE STORY IS. So... *slams forehead off of keyboard* ... Aaaaaaand done! Fuck it, they're kids. It's not like they know any better about plots or stories or good writing... or dogs."
Dear R.L. Stine & Dean Koontz: Dogs are not people. Say it with me: Dogs... are... not... people.
But let's talk about dogs for a minute here. This dog, Trigger, is supposed to be a 12 year old Cocker Spaniel. To clarify, that's 12 years old in people years, so he'd be a senior citizen in dog years - eligible for discount treats and early bird dinners, etc. We're supposed to assume that the dog and the kid (both 12) are life-long amigos, right? But I have problems with that theory. In order for certain things to happen in this illogical and poorly written excuse for a story, the dog has to meet certain criteria. Why? Because the author wasn't imaginative to NOT require it.
Here are the things: He has to be disobedient and he has to be past the point of a possible growth spurt. What this results in (besides a massive eye-twitch for me) is a supposedly elderly dog who acts exactly like a puppy.
12 year old dogs just DO NOT jump around and yip all over the place and run laps around the owner who has only been gone twenty-fucking-minutes because they are just sooooooooo excited to see them again. They don't have the energy anymore. Dogs get arthritis, they have joint problems, they are OLD. The dog described in this book was NOT a twelve year old dog - Stine just didn't have any other techniques in his repertoire to make an old sleepy dog disobey and misbehave enough to make things plausible. (Though, I'd say he failed anyway.)
So why did he need to misbehave? So he'd eat the monster blood. Because distracting the kids and having the dog eat it would not have worked, I guess. Instead, the kids have to know for sure that he ate it, because they stand there and watch the dog eat it (while pleading with him not to, which is absolutely going to work 100% of the time because dogs are absolutely human, remember!).
Want to know why Trigger is "disobedient"? Because instead of treating him like a dog and training him, the idiotic characters in this book plead with him and ask him to do or not do things, or reason with him. Instead of "sit" and "stay" it's "just wait here 5 minutes, Trigger, while I run inside this shop and get an ice cream. I'll be quick, I promise. The line looks short."
Yup. He totally gets it. Understood all of those words and what you meant by them because human.
One last thing about the dog... So after he eats the monster blood and starts to grow, Evan takes him to the vet for a check-up. My only thought here is... SERIOUSLY? Not because I don't think that the dog should be checked out... but because of reality. Evan has $8 to his name. His mom gave him $10 before she left for a supposed 2-week trip (which could go longer, who knows?) and he then spent $2 on the monster blood.
So he has $8 left.
I recently took my cats in for a check up, and the exam bill, ALONE, was $50. EACH. Even accounting for inflation in the interim time between when Nintendo was the rage and now, I'm going to call bullshit on the fact that any vet would examine an otherwise healthy looking, non-emergency case, let alone run a gamut of tests looking for hormone abnormalities or other issues, for free (because I'm fairly sure that he still had his $8 post-vet as well.). And especially not without an adult present.
How it would likely have gone down in Reality Town:
"Call your mom, kid. Your dog looks fine. If there's really a problem, your mom can make an appointment to have him checked out."
All that irritation and I have barely even addressed anything else in the book. The ending was just ridiculous. A total cop out so that nobody "real" in the story had to be bad or get hurt.
Lame. So, so lame.
Meh, I'm done. I don't think that reading these as an adult was such a great idea. I'm far too picky now.
Look. I know that these are supposed to be for kids. But they should also be good stories. And this one was just... not. It was the kind of book where, if it was aimed at adults, would never have seen the light of day. It was formulaic, all over the place, repetitive, oh-so-conveniently introduced characters, and the ending was so ridiculously out of left field that I sat there reading it with this expression on my face:
Because... REALLY. REALLY. What the hell WAS that?
I'll tell you what that was. That was a "Shit... My deadline for this book is in 3 hours, and I've written 94.3% of the book, and I have NO IDEA WHAT THE STORY IS. So... *slams forehead off of keyboard* ... Aaaaaaand done! Fuck it, they're kids. It's not like they know any better about plots or stories or good writing... or dogs."
Dear R.L. Stine & Dean Koontz: Dogs are not people. Say it with me: Dogs... are... not... people.
But let's talk about dogs for a minute here. This dog, Trigger, is supposed to be a 12 year old Cocker Spaniel. To clarify, that's 12 years old in people years, so he'd be a senior citizen in dog years - eligible for discount treats and early bird dinners, etc. We're supposed to assume that the dog and the kid (both 12) are life-long amigos, right? But I have problems with that theory. In order for certain things to happen in this illogical and poorly written excuse for a story, the dog has to meet certain criteria. Why? Because the author wasn't imaginative to NOT require it.
Here are the things: He has to be disobedient and he has to be past the point of a possible growth spurt. What this results in (besides a massive eye-twitch for me) is a supposedly elderly dog who acts exactly like a puppy.
12 year old dogs just DO NOT jump around and yip all over the place and run laps around the owner who has only been gone twenty-fucking-minutes because they are just sooooooooo excited to see them again. They don't have the energy anymore. Dogs get arthritis, they have joint problems, they are OLD. The dog described in this book was NOT a twelve year old dog - Stine just didn't have any other techniques in his repertoire to make an old sleepy dog disobey and misbehave enough to make things plausible. (Though, I'd say he failed anyway.)
So why did he need to misbehave? So he'd eat the monster blood. Because distracting the kids and having the dog eat it would not have worked, I guess. Instead, the kids have to know for sure that he ate it, because they stand there and watch the dog eat it (while pleading with him not to, which is absolutely going to work 100% of the time because dogs are absolutely human, remember!).
Want to know why Trigger is "disobedient"? Because instead of treating him like a dog and training him, the idiotic characters in this book plead with him and ask him to do or not do things, or reason with him. Instead of "sit" and "stay" it's "just wait here 5 minutes, Trigger, while I run inside this shop and get an ice cream. I'll be quick, I promise. The line looks short."
Yup. He totally gets it. Understood all of those words and what you meant by them because human.
One last thing about the dog... So after he eats the monster blood and starts to grow, Evan takes him to the vet for a check-up. My only thought here is... SERIOUSLY? Not because I don't think that the dog should be checked out... but because of reality. Evan has $8 to his name. His mom gave him $10 before she left for a supposed 2-week trip (which could go longer, who knows?) and he then spent $2 on the monster blood.
So he has $8 left.
I recently took my cats in for a check up, and the exam bill, ALONE, was $50. EACH. Even accounting for inflation in the interim time between when Nintendo was the rage and now, I'm going to call bullshit on the fact that any vet would examine an otherwise healthy looking, non-emergency case, let alone run a gamut of tests looking for hormone abnormalities or other issues, for free (because I'm fairly sure that he still had his $8 post-vet as well.). And especially not without an adult present.
How it would likely have gone down in Reality Town:
"Call your mom, kid. Your dog looks fine. If there's really a problem, your mom can make an appointment to have him checked out."
All that irritation and I have barely even addressed anything else in the book. The ending was just ridiculous. A total cop out so that nobody "real" in the story had to be bad or get hurt.
Lame. So, so lame.
Meh, I'm done. I don't think that reading these as an adult was such a great idea. I'm far too picky now.
September 29, 2021
RILETTURA, DA ADULTO, DEI PICCOLI BRIVIDI N.16
Tua madre ti lascia intendere che sei d'intralcio mentre lei e tuo padre stanno cercando una nuova casa per trasferirsi ad Atlanta. In effetti sei un bambino un po' rompicazzo e ti meriti di stare due settimane da una misteriosa zia sorda che non comprende il linguaggio dei segni. A tua madre dovrebbero togliere la patria podestà perché la prima cosa che la megera fa è accoglierti con un coltellaccio in mano e la genitrice non batte ciglio a lasciarti alle sue cure.
In questo paesino c'è un negozio di giocattoli ammuffiti. Vieni incantato da un barattolo di sangue di mostro (che gioco è poi? Una roba proprio anni '90) che, ovviamente, il negoziante non ti vuole vendere. Insisti fino a farlo svenare e lui te lo tira dietro per due spicci.
Ora, se hai visto abbastanza film horror, sai che non si devono comprare vecchi giocattoli in paesini disabitati quando vivi sotto il tetto di una megera.
Ma Evan e la sua amichetta Mindy non ci arrivano e si divertono (?) nel constatare che il blob gelatinoso di sangue di mostro risucchi tutto ciò che incontri e ingrandisca a dismisura chi osi mangiarne un pezzettino.
Tra i più bambineschi tra i Piccoli Brividi che ho (ri)letto. Il finale è il solito delirio raffazzonato, con plot twist che identifica come si finisce sempre schiavi dei gatti e conseguente cliffhanger finale buttato lì.
Nonostante tutto, mi sono divertito.
Tua madre ti lascia intendere che sei d'intralcio mentre lei e tuo padre stanno cercando una nuova casa per trasferirsi ad Atlanta. In effetti sei un bambino un po' rompicazzo e ti meriti di stare due settimane da una misteriosa zia sorda che non comprende il linguaggio dei segni. A tua madre dovrebbero togliere la patria podestà perché la prima cosa che la megera fa è accoglierti con un coltellaccio in mano e la genitrice non batte ciglio a lasciarti alle sue cure.
In questo paesino c'è un negozio di giocattoli ammuffiti. Vieni incantato da un barattolo di sangue di mostro (che gioco è poi? Una roba proprio anni '90) che, ovviamente, il negoziante non ti vuole vendere. Insisti fino a farlo svenare e lui te lo tira dietro per due spicci.
Ora, se hai visto abbastanza film horror, sai che non si devono comprare vecchi giocattoli in paesini disabitati quando vivi sotto il tetto di una megera.
Ma Evan e la sua amichetta Mindy non ci arrivano e si divertono (?) nel constatare che il blob gelatinoso di sangue di mostro risucchi tutto ciò che incontri e ingrandisca a dismisura chi osi mangiarne un pezzettino.
Tra i più bambineschi tra i Piccoli Brividi che ho (ri)letto. Il finale è il solito delirio raffazzonato, con plot twist che identifica come si finisce sempre schiavi dei gatti e conseguente cliffhanger finale buttato lì.
Nonostante tutto, mi sono divertito.
October 20, 2020
Goosebumps was probably one of my favorite series as a child. I used to own the original 62. Now I'm going back through and doing a complete re-read. Monster Blood focuses on a young boy by the name of Evan who stays with his aunt while his parents search for a house. He buys a can of monster blood from the toy store and it begins to grow and grow at an uncontrollable rate. The reader spends most of the book following Evan as he attempts to control the growth of the monster blood. The writing is great for a younger audience. It's accessible and the small cliff hangers at the end of chapters will appeal to readers. I personally thought the ending was interesting but not a huge shocker. There was a double twist that I think kids will really enjoy and as always R.L. Stine leaves room for a potential second story to come out of this.
October 2, 2018
#3 "It's a monster blood drive!"
Well visiting his aunt, Evan visits a toy store nearby and finds an old can of Monster Blood. It's fun to play with until his dog Trigger eat some of it! Evan is in for the surprise of his life when his dog begins to change and not in a good way.
Well visiting his aunt, Evan visits a toy store nearby and finds an old can of Monster Blood. It's fun to play with until his dog Trigger eat some of it! Evan is in for the surprise of his life when his dog begins to change and not in a good way.
November 25, 2023
¡Hoy les traigo otra reseña de la siempre recomendable colección de Pesadillas!
👻👻👻👻👻
Aunque en esta ocasión la peque quedó más satisfecha con la historia que yo, ella le puso en su libreta las cinco estrellas 😄, es indiscutible la capacidad que tiene Stine de mantenerte en vilo hasta el final con sus capítulos cortos y llenos de sorpresas.
Sus historias tienen esa capacidad de transportarte a esa maravillosa época, la de los 90'. Y aunque es perfecto para leer entre los 7 y los 12 años, aquellos adultos más nostálgicos también disfrutarán de estas pequeñas historias como si fueran niños.
En Sangre de monstruo, el volumen número siete de la colección, todo empieza a torcerse cuando la madre de Evan lo deja al cuidado de su anciana tía abuela. En una de sus salidas para matar el aburrimiento conoce a Andrea, Andy para los amigos, y cuando se encuentran con una antigua juguetería no lo dudan ni un momento y entran para ver todas esas rarezas y cachivaches antiguos que ocultan sus estantes. Es allí donde encuentran esa misteriosa lata cuyo contenido no es otro que sangre de monstruo, si si, tanto Evan como Andy no dan crédito pero aún así lo compran y se reparten el botín. Como es lógico, a partir de este momento todo empieza a torcerse aún más. Y no diré una palabra más 🤐
Los finales de Stine suelen gustarme y me encanta que me pillen desprevenida pero creo que aquí se le fue un poquito de las manos, me ha faltado también una explicación a ese final tan "cogido por los pelos", pero bueno, teniendo en cuenta el público juvenil al que va dirigido tampoco es para darle muchas vueltas 😆
Ahora nos toca decidir si seguimos con el siguiente de la serie; "¡Invisibles!" o escogemos uno al azar. ¡Ya veremos!
¿Y ustedes?, ¿Han leído Sangre de monstruo? Si es así, ¿qué les pareció?
¡Los leo! 😊
https://m.facebook.com/LaLocadelosLib... 📚 💀
👻👻👻👻👻
Aunque en esta ocasión la peque quedó más satisfecha con la historia que yo, ella le puso en su libreta las cinco estrellas 😄, es indiscutible la capacidad que tiene Stine de mantenerte en vilo hasta el final con sus capítulos cortos y llenos de sorpresas.
Sus historias tienen esa capacidad de transportarte a esa maravillosa época, la de los 90'. Y aunque es perfecto para leer entre los 7 y los 12 años, aquellos adultos más nostálgicos también disfrutarán de estas pequeñas historias como si fueran niños.
En Sangre de monstruo, el volumen número siete de la colección, todo empieza a torcerse cuando la madre de Evan lo deja al cuidado de su anciana tía abuela. En una de sus salidas para matar el aburrimiento conoce a Andrea, Andy para los amigos, y cuando se encuentran con una antigua juguetería no lo dudan ni un momento y entran para ver todas esas rarezas y cachivaches antiguos que ocultan sus estantes. Es allí donde encuentran esa misteriosa lata cuyo contenido no es otro que sangre de monstruo, si si, tanto Evan como Andy no dan crédito pero aún así lo compran y se reparten el botín. Como es lógico, a partir de este momento todo empieza a torcerse aún más. Y no diré una palabra más 🤐
Los finales de Stine suelen gustarme y me encanta que me pillen desprevenida pero creo que aquí se le fue un poquito de las manos, me ha faltado también una explicación a ese final tan "cogido por los pelos", pero bueno, teniendo en cuenta el público juvenil al que va dirigido tampoco es para darle muchas vueltas 😆
Ahora nos toca decidir si seguimos con el siguiente de la serie; "¡Invisibles!" o escogemos uno al azar. ¡Ya veremos!
¿Y ustedes?, ¿Han leído Sangre de monstruo? Si es así, ¿qué les pareció?
¡Los leo! 😊
https://m.facebook.com/LaLocadelosLib... 📚 💀
August 25, 2019
Goosebumps was one of my all time favourites as a kid. I scrambled to the library at every chance to get my hands on any Goosebumps novel. I didn't care if I read them over and over and knew the story by heart, I'd read them again! And then hope the library got the television show and movie versions so I could watch them.
As an adult, I've been trying to find the Goosebumps series in my home town without much luck. Then, lucky me found five at a local thrift shop and my inner child went wild.
Fortunately, these books were just as good as I remembered!
Monster Blood follows Evan and Andy at Evan's great-Aunt's house. They buy some monster blood, slime like toy and suddenly all heck breaks loose! Evan's dog grows in size, the cat is evil and his Great-Aunt Kathryn is seemingly weird. Is she a witch?! Is she crazy?! Either way, that monster blood is taking over the city!
This book was a hundred pages of pure fun and mild terror. As a kid these were so much scarier, but they were still just as epic! I loved the story moving quickly, being full of wild twists and turns and being a great book for both children and adults. This book also brought me back to my childhood with lots of nostalgia. Do you have any Nintendo games?!
Was there any negatives about the book? Yes. Trigger was an elderly dog who acted very young. Was it super duper scary? No. I think it might scare the middle grade readers who this book is aimed to scare, but it's not scary to adults. Either way, it was still a fun and easy read that had me chuckling along the way. I enjoy R.L. Stine's writing style. It's not meant to be taken seriously (it's not It or Carrie or any Stephen King book). This book was meant to bring the younger demographic a little horror novel and introduce them to the genre. Can every Goosebump book be an absolute winner? No.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It's a little spooky and is totally getting me in the mood for Halloween and October!
Four out of five stars!
As an adult, I've been trying to find the Goosebumps series in my home town without much luck. Then, lucky me found five at a local thrift shop and my inner child went wild.
Fortunately, these books were just as good as I remembered!
Monster Blood follows Evan and Andy at Evan's great-Aunt's house. They buy some monster blood, slime like toy and suddenly all heck breaks loose! Evan's dog grows in size, the cat is evil and his Great-Aunt Kathryn is seemingly weird. Is she a witch?! Is she crazy?! Either way, that monster blood is taking over the city!
This book was a hundred pages of pure fun and mild terror. As a kid these were so much scarier, but they were still just as epic! I loved the story moving quickly, being full of wild twists and turns and being a great book for both children and adults. This book also brought me back to my childhood with lots of nostalgia. Do you have any Nintendo games?!
Was there any negatives about the book? Yes. Trigger was an elderly dog who acted very young. Was it super duper scary? No. I think it might scare the middle grade readers who this book is aimed to scare, but it's not scary to adults. Either way, it was still a fun and easy read that had me chuckling along the way. I enjoy R.L. Stine's writing style. It's not meant to be taken seriously (it's not It or Carrie or any Stephen King book). This book was meant to bring the younger demographic a little horror novel and introduce them to the genre. Can every Goosebump book be an absolute winner? No.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It's a little spooky and is totally getting me in the mood for Halloween and October!
Four out of five stars!
January 5, 2023
In this third instalment of the Goosebumps series, the reader meets Evan, a 12-year-old boy who has been left in the care of his great-aunt for an indistinct amount of time while his parents search the Atlanta housing market for their new home. With his only companion being his 12-year-old dog, Trigger, Evan becomes bored of his circumstances, having pleaded with his parents to bring him with them to look for new houses; reeling from the pain he felt upon being left out of another conversation that directly impacted him.
I know that I am reading these books while being very much outside of the target audience. My goal in reading these books is to fulfill some childhood nostalgia; having never read any of the Goosebumps stories as a child & it is now in my abilities to do so, as an adult. With that being said, I know that with any series of books there will be a couple along the way that aren’t as enjoyable as the last one was. Keeping that in mind, I am still eager to fulfill reading as many of the books as I can.
There is no way that I would have enjoyed this particular book as a child & I didn’t enjoy it at all as an adult. I found it rather difficult to make my way through a great deal of less than stellar dialogue—a lot of bullying & passive-aggressive speech—which made me feel irritated at the plot in general. This is an instance wherein the story feels very dated. Andy, a 12-year-old neighbour-girl who befriends Evan, is rude off-the-cuff. Her character is meant to be read as sassy & something of a tom-boy but, alongside her actions & the lack of parental presence at large throughout the entire story, I was left feeling rather sad for all the children.
When Andy & Evan head to the local ‘indie’ toyshop to buy Andy’s cousin a birthday present, the kids find themselves perusing the shelves & come upon a darkened section of the otherwise out-of-use shop. On one of the dusty shelves is a can of ‘Monster Blood’ which they beg the shopkeeper to sell, even after he nonchalantly tells them it is out of date. Trigger is then seen eating a gloop of the gooey substance & grows substantially in size until the goop takes over & has a mind of its own. We learn that the black cat that Evan’s great-aunt Katheryn had was in fact a witch that was keeping her captive in the house. All in all, a spidery mess of a situation.
I appreciated the gist of the plot but found the level of outwardly ‘everything is stupid’ dialogue to be tedious. As a child, I would not have wanted to read about parents ignoring their kid’s request to not be kept in a house with a stranger that they didn’t feel safe around & I didn’t enjoy it now. I am left feeling that much of this aspect of the book could have been presented in a different way. Katheryn is meant to be over 80 years old yet Evan’s parents are quick to leave him there for weeks without worrying about how their child might fare with someone who is in a stage in their life where they can’t be chasing after children.
All this is said with something of a grain of salt because I know that this is not a book that is for me. It is not for me because I have aged out of the target audience but it is also not for me because I do not find the rough & tumble characters that slyly bully & express disgust for everything around them, endearing in the least. Therefore, you shouldn’t read this review & let it sway your decision. All the points that I raised are incredibly subjective. There appears to be an enormous level of praise for this particular book & I am truly glad for everyone that has found enjoyment within its pages.
At the end of the day, Goosebumps stories are not meant to be taken too seriously. They are written with the ludicrous & unfathomable in mind. The plots follow children around the age of 12 while they try to navigate a supernatural phenomenon that has appeared in their world. It’s hard to regard this book with any level of true displeasure because, ultimately, it’s a quirky story for kids.
I know that I am reading these books while being very much outside of the target audience. My goal in reading these books is to fulfill some childhood nostalgia; having never read any of the Goosebumps stories as a child & it is now in my abilities to do so, as an adult. With that being said, I know that with any series of books there will be a couple along the way that aren’t as enjoyable as the last one was. Keeping that in mind, I am still eager to fulfill reading as many of the books as I can.
There is no way that I would have enjoyed this particular book as a child & I didn’t enjoy it at all as an adult. I found it rather difficult to make my way through a great deal of less than stellar dialogue—a lot of bullying & passive-aggressive speech—which made me feel irritated at the plot in general. This is an instance wherein the story feels very dated. Andy, a 12-year-old neighbour-girl who befriends Evan, is rude off-the-cuff. Her character is meant to be read as sassy & something of a tom-boy but, alongside her actions & the lack of parental presence at large throughout the entire story, I was left feeling rather sad for all the children.
When Andy & Evan head to the local ‘indie’ toyshop to buy Andy’s cousin a birthday present, the kids find themselves perusing the shelves & come upon a darkened section of the otherwise out-of-use shop. On one of the dusty shelves is a can of ‘Monster Blood’ which they beg the shopkeeper to sell, even after he nonchalantly tells them it is out of date. Trigger is then seen eating a gloop of the gooey substance & grows substantially in size until the goop takes over & has a mind of its own. We learn that the black cat that Evan’s great-aunt Katheryn had was in fact a witch that was keeping her captive in the house. All in all, a spidery mess of a situation.
I appreciated the gist of the plot but found the level of outwardly ‘everything is stupid’ dialogue to be tedious. As a child, I would not have wanted to read about parents ignoring their kid’s request to not be kept in a house with a stranger that they didn’t feel safe around & I didn’t enjoy it now. I am left feeling that much of this aspect of the book could have been presented in a different way. Katheryn is meant to be over 80 years old yet Evan’s parents are quick to leave him there for weeks without worrying about how their child might fare with someone who is in a stage in their life where they can’t be chasing after children.
All this is said with something of a grain of salt because I know that this is not a book that is for me. It is not for me because I have aged out of the target audience but it is also not for me because I do not find the rough & tumble characters that slyly bully & express disgust for everything around them, endearing in the least. Therefore, you shouldn’t read this review & let it sway your decision. All the points that I raised are incredibly subjective. There appears to be an enormous level of praise for this particular book & I am truly glad for everyone that has found enjoyment within its pages.
At the end of the day, Goosebumps stories are not meant to be taken too seriously. They are written with the ludicrous & unfathomable in mind. The plots follow children around the age of 12 while they try to navigate a supernatural phenomenon that has appeared in their world. It’s hard to regard this book with any level of true displeasure because, ultimately, it’s a quirky story for kids.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2018
Man that was a fun time! I loved Evan, the creepiness slowly creeping up, monster blood growing and growing causing havoc, and the twist I didn't see coming and really enjoyed it!
CW: Bullying
CW: Bullying
November 6, 2024
This isn't one of the better Goosebumps books. It takes a long time to get into the story and is just a kid being scared of his great aunt because she is deaf for a large portion of it.
Once we get into the plot and the monster blood comes into play, it's kinda boring. The main character just chases his dog around, and some bullies come and annoy him. The ending, though, is just weird and totally out of left field, not making any sense to what led up to it.
Overall, it was pretty forgettable and boring. 2.5 stars.
Once we get into the plot and the monster blood comes into play, it's kinda boring. The main character just chases his dog around, and some bullies come and annoy him. The ending, though, is just weird and totally out of left field, not making any sense to what led up to it.
Overall, it was pretty forgettable and boring. 2.5 stars.
December 25, 2019
2.5 stars
Don't mind me, just continuing my reread of the original series. This one always ranked up there with Stay Out of the Basement as one of my least favorite R.L. Stine books. I just think it's really boring and not a fun concept, and I always felt that way, even as a kid. That said, the audiobook narrator (Kirby Heyborne) really helped me finally get motivated enough to pick it back up and finish it and he made it fun! If you aren't familiar with him but are familiar with Jesse Bernstein, he reminded me a lot of Jesse in the way he did his voices and was over-the-top enthusiastic (which is perfect for kid listeners IMO). Anyways, moving on! One of my all-time faves is next in the series: Say Cheese and Die! 😍
Don't mind me, just continuing my reread of the original series. This one always ranked up there with Stay Out of the Basement as one of my least favorite R.L. Stine books. I just think it's really boring and not a fun concept, and I always felt that way, even as a kid. That said, the audiobook narrator (Kirby Heyborne) really helped me finally get motivated enough to pick it back up and finish it and he made it fun! If you aren't familiar with him but are familiar with Jesse Bernstein, he reminded me a lot of Jesse in the way he did his voices and was over-the-top enthusiastic (which is perfect for kid listeners IMO). Anyways, moving on! One of my all-time faves is next in the series: Say Cheese and Die! 😍
October 15, 2020
Oh those plot twists! They have to be my favourite feature of this series! I remember being completely mind blown by them when I was a kid lol
July 14, 2024
Nothing encapsulates the 90's more than green gooey slime and Goosebumps!
The main plot contrivance of this series works so well here as young Evan has to temporarily stay at his great-aunt Kathryn's house whilst his parents look for a new property means the pre-teen can roam around unsupervised through much of the story - which inevitably leads him into trouble.
The fact that his aunt is also deaf always for extra commotion as the weird gloop grows.
The friendship between Evan and 'Andy' (Andrea) a local girl who takes them in to town, as the pair enter an old toy store.
The Monster Blood only really features heavily during the second half of the book, though Evan storing it in the bath-tub reminds me of Ghostbusters 2!
The main plot contrivance of this series works so well here as young Evan has to temporarily stay at his great-aunt Kathryn's house whilst his parents look for a new property means the pre-teen can roam around unsupervised through much of the story - which inevitably leads him into trouble.
The fact that his aunt is also deaf always for extra commotion as the weird gloop grows.
The friendship between Evan and 'Andy' (Andrea) a local girl who takes them in to town, as the pair enter an old toy store.
The Monster Blood only really features heavily during the second half of the book, though Evan storing it in the bath-tub reminds me of Ghostbusters 2!
June 13, 2015
I don't have all 50+ Goosebumps books lining my shelves but I do own enough to make me fall in love with this series in the very first place. In fact, I owe it to R.L.Stine and Christopher Pike for shaping my reading taste into that of an avid horror reader.
The endings to these Goosebump books are often queer, sometimes there wasn't even a happy ending. I remember thinking "Oh man, this is so screwed up!" every time I finished something by Mr . Stine. But in this case, Monster Blood made me go. "Oh wow! This is.. This is.....actually pretty bad."
Before I point out the stuffs that I find wrong with this book, let me be clear that yes, I am aware this is a book aimed for young audiences. Therefore, nothing is truly explained well. Things just happens and stays that way with no explainable facts.
Evan Ross was dropped off at his great aunt's place while his parents search for a new house somewhere in Atlanta. This aunt is pretty damn freaky. She's deaf but talks in perfect strings of words and she argues heatedly with her cat. That's not very normal, is it? One day, Evan visited a toy shop with his new friend and bought a can labelled 'MONSTER BLOOD'. The toy shop owner warned him not to get it for a silly reason that it is too old but of course Evan opposed and bought it anyway. When he got back, he fooled around with it. The blood in it seemed to grow in quantity as hours passed. Eventually, it grew and grew and grew into such a size that it was impossible to contain it anywhere because it outgrows every containers. This monster blood then went berserk and decided to gobble up our characters.
The concept is super. It's not everyday there's a story about some kind of green glob monster blood that eat humans up. This just lacks the right execution. The 'scares' aren't even close to scary. Even if I was age 6 or 8, I still don't think this book will freak me out. What aggravated me is that the suppose-to-be-scary moments always - ALWAYS turn out to be a nightmare instead of a real event. Or a nightmare within a nightmare. Like ugh. How is that suppose to be scary? It's an anticlimax and a total bummer.
The twists in this story aren't that twist-y for me, to be honest. I have read enough Goosebumps books to guess what kind of twists and turns will turn up. It's too predictable.
When the real culprit was revealed, nothing was explained.Shit Things just happens.
I want to know more about the evil cat. I want to know why the creepy, mean aunt got cursed in the first place. Why did the glob shrank into nothing when Sarabeth got pushed inside? How is the Beymer twins suppose to survive inside? Arrg. I want to know so much but nothing was ever revealed. Boo.
To wrap it all up, I tried to just read and enjoy the story but there are just too many things I find wrong making it impossible for me to like this. Monster Blood is not the best Goosebumps book but oh well, there are still 40+ more books in this series that I get to choose from.
The endings to these Goosebump books are often queer, sometimes there wasn't even a happy ending. I remember thinking "Oh man, this is so screwed up!" every time I finished something by Mr . Stine. But in this case, Monster Blood made me go. "Oh wow! This is.. This is.....actually pretty bad."
Before I point out the stuffs that I find wrong with this book, let me be clear that yes, I am aware this is a book aimed for young audiences. Therefore, nothing is truly explained well. Things just happens and stays that way with no explainable facts.
Evan Ross was dropped off at his great aunt's place while his parents search for a new house somewhere in Atlanta. This aunt is pretty damn freaky. She's deaf but talks in perfect strings of words and she argues heatedly with her cat. That's not very normal, is it? One day, Evan visited a toy shop with his new friend and bought a can labelled 'MONSTER BLOOD'. The toy shop owner warned him not to get it for a silly reason that it is too old but of course Evan opposed and bought it anyway. When he got back, he fooled around with it. The blood in it seemed to grow in quantity as hours passed. Eventually, it grew and grew and grew into such a size that it was impossible to contain it anywhere because it outgrows every containers. This monster blood then went berserk and decided to gobble up our characters.
The concept is super. It's not everyday there's a story about some kind of
The twists in this story aren't that twist-y for me, to be honest. I have read enough Goosebumps books to guess what kind of twists and turns will turn up. It's too predictable.
When the real culprit was revealed, nothing was explained.
I want to know more about the evil cat. I want to know why the creepy, mean aunt got cursed in the first place. Why did the glob shrank into nothing when Sarabeth got pushed inside? How is the Beymer twins suppose to survive inside? Arrg. I want to know so much but nothing was ever revealed. Boo.
To wrap it all up, I tried to just read and enjoy the story but there are just too many things I find wrong making it impossible for me to like this. Monster Blood is not the best Goosebumps book but oh well, there are still 40+ more books in this series that I get to choose from.
July 8, 2025
Due to the fact that his dad has been transferred and the family has to move, Evan has to stay the summer with his Aunt Kathryn. Besides being really old and weird, she's also completely deaf.
Evan befriends a girl named Andy in the neighborhood. They buy an old jar of slimy green goo called "Monster Blood", which appears to have no purpose other than to be slimy.
Evan's dog manages to eat some, and a few days later, the dog has doubled in size. The goo also appears to be growing, quickly outgrowing its small jar. It also appears to be breathing, as if it's alive...
R.L. Stine's "Monster Blood", part of his best-selling Goosebumps series, is another fun, gross, creepy horror story for kids.
Evan befriends a girl named Andy in the neighborhood. They buy an old jar of slimy green goo called "Monster Blood", which appears to have no purpose other than to be slimy.
Evan's dog manages to eat some, and a few days later, the dog has doubled in size. The goo also appears to be growing, quickly outgrowing its small jar. It also appears to be breathing, as if it's alive...
R.L. Stine's "Monster Blood", part of his best-selling Goosebumps series, is another fun, gross, creepy horror story for kids.
January 27, 2018
So sad these stories are so small...
October 3, 2023
i’m doggedly re-reading these in order all because there are some specific favorites i really want to get to but the perfectionist in me won’t allow me to read them out of order.
while this one was also fun to read, i enjoyed it less than the first two in the series but i did find myself empathizing heavily with evan and his attempts to get rid of the ever-growing monster blood from the very suspicious toy store more than i empathized with the characters from the previous books. if the fake monster blood i purchased from the toy store kept constantly growing and literally turning my cat (dog here) into a giant, it would without question be my last straw. i thought r.l. stine did a great job in creating the spooky tension and heightening it where you can’t help but feel evan’s frustration over possibly not being able to save his dog and getting rid of all that monstrous monster blood.
aunt kathryn’s character was perfectly creepy in the beginning and i loved her character and her creepy ass cat just the same. however, that ending twist with the cat (iykyk) was so unexpected and ott. i’m currently still recovering from the whiplash it gave me.
I AM ALSO SO HAPPY THE NEXT ONE IS “SAY CHEESE AND DIE” and i’m even much more closer to getting to “night of the living dummy” one of my personal favorites! see you soon goosebumps ily from the bottom of my spooky heart <3
while this one was also fun to read, i enjoyed it less than the first two in the series but i did find myself empathizing heavily with evan and his attempts to get rid of the ever-growing monster blood from the very suspicious toy store more than i empathized with the characters from the previous books. if the fake monster blood i purchased from the toy store kept constantly growing and literally turning my cat (dog here) into a giant, it would without question be my last straw. i thought r.l. stine did a great job in creating the spooky tension and heightening it where you can’t help but feel evan’s frustration over possibly not being able to save his dog and getting rid of all that monstrous monster blood.
aunt kathryn’s character was perfectly creepy in the beginning and i loved her character and her creepy ass cat just the same. however, that ending twist with the cat (iykyk) was so unexpected and ott. i’m currently still recovering from the whiplash it gave me.
I AM ALSO SO HAPPY THE NEXT ONE IS “SAY CHEESE AND DIE” and i’m even much more closer to getting to “night of the living dummy” one of my personal favorites! see you soon goosebumps ily from the bottom of my spooky heart <3
December 3, 2025
2 - 2.5 stars
Monster Blood is the third book in the Goosebumps series. It is a little fun, a lot creepy, and a tad scary. Not the best book in the series.
I am re-reading this series for nostalgic reasons.
The Goosebumps series was a staple in our house. My kids absolutely loved them, and to say I read these books with them once is an understatement. We read them many times as each of my three kids became old enough to read them. They still have them and are getting to read them with their kids.
Monster Blood is the third book in the Goosebumps series. It is a little fun, a lot creepy, and a tad scary. Not the best book in the series.
I am re-reading this series for nostalgic reasons.
The Goosebumps series was a staple in our house. My kids absolutely loved them, and to say I read these books with them once is an understatement. We read them many times as each of my three kids became old enough to read them. They still have them and are getting to read them with their kids.
August 28, 2021
This is probably one of my all time favourite Goosebumps books. It’s one of the first ones I read as a kid and it’s still stuck with me all these years later. Revisiting it again was so much fun, I forgot how much I loved this story! It’s a little silly and out there but what Goosebumps story isn’t really? I distinctly remember becoming very wary of any slime related toys after reading this, I was never able to look at those little jars the same after this story and seeing them now still brings Monster Blood to mind. I adore the whole story, truly, but the best part by far is the end, it’s just too damn cheesy and wild and hilarious and I’ll never not love it.
April 8, 2020
I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. If you feel anything in my review is a spoiler and is not already hidden in spoiler brackets please let me know. Thank you.
It was ok. It wasn't as good as the last two we read. It just didn't have much in the sense of scary. Which was hard for my daughter to really stay interested in. So that's why I feel I have to leave it at a 3 star, but we are excited to continue on and hope for the next book to be better.
It was ok. It wasn't as good as the last two we read. It just didn't have much in the sense of scary. Which was hard for my daughter to really stay interested in. So that's why I feel I have to leave it at a 3 star, but we are excited to continue on and hope for the next book to be better.
December 31, 2021
I spent a month re-reading all 62 original Goosebumps books to see if they still hold up today, you can check out my 3.5 hour vlog here: https://youtu.be/2C73xc1FS5o
You can also check out my entire ranking of the original Goosebumps books from worst to best here: https://youtu.be/lBfaxCOwAnA
You can also check out my entire ranking of the original Goosebumps books from worst to best here: https://youtu.be/lBfaxCOwAnA
October 14, 2015
As a child I grew up with Goosebumps. I was never obsessed enough to watch the show and collect the merchandise, but the books were a staple for me at the libraries. I was into them enough to be rather excited when the film was announced. The trailer was downright adorable, but it left me wondering - how well do the books hold up now?
If you’re someone curious about rereading these for the nostalgia factor, or a concerned parent wondering just how frightening these books may be for your child, I’ve got you covered. Book by book I’m covering the Classic Goosebumps series.
Reader Beware You’re In For A Scare
Title: Monster Blood
Tag line: It’s a monster blood drive!
First Sentence: “I don’t want to stay here. Please don’t leave me here.”
This book is basically about malevolent flubber.
So, how does this book rate?
Well, as a kid I remember loving it. I was utterly riveted and actually surprised by one of the twists. As an adult? It's boring and predictable and I can't stand Evan. Andy is awesome, but no worth slogging through this mess for. It wasn't as evocative as Welcome to Dead House was about how awful it is to move away from home when you're young, nor as fast-paced as Stay Out of the Basement.
Somehow, though, this book spawned three sequels.
Crap.
If you’re someone curious about rereading these for the nostalgia factor, or a concerned parent wondering just how frightening these books may be for your child, I’ve got you covered. Book by book I’m covering the Classic Goosebumps series.
Reader Beware You’re In For A Scare
Title: Monster Blood
Tag line: It’s a monster blood drive!
First Sentence: “I don’t want to stay here. Please don’t leave me here.”
This book is basically about malevolent flubber.
So, how does this book rate?
Well, as a kid I remember loving it. I was utterly riveted and actually surprised by one of the twists. As an adult? It's boring and predictable and I can't stand Evan. Andy is awesome, but no worth slogging through this mess for. It wasn't as evocative as Welcome to Dead House was about how awful it is to move away from home when you're young, nor as fast-paced as Stay Out of the Basement.
Somehow, though, this book spawned three sequels.
Crap.
March 26, 2023
Sostanze colloidali a zonzo
Era un barattolo blu, simile a quello della zuppa in scatola. Evan lo prese in mano e con sua grande sorpresa scoprì che era molto pesante. Lo portò davanti agli occhi per leggere cosa ci fosse scritto sull'etichetta.
SANGUE DI MOSTRO. Più in basso, una scritta più piccola diceva: SOSTANZA MIRACOLOSA.
"Sono le tracce del mostro", recita la copertina in alto a sinistra. Bene.
Trashonata fotonica con un blob poco rassicurante che non solo ingurgita tutto come n'aspirapolvere, ma accelera a tradimento il metabolismo di chi ha il coraggio di nutrirsene.
Difficile giudicarlo con l'ottica di un venticinquenne abbastanza navigato all'interno del genere: la storia tradisce una certa ripetitività di fondo; pochi i guizzi capaci di de-fossilizzare un plot immobile. Inoltre la gestione della tensione la si può definire pachidermica. Dentro la collana di Piccoli Brividi si trova decisamente di meglio.
Era un barattolo blu, simile a quello della zuppa in scatola. Evan lo prese in mano e con sua grande sorpresa scoprì che era molto pesante. Lo portò davanti agli occhi per leggere cosa ci fosse scritto sull'etichetta.
SANGUE DI MOSTRO. Più in basso, una scritta più piccola diceva: SOSTANZA MIRACOLOSA.
"Sono le tracce del mostro", recita la copertina in alto a sinistra. Bene.
Trashonata fotonica con un blob poco rassicurante che non solo ingurgita tutto come n'aspirapolvere, ma accelera a tradimento il metabolismo di chi ha il coraggio di nutrirsene.
Difficile giudicarlo con l'ottica di un venticinquenne abbastanza navigato all'interno del genere: la storia tradisce una certa ripetitività di fondo; pochi i guizzi capaci di de-fossilizzare un plot immobile. Inoltre la gestione della tensione la si può definire pachidermica. Dentro la collana di Piccoli Brividi si trova decisamente di meglio.
March 7, 2016
A spare book which I read as a breather from normal length novels, Monster Blood has no room for error. The faster the monster blood grew the less scary it got. Did I say scary? I meant more goofy. There's the usual trickery of imaginations, only here it's in the shape of dreams instead of shadows' foreshadowing. All first three Goosebumps books have now received 3 star. I'll be satisfied if this quality does not decrease in forthcoming books in the series. And odds are, in over 60 books there would, must, be a book of higher quality than usual.
April 29, 2015
Evan's got a problem.
His mom and dad are going to Atlanta to try and find a house there. Meanwhile, Evan has to spend a few weeks with his great-aunt Kathryn. She's old. And deaf. And wears a strange necklace that looks like it's made out of bone.
Kathryn has no tv. No stereo. No videogames. What is Evan going to do to entertain himself? All Kathryn has is a big bookshelf full of dusty tomes about magic, ancient Egypt, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and medicine.
Kathryn also has a black cat named Sarabeth that she describes as 'evil.' She makes Evan keep his cocker spaniel, Trigger, outside in the yard.
Evan decides to explore the neighborhood a little bit. When doing this he meets the beautiful Andrea, nicknamed Andy - a smart-mouthed girl his age (12). They become fast friends. But there are also bullies in the neighborhood - a pair of twin boys named Rick and Tony. They steal from both Evan and Andy and also beat Evan up pretty badly, knocking the wind out of him and giving him a black eye.
Where's the horror, you ask? Well, Andy needs to buy her cousin a birthday gift, so she and Evan go to an old toy store. And I mean old. Everything is coated with layers of dust. The store is owned by a crotchety old man. In the back room of this store, Evan finds the can of monster blood. It's a blue soup can, and when Evan tries to buy it the old man objects. It's old. It won't work anymore, the old man claims. Evan gets him to sell it to him anyway.
Evan and Andy open the can to find a strange green goo. It's cold to the touch. It bounces, it stretches. It glows strongly in the dark. They're not very impressed, but they take it outside to play with it anyway. That's when Trigger gets a hold of some of it and eats it.
The next day Evan goes out to the yard to find Trigger choking. Evan quickly realizes that his collar is too tight, and works frantically to get it off. He does, saving the dog's life, but can't understand how the collar shrunk. Until it dawns on him that the collar didn't shrink...Trigger grew.
The veterinarian assures Evan that Trigger's healthy. As in, don't worry, you're 12-year-old cocker spaniel is just going through a weird growth spurt. And is now twice his normal size. We'll send the blood tests to the lab. Bye!
But Evan and Andy know the truth - Trigger is growing rapidly because he ate the monster blood. They know this because the monster blood is growing, too. It's no longer cold. It's warm. It's pulsing. And it's growing at an astonishing rate.
This book is #3 in the Goosebumps series and is considered something of a classic. I give points to Stine for his creativity. As I've said before, we owe him a lot for opening the horror genre to children.
The writing is pedestrian, but the plot is strong. A 12-year-old boy living with an old deaf woman is scary. You get a sense that he's really alone. She never shows much interest in the child, and you know she wouldn't hear him screaming. This is a very scary thought, especially for a kid. He's an only child, so if something happens to him in the home he has no back-up.
I liked how the monster blood changed from a cold, bouncy substance to a hot and sticky one. I liked how ingesting it made you grow uncontrollably. I thought the inclusion of real horror (bullies in the neighborhood who steal from you and beat you) was a good choice. I liked Andrea's combination of being beautiful and also a smartass. Evan definitely notices that she's pretty, and although there's no romance (come on, they're 12!), it made me happy to think of these two growing up together and staying in touch. I liked the old woman, Kathryn - although Stine uses old age and deafness to make her Other, to make her something more than (less than?) human - I enjoyed her attitude and rather scary sense of humor. In the end,
His mom and dad are going to Atlanta to try and find a house there. Meanwhile, Evan has to spend a few weeks with his great-aunt Kathryn. She's old. And deaf. And wears a strange necklace that looks like it's made out of bone.
Kathryn has no tv. No stereo. No videogames. What is Evan going to do to entertain himself? All Kathryn has is a big bookshelf full of dusty tomes about magic, ancient Egypt, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and medicine.
Kathryn also has a black cat named Sarabeth that she describes as 'evil.' She makes Evan keep his cocker spaniel, Trigger, outside in the yard.
Evan decides to explore the neighborhood a little bit. When doing this he meets the beautiful Andrea, nicknamed Andy - a smart-mouthed girl his age (12). They become fast friends. But there are also bullies in the neighborhood - a pair of twin boys named Rick and Tony. They steal from both Evan and Andy and also beat Evan up pretty badly, knocking the wind out of him and giving him a black eye.
Where's the horror, you ask? Well, Andy needs to buy her cousin a birthday gift, so she and Evan go to an old toy store. And I mean old. Everything is coated with layers of dust. The store is owned by a crotchety old man. In the back room of this store, Evan finds the can of monster blood. It's a blue soup can, and when Evan tries to buy it the old man objects. It's old. It won't work anymore, the old man claims. Evan gets him to sell it to him anyway.
Evan and Andy open the can to find a strange green goo. It's cold to the touch. It bounces, it stretches. It glows strongly in the dark. They're not very impressed, but they take it outside to play with it anyway. That's when Trigger gets a hold of some of it and eats it.
The next day Evan goes out to the yard to find Trigger choking. Evan quickly realizes that his collar is too tight, and works frantically to get it off. He does, saving the dog's life, but can't understand how the collar shrunk. Until it dawns on him that the collar didn't shrink...Trigger grew.
The veterinarian assures Evan that Trigger's healthy. As in, don't worry, you're 12-year-old cocker spaniel is just going through a weird growth spurt. And is now twice his normal size. We'll send the blood tests to the lab. Bye!
But Evan and Andy know the truth - Trigger is growing rapidly because he ate the monster blood. They know this because the monster blood is growing, too. It's no longer cold. It's warm. It's pulsing. And it's growing at an astonishing rate.
This book is #3 in the Goosebumps series and is considered something of a classic. I give points to Stine for his creativity. As I've said before, we owe him a lot for opening the horror genre to children.
The writing is pedestrian, but the plot is strong. A 12-year-old boy living with an old deaf woman is scary. You get a sense that he's really alone. She never shows much interest in the child, and you know she wouldn't hear him screaming. This is a very scary thought, especially for a kid. He's an only child, so if something happens to him in the home he has no back-up.
I liked how the monster blood changed from a cold, bouncy substance to a hot and sticky one. I liked how ingesting it made you grow uncontrollably. I thought the inclusion of real horror (bullies in the neighborhood who steal from you and beat you) was a good choice. I liked Andrea's combination of being beautiful and also a smartass. Evan definitely notices that she's pretty, and although there's no romance (come on, they're 12!), it made me happy to think of these two growing up together and staying in touch. I liked the old woman, Kathryn - although Stine uses old age and deafness to make her Other, to make her something more than (less than?) human - I enjoyed her attitude and rather scary sense of humor. In the end,
April 8, 2018
Monster Blood is the third installment in R.L. Stine’s coveted Goosebumps series. While it is the first one (chronologically) that I did not absolutely love, I still enjoyed it and do know that there will be sequels involving this dangerous monster blood. I wonder how all of the Monster Blood books hold up as one, over-arching story? I will find out soon enough!
This story follows a young boy named Evan who has to go live with his great aunt Kathryn because his mother is going to Atlanta for a trip (ATL haaaaay!) Who would be excited about something like that? So to make things more entertaining, he goes to the local toy shop and buys a can of monster blood – because ALL kids must purchase something that’s called “monster blood,” right? *rolls eyes*
So basically the monster blood just keeps growing and growing and growing. And while that seems like it should be important (and it might be more of a vital role in the sequels), it is not the underlying threat in this story to me. Strange things are happening with aunt Kathryn and her black cat. We have all the ingredients we need for a suspenseful twist-ending. Well, it didn’t totally surprise me… but I bet it would have had my 8-year-old self all shook up!
Things I did not like: the repetitive nature of Evan always chasing/looking for his dog, the actual monster blood itself (just growing and not really doing much of anything), and how blunt his cooky, great aunt Kathryn is! She straight up comes out of the woodworks asking him if he likes girls. Maam, MAAM! This is some distant family member you haven’t seen in how long? And you are asking him to just come out to you as a tween in the 90s?! You must be trippin’, aunty K!
Monster Blood gets 3.5 out of 5 for me. And I may be super lenient here… part of me wants to give it a 3 in fact. If the monster blood actually did frightening things I think I would give this one a higher rating. But the fact that this book spawned two sequels makes me think this must just be the introduction to the monster blood’s true and terrifying powers… and that we will all be in for a world of hurt as the next books unfold! At least… I HOPE!
This story follows a young boy named Evan who has to go live with his great aunt Kathryn because his mother is going to Atlanta for a trip (ATL haaaaay!) Who would be excited about something like that? So to make things more entertaining, he goes to the local toy shop and buys a can of monster blood – because ALL kids must purchase something that’s called “monster blood,” right? *rolls eyes*
So basically the monster blood just keeps growing and growing and growing. And while that seems like it should be important (and it might be more of a vital role in the sequels), it is not the underlying threat in this story to me. Strange things are happening with aunt Kathryn and her black cat. We have all the ingredients we need for a suspenseful twist-ending. Well, it didn’t totally surprise me… but I bet it would have had my 8-year-old self all shook up!
Things I did not like: the repetitive nature of Evan always chasing/looking for his dog, the actual monster blood itself (just growing and not really doing much of anything), and how blunt his cooky, great aunt Kathryn is! She straight up comes out of the woodworks asking him if he likes girls. Maam, MAAM! This is some distant family member you haven’t seen in how long? And you are asking him to just come out to you as a tween in the 90s?! You must be trippin’, aunty K!
Monster Blood gets 3.5 out of 5 for me. And I may be super lenient here… part of me wants to give it a 3 in fact. If the monster blood actually did frightening things I think I would give this one a higher rating. But the fact that this book spawned two sequels makes me think this must just be the introduction to the monster blood’s true and terrifying powers… and that we will all be in for a world of hurt as the next books unfold! At least… I HOPE!
September 8, 2020
Someone once described R. L. Stine as the Stephen King of children’s books, and I think that sums him up well.
Some of his books are more supernatural than others, some with a childlike fantasy element about them, and others more based on legend. This one falls into the second category.
Evan is horrified when his mum tells him he is going to have a to stay with his great aunt Kathryn for two weeks while she house hunts in Atlanta. Great aunt Kathryn is deaf, doesn’t lip-read, and can’t sign, and is in her eighties. What fun.
Evan however makes his own fun when he meets and befriends Andy, a girl who lives nearby, and the pair use his pocket money to buy a mysterious can of ‘monster blood’ from the town toy shop. All is going well until something strange starts to happen to the green goo....is it growing?!
Classic tame horror in the well-loved style of Stine. 4 stars.
Some of his books are more supernatural than others, some with a childlike fantasy element about them, and others more based on legend. This one falls into the second category.
Evan is horrified when his mum tells him he is going to have a to stay with his great aunt Kathryn for two weeks while she house hunts in Atlanta. Great aunt Kathryn is deaf, doesn’t lip-read, and can’t sign, and is in her eighties. What fun.
Evan however makes his own fun when he meets and befriends Andy, a girl who lives nearby, and the pair use his pocket money to buy a mysterious can of ‘monster blood’ from the town toy shop. All is going well until something strange starts to happen to the green goo....is it growing?!
Classic tame horror in the well-loved style of Stine. 4 stars.
June 12, 2015
These books are quite a lot silly and the endings can be a little frustrating at times. That being said I find myself really enjoying them, They have a tension that makes them a great ride and makes you compelled to swallow them in one sitting.
This one in particular brings back the nostalgic fears from childhood which meant I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and probably should!
This one in particular brings back the nostalgic fears from childhood which meant I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and probably should!
November 21, 2025
3.75 ⭐
A fairly terrifying concept of goo that murders people. This is one of my brother's favorites and I'm going to guess that's because The Blob scared the living shit out of him when he was younger. (still does) When I was younger I never cared that much for the Monster Blood story but now I can say that I found it to be pretty good and I get why kids loved it so much.
A fairly terrifying concept of goo that murders people. This is one of my brother's favorites and I'm going to guess that's because The Blob scared the living shit out of him when he was younger. (still does) When I was younger I never cared that much for the Monster Blood story but now I can say that I found it to be pretty good and I get why kids loved it so much.
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