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The Nightmare Room #7
جیغ - از سری کتابهای تالار وحشت شماره 7
The Howler (The Nightmare Room, #7), R.L. Stine
جیغ - از سری کتابهای تالار وحشت شماره 7، 1383، 160 ص
جیغ - از سری کتابهای تالار وحشت شماره 7، 1383، 160 ص
160 pages
First published January 1, 2000
4 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,680 books18.7k 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 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 13, 2022
An okay , scary story, only the end sucked in my opinion. Could have been better, but overall the book was easy to read.
September 11, 2022
Habe das Buch aus nostalgischen Gründen gelesen, weil ich diese Bücher mit 14 sehr geliebt habe. Jetzt war es okay.
January 6, 2013
I liked it. It was a nice interpretation of the haunted house trope. I did feel like everyone around Spencer kind of dropped the ball, though. Your son/friend/brother suddenly develops an obsession with seeing and speaking to ghosts after he watches his cousin get killed right in front of him and you don't see anything odd with that? And, in fact, make fun of him for it? Great support system you have there.
January 7, 2023
I can honestly say I didn't expect this Nightmare Room book to begin this way. The story starts off with Spencer explaining that he hopes ghosts are real.why? Because somebody close to him dies in a skating accident.And he feels guilty for it.His "friends"Vanessa and Scott go ice skating at this frozen lake behind his house,along with his cousin Ian.Somebody ends up dying and Spencer never goes back.That is until one night he sees this glowing spectre skating across the ice late at night.Spencer ends up buying machines that he is told can talk to ghosts,but none of them seem to work.Scott claims his house is haunted and they end up going over to his house,only for Spencer to get scared and bullied for it.He and Vanessa end up spotting this place that sells ghost hunting stuff,or ghost getting rid of stuff.And he ends up walking out with the howler, a device used to communicate with spirits.The very first night he uses it, he believes he hears something real, only for it to turn out to be his brother who scares him and some of his other friends. Vanessa gets this idea to scare Scott with this device, and now we're on a detour, because this is no longer The Ghost Next Door. We're all the way back to You Can't Scare Me.They end up going to Scotts house to scare him only for something pretty predictable to happen.They end up releasing something from Scotts closet and assume they trap whatever is back inside by closing the closet. All is well, or atleast they all think. Spencer ends up running into alot of ghostly things like his walls getting painted and his suit coming to life on its own. they end up going back to Scotts house to retrieve the howler, that they left upon panic. And then we get this really good climax. The only flaws I had with this book is of course the focus on Ian drifting away for a haunted house next door type story,and the characters.The only character I really related to was Spencer. The rest were not good. No one seemed to care about Ian. They never really mention him at all.And his older brother was pretty abusive.I also kinda didn't like the cop out thing with the characters getting sucked into walls and ceilings.But I understand why they did that. Other then that,the story was fine. I give The Howler a 3.5 out of five.It got boosted up because of that ending. Other then that, this one was the weakest of The Nightmare Room books for me.But that's saying something. None of these books so far were bad.
November 2, 2018
Supernaturally-obsessed Spencer, his friend Vanessa, and new kid Charlie decide to try out a gadget Spencer bought in a novelty shop, The Howler, which is supposed to contact the dead. But it's when they're not using it that they see three figures in the light it sends off, saying something unclear. They think they're kids who disappeared in an abandoned hangout construction site, "The Pit". and get a message in their cereal prompting them to go there to communicate with them. When they do, a beam of light goes toward each of them, though the only effect seems to be on Vanessa, who's suddenly is eager to try it again. She has really been trapped in the machine while her body is inhabited by one of the ghosts who wants to let her friends into Spencer's and Charlie's bodies. It isn't until they get a warning from Vanessa the next night that they realize it, but the ghost in her body lets one of the others take over Charlie. Spencer has to hurry to think of how to save himself, and the others.
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January 8, 2024The Nightmare Room: The Howler
It was a frosty cold day when they meet Ian. (a ghost). Vanessa was there and Scott. Ian is Spencer’s cousin, but he’s more like a brother. This day they’re walking to the lake and Ian hops on top of a wall,. He falls into a low clump of bushes, but that’s where the luck ran out. They head to the ice to go ice skating. Ian starts to slip and fall and blames the skates for not being tight enough. Things go a little better after that and they glide around effortlessly. Scott swipes Ian’s hat and they all start playing keep away with the hat so Ian skates away. The ice breaks under his skates and he drops. In seconds Ian is gone. Ian surfaces and Spener tries to pull him up but Spencer can’t see his head. The ice below Spener drops and Ian’s hand falls away. Then Spener starts to fall under. Spencer doesn’t remember the rest. After this Spencer hasn’t been back to the lake.
After this, Spencer wants to find Ian’s ghost. Now he’s found a machine alled a “Spector Detector”. Vanessa warns him it won’t work, but Spencer thinks since it’s from the movie “Ghostbusters” it *has* to work. They’re about to dismiss it as another fake (this isn’t the first device he’s tired) but then the door starts to open. But it’s just Scott. Scott starts bragging about how his house has ghosts and Spencer wonders why he’s always trying to get attention. So, Spener is like put up or shut up, but Scott makes up an excuse that “his mother is having a book club meeting”. He agrees that they can come over tomorrow.
The next day while they’re over to Scott’s, they hear a howl and raspy ghost sounds. It’s just the cat. He makes a comment to his mother that his friends have come to see the haunted house and she’s like uh what. He says she tries to keep the ghosts a secret. He leads them upstairs and tells them he hears footsteps at night but when he looks no ones there. He then leads them to the attic where the ghosts hang out-. It’s pretty typical of an attic (crowded, dusty). In the corner is a ghostly, pale, woman. Vanessa ste[s i[ tp the ghost amd pulls off her head.. It’s a dummy. Spencer knows he’lll never hear the end of it so he rushes out of Scott’s house. Vanessa catches up with him and tells him he’s got to get over it. He tells her can’t because on that night he thinks he saw Ian’s ghost.
Spencer has a brother named Nick that’s a bully. He teases him about the device. Spencer decides the device is junk and tosses it in the trash. That night he sees a boy glowing on the lake gliding over it. Thinking it’s Ian he rushes out to see him. There are tracks on the ice and Spencer follows them, but the tracks vanish as if the skater just disappeared or snake below the ice. Spencer hears creaks and starts to go back. The creaks get louder and closer. A hand reaches up from the ice and grabs him by the ankle. But it’s not a hand. It’s just a glove. He could have sworn it gripped him. He just decides to go home. He promises Ia n he’ll keep trying to find him.
The next day, everyone is teasing Spencer for freaking out about the dummy. After school Spencer runs off. Vanessa again catches him. They’re now on a block they don’t recognize and there’s a house that says “Little House of Spirits”. It doesn’t look like it’s open, but there’s a sign that say s”Ghost Supplies”. Vanessa tells him it’s a waste of time but Spencer goes to check it out. A short, thin, man appears (very pale). He says most come for traps and alarms, but Spencer tells him his house isn’t haunted. HE’s trying to find a ghost. He speaks about the complications of ghosts and wouldn’t it be nice if they could just pick up the phone. He says sometimes ghosts don’t even speak. Sometimes they howl. Then he says sometimes he likes to howl (OH KAAAY).
Vanessa wants to leave. This man is kind of .. out there. The man says he has what he needs. He then shows then a square box that looks like a radio. He says it’s called “The Howler.” It has a yellow dial and a round black speaker. He says it detects the howl of ghosts. You can speak to them and they can speak back if they choose. But sometimes they howl (he repeats). The man gives it to him for 30.00 (all the money Spencer has). He warns him tho that ghosts are not entirely human and he may wish it didn’t work. Later that night, he hears sounds coming from The Howler. He finally hears a voice that asks him to help him and to find him.
After school, Vanessa, Ed. And Justin come over to hear the ghost. They hear a rasp and then someone says I can see all four of you. It says I see you. You must help. Then it howls angrily. Justin freaks out and is about to leave. Vanessa says they should see what it wants. Spencer asks where it is and the ghosts says it’s buried in the closet and it’s been there a long time. They look in the closet. It’s Nick. He heard them coming up the stairs and he knew Spencer would want to show them his “toy”. It was also him last night. He suggests he take the device back to where he got it. Vanessa says she has an idea. She says what if they play a trick on Scott. What if they play the same trick and make him think his house is haunted.
Jake sneaks up to the attic while the others distract Scott. He says his ghosts don’t come out in the day time. Then he says he doesn’t want to bother them. Then he says he has too much homework. Excuse after excuse. Spencer starts to go up to the attic, but Scott blocks him -hoping it’s not real-. Spencer says he’ll be surprised. Scott gets freaked out. The whisper says the snow is so high. They’ve been snowed in so long and they’re so hungry. The whisper asks can they help them. Spencer says they can help but Scott says maybe they don’t want to. The voice asks to be let us out. The voice says they’re in the closet. When they open the closet, Justin isn’t there.
Justin comes up the stairs apologizing for being late. Cold air and the smell of rotting meat wafts into the room from the closet. Then a howl and a detrending screech comes from the closet. Theres a wind and it pushes Spencer back. Then there’s the sound of whispers. They say they’ve been set free and plan to make them pay. There’s a bright light. Justin starts to puke. Spencer bends over in agony. Justin tries to make it to the door to shut it. He makes it. The howls stop. They all run out of the attic and shut it behind them.
Scott begs not to be left there and admits he didn’t know there were real ghosts. Spencer tells him it’s ok now they locked them in. Scott says he’ll never go up there again and Spencer says he’ll never try to contact ghosts again. Days go by. Spencer is working on a poster for their school team. Scott stops by and reminds him of the poster ontest. Spencer asks him if he’s seen any ghosts and he says no. He told his parents about the ghosts and they told him to save the stories until Halloween and he wasn’t going to try to prove it to them. He admits he’s still scared. Nick wants Spencer to go to the store for ice-cream, but he stands up to him and he backs off. He goes to help his parents and when he comes back there’s a big “I” painted on the wall. Nick says he didn’t do it and was on the phone the whole time.
At dinner, Spencer hears the whispers saying “Here Here. Look here.” But he doesn’t see anything. He starts to shriek and knocks over his dinner. It freaks him out so bad that he rushes from the kitchen table -making his family think he’s crazy-. When he tells Scott he says everything is fine at his house. That night, Spencer sees the sleeves to his jacket move. Then the whole thing starts to levitate. Someone invisible starts to put on the suit. Then it moves toward him. The arms make a move like they’re going to grab him. The window keeps opening and closing. The suit moves closer and closer. His parents hear him scream and choose that momenty go come in. The suit goes still.
Spencer tries to tell them about the suit, but of course they don’t believe him so he tells them it was just a nightmare. He then realizes something. Spencer tells his friends they have to get the Howler back and he tells them everything. He admits he’s scared but he has to try to reach Ian. When Spencer opens the closet five ghosts show themselves. They howl and start to dance. One of the women notice Spencer. They all take off running, but the ghosts chase after them. They try to get out the door but Scott’s hand gets stuck and then it starts to burn. Spencer tries to pry it off but now it’s stuck to Scott’s.
The ghosts are now staring at them, grandmother, mother, father, two kids. The old woman tells them they’re trapped. Then they’re surrounded and they’re faces transform to bone. They all start to screech to the top of their lungs. They all start to attack. The boy’s teeth go through Spencer. The ghosts’ attacks go through the humans. Then they vanish. Ed and Jake get sucked into the wall trying to find a way to escape out the window. They’re all wondering what to do and then Scott’s parents come home. They all wait to see if they can let them out. Scott starts to spin uncontrollably. He spins out and the ceiling starts to bubble and turn to liquid. He then gets sucked up into the ceiling. They head to the door and start to yell for Scott’s parents. They catch the attention of Scott’s mom and she and his father run to the door, but they start to sink into the snow. They slip down screaming as they disapper below the snow.
Spencer decides to try to contact Ian. He tries to speak to Ian. Then there’s an explosion. Then there’s black. Vanessa and Spencer sees the wall behind them in flames and through the flames are the faces of the ghost family. They then come at them. They make a run for it but the ghosts come after them. Then there’s anoter explosion. Then there are more flames. They’re able to escape out the window. They see the ghosts chasing after them. They’re bodies have now turned blue. They run all the way to the lake. They pull themselves on to the ice. Vanessa and Spencer try to outrun them and get back to shore, but the ghosts circle them and circle then faster and faster. They heat the ice and start to crack the ice.
They starts to give way. Then a boy comes over the broken ice. It’s Ian. Spence is happy to see him until he sees he’s furious. Spencer tries to plead with him as he comes forward to strangle him. He tells him he tried to save him. Ian says he knows and that’s why he stayed around. He tried to contact him to thank him but he was too weak. He says he tried to let him know. He said he put on the glove and tried to save him. He tried to paint the I. He tried to call out to him at dinner. He also tried to put on his suit,. Each time he was too weak. He then starts to skate until he’s a blur. He circles the ghosts and cuts a circle in the ice. He sinks the ghosts. The ice turns to steam. Ian has now vanished with the other ghosts. Everything is back to normal. Scott, Jake, and Ed rush out the house with no memories of what happened. The Howler is undamaged. Nick vows no more ghosts and plans to hide the Howler in the basement. Nick demands to have the Howler to play a trick on some girls he knows. Spencer just hands it over and tells him to have fun.
My Thoughts
Not bad! Not bad at all! The ghosts in this didn’t disappoint. The ending could have been a little more twisty. Maybe at the end Ian could have said. “I know you tried to save me and I’m here to help you, but you know I have to take you with me.” Then he could have grabbed Spencer and yanked him down through the icae and turned *him* into a ghosts because in order for him to save Spencer that was part of the deal. He had to bring back a ghost soul in return. Opps Sorry RL. Not trying to tell you how to write your book. Just thought it needed a bit more at the end.
Rating: 7 Overall, a very good book in the series!
It was a frosty cold day when they meet Ian. (a ghost). Vanessa was there and Scott. Ian is Spencer’s cousin, but he’s more like a brother. This day they’re walking to the lake and Ian hops on top of a wall,. He falls into a low clump of bushes, but that’s where the luck ran out. They head to the ice to go ice skating. Ian starts to slip and fall and blames the skates for not being tight enough. Things go a little better after that and they glide around effortlessly. Scott swipes Ian’s hat and they all start playing keep away with the hat so Ian skates away. The ice breaks under his skates and he drops. In seconds Ian is gone. Ian surfaces and Spener tries to pull him up but Spencer can’t see his head. The ice below Spener drops and Ian’s hand falls away. Then Spener starts to fall under. Spencer doesn’t remember the rest. After this Spencer hasn’t been back to the lake.
After this, Spencer wants to find Ian’s ghost. Now he’s found a machine alled a “Spector Detector”. Vanessa warns him it won’t work, but Spencer thinks since it’s from the movie “Ghostbusters” it *has* to work. They’re about to dismiss it as another fake (this isn’t the first device he’s tired) but then the door starts to open. But it’s just Scott. Scott starts bragging about how his house has ghosts and Spencer wonders why he’s always trying to get attention. So, Spener is like put up or shut up, but Scott makes up an excuse that “his mother is having a book club meeting”. He agrees that they can come over tomorrow.
The next day while they’re over to Scott’s, they hear a howl and raspy ghost sounds. It’s just the cat. He makes a comment to his mother that his friends have come to see the haunted house and she’s like uh what. He says she tries to keep the ghosts a secret. He leads them upstairs and tells them he hears footsteps at night but when he looks no ones there. He then leads them to the attic where the ghosts hang out-. It’s pretty typical of an attic (crowded, dusty). In the corner is a ghostly, pale, woman. Vanessa ste[s i[ tp the ghost amd pulls off her head.. It’s a dummy. Spencer knows he’lll never hear the end of it so he rushes out of Scott’s house. Vanessa catches up with him and tells him he’s got to get over it. He tells her can’t because on that night he thinks he saw Ian’s ghost.
Spencer has a brother named Nick that’s a bully. He teases him about the device. Spencer decides the device is junk and tosses it in the trash. That night he sees a boy glowing on the lake gliding over it. Thinking it’s Ian he rushes out to see him. There are tracks on the ice and Spencer follows them, but the tracks vanish as if the skater just disappeared or snake below the ice. Spencer hears creaks and starts to go back. The creaks get louder and closer. A hand reaches up from the ice and grabs him by the ankle. But it’s not a hand. It’s just a glove. He could have sworn it gripped him. He just decides to go home. He promises Ia n he’ll keep trying to find him.
The next day, everyone is teasing Spencer for freaking out about the dummy. After school Spencer runs off. Vanessa again catches him. They’re now on a block they don’t recognize and there’s a house that says “Little House of Spirits”. It doesn’t look like it’s open, but there’s a sign that say s”Ghost Supplies”. Vanessa tells him it’s a waste of time but Spencer goes to check it out. A short, thin, man appears (very pale). He says most come for traps and alarms, but Spencer tells him his house isn’t haunted. HE’s trying to find a ghost. He speaks about the complications of ghosts and wouldn’t it be nice if they could just pick up the phone. He says sometimes ghosts don’t even speak. Sometimes they howl. Then he says sometimes he likes to howl (OH KAAAY).
Vanessa wants to leave. This man is kind of .. out there. The man says he has what he needs. He then shows then a square box that looks like a radio. He says it’s called “The Howler.” It has a yellow dial and a round black speaker. He says it detects the howl of ghosts. You can speak to them and they can speak back if they choose. But sometimes they howl (he repeats). The man gives it to him for 30.00 (all the money Spencer has). He warns him tho that ghosts are not entirely human and he may wish it didn’t work. Later that night, he hears sounds coming from The Howler. He finally hears a voice that asks him to help him and to find him.
After school, Vanessa, Ed. And Justin come over to hear the ghost. They hear a rasp and then someone says I can see all four of you. It says I see you. You must help. Then it howls angrily. Justin freaks out and is about to leave. Vanessa says they should see what it wants. Spencer asks where it is and the ghosts says it’s buried in the closet and it’s been there a long time. They look in the closet. It’s Nick. He heard them coming up the stairs and he knew Spencer would want to show them his “toy”. It was also him last night. He suggests he take the device back to where he got it. Vanessa says she has an idea. She says what if they play a trick on Scott. What if they play the same trick and make him think his house is haunted.
Jake sneaks up to the attic while the others distract Scott. He says his ghosts don’t come out in the day time. Then he says he doesn’t want to bother them. Then he says he has too much homework. Excuse after excuse. Spencer starts to go up to the attic, but Scott blocks him -hoping it’s not real-. Spencer says he’ll be surprised. Scott gets freaked out. The whisper says the snow is so high. They’ve been snowed in so long and they’re so hungry. The whisper asks can they help them. Spencer says they can help but Scott says maybe they don’t want to. The voice asks to be let us out. The voice says they’re in the closet. When they open the closet, Justin isn’t there.
Justin comes up the stairs apologizing for being late. Cold air and the smell of rotting meat wafts into the room from the closet. Then a howl and a detrending screech comes from the closet. Theres a wind and it pushes Spencer back. Then there’s the sound of whispers. They say they’ve been set free and plan to make them pay. There’s a bright light. Justin starts to puke. Spencer bends over in agony. Justin tries to make it to the door to shut it. He makes it. The howls stop. They all run out of the attic and shut it behind them.
Scott begs not to be left there and admits he didn’t know there were real ghosts. Spencer tells him it’s ok now they locked them in. Scott says he’ll never go up there again and Spencer says he’ll never try to contact ghosts again. Days go by. Spencer is working on a poster for their school team. Scott stops by and reminds him of the poster ontest. Spencer asks him if he’s seen any ghosts and he says no. He told his parents about the ghosts and they told him to save the stories until Halloween and he wasn’t going to try to prove it to them. He admits he’s still scared. Nick wants Spencer to go to the store for ice-cream, but he stands up to him and he backs off. He goes to help his parents and when he comes back there’s a big “I” painted on the wall. Nick says he didn’t do it and was on the phone the whole time.
At dinner, Spencer hears the whispers saying “Here Here. Look here.” But he doesn’t see anything. He starts to shriek and knocks over his dinner. It freaks him out so bad that he rushes from the kitchen table -making his family think he’s crazy-. When he tells Scott he says everything is fine at his house. That night, Spencer sees the sleeves to his jacket move. Then the whole thing starts to levitate. Someone invisible starts to put on the suit. Then it moves toward him. The arms make a move like they’re going to grab him. The window keeps opening and closing. The suit moves closer and closer. His parents hear him scream and choose that momenty go come in. The suit goes still.
Spencer tries to tell them about the suit, but of course they don’t believe him so he tells them it was just a nightmare. He then realizes something. Spencer tells his friends they have to get the Howler back and he tells them everything. He admits he’s scared but he has to try to reach Ian. When Spencer opens the closet five ghosts show themselves. They howl and start to dance. One of the women notice Spencer. They all take off running, but the ghosts chase after them. They try to get out the door but Scott’s hand gets stuck and then it starts to burn. Spencer tries to pry it off but now it’s stuck to Scott’s.
The ghosts are now staring at them, grandmother, mother, father, two kids. The old woman tells them they’re trapped. Then they’re surrounded and they’re faces transform to bone. They all start to screech to the top of their lungs. They all start to attack. The boy’s teeth go through Spencer. The ghosts’ attacks go through the humans. Then they vanish. Ed and Jake get sucked into the wall trying to find a way to escape out the window. They’re all wondering what to do and then Scott’s parents come home. They all wait to see if they can let them out. Scott starts to spin uncontrollably. He spins out and the ceiling starts to bubble and turn to liquid. He then gets sucked up into the ceiling. They head to the door and start to yell for Scott’s parents. They catch the attention of Scott’s mom and she and his father run to the door, but they start to sink into the snow. They slip down screaming as they disapper below the snow.
Spencer decides to try to contact Ian. He tries to speak to Ian. Then there’s an explosion. Then there’s black. Vanessa and Spencer sees the wall behind them in flames and through the flames are the faces of the ghost family. They then come at them. They make a run for it but the ghosts come after them. Then there’s anoter explosion. Then there are more flames. They’re able to escape out the window. They see the ghosts chasing after them. They’re bodies have now turned blue. They run all the way to the lake. They pull themselves on to the ice. Vanessa and Spencer try to outrun them and get back to shore, but the ghosts circle them and circle then faster and faster. They heat the ice and start to crack the ice.
They starts to give way. Then a boy comes over the broken ice. It’s Ian. Spence is happy to see him until he sees he’s furious. Spencer tries to plead with him as he comes forward to strangle him. He tells him he tried to save him. Ian says he knows and that’s why he stayed around. He tried to contact him to thank him but he was too weak. He says he tried to let him know. He said he put on the glove and tried to save him. He tried to paint the I. He tried to call out to him at dinner. He also tried to put on his suit,. Each time he was too weak. He then starts to skate until he’s a blur. He circles the ghosts and cuts a circle in the ice. He sinks the ghosts. The ice turns to steam. Ian has now vanished with the other ghosts. Everything is back to normal. Scott, Jake, and Ed rush out the house with no memories of what happened. The Howler is undamaged. Nick vows no more ghosts and plans to hide the Howler in the basement. Nick demands to have the Howler to play a trick on some girls he knows. Spencer just hands it over and tells him to have fun.
My Thoughts
Not bad! Not bad at all! The ghosts in this didn’t disappoint. The ending could have been a little more twisty. Maybe at the end Ian could have said. “I know you tried to save me and I’m here to help you, but you know I have to take you with me.” Then he could have grabbed Spencer and yanked him down through the icae and turned *him* into a ghosts because in order for him to save Spencer that was part of the deal. He had to bring back a ghost soul in return. Opps Sorry RL. Not trying to tell you how to write your book. Just thought it needed a bit more at the end.
Rating: 7 Overall, a very good book in the series!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2009
this book scared the day light out of me i was scary well i thought it was scary i mean they way everything is written is amazing
August 28, 2023
It's more sad than scary and personally I found Spencer, the main character the most normal boy in the serie despite his obession with ghosts. That's because he's suffering from trauma after that lake accident and he's just trying to find closure with his dead cousin Ian.
The brother dynamic between Nick and Spencer is also very well written it reminds me a lot of Rodrick and Greg. Their friend group seems fun to be around too. What makes drop this from 4⭐ because I think it's ridiculous that the ghosts were trying to kill those children for no reasons at all. Other than, it's a book worth reading.
The brother dynamic between Nick and Spencer is also very well written it reminds me a lot of Rodrick and Greg. Their friend group seems fun to be around too. What makes drop this from 4⭐ because I think it's ridiculous that the ghosts were trying to kill those children for no reasons at all. Other than, it's a book worth reading.
September 14, 2025
This one kicks off kind of boring. I mean, all the kid talks about is walking through the snow. It gets mildly interesting when the kid tries to contact his cousin’s ghost using a device he ordered online. But that wasn’t enough to keep me going. Honestly, this was such a disappointing read. I expected more since this was an R.L. Stine, whom I’ve been a huge fan of since Jr. High. This was just too boring!
March 27, 2025
Okay, wait, this one was actually sad. Spencer wasn’t messing about with the Howler because he was being an idiot like most kids in R. L. Stine books — he had a genuine reason and he dedicated a whole year of his life to it. This was so sad. What’s the age rating for this one because I would’ve lost my mind if I read this when I was like 7
October 20, 2025
I used to DEVOUR these books when I was 11. I probably spent every day in the local library and I bet my parents probably thought I was losing the plot. I recently rejoined the library and decided to reread the series as a 30 year old. The Slovenian translation is quite funny. The book was not as scary as I remember it, but I can definitely see why I was so into it. I can't wait to read more!
September 18, 2023
4.5 - A more mature series than Goosebumps, this book has a very good opening with strong character motivations and lead up to an ending that is effective but not as much as I had hoped based on the setup.
November 23, 2024
Riletto dopo così tanti anni. Dolce nostalgia. Stile avvincente e trasportante, protagonista niente male. Si fa leggere che è una delizia, e l'immaginazione riempie i buchi... Mi resta solo un po' di rimpianto per alcune scene che potevano essere approfondite ancora meglio
September 2, 2020
one if the most scary books r.l.stine wrote!
October 5, 2020
Habs auf deutsch gelesen ("Wer die Geister ruft"), bin aber grad zu faul, die richtige Edition nachzutragen. War eher belanglos.
January 13, 2021
One of the scariest R L Stine books since so much goes unexplained. Also Spencer's pain is very relatable.
May 20, 2023
تاریخ شروع کتاب: ۱۴۰۲/۲/۲۸
تاریخ اتمام کتاب: ۱۴۰۲/۲/۲۹
تاریخ اتمام کتاب: ۱۴۰۲/۲/۲۹
December 24, 2025
The Howler is a fantastic middle school about ghosts and paranormal investigation.
November 13, 2012
Fans of Goosebumps and R.L. Stine's other works will enjoy this little known series.
August 26, 2010
it stinks
April 23, 2013
Somewhat disappointing and dull. Many parts were predictable.
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