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Creepers
Doctor Death
A new doctor in town prescribes special remedies with mysterious results...
Jacob, the basketball star of a small town, has an appointment with the new doctor in town. The handsome new MD seems to have just what he needs but soon Jacob realizes his ailments--and those of his friends--seem to only be getting worse! The boys decide to confront the doctor at his office, but what they find is beyond their wildest imaginations.
About the Creepers series: Strange things are happening in the Creepers series! These high-interest, low-vocabulary middle grade illustrated chapter books are perfect for readers who love a good mix of spooky and silly. Featuring stories with tween protagonists who find themselves in paranormal predicaments, the Creepers series is set to capture the imaginations of young readers with thrilling tales of the strange things that keep us up at night.
Jacob, the basketball star of a small town, has an appointment with the new doctor in town. The handsome new MD seems to have just what he needs but soon Jacob realizes his ailments--and those of his friends--seem to only be getting worse! The boys decide to confront the doctor at his office, but what they find is beyond their wildest imaginations.
About the Creepers series: Strange things are happening in the Creepers series! These high-interest, low-vocabulary middle grade illustrated chapter books are perfect for readers who love a good mix of spooky and silly. Featuring stories with tween protagonists who find themselves in paranormal predicaments, the Creepers series is set to capture the imaginations of young readers with thrilling tales of the strange things that keep us up at night.
Paperback
First published November 23, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 30, 2025
This reads fine, but I don't know if it's this specific story or if I'm finally tired of this series, but I didn't enjoy it as much as others I've read. I guess there are a few points that make it less good:
- Not "creepy." Others have had *happy* coexistence with monsters or the *main character* is the paranormal one, but there's not really anything "creepy" in this one. It's like how How I Learned to Fly isn't actually a Goosebumps book, since the ONE "scary" thing is the character briefly steps into an abandoned house full of rats to get something before running away. This book has , but nobody's actually scared or creepy in this, besides in the general sense of how you might be wary about someone who scams you.
- The main character's mother. Jacob's mother is a real pill. I was half-worried the story would focus on her, but she slows down the first act by talking nonstop and never once listening to Jacob, who is excitedly trying to tell her about winning the game, then acting hurt when she finds that out from someone else because she couldn't listen to her own child long enough for him to tell her himself. I can't stand people like this. Luckily, she basically disappears after the Doctor Death encounter starts.
- Unbelievable motive. Doctor Death's motive seems... dubious. At best, ill-planned, since what exactly did he expect after inflicting horrible ailments onto all his patients, some of which are EXTREMELY UNABLE TO TOLERATE the extremeness of the ailments, which are so OBVIOUSLY the result of all of them having JUST RECENTLY been to see the new doctor?
- Unbelievable remedy. Not the hows of it—science fiction is fine—but the fact that . Just the hardest time suspending disbelief in the revenge plan.
- Epilogue is too long. Does that seem weird? It feels like once they show Doctor Death's deserved punishment, that should've been the end of the book. Nope, the cured patients' epilogue just feels like padding. I feel like it should've been before Doctor Death's epilogue, especially since a very large part of the actual end of the book is a preview of a different Creepers story (even more padding, since the book is already fairly short).
On the whole, I just didn't like it as much. The art is fine, other than one illustration of the patients' suffering, where they look decreasingly detailed as they go down the page. I think part of it is the other books I've read in this series (particularly by this publisher) have generally avoided putting too much (or any) detail into characters' faces, but this one has not only fewer illustrations, but almost all of them have faces, in quite detail. It changes a lot of the mood of the story. Okay read, but less recommended than the other titles.
- Not "creepy." Others have had *happy* coexistence with monsters or the *main character* is the paranormal one, but there's not really anything "creepy" in this one. It's like how How I Learned to Fly isn't actually a Goosebumps book, since the ONE "scary" thing is the character briefly steps into an abandoned house full of rats to get something before running away. This book has , but nobody's actually scared or creepy in this, besides in the general sense of how you might be wary about someone who scams you.
- The main character's mother. Jacob's mother is a real pill. I was half-worried the story would focus on her, but she slows down the first act by talking nonstop and never once listening to Jacob, who is excitedly trying to tell her about winning the game, then acting hurt when she finds that out from someone else because she couldn't listen to her own child long enough for him to tell her himself. I can't stand people like this. Luckily, she basically disappears after the Doctor Death encounter starts.
- Unbelievable motive. Doctor Death's motive seems... dubious. At best, ill-planned, since what exactly did he expect after inflicting horrible ailments onto all his patients, some of which are EXTREMELY UNABLE TO TOLERATE the extremeness of the ailments, which are so OBVIOUSLY the result of all of them having JUST RECENTLY been to see the new doctor?
- Unbelievable remedy. Not the hows of it—science fiction is fine—but the fact that . Just the hardest time suspending disbelief in the revenge plan.
- Epilogue is too long. Does that seem weird? It feels like once they show Doctor Death's deserved punishment, that should've been the end of the book. Nope, the cured patients' epilogue just feels like padding. I feel like it should've been before Doctor Death's epilogue, especially since a very large part of the actual end of the book is a preview of a different Creepers story (even more padding, since the book is already fairly short).
On the whole, I just didn't like it as much. The art is fine, other than one illustration of the patients' suffering, where they look decreasingly detailed as they go down the page. I think part of it is the other books I've read in this series (particularly by this publisher) have generally avoided putting too much (or any) detail into characters' faces, but this one has not only fewer illustrations, but almost all of them have faces, in quite detail. It changes a lot of the mood of the story. Okay read, but less recommended than the other titles.
December 9, 2024
What did you like about the book? In the true fashion of the Creepers books, this one provides a great story that will make you laugh and chill you to the bone. Jacob Jung has an unwanted doctor’s appointment. He has only a couple of pimples, why is his mom making it such a big deal? When they get to the doctor’s office, he finds out exactly why. The waiting room is full of moms with their children waiting for the newest town doctor who just happens to be incredibly handsome. As his mom swoons in the exam room, the doctor assures Jacob the cream he gives him will take away all his acne worries. Once Jacob’s mom is out of earshot though, Dr. Blair gives Jacob a parting few words, “Pimples, Jacob?... You ain’t seen nothing yet”. Jacob wakes up to horror on his face, zits oozing green puss and huge welts. Unbeknownst to Jacob, his friends are suffering from similar horrors, as they have all been taken to see the new dreamy doctor.
The story is funny but also has the right mix of creepy. The adventure begins as the friends decide they must join forces to confront Dr. Blair and find out what is going on. The racially and culturally diverse characters all have unique personalities that readers are sure to see themselves in. Like all of the Creepers series, the pages are broken up with intermittent full page black and white illustrations that provide a great visual to compliment the text. Even the most reluctant reader will find this story engaging and short enough to not be overwhelming. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
The story is funny but also has the right mix of creepy. The adventure begins as the friends decide they must join forces to confront Dr. Blair and find out what is going on. The racially and culturally diverse characters all have unique personalities that readers are sure to see themselves in. Like all of the Creepers series, the pages are broken up with intermittent full page black and white illustrations that provide a great visual to compliment the text. Even the most reluctant reader will find this story engaging and short enough to not be overwhelming. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
July 12, 2025
1.5 stars rounded up.
Okay, so my "Creepers" journey is almost at an end. As stated before, I found these books at the Dollar Tree, books 6-10 in the series.
"Doctor Death" is the worst yet.
A handsome new doctor in town is giving teenagers medicine that actually makes their conditions worse. No motivation. No development of the character of the doctor. And no, no one dies. And the skeleton on the cover is very misleading.
The writing is really awkward again like it was in the 6th book, which is leading me to believe that Edgar J. Hyde might just be the name for different writers to publish the books under. The quality is that noticeably different.
This is also poorly edited or copyedited. At the end, we are told it is a month later, but then the lead character talks about something that was supposedly a month ago as yesterday. Just lazy.
I feel I've come too far to give up now, so I will read the last "Creepers" I have. I hope it is more of the quality of books 7 and 8 than 6 and 9.... we'll see...
Okay, so my "Creepers" journey is almost at an end. As stated before, I found these books at the Dollar Tree, books 6-10 in the series.
"Doctor Death" is the worst yet.
A handsome new doctor in town is giving teenagers medicine that actually makes their conditions worse. No motivation. No development of the character of the doctor. And no, no one dies. And the skeleton on the cover is very misleading.
The writing is really awkward again like it was in the 6th book, which is leading me to believe that Edgar J. Hyde might just be the name for different writers to publish the books under. The quality is that noticeably different.
This is also poorly edited or copyedited. At the end, we are told it is a month later, but then the lead character talks about something that was supposedly a month ago as yesterday. Just lazy.
I feel I've come too far to give up now, so I will read the last "Creepers" I have. I hope it is more of the quality of books 7 and 8 than 6 and 9.... we'll see...
September 22, 2025
The day after Jacob wins the championship for his school, his mother takes him to the doctor for his acne. Dr. Blair is very handsome and because of this, his office is packed. However, there are also many sick people there too. Dr. Blair gives Jacob cream to put on his acne that only makes it worse. His friends also start suffering from different afflictions. The boys decide to investigate the doctor.
LIKES
The boys had a good friendship going and were great together. Jacob's relationship with his mom was fine.
DISLIKES
There were too many sentences ending in exclamation points for my liking. Also, all the main boys seem to have mothers who are interested in the doctor. Jacob is implied to have a single mother, but the other boys are not stated. At the end of the book, a character says something happened the other day, when the book states months have passed.
LIKES
The boys had a good friendship going and were great together. Jacob's relationship with his mom was fine.
DISLIKES
There were too many sentences ending in exclamation points for my liking. Also, all the main boys seem to have mothers who are interested in the doctor. Jacob is implied to have a single mother, but the other boys are not stated. At the end of the book, a character says something happened the other day, when the book states months have passed.
December 25, 2024
We bought this book at the dollar tree because we were intrigued by the skeleton on the cover....THERE WAS NO SKELETON. The story was strange. We felt a lot of the sentences or even chapters were overly descriptive for no reason and is badly paced. Lots of typos and grammatical errors. Most importantly it was NOT scary. Not even a little. There was no suspense near the climax of the story and the ending was unsatisfying. The pictures were clearly traced over as well as reused multiple times in the story. It was still fun to read because it was so bad. Kept us entertained but did not do what the author wanted to do: scare us. We think it was worth the $1.25 though.
June 20, 2024
The worst of the Creepers series I've read so far. Not much happens. No deaths at all... and no injuries even for that matter. Just a couple of people getting a lot of zits. Nothing out of the ordinary in my opinion.
September 29, 2024
This one has been my least favorite Creepers book so far.
The story was slow paced with not much going on. No horror or scares at all and the characters themselves were pretty bland and basic. Also ended up being really predictable, more than most middle grade horror reads.
The story was slow paced with not much going on. No horror or scares at all and the characters themselves were pretty bland and basic. Also ended up being really predictable, more than most middle grade horror reads.
July 11, 2021
This book took me a lot longer to get through than I’d like to admit. I found it a bit bland and the characters were unconvincing, so I never got emotionally involved.
June 7, 2023
2,6 estrelas
July 4, 2023
A childhood favourite. Yes, I was a morbid, weird little girl.
March 23, 2024
$1 book find.
Like a lightweight Goosebumps.
Spoiler alert: no one actually dies. Super disappointed.
Like a lightweight Goosebumps.
Spoiler alert: no one actually dies. Super disappointed.
May 22, 2024
2.5 stars
May 30, 2024
I love these books!! Always a lesson to learn in them snd always just creepy enough!
June 1, 2024
3.5⭐️
September 10, 2024
This is just an odd book. Yet appreciate for kids after 12. The boys in this remind me of the Goonies.
November 19, 2024
He wouldn't have been able to do this today. Too many cameras.
December 2, 2024
This cover is so misleading.
December 4, 2024
This was one that didn't really have much story and it certainly was not a spooky/scary story. This is one I would suggest skipping in the series.
September 27, 2025
This isn't the best in the series by any means.
A new doctor comes to town and the kids start having mysterious "illnesses". A group of teenage boys set out to change that.
A new doctor comes to town and the kids start having mysterious "illnesses". A group of teenage boys set out to change that.
November 6, 2025
I bought about 8 of these books at a Dollar Tree for my son who likes horror stories. This one features a new doctor in town whose "cures" seem to be making teenage problems worse . . . on purpose!
September 24, 2024
This started off really good but I was a little bored before I finished.
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May 13, 2011Good one
July 11, 2021
This book took me a lot longer to get through than I’d like to admit. I found it a bit bland and the characters were unconvincing, so I never got emotionally involved.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews