What do you think?
Rate this book
Choose Your Own Nightmare #1
Night of the Werewolf
Your vacation at your cousins' house is off to a creepy start. A body—with deep bite marks all over it—has just been found in the local pond.
Is there a werewolf in town?
Even though you've been warned to stay away, you and your cousins want to check out the crime scene. Things seem pretty normal. Until you hear branches crashing...and a throaty howl....
What happens next in this bone-chilling story? It all depends on the choices you make. How will your nightmare end? Only you can find out! And the best part is that you can keep reading and rereading, getting new chills and thrills—until not one but all of your worst nightmares have come true!
Give yourself goosebumps...choose your own NIGHTMARE...
Is there a werewolf in town?
Even though you've been warned to stay away, you and your cousins want to check out the crime scene. Things seem pretty normal. Until you hear branches crashing...and a throaty howl....
What happens next in this bone-chilling story? It all depends on the choices you make. How will your nightmare end? Only you can find out! And the best part is that you can keep reading and rereading, getting new chills and thrills—until not one but all of your worst nightmares have come true!
Give yourself goosebumps...choose your own NIGHTMARE...
86 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
6 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Edward Packard
170 books126 followersEdward Packard attended and graduated from both Princeton University and Columbia Law School. He was one of the first authors to explore the idea of gamebooks, in which the reader is inserted as the main character and makes choices about the direction the story will go at designated places in the text.
The first such book that Edward Packard wrote in the Choose Your Own Adventure series was titled "Sugarcane Island", but it was not actually published as the first entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. In 1979, the first book to be released in the series was "The Cave of Time", a fantasy time-travel story that remained in print for many years. Eventually, one hundred eighty-four Choose Your Own Adventure books would be published before production on new entries to the series ceased in 1998. Edward Packard was the author of many of these books, though a substantial number of other authors were included as well.
In 2005, Choose Your Own Adventure books once again began to be published, but none of Edward Packard's titles have yet been included among the newly-released books.
The first such book that Edward Packard wrote in the Choose Your Own Adventure series was titled "Sugarcane Island", but it was not actually published as the first entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. In 1979, the first book to be released in the series was "The Cave of Time", a fantasy time-travel story that remained in print for many years. Eventually, one hundred eighty-four Choose Your Own Adventure books would be published before production on new entries to the series ceased in 1998. Edward Packard was the author of many of these books, though a substantial number of other authors were included as well.
In 2005, Choose Your Own Adventure books once again began to be published, but none of Edward Packard's titles have yet been included among the newly-released books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 22, 2024
I read this to my kids, and they loved this! I read this when I was a kid, and it still holds up.
September 14, 2025
Count on Edward Packard to be a good series architect, a role he took on once again for Choose Your Own Nightmare with Night of the Werewolf. You're spending summer break with your cousins, Tom and Karin, and Aunt Charlotte. Before your aunt even pulls in the driveway she warns you something is amiss. Police found a dead body near Paulding's Pond, with jagged teeth marks on it. Tom and Karin say the killer is a werewolf, and they want to track him down. Tom suggests going to the pond for a look around, but Karin wants to consult Mrs. Hadley, a strange old woman from down the road. Which of your cousins will you join?
Mrs. Hadley is alarmed about the murder, and recounts for you a similar incident years ago. There was an aggressive local man she believed to be a werewolf. The person who lived in Tom and Karin's house at the time was killed in the same vicious way as the man at the pond yesterday, but Mrs. Hadley wasn't worried; her "powers" could ward off the werewolf. Is she saying she’s a witch? It's getting dark and stormy now; if you call Charlotte to pick you up in her car, she heads right out afterward to find Tom at the pond, but the werewolf breaks into the house and traps you and Karen in her bedroom. Should you leap to the tree out her window? If you block the door with Karin's bed, you narrowly evade the snarling intruder, who runs off into the night. Go with Charlotte to warn Mrs. Hadley about what just happened and you'll witness an astonishing end to the werewolf problem, but staying home with a police guard could lead to a grim fate. If you originally walked home with Karin from your first visit to Mrs. Hadley, you meet Tom on the way, but something is wrong. Did he encounter the werewolf? Is he concealing his true lupine form, and will soon victimize Charlotte, Karin, and you?
Going with Tom to Paulding's Pond from the first, your path is impeded by police caution tape. Maybe you're better off investigating an overgrown dirt road Tom never noticed. It leads to a ramshackle cabin...where you come face to muzzle with the furious werewolf. You aren't likely to outrun him, but he may spare your life if you stay mum about what you've seen. You could hide under the werewolf's bed instead of running, but he's sure to catch your scent. What should you do when he insists you try the rabbit stew he's cooking? A daring escape might work, but what if you eat the greasy, stringy meat? Perhaps you never went down the dirt road, instead crossing the police tape around Paulding's Pond. If you get too nosy, a policeman and his German shepherd nab you. Otherwise, you wind up back at the house for a movie night with Tom, Karin, and Charlotte. Watching a flick called Night of the Werewolf is unsettling, given recent goings-on. Are the howls coming from the screen, or the yard? You may be sitting ducks for a monster poised to kill again.
This book could be buttoned up a lot better, but I enjoy the atmosphere, wondering if the werewolf is lurking just beyond the walls of Charlotte's house. Some scenes I recall vividly even if I haven't read the book in years. Night of the Werewolf isn't an innovative work of genre, but its internal consistency holds up, and the werewolf isn't overexposed. I reach for this book often on spooky evenings near Halloween.
Mrs. Hadley is alarmed about the murder, and recounts for you a similar incident years ago. There was an aggressive local man she believed to be a werewolf. The person who lived in Tom and Karin's house at the time was killed in the same vicious way as the man at the pond yesterday, but Mrs. Hadley wasn't worried; her "powers" could ward off the werewolf. Is she saying she’s a witch? It's getting dark and stormy now; if you call Charlotte to pick you up in her car, she heads right out afterward to find Tom at the pond, but the werewolf breaks into the house and traps you and Karen in her bedroom. Should you leap to the tree out her window? If you block the door with Karin's bed, you narrowly evade the snarling intruder, who runs off into the night. Go with Charlotte to warn Mrs. Hadley about what just happened and you'll witness an astonishing end to the werewolf problem, but staying home with a police guard could lead to a grim fate. If you originally walked home with Karin from your first visit to Mrs. Hadley, you meet Tom on the way, but something is wrong. Did he encounter the werewolf? Is he concealing his true lupine form, and will soon victimize Charlotte, Karin, and you?
Going with Tom to Paulding's Pond from the first, your path is impeded by police caution tape. Maybe you're better off investigating an overgrown dirt road Tom never noticed. It leads to a ramshackle cabin...where you come face to muzzle with the furious werewolf. You aren't likely to outrun him, but he may spare your life if you stay mum about what you've seen. You could hide under the werewolf's bed instead of running, but he's sure to catch your scent. What should you do when he insists you try the rabbit stew he's cooking? A daring escape might work, but what if you eat the greasy, stringy meat? Perhaps you never went down the dirt road, instead crossing the police tape around Paulding's Pond. If you get too nosy, a policeman and his German shepherd nab you. Otherwise, you wind up back at the house for a movie night with Tom, Karin, and Charlotte. Watching a flick called Night of the Werewolf is unsettling, given recent goings-on. Are the howls coming from the screen, or the yard? You may be sitting ducks for a monster poised to kill again.
This book could be buttoned up a lot better, but I enjoy the atmosphere, wondering if the werewolf is lurking just beyond the walls of Charlotte's house. Some scenes I recall vividly even if I haven't read the book in years. Night of the Werewolf isn't an innovative work of genre, but its internal consistency holds up, and the werewolf isn't overexposed. I reach for this book often on spooky evenings near Halloween.
October 23, 2024
Count on Edward Packard to be a good series architect, a role he took on once again for Choose Your Own Nightmare with Night of the Werewolf. You're spending summer break with your cousins, Tom and Karin, and Aunt Charlotte. Before your aunt even pulls in the driveway she warns you something is amiss. Police found a dead body near Paulding's Pond, with jagged teeth marks on it. Tom and Karin say the killer is a werewolf, and they want to track him down. Tom suggests going to the pond for a look around, but Karin wants to consult Mrs. Hadley, a strange old woman from down the road. Which of your cousins will you join?
Mrs. Hadley is alarmed about the murder, and recounts for you a similar incident years ago. There was an aggressive local man she believed to be a werewolf. The person who lived in Tom and Karin's house at the time was killed in the same vicious way as the man at the pond yesterday, but Mrs. Hadley wasn't worried; her "powers" could ward off the werewolf. Is she saying she’s a witch? It's getting dark and stormy now; if you call Charlotte to pick you up in her car, she heads right out afterward to find Tom at the pond, but the werewolf breaks into the house and traps you and Karen in her bedroom. Should you leap to the tree out her window? If you block the door with Karin's bed, you narrowly evade the snarling intruder, who runs off into the night. Go with Charlotte to warn Mrs. Hadley about what just happened and you'll witness an astonishing end to the werewolf problem, but staying home with a police guard could lead to a grim fate. If you originally walked home with Karin from your first visit to Mrs. Hadley, you meet Tom on the way, but something is wrong. Did he encounter the werewolf? Is he concealing his true lupine form, and will soon victimize Charlotte, Karin, and you?
Going with Tom to Paulding's Pond from the first, your path is impeded by police caution tape. Maybe you're better off investigating an overgrown dirt road Tom never noticed. It leads to a ramshackle cabin...where you come face to muzzle with the furious werewolf. You aren't likely to outrun him, but he may spare your life if you stay mum about what you've seen. You could hide under the werewolf's bed instead of running, but he's sure to catch your scent. What should you do when he insists you try the rabbit stew he's cooking? A daring escape might work, but what if you eat the greasy, stringy meat? Perhaps you never went down the dirt road, instead crossing the police tape around Paulding's Pond. If you get too nosy, a policeman and his German shepherd nab you. Otherwise, you wind up back at the house for a movie night with Tom, Karin, and Charlotte. Watching a flick called Night of the Werewolf is unsettling, given recent goings-on. Are the howls coming from the screen, or the yard? You may be sitting ducks for a monster poised to kill again.
This book could be buttoned up a lot better, but I enjoy the atmosphere, wondering if the werewolf is lurking just beyond the walls of Charlotte's house. Some scenes I recall vividly even if I haven't read the book in years. Night of the Werewolf isn't an innovative work of genre, but its internal consistency holds up, and the werewolf isn't overexposed. I reach for this book often on spooky evenings near Halloween.
A note on this edition: Choose Your Own Nightmares in paperback tend to be slender, fragile books, so it's good to have the Gareth Stevens library bound copies if you heavily reread the series. It ensures you can keep the paperbacks in good condition as the collector's items they are.
Mrs. Hadley is alarmed about the murder, and recounts for you a similar incident years ago. There was an aggressive local man she believed to be a werewolf. The person who lived in Tom and Karin's house at the time was killed in the same vicious way as the man at the pond yesterday, but Mrs. Hadley wasn't worried; her "powers" could ward off the werewolf. Is she saying she’s a witch? It's getting dark and stormy now; if you call Charlotte to pick you up in her car, she heads right out afterward to find Tom at the pond, but the werewolf breaks into the house and traps you and Karen in her bedroom. Should you leap to the tree out her window? If you block the door with Karin's bed, you narrowly evade the snarling intruder, who runs off into the night. Go with Charlotte to warn Mrs. Hadley about what just happened and you'll witness an astonishing end to the werewolf problem, but staying home with a police guard could lead to a grim fate. If you originally walked home with Karin from your first visit to Mrs. Hadley, you meet Tom on the way, but something is wrong. Did he encounter the werewolf? Is he concealing his true lupine form, and will soon victimize Charlotte, Karin, and you?
Going with Tom to Paulding's Pond from the first, your path is impeded by police caution tape. Maybe you're better off investigating an overgrown dirt road Tom never noticed. It leads to a ramshackle cabin...where you come face to muzzle with the furious werewolf. You aren't likely to outrun him, but he may spare your life if you stay mum about what you've seen. You could hide under the werewolf's bed instead of running, but he's sure to catch your scent. What should you do when he insists you try the rabbit stew he's cooking? A daring escape might work, but what if you eat the greasy, stringy meat? Perhaps you never went down the dirt road, instead crossing the police tape around Paulding's Pond. If you get too nosy, a policeman and his German shepherd nab you. Otherwise, you wind up back at the house for a movie night with Tom, Karin, and Charlotte. Watching a flick called Night of the Werewolf is unsettling, given recent goings-on. Are the howls coming from the screen, or the yard? You may be sitting ducks for a monster poised to kill again.
This book could be buttoned up a lot better, but I enjoy the atmosphere, wondering if the werewolf is lurking just beyond the walls of Charlotte's house. Some scenes I recall vividly even if I haven't read the book in years. Night of the Werewolf isn't an innovative work of genre, but its internal consistency holds up, and the werewolf isn't overexposed. I reach for this book often on spooky evenings near Halloween.
A note on this edition: Choose Your Own Nightmares in paperback tend to be slender, fragile books, so it's good to have the Gareth Stevens library bound copies if you heavily reread the series. It ensures you can keep the paperbacks in good condition as the collector's items they are.
May 31, 2015
THIS TERRIFIED ME. I was an innocent 8 year old...what was I thinking?
October 5, 2025
Surprisingly boring first entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure spinoff series and seemingly written at a reading level below that of the main series, despite the selling point of horror suggesting it should actually be aimed at older kids. There's no central story, just some werewolves popping up to menace (or chat with, or throw popcorn at) the POV character here and there, with a number of different, seemingly-random people who turn out to be werewolves without any overarching reason. It really needed a clear main villain for the kids to investigate and some chases through the woods or stealthy infiltration sequence to add some suspense. The book can't decide if werewolves are wild monsters or evil furries capable of having normal conversations, nor whether they want to violently murder people or turn humans into werewolves, nor whether you turn into a werewolf by being bitten or from eating soup. Werewolf lore goes unexplored, with no silver or wolfsbane appearing anywhere in the book.
Overall lazy effort, especially in an era when it would've been competing against Goosebumps.
Overall lazy effort, especially in an era when it would've been competing against Goosebumps.
October 30, 2024
Suitable to read in summer or Halloween season, werewolves seem to be a perfect subject too but the events are somewhat average, and I understand that due to the multi-ending nature of the story, but it should have been more exciting and tense.
#VERDICT: (6.5/10)
#VERDICT: (6.5/10)
June 1, 2019
It’s cute. Nothing too intense. Nothing long story wise. I enjoyed it though. :)
October 10, 2019
I read this with my girlfriend for Halloween. It’s a lot of fun.
February 20, 2020
A weak beginning to the series - which is surprising, since it’s written by Mr. Packard and werewolves seem to be a perfect subject for nightmares.
December 9, 2021
I love reading all the different ways the story can go
June 9, 2023
c’mon jacob was just trying to find bella 🙄
September 17, 2024
This was fine
October 29, 2025
I've never read a choose your own Adventure, so I thought I'd try one matching the season, and it was a fun time! Surprising how many branches they could fit in a book under a 100 pages.
November 13, 2015
Sorry, but no. This book was pretty abysmal, and that's coming from someone who likes both this series and werewolves in general. You can see every plot twist coming a mile away, every situation is embarrassingly cliche, and the titular werewolf is not scary at all. I remember being pretty underwhelmed by this book as a kid, and time has not helped. There is really no good reason to waste your time reading this derivative book. Somehow the first book in the series is the worst of all. Go figure.
June 22, 2023
I remember this was the scariest and most disturbing book I had ever read as an 8 year old
explains my current interests in thriller and horror, definitely paved the way and sparked my interest in all things scary.
reading this book after all these years was simply cute and nostalgic. the storyline is nothing special, very surface level, very kid-friendly. but it was cute.
2/5 stars for nostalgia
explains my current interests in thriller and horror, definitely paved the way and sparked my interest in all things scary.
reading this book after all these years was simply cute and nostalgic. the storyline is nothing special, very surface level, very kid-friendly. but it was cute.
2/5 stars for nostalgia
July 9, 2013
the adventures that I went through when I was bored I just read these books over and over again you would never get to the end of the story.
October 27, 2014
I think the book didn't have alot of details, descriptions, events, or good storyline. Pretty childish. I'd recommend to anyone 2nd Grade or under :/
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews