Goosebumps Book 1

Here’s the plot: Amanda and Josh and their family have moved to a new house in the small town of Dark Falls. When they get there, they meet with real estate agent Compton Dawes, who Petey, the Benson family dog, doesn’t stop growling at. Mr. Dawes shrugs it off, saying Petey might have smelled another dog on him. The reason why Amanda and Josh and their family moved is because they inherited the house from a great-uncle they never knew existed.

While Josh whines and complains about the move and how tragic it is for him, Mr. Dawes welcomes them into the house. Amanda starts to explore her new room. Amanda catches a glimpse of a boy standing in the doorway before the boy quickly runs off down the hall. Amanda likes her new room and goes outside to tell Josh, but both he and Petey are gone. Mr. Dawes offers to give directions while the family drives around town trying to find the pair.

On the way, Amanda finds it odd that there are no people on the street or in the houses or in the yards. It’s like Dark Falls is a ghost town. After a long drive, the family finally finds Josh. Josh was chasing Petey among the gravestones of the cemetery. Amanda and Josh’s father, Jack, ends up catching and leashing Petey, despite how frantic Petey’s behaviour is.

The Benson family drops off Mr. Dawes at his real estate office back in Dark Falls. Mr. Dawes mentions that the family can come back the following week to finalize the contracts to the house. After an eventful first visit to Dark Falls, the Benson family leaves Dark Falls to go back to their old neighbourhood. Amanda’s friend Kathy comes over to visit on the last day the Benson family is staying in their old house. Kathy reassures Amanda that Dark Falls is only four blocks away.

The next day is moving day, and it’s a rainy, windy day in Dark Falls for the Benson family at their new house. Amanda keeps seeing other children inside the house and hearing strange noises. Amanda and Josh start meeting the locals, like Ray Thurston — who Amanda recognises as the guy who was standing in the door — and Karen Somerset. The other people they meet are George Carpenter, Jerry Franklin, and Bill Gregory, who seem friendly enough and a bit off-putting, but they play a bit of softball anyway. Ray and Karen both say they used to live in their house.

Two weeks later, Petey goes missing, and the family can’t seem to find him. That night, Josh wakes up Amanda and says they should go to the graveyard, which was the place Petey went last time. When Josh and Amanda go out to check, they bump into Ray, who warns them about being out so late in the cemetery. Josh and Amanda find the gravestones of their new friends, which say:

· Karen Somerset — 1960–1972

· George Carpenter — 1975–1988

· Ray Thurston — 1977–1988

Ray says the grave is his, and he’s one of the living dead. Once a year, they must eat the blood of a recently killed victim. Also, Ray killed Petey because dogs always know when zombies are around. Ray then attacks Amanda, but Josh saves Amanda at the last minute by shining his halogen flashlight in Ray’s face, and Ray disintegrates until he’s nothing but a pile of bones.

Amanda and Josh run home, but when they arrive, they are attacked by Karen Somerset along with Jerry and Bill, who reveal that the great-uncle thing was a ruse so the zombies could lure the family to Dark Falls to eat them. Suddenly Mr. Dawes appears in the doorway, and Karen, Jerry, and Bill vanish. Mr. Dawes reveals he already found their parents, and he’s taking them to join them.

Even though Amanda and Josh think Mr. Dawes is saving them, a gravestone reading Compton Dawes — R.I.P. 1950–1980 reveals that Compton Dawes is dead just like everyone else. Mr. Dawes tells Amanda and Josh that everyone in Dark Falls died due to a yellow gas escaping from a nearby plastics factory, which killed everyone and turned them into the living dead.

Amanda and Josh escape Mr. Dawes after Josh whacks him with the halogen flashlight. It turns out dead people crumble to dust due to light, so Josh and Amanda knock down a tree to turn the living dead to dust. Karen thanks Amanda for doing that before she turns to dust. Amanda and Josh quickly rescue their parents and go home quickly to pack up.

And so the book ends with the Benson family leaving the Dead House. They notice a new family on the driveway. Amanda notices these new people are being guided by someone who looks like Mr. Dawes. Amanda brushes this off and tells one of the kids that she used to live in their house, and the Benson family drives away.

I give Welcome to Dead House 5 Ray Thurstons out of 5 halogen flashlights. 

My next book review will be Goosebumps Book 2: Stay Out of the Basement, so stay tuned for that!