Many kids at an early age are introduced to the horror genre from scary bedtime stories and horror movies. The popular middle-grade book series,Goosebumps, written byrenowned authorR.L. Stine,is a perfect entryway for kids to explore more of the horror genre. Stine’s campy horror books were adapted into a television series in 1995 that brought these frightful tales onscreen. The show became a bit of a cult classic for its iconic moments, from its bad acting toits chilling creatures that gave us nightmares as kids.Both theGoosebumpsbooks and episodes are great at offering kids a great balance of fear and entertainment.A perfect example is the two-part Season 1 finale, “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp.”
Similar to"The Haunted Mask"and “A Night in Terror Tower,” thisGoosebumpsepisode is one of the few that begins with a special introduction from R.L. Stine that leads you into the spooky tale onscreen. “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” is about a young boy who moves into a rural area, near a swamp where he befriends a neighborhood boy who warns him about a werewolf in the area.The onlyGoosebumpsepisode to be featured onBillboard’s Top Kids Video listin 1996,the episode’s plot is the recipe for a great horror tale as it utilizes both its environment and practical effects to deliver all the scares. From the dark foggy forest and the terrifying werewolf that stalks the night, this episode brings in fear and laughs, similar to another horror film.
Goosebumps
A series of scary anthology stories based on the children’s books by R.L. Stine. Series one was hosted by R.L. Stine for twelve episodes.
What Is “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” About?
TheGoosebumpsepisodebegins with Grady Tucker (Brendan Fletcher), a preteen boy who moves to Florida with his family in a dilapidated house, near a dark, misty forest in the area known as Fever Swamp. Grady and his older sister Emily (Mairon Bennett) immediately express their distaste for the house and the neighborhood to their parents, who insist that it’s only “rustic.” They moved to Fever Swamp because their parents are scientists who want to study how the deer they brought along with them adapt to the swamp. Strange, butit wouldn’t be aGoosebumpsstory if some things didn’t quite make sense, right?The suspense starts to build when Grady is sent by his father to release a corn snake found in the bathroom into the swamp. As he walks through the eerie dark woods to release the snake, he begins to hear strange, scary noises coming further from the swamp. He begins to panic and attempts to run back home until he bumps intoa tall, creepy man with white hair— the Swamp Hermit.
Just the close-up shot of this Swamp Hermit (Don Francks),is enough to scare viewerswith the frantic eyes that look back at him. Grady’s father does assure him and his sister that the Swamp Hermit is harmless, but his neighbor that he later meets, Will (Michael Barry), tells him otherwise. He tells him that the old man cannot age because he is a werewolf who will transform under the light of the next full moon. One night, Grady is woken up by howls coming from outside. He opens the door and is knocked to the floor by a shadowy creature that is revealed to be a dog that he begins to adore. He names the dog Vandal after his parents let him keep him, but almost immediately questions Vandal’s behavior. They discover several dead animals in the area. Determined to prove Vandal’s innocence, Grady goes into the woods with Will to find the Hermit, but the Hermit catches him in one of his traps. The Hermit takes him back to his shack to leave him tied up and alone while he goes back outside to howl into the sky. Grady eventually sets himself free to run back to his house to warn his family of the wolf.
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With a premise never before seen, this ‘Goosebumps’ episode is by far one of the creepiest offerings from the classic children’s show.
Now this is where the episode utilizes its sound effects and close-up shots to invoke fear among both its young and adult viewers. The confrontation scene between Emily and the werewolf is quite frightening with the eerie ambiance and the sound of the beast’s growl as its large teeth emerge from the dark. With this setting alone, in a rural, dark, misty swamp and decaying house,R.L. Stine proves once again that he has always been exceptional at keeping kids hooked on horror.This is explored more after the werewolf attempts to attack Emily and her parents but hears Grady in the woods and abandons them to go after him. The beast runs off into the woods to get caught by one of the same traps set up by the Swamp Hermit. The wolf then escapes and chases after Grady until a lunar eclipse goes into effect and reverts it into its human form: Will. The misdirection of the identity of this beast never leads you to suspect Will, as the episode focuses so heavily on the mystery and howling sounds coming from the Hermit.The episode excels in its surprising reveal as well as in the werewolf’s design, sound effects, and transformation scenes, which are reminiscent of a more adult classic,An American Werewolf in London. But it’s the awful cheesy sequel to this iconic horror classic that also holds some comparison to this frightful episode.
“The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” Sets a Campy Horror Tone Similar to ‘An American Werewolf in Paris’
An American Werewolf in Pariswas a critical and commercial flop that attempted to recapture the same spirit asJohn Landis’An American Werewolf in London. It’s centered around three American friends, Andy (Tom Everett Scott), Brad (Vince Vieluf), and Chris (Phil Buckman), who go on a road trip through Paris to have a fun time. It is during the trip that Andy becomes entranced by a woman named Serafine (Julie Delpy), who jumps off the Eiffel Tower and disappears into the night. Andy and his friends are soon led into a clan of French werewolves who have found a serum to instantly transform them into these beastly creatures. The film was originally developed as a sequel toone of the best werewolf movies of all timeand even follows some of the same beats. However, they broughtsomeoriginal ideas into the story, such as a potential cure for the werewolf curse.
Much likeAn American Werewolf in Paris,“The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” offers some genuine laughs in both itscampy horrorstyle and its werewolf lore. According to Serafine’s stepfather, a person who is bitten by a wolf has to go after their attacker and eat their heart to be cured. Her stepfather also created a serum that tames the wolf gene, yet it is also a serum that helps the cult of werewolves to immediately transform into these terrible CGI creatures.ThisGoosebumpsepisode captures the genuine horror spirit ofAn American Werewolf in London,as well asits lackluster sequel. It carries a similar comedic style in its over-the-top performances, absurd werewolf lore, and chilling environment that is an entryway into the horror genre for kids.
