R.L. STINE BOOK OF THE WEEK: Stay Out of the Basement

Somethings waiting in the dark...

From the back cover:

LIVE PLANTS...DEAD PEOPLE?

Dr. Brewer is doing a little plant-testing in his basement. Nothing to worry about. Harmless, really.

But Margaret and Casey Brewer are worried about their father. Especially when they...meet...some of the plants he is growing down there.

Then they notice that their father is developing plantlike tendencies. In fact, he is becoming distinctly weedy - and seedy.

Is it just part of their father's "harmless" experiment? Or has the basement turned into another little shop of horrors?

My thoughts:

This is Goosebumps book #2 and just like Welcome to Dead House, this one has more gore than the later ones in the series which I've read - so far. The imagery of the plants in the basement is creepy (imagine plants with faces or arms). And Stine's trademark chapter-ending cliffhangers are actually suspenseful and involve one of the kids witnessing something horrific, rather than a dumb fake-out. Stay Out of the Basement is one of the better Goosebumps books I've read.

Rating: 4/5

PG gore: The hand was still bleeding, Margaret saw.

Or was it?

What was that dripping from her father's hand?

Still holding her breath, she watched him wash it off carefully under the hot water. Then he examined it, he eyes narrowed in concentration.

After washing, the cut continued to bleed.

Margaret stared hard, trying to better focus her eyes.

It couldn't be blood - could it?

It couldn't be blood dripping into the sink.

It was bright green!

Next week: Fear Street: One Evil Summer

Note: I'm writing this from the library, since I don't have internet at the moment, and might not have it for awhile, so I probably won't be posting as much. I'll try to get to the library a few times a week to post, but the internet here is slow and it's a 15 minute walk from my apartment and these wooden chairs are really uncomfortable.