''Creepy Creatures'' is the first book in R. L. Stine's ''Goosebumps Graphix'' series. It is a comic book that contains three stories; ''The'' ''Werewolf of Fever Swamp'' adapted by Gabriel Hernandez, ''The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight'' adapted by Greg Ruth and ''The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena'' adapted by

Scott Morse Scott Morse (sometimes known as C. Scott Morse or C. S. Morse) is an American animator, filmmaker, and comic book artist/writer. Much of Morse's published work consists of stand-alone graphic novels, although he is perhaps best known for his ...

, all based on the ''

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror novels written by American author R. L. Stine. The protagonists in these stories are teens or pre-teens who find themselves in frightening circumstances, often involving the supernatural, the p ...

'' books by R. L. Stine. The book was first published on September 1, 2006Carter, R.J. (August 28, 2006)
"Book Review: Goosebumps Graphix: Creepy Creatures"
. ''The Trades''. Retrieved on December 11, 2010. by Scholastic in the United States.

Plot summary

''The Werewolf of Fever Swamp''

Grady and his family the Tuckers move into a house next to Fever Swamp in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Grady finds and convinces his parents to let him keep a large wolf-like stray dog for a pet which he names Wolf, but when something has broken into the deer pen in Grady's yard and killed one of the animals, his father Mr. Tucker decides that the stray had to be taken to the pound. Grady helps the dog flee before his dad can capture it. That night, Grady hears the howling again and explores Fever Swamp to get to the bottom of things. He encounters Will Blake, one of his friends, who is slowly turning into a

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...

under the full moon. The newly changed werewolf bites Grady, but the assault is cut short when Wolf attacks and chases away Will. On the night of the next full moon, Grady transforms into a werewolf and joins Wolf in hunting.

''The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight''

While visiting their grandparents, Curtis and Miriam, Mark and Jodie notice strange movements at night: the

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin that is often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. ...

s are moving, and their grandparents are acting differently. Jodie concludes that Sticks, the

groundskeeper Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The United States Department o ...

Stanley's son, made the scarecrows move. Jodie dresses Mark up as a scarecrow for revenge on Sticks. However, after a scarecrow tries to hurt Jodie, Sticks explains to her that Stanley brought the scarecrows to life last time he visited the farm. Curtis and Miriam had been trying to keep Stanley happy so that he will keep the scarecrows asleep. After scaring Stanley with the scarecrow costume, the scarecrows begin walking towards them. Sticks uses torches to burn all the scarecrows, and they all fall to the ground. The next afternoon, Jodie notices a stuffed bear move a little. This comic has a significant use of

figurative language The distinction between literal and figurative language exists in all natural languages; the phenomenon is studied within certain areas of language analysis, in particular stylistics, rhetoric, and semantics. *Literal language is the usage of wor ...

. For example, one instance is when Jodie hugs her grandpa and he asks if she got her hair from a store. She replies with, "You're right, Grandpa. It's a wig." The author uses verbal irony to exemplify how close the two are with their humor. The author also uses ambiguity with the word choice to create tension. Stanley states, "The corn has ears." This statement is both true literally, but it also brings suspense to the story with a suggestion that there is something supernatural in the field. Onomatopoeia is used with the repeated word "scrape" to bring a more heightened sense of fear and intensity during the nightmare scene.

''The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena''

Jordan and Nicole Blake decide to join their father on a trip to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

to try to locate a snow creature known as the Abominable Snowman. There, they eventually see the Snowman frozen in ice. Their father decides to take him back to

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where they live. Before doing so, Luis sneaks some snowballs in the trunk in which the Snowman would be taken home. After showing their neighbor Lauren Sax the Snowman, Ana throws a snowball from the trunk at her, but it misses and hits the tree. This causes the snow to expand and covers their yard in snow. Lauren grabs some of the snow and throws it at Ana, and she becomes covered in ice. After the heat from the furnace and oven does not defrost her, Luis gets the Snowman to break out of the ice. The Snowman defrosts her and escapes.

Reception

Melissa T. Jenvey from the ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'' stated that this book was "a great option for younger readers interested in graphic novels, and the nostalgia is there for the older set"."Creepy Creatures (Goosebumps Graphix"
''

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

''. Retrieved on December 11, 2010. George Galuschak from ''Kliatt'' stated that this book is too intense for younger children, but too boring for older ones.Galuschak, George (November 2006
"Stine, R.L., Hernandez, Gabriel, et al. Creepy creatures"
''Findarticles.com''. Retrieved on December 11, 2010. Kat Kan from ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'' commented "the “gotcha” ending of The Werewolf of Fever Swamp"is particularly well done" and that the book "graphic-novel format is sure to attract its own following".Kan, Kat (October 1, 2006)
"Creepy Creatures."
''

''. Retrieved on December 11, 2010. R.J. Carter from ''The Trades'' stated that the book "will certainly be welcomed by little boys and ghouls who are already fans of the ''Goosebumps'' novels", but stated that "The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena" adapted by

was an easy skip.

References

External links

Official ''Goosebumps Graphix'' website
{{R. L. Stine Goosebumps Scholastic Corporation books