The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena

The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena is the thirty-eighth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1995.

The 1995 cover illustration depicts the Abominable Snowman on the streets of Pasadena having ripped out a lamp post.

The 2015 Classic Goosebumps cover illustration also depicts the Abominable Snowman wielding a broken lamp post in one hand, and part of a palm tree with his other hand.

Blurb
FORGET FROSTY!

Jordan Blake and his sister, Nicole, are sick of the hot weather in Pasadena. Just once they'd like to have a real winter. A real winter with real snow. And then it happens. The Blakes are off to Alaska! Seems that Mr. Blake has been asked to photograph a mysterious snow creature there. Poor Jordan and Nicole. They just wanted to see snow. But now they're being chased by a monstrous creature. A big furry-faced creature...known as the Abominable Snowman.

Plot
Jordan Blake and his sister, Nicole, live in the hot city of Pasadena, California. It's the middle of winter, and all Jordan wants to do is get away from the heat and finally see snow. To alleviate boredom, Jordan and his sister decide to bike around the neighborhood, taking their friend Lauren Sax along with them. Their ride is cut short when they are confronted by the Miller twins, Kyle and Kara, the neighborhood bullies who often pull obnoxious pranks on Jordan and his friends. The twins tease Jordan, leading to a fist fight between him and Kyle. Before things get too heated, Jordan and Nicole's father arrives on the scene.

Their father is a nature photographer, and he reveals that he's been assigned a project in Alaska, where there have been sightings of an elusive creature known as The Abominable Snowman. He doubts that the creature really exists, but he's being offered a large amount of cash if he can capture photographs of it. He tells his children that, since he cannot find a babysitter, they will have to come along with him. Jordan is overjoyed, as this means he will finally get his chance to see snow.

Time passes, and the Blake family arrive in Alaska. At the airport they are introduced to Arthur Maxwell, their guide and sledsman. Arthur is a gruff man who seems upset that Jordan's father brought his children along. Over dinner, Arthur begins to reveal what he knows about the Abominable Snowman. Arthur seems to believe in the legend, but also hopes they never find it on their journey. He tells them a story about a friend of his who went missing while hunting the creature. Jordan is frightened by his story, but his father and Nicole don't seem convinced. Arthur assures them the threat is very real, and they are taking a big risk being here.

After a long trek, the Blakes and Arthur reach the cabin they will be sleeping in. The next morning, they find giant footprints in the snow. Jordan's father is excited, and begins snapping photos. However, Jordan starts laughing and reveals he made them as a joke. This upsets everyone — especially Arthur, who warns Jordan he won't be laughing when he sees the snowman. After breakfast, they all head out, hoping to reach the snow rise where the Abominable Snowman was recently sighted. Jordan's father begins snapping pictures of a large herd of elk when suddenly, the elk all stop as if they are looking at something, before running off. Arthur begins to protest that they should head back, but Jordan's father refuses and tells him to push ahead. After marching through the snow another several hours, the sled dogs stop dead in their tracks and begin to bark loudly. Arthur realizes something must have scared them, and that whatever is on the snow rise is dangerous.

Jordan's father attempts to get the dogs to move, as he and Arthur argue once more about whether or not they should head back. Arthur tells them he's growing scared, and heads off on his own without a word.

Finally, Jordan's father gives in, and heads back to the cabin. At dinner, the dogs begin to howl and bark loudly once more. Arthur heads out in attempt to comfort them, and before long, the dogs are silent. Jordan's father decides to head out himself to take more pictures. Jordan and Nicole try to sleep, but are restless. They leave the cabin and find Arthur outside. Before they can stop him, Arthur steals the dogs and sleds away, not looking back. The two chase after him but easily lose him in the snow. They quickly realize they are completely lost.

They attempt to trace their footsteps back to the cabin, but the snow buries them. As they walk, they fall into a large crevice. Nicole shouts for help, but her screams cause an avalanche. The snow covers the crevice, leaving Jordan and Nicole trapped. With no way out, the two go down a narrow tunnel into what looks to be a cave. On the floor Jordan sees massive footprints, much bigger than the fake ones he made before. The two follow the trail of footprints, which lead them directly to the Abominable Snowman.

However, the creature is encased in ice. Jordan studies the frozen creature. It's no taller than him, with brown hair, black eyes, massive hands, and an ape-like face. The two search for a way out, but to their horror, the snowman breaks out of the block of ice. The snowman growls, and quickly notices Jordan and his sister. He begins to carry them away when the barking of Lars- one of the sled dogs that was left behind- makes the creature drop them. Jordan and his sister quickly escape out of the cave. They head back to the cabin, where they tell their father of what they saw. He isn't sure whether to believe them or not, but decides to follow them back to the cave where they saw the snowman.

Their father makes his way into the cave, and begins snapping photos of the creature in its block of ice.. He is ecstatic, and says the discovery will make them all famous. Their father then gets the idea that rather than just bringing photos back to California, they should bring back the entire creature while it's still trapped in ice.

He places him in a large trunk, and ties him to an extra sled. Jordan then steals several snowballs from the snowman's cave, and sneaks them into the trunk beside the creature.

The Blakes are able to successfully radio a helicopter for help, and before long, they are back in Pasadena. Jordan's father hides the snowman in the backyard's darkroom, hoping to soon bring the creature into the hands of the right people. Their friend Lauren is eager to know everything about their trip, but doesn't believe their supposed encounter with the snowman. To prove he's not lying, Jordan takes her to the darkroom and shows her the snowman. Lauren is stunned. Suddenly, Nicole takes one of the snowballs from the trunk and throws it at Lauren. However, she misses, and to their surprise, the snowball doesn't crumble, it grows until it encases the entirety of a palm tree. Lauren is excited to see snow in Pasadena. She grabs another snowball and hurls it at Nicole. The snowball hits her, and spreads over her until she is frozen in a statue of snow.

Jordan and Lauren try everything they can think of to melt Nicole out, but nothing seems to work. Jordan then gets the idea that the snowman may be the only way to thaw out Nicole. He lures the creature with trail mix, and before long, the creature breaks out of the ice. The snowman sees Nicole and wraps his arms around her until she melts out of the snow. The snowman leaves the dark room, and appears confused at his new surroundings. He growls, before running off to look for someplace colder.

They decide to bury the remaining snowballs in a vacant lot so that no one will ever find them. Their father arrives home, and is disappointed to learn the creature escaped; he tells them the pictures are better than nothing. However, when the photographs develop they show only pictures of snow rather than the creature.

As Jordan and Nicole turn to look outside, they see the Miller twins digging up the snowballs they buried. Jordan screams in an attempt to stop them, but before he can, Kyle aims and throws a snowball directly at Kara and the sound of the snowball connecting is heard.

Reprints and rereleases

 * The Classic Goosebumps reprint was released as a tie-in to the Goosebumps film.

Differences

 * The Arnold Schwarzenegger mention is removed.
 * "tanning lotion" is changed to "suncreen"

Differences

 * In the Portuguese adaptation of the story there are some notable differences:
 * Jordan and Nicole Blake are called "Jorge and Joana Santos."

Goosebumps Graphix
The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena was adapted into a Goosebumps Graphix story in September 2006 by Scott Morse. It is third and last story in Creepy Creatures. Morse changed the names of "Jordan Blake" and "Nicole Blake" to "Luis Garcia" and "Ana Garcia". Kyle and Kara are removed and the ending is tweaked so that now the snowman is seen in the middle of Pasadena.

Trivia

 * This is one of the few books in the original series not to be adapted for television; however, Protocol Entertainment, the company that produced the television series Goosebumps, reportedly told fans that an adaptation of The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena was in production in the late 1990s.
 * This book has the longest title of any book in the original series.
 * This is one of the few Goosebumps books where the protagonists have divorced parents.
 * In reality, the Abominable Snowman is said to live in the Himalayas, rather than Alaska, as said in the book.
 * Jordan and Nicole's father was mentioned by name in the book: Garrison Blake.
 * One of the sled dogs, Tin-Tin, is a likely reference to the comic character of the same name.
 * This book references Super Soaker, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Coca-Cola.
 * The title of this book could be a reference to the 1957 Hammer film The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas.
 * It could also be a reference to the 1964 pop song "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)".
 * Certain versions of the Classic Goosebumps cover for different countries feature alternate art in which the palm trees are drawn a bright yellow instead of green.
 * In 1996, Kraft Handi-Snacks offered the book as a mail-in offer.

References in other Goosebumps media

 * The Abominable Snowman appears as an antagonist in the Goosebumps film. The manuscript of the book is seen on Stine's bookshelf and is later used to release and then capture the Snowman. The original cover of the book is also featured in the end credits animation.
 * Characters in this book are mentioned in the Monster Survival Guide. However, Jordan and Nicole's last name is misspelled as Black instead of Blake.
 * The manuscript of this book also appears in the  Goosebumps: The Game near the end.
 * The Abominable Snowman appears in Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween as a Halloween mask brought to life by Slappy.
 * The Abominable Snowman appears in Goosebumps HorrorTown, and there is a questline based on this book.
 * In the 2008 video game Goosebumps HorrorLand, the abominable snowman is one of the Monster Cards that can be collected in the game.