The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was the fourteenth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1993.

The cover illustration features a wolf howling at night in a green fogging swamp while next to a torn shirt and a cap.

The 2009 Classic Goosebumps cover illustration features a similar image, but the werewolf looks more humanoid.

Blurb
WHAT BIG TEETH YOU HAVE!

There's something horrible happening in Fever Swamp. Something really horrible. It started with the strange howling at night. Then there was the rabbit, torn to shreds. Everyone thinks Grady's new dog is responsible. After all, he looks just like a wolf. And he seems a little on the wild side. But Grady knows his dog is just a regular old dog. And most dogs don't howl at the moon. Or disappear at midnight. Or change into terrifying creatures when the moon is full. Or do they?

Plot
Grady Tucker and his sister, Emily, are forced to move to Fever Swamp in Florida because of their father. Their father is a scientist attempting to study the effects of a Floridian swamp's environment on a group of deer, which he keeps in a pen outside of his family's new house. The siblings decide to explore the swamp, but they quickly become lost. Eventually, they come across an old shack. The two enter to see if there's anyone inside who can help them. However, they are scared away by the crazy looking hermit that lives there. The kids run home to tell their parents what happened, and their father tells them that the old hermit was purely harmless.

That night, while Grady is hanging out by his family's new house, he is befriended by a local boy named Will Blake. As Grady learns from Will, the only other local kid close to their age is a strange girl, but Will doesn't elaborate on this. Will also tells Grady about how the swamp was named. According to him, many years ago, the residents of the swamp all came down with a terrible fever. The fever caused madness or death in everyone who had it.

Eventually, the boys part ways, and Grady goes back inside. At night, as Grady tries to sleep, he hears howling coming from somewhere outdoors. The following morning, he decides to go outside. A dog jumps out at him, but it appears to be friendly. Grady's father allows him to keep the dog, and Grady names it Wolf because it looks like it might be part-wolf. The Tuckers decide that Wolf was probably the one causing the noises they heard last night. Later, Grady and Will explore the swamp, and Wolf follows. The kids find a dead heron, which they are puzzled by. Grady goes home. That night, Grady and his family are awoken by a crash from within the house. It turns out that Wolf was running about and bumping into things. The family doesn't really have any other choice aside from letting the dog outside, which they do.

The next day comes, and Grady goes outside. Wolf returns, but Grady is shocked to discover a badly mutilated rabbit by their home. His family is quick to blame Wolf, but Grady defends his dog, not believing that he was the culprit. Later in the day, Grady meets Cassie O'Rourke, the strange local girl that Will mentioned. Cassie tells Grady about the werewolf of Fever Swamp, explaining that the swamp hermit is a werewolf. Then, the children are approached by the hermit. Wolf growls at the man. The hermit's shirt is covered in blood, he's carrying a dead turkey, and he cries out, claiming to be the werewolf. The kids try to run away, but the man catches up to them. The hermit admits that he had been hunting and had wanted to play a joke on the kids. Before separating, the old man warns Grady about trusting Wolf.

That night, Grady hears something loud happening outside. As is discovered later, one of Dr. Tucker's deer was killed in its pen by an unknown creature. Dr. Tucker believes that Wolf is the problem, and thinks he should be dealt with. When Dr. Tucker reveals his plans of taking Wolf to the pound, Grady sets the dog free into the woods. Grady doesn't see Wolf again until that night, when he sees the dog roaming nearby the house, so he goes to investigate. Grady quietly sneaks outside. In the swamp, he discovers that Will is also sneaking about. Will says that he was investigating some howling that he heard. Grady tries to stick with Will, but he loses track of the boy. Suddenly, a werewolf jumps out at Grady. As the creature attacks, Grady recognizes the distorted, monstrous face, thick neck, and broad shoulders. He can tell that the werewolf is Will. The monster bites Grady, but Wolf appears and attacks Will, scaring him off. Grady falls unconscious.

When Grady regains consciousness, he's back home. As he learns, the swamp hermit carried him back to safety. Grady tells his father about what happened in the swamp, so Dr. Tucker decides to check up on Will. When he goes to the house where Will is supposed to live, he finds the house unoccupied.

A month passes, and Grady is staring up at a full moon. When Will bit him, Grady became a werewolf. Now whenever there is a full moon, Grady goes hunting in the swamp. The book ends with Grady running side by side with Wolf into the swamp.

Reprints and rereleases

 * The Classic Goosebumps reprint was released as a tie-in to the eleventh Goosebumps HorrorLand book, Escape from HorrorLand.

Differences

 * The Classic Goosebumps reprint changes "short red denim shorts" to "red denim shorts", likely to fix redundancy.
 * "Blonde" is changed to "blond."
 * "Doorknob" is changed to "knob."
 * "Standing alertly" is changed to "standing quietly."
 * "A human face" is changed to "an almost human face."

International releases
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Classic Goosebumps

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Differences

 * In France, this is the thirteenth book in the original series.
 * Grady is called "Gary" and Will is called "Bill Stark."
 * In Portugal, this is the sixth book in the original Goosebumps series.

TV series
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was adapted into a two-part episode of the Goosebumps TV series. It is the eighteenth (part one) and nineteenth (part two) episode of season one.

Goosebumps Graphix
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was adapted into a Goosebumps Graphix story in September 2006 by Gabriel Hernandez, as the first story in Creepy Creatures.

Tear-outs
The original printing of this book included a 1994 calendar tear-out.

Trivia

 * Night in Werewolf Woods references this book in the form of a question for the reader. However, unlike other Give Yourself Goosebumps books, the question only exists for the reader, and not for their character.
 * Grady and Emily's father was mentioned by name in the book: Michael F. Tucker.
 * The front and back taglines are both references to famous fairy tales:
 * The front tagline is a reference to Little Red Riding Hood.
 * The back tagline is a reference to The Three Little Pigs.
 * According to the Goosebumps Official Collector's Caps Book, the inspiration for the book came to R.L. Stine after a boat ride in a Florida swamp. He saw a deer in the swamp and the image stuck in his head.
 * This book references the Discovery Channel, Nintendo, Oakland Raiders, Orlando Magic, and King Kong.
 * The book's concept of a werewolf living in a swamp might take inspiration from the legend of the Rougarou, a werewolf-like creature said to dwell in the swamps of Louisiana.
 * The original book featured two different color covers. One a darker green with a blue slime border, one a lighter green with a purple slime border.
 * The Classic Goosebumps reprint adds an error. She scratched her arms some more adds a quotation mark after it.

References in other Goosebumps media

 * Will Blake (in his werewolf form) appears an antagonist in the Goosebumps film. The title of the book is mentioned by R.L. Stine when referring to Will Blake. The original cover art is also featured in the end credits animation.
 * The book appears in a furry form in the first issue of the Goosebumps comic Monsters at Midnight. Will Blake also appears on one of the alternate covers.
 * Will Blake appears in Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween as a Halloween mask brought to life by Slappy.
 * Will Blake appears in Goosebumps HorrorTown.
 * Fever Swamp is the setting for the comic arc Secrets of the Swamp. The story deals with multiple werewolves that prowl about the swamp.
 * In  Escape from Horrorland (video game), this book's original cover was used as a card in a matching mini-game.
 * In the 2008 video game Goosebumps HorrorLand, this book's cover art is used for one of the monster cards that can be collected in the game.