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Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls

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Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls is the eleventh book in the Goosebumps Series 2000 book series. It was first published in 1998 and received a Classic Goosebumps reprint in 2015, as a tie-in to the film Goosebumps.

The cover illustration shows the Graveyard Ghouls arising from their graves in a graveyard.

Plot[]

Spencer Kassimir lives in Highgrave, a town with a graveyard that sits high on a hill that overlooks the town. An old legend states that the dead in the graveyard can't rest because the graveyard is too high, and they have become restless angry Graveyard Ghouls. Spencer is giving a report at school on the town, which inspires his teacher Mrs. Webster to go on a field trip to the graveyard. Spencer and his best friend Audra Rusinas spot the double tombstone of brothers Oswald Manse and Martin Manse, and find it sad that they died so young.

Spencer stumbles on their tombstone, and think he hears a small cry. He goes home but discovers that he left his brother Jason's backpack in the graveyard. He calls Audra and has her come with him to get it, so he isn't alone. They go back but find bullies Frank Foreman and Buddy Tanner waiting for them, as they called Audra after Spencer did and she told them where they were going. They tie Spencer to the double tombstone and run away, as Audra leaves to get help.

Spencer hears a voice asking for his body and he starts to feel pressure on his body. Soon, he finds himself being kicked out of his body and is now a spirit floating above it. His body has been taken over by a graveyard ghoul. Audra returns with Spencer's parents, who free him with the ghoul inside his body. Spencer tries to tell them to stop but they can't hear or see him, and he can only go as far as the wind can take him.

Some graveyard ghouls appear and tell Spencer he's a ghoul now too. He'll never get his body back because the ghoul who stole him was Oswald Manse. In life, he and his brother burned down half the town and many people died. They say that there is a way for Spencer to get his body back, but he must figure out on his own. He sees a rat and decides he has to take over its body so he can get out of here. After a bit, He feels hungry. He sees a trash can and looks at it as a good opportunity for food. He goes in and sees a old hamburger. He starts eating but is stopped by a swarm of rats trying to attack him.

The rats back him against a wall, where he sees a TV cable. He climbs up it and onto the roof. He sees his house on the other side of the street and heads home, where he is attacked by his cat Duke.

He manages to take over Duke's body and after failing to talk to his parents, he goes to his room and sees that it has been torn up. He finds Oswald in his kitchen, making a mess. He tells Cat Spencer that his body is weak, so when he has found another, he will destroy Spencer's. Oswald traps Spencer in a box in the basement, but he takes over the body of a spider and slips through the cracks. He goes to Jason's room and takes over his body. He goes outside and sees that Oswald went on a rampage, burning mailboxes and smashing car windows.

Spencer follows Oswald into Frank's house, and stops him from taking over Frank's body. Oswald leaves and remembers Audra, and goes to her house to get help. But he discovers that Martin has taken over her body and the real Audra is back in the graveyard. Spencer goes back there and spots a message on a gravestone saying "Defeat death only by living" but doesn't know what it means. He finds Audra's spirit and has her take over a dog. They go back into town and see Oswald and Martin burning houses in their bodies.

Before the kids can do anything, Spencer hears Jason's voice, who demands that Spencer give him his body back. Jason's attempt to take over his body causes his body to start making weird movements. It resembles a crazy dance, which makes the ghouls double over in pain. Spencer realizes the dance is doing this, and this is what that gravestone meant by defeating death only by living, as there is no better sign of being alive than dancing.

The ghouls' spirits leave the bodies, and Spencer and Audra attempt to get back in their bodies before the bodies can die. They seem to do so, but Spencer discovers his mind has accidentally entered into Audra's body, with Audra's now in his. Spencer then wonders what to do next.

International releases[]

Classic Goosebumps


Differences[]

  • The French tagline can translated to "A corps perdu." It is here a French wordplay for "à corps perdu," which is an expression underlining the dedication of someone to a task, but that could be literally translated as "to lost body."
    • Spencer is called "Stanislas."
  • The Classic Goosebumps reprint changes "Audra flashed me a big smile" to "Audra shot me a big smile."
  • The Barney reference is removed, now Jason's backpack is simply purple.
  • "Cartoon video" is changed to just "cartoon."
  • When Spencer faces the rat, references to the body being "bloated" are removed.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • This book, Bride of the Living Dummy, and The Haunted Car are currently the only Series 2000 books to receive Classic Goosebumps reprints.
  • A portion of the cover artwork for this book was featured on the side of the Goosebumps Haunted Box Set.
    • Aside from this box set, the only other piece of American merchandise to feature any element of Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls was a pin-back button released by Creepy Co. in 2017, almost 19 years after the original release of the book.
  • R.L. Stine revealed the book's plot and series number in a February 1998 interview with The Bumps, under the tentative title Graveyard Ghouls.[1]
  • The story The Ghostly Stare from Stine's 1999 collection Nightmare Hour has similarities to this book. The story also involves the protagonist leaving an object in a graveyard that their class was visiting, and goes back only to encounter a ghost that wants their body.
  • This book references Barney the Dinosaur and Coke.
  • On the back cover of the Classic Goosebumps reprint, Spencer's surname is incorrectly said to be Levy.
  • Mrs. Webster shares a last name with Michael Webster from the Goosebumps book, The Cuckoo Clock of Doom.
  • Audra Rusinas was named after a contest winner. [2]

References in other Goosebumps media[]

References[]

  1. ↑ "The Bumps" — "Ask R.L. Stine!" February 2 (archived)
  2. ↑ foxhome.com - R.L. Stine answers the winning question
Goosebumps Series 2000 series
#01 Cry of the Cat#10 Headless Halloween#18 Horrors of the Black Ring
#02 Bride of the Living Dummy#11 Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls#19 Return to Ghost Camp
#03 Creature Teacher#12 Brain Juice#20 Be Afraid — Be Very Afraid!
#04 Invasion of the Body Squeezers: Part 1#13 Return to HorrorLand#21 The Haunted Car
#05 Invasion of the Body Squeezers: Part 2#14 Jekyll and Heidi#22 Full Moon Fever
#06 I Am Your Evil Twin#15 Scream School#23 Slappy's Nightmare
#07 Revenge R Us#16 The Mummy Walks#24 Earth Geeks Must Go!
#08 Fright Camp #17 The Werewolf in the Living Room#25 Ghost in the Mirror
#09 Are You Terrified Yet?
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