Ghoul School

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"Ghoul School" is the first story in Goosebumps Triple Header: Book 2.

Plot

When Liam Erdman arrives at his new school and sees his classmates for the first time, he is in disbelief. One boy has bulging green eyes, one girl drools, one girl is licking the wall, and another girl is chewing a ruler. Worst of all, they're all staring at him. Liam's family just moved to town, and he's already missing his old school. All of the kids introduce themselves to Liam, and each seems to have something strange about them.

During lunch, Liam sits by a boy who wears a dog collar. Liam is appalled when all of the other kids begin screaming, running around, spitting, and doing other bizarre things. Liam runs to the teacher, Ms. Barker, and she informs Liam that the kids are acting how they're supposed to because this is a ghoul school. Afraid, Liam declares that he is not a monster, but his teacher ominously says that he should let the other students know. Liam leaves the room but comes back shortly after. He sees Ms. Barker eating a sandwich with a blue finger in it.

When Liam gets home, he explains what's wrong with his new school to his parents. Mrs. Erdman says that Liam will need to set a good example for his peers. Liam's dad offers to give Liam a "special police protection device". The item looks like a liver button, but Liam isn't told what it does.

At school the next day, Liam's peers demand to see him transform into his monster form. The kids say they will eat Liam if he can't prove that he's a monster, but Liam is saved by a girl named Marnie. Marnie says that she has seen Liam transform, but he can only transform under a full moon. The kids agree to meet up tomorrow night. Liam suspects that Marnie might just be a normal kid. Marnie invites Liam over to her house. When the two kids meet up, Marnie gives Liam Halloween supplies to make a disguise out of.

The next night, Liam and the kids all meet up on the school's playground. At the moment when Liam is supposed to put on his monster mask, the band on the back breaks, and his fake eyeball falls off. The other kids call his attempted disguise pitiful, and they transform into real monsters. Liam pushes his button, but nothing seems to happen. Suddenly, a team of officers appear and detain the monsters. Liam's dad appears and reveals that he isn't actually a shopping mall cop. He is the chief of the Police Undercover Monster Squad. As it turns out, the silver button was a listening device. The police are detaining Marnie, but Liam stops them, telling them that she is a normal kid.

Mr. Erdman instructs Liam to walk Marnie home. Once they're alone, Marnie grabs a fly and eats it. She explains that she never transformed because she was shy. When Marnie smiles, she reveals her fangs, and she says that she often bites.

Trivia

• This story references the book How to Eat Fried Worms.
• In her monster form, Susan turns into a giant, snake-like tongue. Oddly, this isn't the only giant tongue-monster in the Goosebumps franchise. The book One Night in Payne House would go on to feature a creature similar to Susan called the Tongue Thing.
• This book's title is similar to the Give Yourself Goosebumps book title, Zombie School, in the sense that both zombies and ghouls are similar monsters.
• At 52 pages, this is the longest story in the Goosebumps Triple Header series.