Ginger Wald is the main protagonist of the forty-third Goosebumps book, The Beast from the East.
History[]
Ginger and her family are on a summer camping trip when she and her twin brothers, Nat and Pat, find themselves lost in the woods. While trying to get back to their parents, the Wald siblings discover a new, bizarre part of the woods they don't recognize. It's unlike anything they've ever seen. The grass is yellow, the trees are taller than skyscrapers and have a vibrant purple color. Soon, Ginger finds they are not alone. Strange, blue-furred creatures known as beasts appear. Ginger tries to lead her brothers away without getting caught, but Pat gets scared and runs off, leaving Ginger alone with Nat. The beasts begin to surround the two, looking very hungry. One of them, who introduces himself as Fleg, tags Ginger and labels her 'The Beast from the East', their very own version of tag. The Beasts challenge Ginger and her brothers to their game. If Ginger is still It when the sun sets behind the Gulla Willow, she loses. However, the stakes are high: whoever loses, gets eaten.
Ginger and Nat reluctantly participate in the game, but find the rules constantly changing. Ginger seems to keep surviving by sheer luck, but the Beasts think she's played this before, despite her pleas of the contrary. As they try to hide in the woods, Ginger and Nat are attacked by a living tree. It captures Nat, but Ginger manages to get the tree to drop him by tickling its bark. She and Nat go looking for beasts to tag, and comes across a large rock. When Nat touches it, the beasts appear and announce he's touched the Penalty Rock. As punishment for this, Nat is placed inside a large cage, where he will be eventually eaten.
Ginger is left all alone, and goes searching for a beast to tag. She ends up tricking Spork into playing a game of her own, and tags him. She flees, and ends up bumping into Pat. The two try to reach the Gulla Willow as the sun sets, but Spork appears and tags Ginger. She protests. but as the game isn't officially over, the tag still counts and the beasts prepare to cook Ginger and her brother. However, Nat appears, having escaped his cage.
Ginger ends up tricking the beasts when they see her brothers. Thinking she must have pulled a "classic clone," a sign of an advanced Level Three player, the beasts let them survive and leave the woods.
However, the Walds encounter a new Beast. Like them, he is a Level Three player. He tags Ginger, starting up a new game.
General information[]
Personality[]
Ginger is a determined girl, and she'll make sure her goal is reached. Her actions are always determined by her survival skill, some of which she learned while attending an "Explore the Great Outdoors" nature camp. Her father describes her as "the sensible one" of her family. Despite the fact that her brothers annoy her, she still cares for them, and under her leadership, the three end up surviving to the best of their abilities.
Trivia[]
- A holographic necklace was released bearing The Beast from the East art; text on the back packaging implies Ginger escaped the woods with her brothers and eventually shared her story with the maker of the necklace. Though unlikely to be canon, this tidbit remains as the final reference to Ginger's whereabouts.