Changes: Horrors of the Black Ring

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Book

Horrors of the Black Ring is the eighteenth book in the Goosebumps Series 2000 book series. It was published in 1999.

The cover illustration depicts a pile of jewelry, and in the center is a black ring. There appears to be a monstrous face inside the jewel.

Plot

Beth Welch is a kind girl who is constantly being terrorized by the wisecracking Anthony Paul Gonzalez, and is mocked by her younger sister Amanda for being a "Goody goody". She has always wanted to get back at Anthony for his tricks, but she doesn't consider herself the get even type. She sees him about to run away over a small bird and is able to save it just in time, naming it Chripy. She ends up being late for school due to having to take the bird to the vet but her teacher, Miss Gold, doesn't mind. Beth notices that has has a new ring with a strange black jewel on it. She sees something moving in it but Gold claims it is simply a flaw in the jewel. However, she sees she can't seem to get the ring off.

Later that day, Beth hears a screaming coming from Miss Gold's room and discovers a message on the chalkboard warning that the upcoming school carnival, which Beth is working at, is doomed. Because Anthony has chalk dust on his hands, it is assumed he did it but he denies it. The following Saturday, Beth gets a phone call from a strange voice telling her not to come to school to prepare for the carnival. She ignores the warning and goes to school with her crush Danny Jacobs, only to see that the art room has been trashed, with the exception of a painting of Beth that Anthony had made. However, he still denies it.

The kids later start making food for the carnival in the Home Ec room but soon the oven starts smoking. A fire breaks out just as Anthony is spotted walking by the room. They all manage to escape in time and the next day is carnival day, so they start setting things up. Beth takes a brownie for herself but vomits after discovering there are maggots in it. They attempt to move but when they test the dunk tank, the find out the water is boiling hot. This makes Miss Gold want to call off the carnival but the principal Mrs. Cooke says it is too late and they will simply amp up security.

The carnival starts up and it goes well until a hooded figure shows up to cause havoc, such as releasing some wasps. The figure takes Amanda and tries to kidnap her, but a policeman is able to take it down. They mask it and discover that it was Miss Gold this whole time. She claims she somehow didn't do it and as she is being taken away, Beth finds her ring on the ground. She is compelled to put it on and finds that she can't put it off, and now there's a laughing face in the jewel.

That night, Beth has a strange dream and when she wakes up, her pillow has been shredded. The next day, she visits Miss Gold at the hospital she was taken to and she freaks out when she sees the ring, screaming at Beth to take it off. Beth runs out but when she gets home, she feels calmer and starts seeing the ring as beautiful.

The next day, Beth starts acting rude towards Amanda, and then she suddenly tears up Anthony's bike, feeling a surge of power. She continues her reign of terror as she shoves a boy into a locker and puts a mouse in the school lunch, then starts to see why Anthony loves being such a jerk. She also breaks Amanda's Barbie dolls, and starts hearing a voice in the ring, telling Beth that the real evil has yet to come.

After a few more days of evil, Beth tries to stay away from people. However, she promises Danny she would attend a Bike-a-thon for charity and the ring pushes Beth into going. The ring wants her to cut off Anthony's breaks she is able to hold down the evil and refuse to do it. Despite resistance from the ring, she runs home where she discovers that Chirpy has died . She tries to cut the ring off but black smoke pours of it, with the ring's evil face in it. The voice announces that its evil has outgrown the ring and now it needs Beth's body to live. It also reveals that it slipped off Miss Gold on purpose, as she was no longer useful.

Beth tries to cut off her finger, but gets an idea when she looks at Chirpy. The ring slips off easily without the evil inside out and she puts the ring on Chirpy. This sucks the evil back into it, and because he needs a living body, t is defeated for good. Beth buries Chirpy just as Amanda and Mom arrive home. Amanda announces that mom got her a new ring, which happens to have a face in the jewel, just like Beth's.

International releases

Gallery

Differences

In France, this book is the 61st of the original Goosebumps series . Its title was changed to "La bague maléfique", which translates to "The Evil Ring", and its catchphrase was translated into "Gare au bijou!" (Beware the jewel!).

Artwork

Trivia

Gb series 2000 18 horrors of the black ring

Promotional images have circulated online that show the book's title as being The Horror of the Black Ring. However, the book was published with the title Horrors of the Black Ring. It has never been confirmed as to why the change occurred.
- Unofficial sources online claim that this book was published with the title The Horror of the Black Ring, but there's no evidence to suggest this name was used for an official release.
This book references Barbie.
- This book shares a similar title to Horrors of the Black Museum, a 1959 British-American horror film.
At only 108 pages, this is the Goosebumps book with the lowest page count.

References in other Goosebumps Media

One of the levels in Goosebumps HorrorTown is named after this book.

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?

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 ==Plot==
+[[Beth Welch]] is a kind girl who is constantly being terrorized by the wisecracking Anthony Paul Gonzalez, and is mocked by her younger sister Amanda for being a "Goody goody". She has always wanted to get back at Anthony for his tricks, but she doesn't consider herself the get even type. She sees him about to run away over a small bird and is able to save it just in time, naming it Chripy. She ends up being late for school due to having to take the bird to the vet but her teacher, Miss Gold, doesn't mind. Beth notices that has has a new ring with a strange black jewel on it. She sees something moving in it but Gold claims it is simply a flaw in the jewel. However, she sees she can't seem to get the ring off.
-{{CopyWarning|[[Blogger Beware]]}}A wisecracking Anthony Gonzales is fooling with heroine [[Beth Welch]] into thinking that the brakes of his bike have malfunctioned, as he careens wildly down the sidewalk towards her and her sister, Amanda. Beth falls for it, apparently this happens a lot though. Such as when he claimed her cat was dead, even when it was not. Beth does not stick around too long however, finding a small bird with a broken wing in need of help.
+Later that day, Beth hears a screaming coming from Miss Gold's room and discovers a message on the chalkboard warning that the upcoming school carnival, which Beth is working at, is doomed. Because Anthony has chalk dust on his hands, it is assumed he did it but he denies it. The following Saturday, Beth gets a phone call from a strange voice telling her not to come to school to prepare for the carnival. She ignores the warning and goes to school with her crush Danny Jacobs, only to see that the art room has been trashed, with the exception of a painting of Beth that Anthony had made. However, he still denies it.
-She saves the little bird, but this makes her late for school. However, her teacher is very understanding about the situation. Beth then notices Miss Gold sporting a new ring with a large black stone neatly arranged in the center. Beth thinks she sees an angry-looking face within the jewel but when she asks about it, Miss Gold clarifies it is only an illusion caused by a natural flaw in the jewel.
+The kids later start making food for the carnival in the Home Ec room but soon the oven starts smoking. A fire breaks out just as Anthony is spotted walking by the room. They all manage to escape in time and the next day is carnival day, so they start setting things up. Beth takes a brownie for herself but vomits after discovering there are maggots in it. They attempt to move but when they test the dunk tank, the find out the water is boiling hot. This makes Miss Gold want to call off the carnival but the principal Mrs. Cooke says it is too late and they will simply amp up security.
-Later in art class, Beth gets close to her crush, Danny Jacobs, by asking for him to model hands for her. Anthony teases them by making kissing sounds, which causes the two boys to fight.
+The carnival starts up and it goes well until a hooded figure shows up to cause havoc, such as releasing some wasps. The figure takes Amanda and tries to kidnap her, but a policeman is able to take it down. They mask it and discover that it was Miss Gold this whole time. She claims she somehow didn't do it and as she is being taken away, Beth finds her ring on the ground. She is compelled to put it on and finds that she can't put it off, and now there's a laughing face in the jewel.
-Later at lunch, Danny sits with Beth to discuss ideas for the big forthcoming Spring Carnival when Miss Gold simultaneously discovers an ominous message written on the chalkboard: "THE CARNIVAL IS DOOMED." As Miss Gold starts to tremble, Anthony walks by the classroom and it is noted that he has chalk dust all over his hands...
+That night, Beth has a strange dream and when she wakes up, her pillow has been shredded. The next day, she visits Miss Gold at the hospital she was taken to and she freaks out when she sees the ring, screaming at Beth to take it off. Beth runs out but when she gets home, she feels calmer and starts seeing the ring as beautiful.
-During the weekend, Amanda tries to get Beth to help her arrange her [[Wikipedia: Barbie|Barbies]] from the most to least attractive. Beth argues that she does not have time to play with dolls, as she must rush to the school to help prepare for the doomed carnival. Soon after, a mysterious person calls Beth on the telephone and warns her to stay away from the carnival. But she is not frightened by the call and heads to school anyway.
+The next day, Beth starts acting rude towards Amanda, and then she suddenly tears up Anthony's bike, feeling a surge of power. She continues her reign of terror as she shoves a boy into a locker and puts a mouse in the school lunch, then starts to see why Anthony loves being such a jerk. She also breaks Amanda's Barbie dolls, and starts hearing a voice in the ring, telling Beth that the real evil has yet to come.
-Inside the school's art room, she and Danny find a total mess, with paint splattered everywhere and every canvas and sheet of paper in complete disarray. All the paintings which were to be sold at the carnival have been wrecked-- all except Anthony's rude painting of Beth.
+After a few more days of evil, Beth tries to stay away from people. However, she promises Danny she would attend a Bike-a-thon for charity and the ring pushes Beth into going. The ring wants her to cut off Anthony's breaks she is able to hold down the evil and refuse to do it. Despite resistance from the ring, she runs home where she discovers that Chirpy has died . She tries to cut the ring off but black smoke pours of it, with the ring's evil face in it. The voice announces that its evil has outgrown the ring and now it needs Beth's body to live. It also reveals that it slipped off Miss Gold on purpose, as she was no longer useful.
-That next week at school, Miss Gold cancels class and sends all her students to the art room to make replacement art. As the rude picture of Beth was the only one not stolen or damaged, everyone else paints rude pictures of Beth so as to ensure their artwork will not be ruined later.
+Beth tries to cut off her finger, but gets an idea when she looks at Chirpy. The ring slips off easily without the evil inside out and she puts the ring on Chirpy. This sucks the evil back into it, and because he needs a living body, t is defeated for good. Beth buries Chirpy just as Amanda and Mom arrive home. Amanda announces that mom got her a new ring, which happens to have a face in the jewel, just like Beth's.
-That afternoon, Danny and Beth make cookies in the Home Ec room, only to have the dessert mysteriously ignite while in the oven! The children flee the smoke-filled room just in time to catch Anthony walking by the room, as it catches fire. Due to what happened, the entire school floods the carnival's food tables with bake sale goods the next day. Beth takes a bite from one of these treats, feels something disgusting inside, and throws up all over her shoes. Turns out someone baked insect larvae into the desserts!
-Miss Gold is having somewhat of a meltdown now. She is sitting in her chair, while fiddling with her black ring, muttering "maggots" over and over. When asked what else could go wrong, Miss Gold ominously replies with a response.
-Before the carnival begins, Danny gets cocky and eggs Anthony on to try and hit his target in the dunk tank. Anthony then proceeds to hit the target, causing Danny to sink into the tank. Unfortunately for Danny, the tank is filled with boiling water. Despite the extreme temperatures, Danny is okay! But he has passed out from the heat...
-Later at home, Amanda jumps out of a closet as a cry for attention and Beth promises to take her to the carnival, as long as Amanda does not change her mind while they are there.
-Once at the carnival, Beth has to work the ticket counter for a little while and has Anthony watch over Amanda in the mean time. Beth tries to sell a carnival ticket to a mysterious stranger wearing a dark robe, but this reaper did not bring his coin purse. The cloaked figure explodes all the lights in the gym and proceeds to wreak some highly unlikely havoc on everyone inside!
-Wasps descend upon them, tables catch on fire, and so fourth! The cloaked figure kidnaps Amanda and carries her over his shoulder towards the carnival entrance but the mysterious stranger is tackled by a policeman and reveals the figures true identity: Miss Gold!
-Miss Gold insists she was forced to do the deeds and is led away in handcuffs by the police. Beth finds Miss Gold's black ring on the gym floor and then places it onto her own finger. Later, this leads to her having a dream sequence...
-Later in the Hospital Beth sneaks inside to visit Miss Gold, who freaks out when she sees her wearing the ring. Miss Gold screams at her to take the ring off. But Beth does not and instead leaves in order to let her teacher just rest.
-Over time, Beth begins exhibiting undesirable and aggressive traits brought about by her new accessory. She even tears off Anthony's bike lock, dismantles his bike, and breaks his sunglasses. But that is not enough bad behavior for the possessed Beth. She also throws a nerdy child into a locker, she snaps the legs off Amanda's Barbie dolls, puts slugs in her sister's sauce, and replaces her shampoo with corn oil.
-But her weird acts are not limited to blood relations, as Beth also sneaks into the school's kitchen and drops a live mouse into a vat of vegetable soup.
-Sometime later, Beth is feeding that broken-winged bird from earlier in the novel when Danny shows up and reminds her about the bike-a-thon she agreed to participate in. Beth does not want to go though, as she is afraid the ring will make her do something very dangerous or bad.
-At the bike-a-thon, the ring tells her to cut everyone's brakes, but Beth instead rushes home to remove the ring for good! While looking for metal cutters in the garage, she sees her injured bird has died...
-But, Beth decides she cannot just concentrate of such a sad thing right now. She cannot waste time thinking about it and has to focus on the ring. Beth tries to cut off her ring with metal cutters. But the evil face grows huge and emerges from within the ring as smoke pours into the garage! The face tells Beth he needs to inhabit a human body now but Beth refuses to just hand her body over to the face. She grabs a saw and prepares to cut off her finger, only to try pulling it off a final time, in which it pops right off! She reasons that without the big head inside the ring, it just weighs less.
-Beth slips the ring onto the dead bird and the evil face is sucked back into the jewel. She buries the dead bird/jewel-head in the backyard, as the book comes to an end...
-Sometime later, Amanda manages to acquire a dangerous, similar talisman of her own...
 ==International releases==