Horrors of the Witch House is the third arc of the horror anthology comic series Goosebumps. It was published by IDW between May and July 2019.[1]
Blurb[]
All the kids in Beaver Creek, Oregon, know that the old Whaley House is probably haunted, so when young tech entrepreneur Veruca Curry moves in, the kids fear there's more to her than meets the eye. The adults in town think that Veruca is just the sort of hip, young new blood that Beaver Creek needs, but Rosie, a loner who loves anime and Japanese comics, Carlos, a popular preppy boy, and Becca, the school's star athlete, find out the terrible truth—Veruca is a witch, and she's got a terrible plan that could destroy Beaver Creek unless they can stop her.
Plot[]
Issue #1[]
On her way to school, Rosie notices that the Whaley House has been bought. It's haunted, but going past it is the quickest way to Robert Lawrence Middle School, where she attends. She plans on telling the other students, but her crush, Carlos, beats her to it since his brother made a coffee for the owner: Veruca Curry. As he runs to class, another girl, Becca Hill, dismisses the rumors of the Whaley House, whether they be that the house is cursed, strange lights in the woods behind it, a flying saucer in the basement, the house is haunted, or that a witch used to live there.
The next day, a man from First City Meats, Matt Barnum, heads to the Whaley House, but when the door opens, he is yanked inside. That night, Rosie's parents are discussing the rumors of the Whaley House, since her father says that it had been empty since they were in middle school. Despite Rosie's statement that the house should be torn down, she still plans to attend the welcome party, since she sees an opportunity to make a friend there.
At the welcome party, Rosie introduces herself to Becca, and as the mayor introduces Beaver Creek's new resident, a larger man sits in front of the girls, blocking their view. However, this proves to actually be unknowingly helpful, as Veruca uses a coin to brainwash everyone but Rosie and Becca, who are blocked from the spell by the large man and are confused about what just happened.
Later that night, Rosie, Becca, and Carlos soon begin to hear loud hammering and sawing noises coming from the Whaley House. After they meet up in the woods, they go investigate the noises...to find Veruca in a chair while various tools are moving by themselves.
Issue #2[]
At lunch the next day, Rosie begins doubting going over to the Whaley House before Becca's ball accidentally hits her lunch (an excuse to talk to her that worked a little too well). Carlos meets up with them too, discussing if what they saw wasn't their imagination. However, they're quickly broken up by Carlos' friends. After school, Rosie goes by Whaley House, and this time she meets Veruca, who tells her she is renovating the place. And she thinks that Rosie and the entire town is going to like it. This only shakes Rosie, who is frightened.
Later that evening, Veruca is looking at a digital grimoire on her tablet and comes across a spell that she soon casts. One by one, the trio are suddenly attacked by their most prized possessions: Carlos by his sock monkey, Becca by her sports trophies, and Rosie by her favorite anime character. But eventually, all three manage to defeat them. Carlos pulls a loose thread, Becca smashes the trophies to bits, and Rosie fries her laptop in the toilet. Rosie gets a text shortly after.
The three meet back up at the town hall, who come to a conclusion: Veruca is a witch, and she knows that they saw her that night. Even though the kids know they stand no chance against magic, the adults won't be able to help, so it's up to them to stop Veruca. Suddenly, the gargoyle on top of the building comes to life and attacks.
Issue #3[]
The kids wake up to find themselves in the Whaley House, where Veruca is waiting for them. She introduces herself as a witch, but more younger, updated, and modern unlike many others, such as her grandmother Sarabeth. She plans to use the unique magical energy the Whaley House is emitting to amplify a powerful spell on her electronic grimoire: One that will enslave the entire town and, eventually, the world.
It will happen once the renovations are complete, which will be tonight, and she asks the kids to aid her in this task, saying they'll never have to listen to grown-ups again and instead have friends that understand you. However, after distracting both Veruca and the gargoyle the kids make a run for it. They rush to Town Hall, only to find all of the adults under Veruca's brainwashing spell. They then run from a mob, with Rosie's father among them, and duck into an alley. True to Rosie's words, it's up to only the three kids to stop Veruca.
As Veruca begins performing the spell, the kids sneak back into the house. While Becca fights the gargoyle, Carlos distracts Veruca while Rosie swipes the grimoire. Once Becca gets to a bucket of water, she has Rosie throw the grimoire in, which short-circuits it, rendering the gargoyle immobile once again.
When Veruca goes to retreive the tablet, she trips on the gargoyle's leg, thus spilling the water on herself, and melts away. The adults are also broekn out of the spell, confused as to how they're suddenly outside the Whaley House. Later that night, the kids begin repairing their prized possessions. However, unbeknownst to Rosie, evil cackling suddenly comes from her tablet.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The title is likely a reference to the H.P. Lovecraft story The Dreams in the Witch House.
- Slappy is referenced via a plush doll owned by the protagonist.
- This is the only arc of the comic series where the trade does not have an introduction by R.L. Stine.
- In real life, there is a haunted house in San Diego, California also called the Whaley House.
- In the same panel that includes a social media post from Clarissa, a tweet from "Voldemort" can be seen, a reference to Voldemort from the Harry Potter series.
- This is the first arc of the Goosebumps comic series to not have any LGBT characters.
- The school the kids go to is called Robert Lawrence Middle School, a nod to R.L. Stine's full name,
- How Veruca melts via water is a reference to the Wizard of Oz, where water had become a staple witch weakness.
- How Veruca introduces herself is similar to the fashion of a TED talk, with even the logo changed to read WED.
References to other Goosebumps media[]
- Monster Blood: Veruca Curry refers to Sarabeth as her grandmother, and mentions her having long been dead, possibly in reference to Sarabeth's death in the book. Also, a picture of Sarabeth depicts her in a similar design to her portrayal in the television adaptation.
- Be Careful What You Wish For...: Clarissa tags various other Goosebumps witches on what appears to be a social media equivalent of Twitter for witches.
- An Old Story: Aunt Dahlia is one of the witches tagged by Clarissa.
- The Five Masks of Dr. Screem: Belladonna is one of the witches tagged by Clarissa.
- Home Sweet Home: Mrs. Forster is one of the witches tagged by Clarissa.
- Night of the Living Dummy: Rosie has what appears to be a plush doll based off Slappy in her room.
- Monsters at Midnight: Rosie has what appears to be a plush doll based off Irk in her room.
- Welcome To Dead House: One of the shots of the Whaley House could be a reference to the original book cover.
- I'm Telling!: A gargoyle is Veruca's minion.