Into the Twister of Terror is the thirty-eighth book in the Give Yourself Goosebumps series. It was published in 1999.
The cover illustration depicts a twister tornado rampaging through the suburb streets. The twister had picked up a bunch of debris, including a doghouse with the name "Tito" on its front, while a pug dog is in the foreground, giving a look of fright to the reader.
Blurb[]
TWIST AND SHOUT!
The sky is dark. The windows are rattling. And your aunt and uncle are yelling "TWISTER!" as they run for the storm cellar. Yikes! You better find someplace to hide, too!
If you head for the storeroom, you might find yourself on a magic carpet ride — to nowhere! If you decide to follow your dog, Yoyo, you discover that animals can talk during tornadoes. Too bad they're talking about making a meal out of you!
The choice is yours in this scary GOOSEBUMPS adventure that's packed with over 20 super-spooky endings!
Plot[]
You live on a farm with your elderly aunt and uncle and their dog Yoyo, in an area prone to natural disasters. There is a tornado and you do not get into the storm cellar quickly enough. You are swept into the twister, which heads towards your house. You must then decide whether to try to help your aunt and uncle; or follow Yoyo, who appears to be trying to tell you something.
Story A[]
You decide to go for help, and subsequently meet a girl named Wendy. The main storyline of this section involves trying to appease a wind spirit that Wendy has disturbed.
Story B[]
You follow Yoyo, who soon reveals that he can talk. You and him try to find your aunt and uncle together, but you face a series of dangers along the way.
Side story C[]
From story A, you encounter Spin and Sally, a pair of scientists who have created a machine that can travel inside the storm. They promise to help you find your aunt and uncle, but you soon learn they are dangerous and planning to use the twister to hold the town to ransom.
List of endings[]
There are twenty-six bad endings and eight good endings.
Bad endings[]
- You drown during a flash flood.
- You wish for a genie to take you and Wendy to a safe location, so the genie takes you to his bottle. But since you didn't ask the genie to bring his carpet, he refuses to help you any further and you are stuck in the bottle forever.
- You try to escape on a magic flying carpet, but the twister flips it over and you fall to your death.
- You bring a horde of talking animals under control, but they refuse to talk when it really matters, so therefore, you're accused of going insane.
- A giant kills you for not making any sense.
- A wind spirit sends you and Wendy back in time.
- The animal horde orders some animals you just freed from a lab to feed on you.
- You decide to tie yourself to a rock to endure the twister, but it proves to be too strong for you and you end up dying.
- The twister turns out to be part of a movie, made by Sealberg, who asks you to be part of the movie. You agree, but then you die when the wind machine forces you into some sharp objects. Sealberg ignores the reader's calls for help, as calling for help is what you were scripted to do.
- Alternatively, you turn down a part in the movie. However, your aunt and uncle accepted, so they go to Hollywood and become famous while you are left to run their farm.
- Non-ending: You stay in the storm shelter and miss out on everything. The book then complains that you survived too easily, and sends you back to start again on Page 1.
- The wind spirit agrees to take you and Wendy home by flying you both, but purposely drops you. Jokingly calling it a "mistake" in response to something you said.
- You hand over the doll to the twister, thinking the twister is the wind spirit, but it's not. Destroying the doll frees the twister from the wind spirit's control. Now unconstrained, the twister is about to crush you against the cave walls.
- You are killed by a bunch of venomous rattlesnakes.
- You're trapped inside a school bus and the talking animals destroy you.
- You're caught up in the twister and die.
- Pinned under a tree as the twister speeds towards you.
- The twister crushes you to death inside the trailer you're in.
- The wind spirit is angry you didn't apologize, so forces you into a cavern, and you fall to your death.
- While trying to drive a van, you brake too hard and smash through the windscreen into the twister's path.
- You're blasted into space as part of an experiment to explore Pluto.
- Trapped inside a spacecraft, you press a button marked STOP. It's the self-destruct mechanism, and you get blown up.
- You are eaten alive by the sentient twister.
- Spin has tied you up inside the twister machine, which is advancing towards your town. You try to stop this by hitting the suit control button with your feet, but get the accelerator instead, and the town is destroyed. Spin believes you were helping him, and plans to keep you prisoner so you can help him and Sally blackmail many more towns.
- The twister carries you to a volcano, which erupts and you can't escape.
- You pull Sally out of the storm, but the "blackmail" tape turns out to have been a joke, so now you have lost all chance of finding your aunt and uncle.
Good endings[]
- Dr. Neederlander buys you a new house because he accidentally destroyed your old one. You have a great time playing "Twister Tag" with him, Wendy, and Peter.
- The wind spirit sends you, Wendy, and your aunt and uncle home safely.
- Wendy turns out to be the wind spirit. Because you helped her regain control of the wind, she sends you home and changes time so that your farm isn't destroyed.
- The twister passes safely. A rescue team recovers your aunt and uncle, and you find Yoyo alive in the storm cellar.
- Yoyo controls the twister and uses it to free your aunt and uncle. Because you love him, he can still talk and predict the weather, so you and he become famous as TV stars.
- You merge with the twister and have great fun destroying everything in your path. This is presented as a good ending because you enjoy it so much.
- You destroy the twister by luring it into passing over the mountains, where it breaks up.
- Non-ending: You save the town from Spin and Sally, are hailed as a hero, and a parade is thrown in your honor. But another twister is predicted for the following day, so you have to go back to page 1 and start again.
Page map[]
International releases[]
| No. | Book | Country/Language | Translated title | Release date | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | Наперегонки с торнадо  |
Russia
Russian |
Race Against a Tornado | 2006 | РОСМЭН-ПРЕСС |
| N/A | 愤怒风妖的报复·  |
China
Chinese |
Revenge of an Angry Wind Spirit · Monster Party at the Midnight Department Store | 2012 | 接力出版社 |
Artwork[]
Trivia[]
- Cover illustrator Craig White said that the cover to this book was his favorite Give Yourself Goosebumps cover. He also said that the dog on the cover was based on his pug Sophie.[1]
- There is a dog named Yoyo in this book, but the doghouse on the cover says "Tito" on the cover. This is either a completely different dog, a mistake, or the dog's name was changed during production.
- Prior to this book's release, one online source listed the book's title simply as Twister; this may have been a working title.[2]
- Sealberg is most likely based on Steven Spielberg. This is the second Give Yourself Goosebumps character based on Spielberg; the first was Vincent Vealberg from Escape from Camp Run-For-Your-Life.
- The origin of the twister changes throughout this book depending on the reader's choices. Sometimes, it's an ordinary twister, sometimes it's sentient, sometimes it's controlled by a wind spirit, sometimes it's a movie prop, and so on.
- There are several allusions to The Wizard of Oz in this book: the sign on the cover that references Kansas, the dog Yoyo (a parody of Toto), Aunt Emily (Auntie Em), and the line "There's no place like home."
- Wendy and Peter are named after Peter Pan characters in the book.