Jillian and Jackson Gerard are the twin protagonists of the tenth Goosebumps HorrorLand book, Help! We Have Strange Powers!.
History
Help! We Have Strange Powers!
Jillian and Jackson were going to the theater at the mall to see Butt-Kicker II, which starred their favorite superhero, Butt-Kicker himself. But when they took their seats and waited for the movie to start, they noticed their new schoolmates, Nina and Artie Lerner, who are also twins. Jillian and Jackson were most dismayed at this, as the Lerners were the most disgusting and wimpy kids in the school.
After being thrown out of the theater for being rowdy, Jillian and Jackson look around the mall and had a good laugh about what they would do to the Lerner twins if they had any powers. After that, they were outside to meet with their parents when they were splashed by the Lerner's car and then they noticed a Madame Doom booth at the mall entrance. Jillian and Jackson went over to the booth and put a quarter in the slot to find out about their fortunes. The hand got stuck and wouldn't come up all the way so Jackson decided to reach in and get it. Jillian grabbed his shoulder and they both received a powerful shock that jolted them hard.
Unbeknownst to the kids, the shock that they received gave them psychic powers. Soon, Jillian and Jackson find out that they have special powers. However, using their special powers makes Jillian and Jackson targets for the Thought Police.
HorrorLand and Panic Park
Jillian and Jackson soon became curious of where their powers came from and went to HorrorLand to find out. They had a bit of fun at first until they received a fortune card saying to escape HorrorLand. And then they ran into Inspector Cranium, who had changed back and they managed to escape from him by going on the Doom Slide, but not before Cranium mentioned The Menace. Then several Horrors came over and took Jillian and Jackson to where "The Keeper" lived with the other Very Special Guests. There, the Keeper, who turned out to be Dr. Maniac and the Purple Rage were the others a real scare. First the Purple Rage exploded in anger and then Dr. Maniac kept on changing the temperature dangerously until Robby Schwartz pretended to have suffocated. After Dr. Maniac left in a panic, the other guests explained to Jillian and Jackson that they are trying to escape HorrorLand to Panic Park and that three kids have already escaped to there and that mirrors are the way there and a Horror named Byron is trying to help them. So everyone raced off to find a mirror. Along the way the twins noticed a dark-haired girl and boy watching them.
Soon they reached a cafe, where Britney Crosby and Molly Molloy were last seen and Jackson uncovered the mirrors by concentrating on the wall. Five more of the kids went in the mirrors, but the Monster Police caught the remaining kids before they could jump in, and they managed to get away. Then the dark-haired girl and boy caught up with them and introduced themselves as Lizzy and Luke Morris and explained that they have been to HorrorLand before and that the guests would be safer in HorrorLand. Then Jillian read Lizzy's mind and told the others she was lying creating an uproar. Lizzy struggled to explain about Panic Park, but Jillian and Jackson told the others that she is working with the Horrors to keep them in HorrorLand. Jillian and Jackson spent the journey criticizing and bad-mouthing Lizzy and Luke and still felt uneasy about them even after they found their friends and rescued Carly Beth Caldwell and Julie Martin from drowning in the Tunnel of Hate. Panic Park turned out to be a very frightening place and Jillian and Jackson faced many dangers there such as the Egg Aliens, The Haunted Mask and Captain Long Ben One-Leg.
They then discovered a man who introduced himself as Karloff Mennis, also known as The Menace. Jillian and Jackson were then revealed to be traitors, working for The Menace the whole time, much to the anger of the other Special Guests. Outraged at their supposed betrayal, Micaheal Moore throws Jackson to the ground and beats him up while Jillian begs him to stop. It was also revealed that it was The Menace who gave them their powers, not Madame Doom. Jillian and Jackson were taken away, but managed to catch up with the others and the villains (who have joined forces with them to defeat The Menace) when they caused Panic Park to shrink by laughing. Jillian and Jackson explained that they never wanted to work for The Menace and his control over them has shrunk. So Jackson opened the whirlwind with Cranium's help, and Jillian, Jackson and the others got back to HorrorLand and their families safely. Whether or not they retained their powers after the Meance vanished is unknown.
General information
Physical appearance
Jillian and Jackson are twelve years old, Caucasian, tall and thin with wavy brown hair and dark serious eyes.
Personality
Jillian is more sensitive about being a twin than her brother. Sometimes she thought that being a twin totally rocks and sometimes she thought it was the pits as she hates the jokes that other people make about her and Jackson. And she thinks that her name is too cute for words and thought about changing it to Adrianna (as long as the name isn't too snobby). Jillian is said to think too much (by her mother, who doesn't mean it as a compliment) and does have a tendency to worry. She was really disgusted and often angered at Nina and Artie Lerner's antics until finding out that they are undercover superheroes to hide from the Institute. Jillian is a big fan of superheroes (including Butt-Kicker) and she and Jackson like to talk about them and their superpowers.
Jackson is the laid-back, easygoing, "whatever" guy in the Gerard family. He is so relaxed and everything is cool with him, although he does have his own limit, mainly with Artie Lerner, as he often spilled food on his clothes or accidentally hit him and Jackson had a tendency to fight with Artie over these incidents and he thought he and Nina were disgusting and often thought of ways to have revenge on them, until he and Jillian found out they are undercover superheroes to hide from the Institute. Jackson had proven to be quite lazy as he is always playing video games and not getting exercise. His parents often tell him to get some exercise and Jackson often told them that he would exercise more if they got him a Wii, an argument that goes on and on. Like Jillian, Jackson is a fan of superheroes and often thought of what it would be like to have powers.
List of appearances
Trivia
- Jillian and Jackson are the first recurring twins in the series.
- Jackson was referred to as "Jack" in the Monster Survival Guide.
