Karen Somerset is the tertiary antagonist in the first Goosebumps book, Welcome to Dead House, as well as a supporting antagonist in its television adaptation.
History[]
Karen Somerset is one of the residents of Dark Falls and used to live in the Dead House before being turned into the undead.
When Amanda and Josh move into Dark Falls, Karen and her friends find them and befriend them. She becomes particularly close with Amanda. Amanda and Josh learn that she is undead after they find her tombstone in the cemetery. She and the other undead children appear to Amanda and Josh when they return to the Dead House after killing Ray Thurston. Karen explains that she and her family were lured into Dark Falls in the past and were killed and converted by the rest of the town. Karen and the other undead children vanish when Compton Dawes arrives to trick Amanda and Josh and lure them to the amphitheatre. Karen later appears at the amphitheatre with the rest of the town to prepare to feast on Mr. and Mrs. Benson. Amanda and Josh knock down the tree blocking out the sunlight, flooding the area with light, causing the undead (with the apparent exception of Dawes) to melt away. Before dying, Karen thanks Amanda for releasing the townspeople from their undead suffering.
In the episode, Karen is featured more than she was in the book. Amanda and Josh ask her and her friends if they want to play baseball, but they refuse due to the sunlight. Later on in the episode when the zombies are attacking Amanda and Josh's house, Karen and her mother say that the wreath hanging above the fireplace is drawing the zombies toward the house, but it turns out be a lie as the zombies were actually repelled by it. Karen and her parents turn out to be zombies. Karen and her parents are destroyed by the sunlight, though unlike in the book, Karen does not thank Amanda.
General Information[]
Physical appearance[]
In the original book, Karen is noted to wear braces (presumably due to her teeth never continuing to develop due to her unageing state, she must wear them forever) . She has her hair tied in pigtails, and she wears baggy clothing even during the Summer to help protect her from the light.
In the television episode, Karen is depicted in the show with brown eyes that turn red in her zombie form, with a small hat. She has pale skin in her true form since she is a zombie, but she and the other undead of Dark Falls can disguise themselves to appear alive, giving them normal looking skin. Her shirt has the Goosebumps G logo with a crown above it.
Personality[]
Karen does seem to want to be Amanda's friend to the point that it does feel genuine. She appears to regret her undead existence and seems genuinely remorseful for the deception. She thanks Amanda for ending her suffering in the book, though not in the episode.
Appearances[]
Books[]
Goosebumps[]
Television and film[]
Goosebumps (television series)[]
Trivia[]
- In the book, her surname is Somerset. However, in the television episode, her surname was changed to Thurston. In the book, Thurston was the surname of Ray. In the episode, Ray's surname is not given.
- There is an error in the book in that, despite Compton Dawes implying he was one of the original inhabitants of Dark Falls transformed by the yellow gas from the chemical leak at the plastics factory, Karen's death date is earlier than his. Despite the dates on the tombstones being changed in later editions, this error was never fixed. The dates on the tombstones appeared to only be updated in accordance with the publication dates of later issues of the story, which was unneeded anyway, as the residents of Dark Falls are immune to ageing due to their undead status. On a related note, the tombstone of Karen reveals that she was 12 when she died and became undead.
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