Night of the Living Mummy is the third book in the Goosebumps House of Shivers book series. It was released in September 2024. The book was confirmed by R.L. Stine during an interview with 91.7 WVXU. [1]
The cover illustration depicts King Raman emerging from a sarcophagus in a museum. He is reaching for an Egyptian amulet being held by a mysterious figure.
Blurb[]
THAT'S A WRAP!
Happy Silverman is more than a little excited for his class trip to the museum. He loves learning about Ancient Egypt and can't wait to see real mummies. At the museum, Happy leans as close to the mummy display as he possibly can―and something strange happens. His head spins and he hears an unfamiliar voice ringing inside his mind. The mummy is inside Happy's brain and needs his help―or else! [2]
Plot[]
Part One[]
Harry "Happy" Silverman is a big mummy fan, mostly due to his mother being an archeologist. He even dreams about living in Ancient Egypt and wishes he could see a real mummy. Thus, he's excited that his city's museum is finally getting a mummy. When the day arrives, he sneaks away from his class only to be told that the mummy room is closed off for now. After some trial and error and his friend Jayden telling him this is a bad idea, he makes it into the mummy room. He learns the mummy they have is of Raman, a boy king. To his shock, the mummy sits up and starts approaching the boy, covering him in darkness.
Part Two[]
In 5000 BC in Egypt, Raman is a boy gearing up to be king after his father died in battle. His jealous of his siblings Omari and Akila who get to be carefree while he worries about leading the land. His advisor Khufu tells him to be forceful to prove he's worthy while Raman would refer to be fair and kind. Khufu keeps suggesting that anyone who bothers the king to be put to death. His mother Isis tells the boy king to be patient with him.
That night, he notices his amulet is gone. It had been passed down to him from his father just before he died and it carries the power of the god of Osiris in it. However it turns out that his siblings had taken it as a prank. The next day while they are eating, a snake is found and bites Raman on the neck, killing him. Distraught, Isis has Khufu track down the wizard Vathor, who could have the power to bring him back. But despite his best efforts, Raman remains dead.
His body is mummified and place in the Pyramid of the Kings. However, Isis notices that the amulet is missing and he must be buried with it. It isn't found in the next two days, leading her to think it was stolen. Khufu is blamed due to his dislike of the boy but he denies it. He suggests they check the pyramid to see if they misplaced it. When they do, the boy king's mummy sits up, as Vathor's magic simply took some time. However, it seems to be too late as he's stuck in mummy form, being too stiff to move. They look for Vathor to thank him but are told by someone that he escaped through time, using magic to take himself to the future.
They theorizes that he took the amulet and escaped with it. Raman vows to follow him into the future to get back what is rightfully his.
Part Three[]
Back in the present, Happy wakes up to discover that Raman is talking to him telepathically, as he has taken over his mind. Raman explains that his amulet has called for him and allowed to him to use these powers and he needs Happy's help to get it back. Happy says he's too busy to help so the mummy fully takes over his mind, putting Happy's mind inside the mummy body. They talk it out after that, and Happy agrees to help him, arguing that the ancient boy doesn't know enough to survive in the present day.
They switch back and now Raman is in his mind as Happy helps him track down his killer. The amulet is giving him strong signals so they go out to find Vathor, as Raman explains it all to Happy. On the way he finds his teacher Mr. Horvat on his own front lawn, who asks is Happy still has mummies on the mind. He says the house next door is empty, so Raman forces Happy to explore it as the signal is getting stronger. They look through it and find an old man who Raman thanks is Vathor, but he says he's a homeless man whose house was burned down. The signal weakens to this isn't the guy they want.
The next day at school, the signal goes off in Horvat's class, revealing he is Vathor. Happy realizes that Horvat is an anagram for Vathor. Raman urges Happy to attack the wizard but he isn't going to do that in class. The amulet is calling to Raman so they must sneak into class later and find it. They find it in Horvat's desk but Happy's friend Jayden appears and demands that the boy give to him. He reveals that Horvat took over his mind to get the amulet. They fight over it until the amulet covers him in lightning until he's knocked out.
Part Four[]
Happy wakes up in Ancient Egypt, with Vathor as he says that is about to kill the boy. Before he can sic a cat army on him, Isis storms in to steal the amulet and use it to turn Vathor into a snake. Raman is still with Happy in his mind and Isis thanks him for bringing his son back. Raman can now rest easy. However, they won't be sending him home as Raman wants him here to teach bravery to his siblings, and rest more easily knowing Happy is here. He will be given a life of luxury but he's just sad over not being able to see his friends or family again. Raman leaves and goes back to his body to rest.
Happy is given the amulet to put on Raman and while he tries to use it, he drops and it and hits his head on the sarcophagus. He wakes up back in the present, during class with the new teacher Mrs. Bethany. She announces that the museum's mummy room is open now and they will get to see a real mummy.
Audiobook[]
| Audiobook | Release date | Length | Narrated by | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
September 03, 2024 | 2 hours, 45 minutes | Maxwell Glick, Thom Rivera | Scholastic Inc. |
Concept artwork[]
Illustrated by Robert Ball.
Trivia[]
- The book's title is a clear reference to the Night of the Living Dummy series.
- Some of the plot's concept is similar to the Give Yourself Goosebumps book Diary of a Mad Mummy, specifically a mummy in a museum needing to reclaim a powerful object, as well as the protagonist at one point travelling to ancient Egypt.
- This is the second mummy book with a character named Abby, the first being Abby Martin from Who's Your Mummy?.
- This is the second mummy book to use the name Khufu. The first time being the pyramid that Ben Hassad is exploring in The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb.
- The story shares some slight similarities to the first book in the House of Shivers series, Scariest. Book. Ever. Both stories feature the protagonists having to find a magical artifact that when used could bring about the end of the world.
- This book references the Seven Dwarves, Coke, LEGO, Cheerios, Minecraft and the PlayStation 5.