The Curse of the Creeping Coffin is the eighth book in the Give Yourself Goosebumps gamebook series. It was published in 1996.
The cover illustration depicts a coffin being opened by a rotting skeleton inside it. The skeleton's bony fingertips have left scratches on the coffin lid. On the top of the coffin "RIP" is engraved.
Blurb[]
THEY'RE REAL DEADHEADS!
You're off to visit your grandmother, whose house backs up to a graveyard. At first the tombstones seem far away. But every day they move a little closer. Then you discover the headstones are disappearing. But the dead aren't gone — their ghosts are moving. Right into your grandmother's house!
If you decide to stay, you must battle a warrior ghost. If you decide to run, one of the kid ghosts follows you home. Will you be haunted...for the rest of your life?
The choice is yours in this scary GOOSEBUMPS adventure that's packed with over 20 super-spooky endings!
Plot[]
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List of endings[]
There are sixteen bad endings and five good endings.
Bad endings[]
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You become a stone statue in the graveyard, still aware of your surroundings. The ghosts of John Luckmeyer and his twin sister, Jane torment you for all eternity. |
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You choose the wrong grave. Instead of the MPG - the Most Powerful Ghost, you find yourself confronted by the MHG - the Most Horrible Ghost. He's so gruesome that it's implied you die a death too gruesome even for you. |
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You choose the wrong grave and the last tombstone moves into place, completing the message. This ending has a side note that says that next time to ask for Elvira's help and don't leave that much to chance. |
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Sparkle wimps out after seeing a ghost with worms crawling on his face. The worms smother you to death after the ghost puts his face up to yours. |
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You are being chased by a ghost of a soldier from the Civil War and end up falling off a bridge. You survive the fall and groan in pain, but the ghost hears you and floats down and kills you. |
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You don't survive a fall off a bridge and you are now a ghost. You play pranks on people, like crossing out the page numbers of a Give Yourself Goosebumps book with a black felt marker. Only it was this book, the only one you're in. |
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You decide to hide out in the barn, but you end up being bitten by a vampire chicken. |
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Because you refuse to give him any money, the box of Mac MacFarling opens up to reveal a plastic hand. The hand grabs you and pulls you into the box. |
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A Neanderthal ghost hits you on the head with a club. |
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Deciding to ride Glory the ghost horse turns out to be a bad idea, because he charges straight into a solid wall, taking you with him. His grave said that he was too wild for the riders of this world. As a consequence, you're stuck with riding Glory for all time. |
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The boy ghost follows you around for the rest of your life and makes everyone think you're stealing things. |
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You try to convince Robin that there is a Lanx under the sink, but he chooses to stop believing you and leaves. (Because the reader can choose whether they find a Grool or a Lanx, the book seemingly punishes the reader for choosing the more dangerous character.) |
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Trapped in a coffin, you decide that, since today is Friday, the graveyard caretaker will come, and you can get his attention to make him help you out of the coffin. Unfortunately, today is actually Friday the 13th (as evidenced by the fact that you have to turn to Page 13 for this choice), and although he does arrive, the caretaker is suffering from an ear infection that prevents him from hearing your screams. By the time he comes back next week, you have already suffocated. This ending can only be gotten if you are reading this book on a Friday (and can be especially jarring if it actually is a Friday the 13th on which you are reading this book). |
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You break your promise to the boy ghost and refuse to follow him to the cemetery. Years later, you tell your children stories about your grandmother's haunted house and how a ghost followed you home. Your children think you're making it up, but you know the truth - particularly since the ghost and his friends call out, "You lied!" every time you walk by the cemetery. |
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Because of a bet you made with the ghost, you'll have to eat worms. |
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John Luckmeyer tricks you into walking into a closet, which your grandmother turned into a laundry chute. You end up falling two stories down a clothes chute into a washer. |
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Good endings[]
| Ending | Paths |
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You defeat Brandon Estep, before he can consummate the curse. However, you're still stuck with the ghost of Elvira Martin, who, since she wasn't outside when you broke the curse, didn't return to her grave. |
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You use the mute button on the remote control to stop the Neanderthal ghost. Pretty soon, you call the news and become famous along with your grandmother for demonstrating the remote. You sell the house and go to live in the South Pacific Islands with your grandmother. |
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You run into your piano teacher, when visiting the afterlife. She gives you a map that leads to gold in her backyard under her apple tree, if you play for her. You then wake up at your house with the map in your hand. |
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You refuse to take more piano lessons, and the piano teacher takes you back outside the graveyard. |
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You turn down the boy ghost's offer, telling him you don't want to risk making a promise you can't keep. Your honesty pleases the ghost, who then gives you a gold coin. He tells you that the coin will bring you good luck, as long as you never sell it, spend it, or give it away. He also advises you to make sure you aren't buried with the coin, or, like him, your spirit will never rest until you find someone else to give it to. He vanishes into the afterlife and you never see him again. |
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Page map[]
International releases[]
Gallery[]
Artwork[]
.jpg "The Curse of the Creeping Coffin (Full Art).jpg (248 KB)")
Trivia[]
- Although the cover art features a skeleton, the reader's primary enemies in this book are ghosts.
- The map of the graveyard doesn't show Elvira Martin's grave. This could be foreshadowing the ending where you're still stuck with her for a roommate even after exorcising the other ghosts.
- One of the choices has hidden pages and can only be found by adding up dates given to the reader earlier in the story.
- There is a question in this book about the name of the creature from the Goosebumps book, It Came from Beneath the Sink!.
- In some parts of the story, there are two choices that both lead to bad endings. In one part of the story, there is a choice that leads to two different good endings.
- This is one of few Give Yourself Goosebumps books where you can get a bad ending depending on what day of the week it is.
- This book is a little bit unfair, as guessing the Civil War soldier ghost as the Keeper of the Sword will lead to death - no matter what choice is made afterwards.