The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is the fourteenth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1993.
The cover illustration features a wolf howling at night on a green fogging swamp while next to a torn shirt and a cap.
Blurb
What Big Teeth You Have!
There's something horrible happening in Fever Swamp. Something really horrible. It started with the strange howling at night. Then there was the rabbit, torn to shreds. Everyone thinks Grady's new dog is responsible. After all, he looks just like a wolf. And he seems a little on the wild side. But Grady knows his dog is just a regular old dog. And most dogs don't howl at the moon. Or disappear at midnight. Or change into terrifying creatures when the moon is full. Or do they?
Plot
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The writing in this section is based off of someone else's work. |
The narrator, Grady Tucker and his sixteen year-old sister, Emily, have both moved to a new house in Fever Swamp with their scientist parents. Their father, Dr. Tucker, studied deer in Vermont until he came into possession of six "Swamp Deer" from South America. Dr. Tucker moves his family to Florida so that he can test whether or not the six deer can live in Florida. Dr. Tucker keeps the deer in a pen near his new house.
Grady and Emily decide to explore Fever Swamp. However, the two quickly find themselves lost in the expansive swamp. They wander around, eventually finding a small shack. A crazed white-haired man exits the shack and chases after the two children. The siblings run home and tell their parents about the wild man. Dr. Tucker tells the children most nearby residents address the old man as a harmless swamp hermit.
Later that night, Grady is relaxing in the backyard when another twelve year-old boy, one of his new neighbors, introduces himself. The large boy identifies himself as Will Blake. Will also tells Grady that the only other child their age on the block is a "weird girl".
Will tells Grady the story of how Fever Swamp was named; a hundred years ago, almost everyone in town contracted an illness from the swamp and died, and those who did not die went crazy. Late that night, Grady comes down with a fever. He is awoken from a fever dream when he hears howls coming from outside. He goes down to the kitchen to investigate and hears scratching on the exterior door. Emily wakes up as well, and the two siblings sit in the kitchen, listening to the howls and scratching at the door. Grady bravely opens the door, but he sees no one outside. Since it is late, Grady chooses not to investigate further.
The next morning, Grady leaves his house and is surprised by a lovable and large dog. The huge dog starts licking Grady's face, and Emily comes out and pets the dog. The two assume that the dog had caused the scratching that they heard the previous night. After discussing it with their parents, Grady is allowed to keep the dog as a pet. Will comes to visit Grady, and he suggests that Grady's new dog might be part-wolf. Grady decides to name the dog Wolf. The two boys leave to explore the swamp, and Wolf follows them. The group is unsettled when they see the Swamp Hermit. The hermit's shirt is covered in blood, and the boys assume he might be dangerous. They remain still as the Swamp Hermit quietly leaves their line of sight. As soon as the coast is clear, the boys continue exploring and come across a mauled heron. The bird has been ripped apart and there are paw prints around the body. Grady guesses a dog did it, but Will tells Grady that dogs do not rip apart birds. Will and Grady go back to their own homes.
The entire family is awoken in the middle of the night by a crashing sound from downstairs. They find that the noise was caused by Wolf, who was running around and smashing into furniture in a desperate attempt to get out of the house. Dr. Tucker gets especially distraught when he discovers the dog has broken a lamp. Dr. Tucker opens the door, and Wolf leaps out of the house and into the swamp. The family goes back to their rooms, but before long, Grady hears howling coming from the swamp again. In the light of the full moon, Grady can make out a four-legged creature in the shadows below his window. The creature leaves something resembling a rag at the foot of the deer pen and leaves. Grady goes down to get a closer look and sees a chewed up rabbit.
The next morning, after breakfast, Grady takes his father to see the dead rabbit. Wolf shows up and gently licks the child's face. Emily is convinced that Wolf killed the rabbit, but Wolf denies the accusation. Will shows up and tells Grady that a neighbor, Mr. Warner, went missing while turkey hunting. A voice from behind them suggests that a werewolf did it. The voice belongs to a redhead named Cassie O'Rourke, the weird girl that Will mentioned. Cassie tries to convince Grady that the howls can only be made by a werewolf that has made a fresh kill. Cassie freaks out when she sees the Swamp Hermit in the distance. The Swamp Hermit has a wild turkey slung over his shoulder, leading the children to wonder if he swiped it from the missing Mr. Warner. The Swamp Hermit is close enough to hear these accusations and runs out of the swamp towards the children, yelling "I'm the werewolf! I'm the werewolf!" over and over, cackling all the way. Cassie and Will flee, but Grady stays. The old man waves at him with his free hand and tells Grady he was only playing. The Swamp Hermit tells Grady to be careful about his dog before heading back to his shack.
Later, Dr. Tucker tells Grady that since the moon will only be full for two more nights, they will know after that whether or not the howls came from a werewolf. Cassie and Will come over that night to eat. After dinner, Grady sits with the two and talks about werewolves with them. Each kid accuses the other of being the werewolf.
Lying in bed, trying to sleep, Grady hears a commotion outside. When he goes to investigate, he find one of the six swamp deer mauled. The other five deer are huddled together in their pen, away from the gaping hole in the metal. Grady calls his father down from the lawn to see the corpse. Dr. Tucker patches the pen with a piece of cardboard. After dragging the dead deer to his workshop, Dr. Tucker tells his son that his dog has to be the killer. Grady's father tells him that tomorrow morning, he is taking the dog to the pound to be killed. Before his dad can take Wolf, Grady sets Wolf free. Dr. Tucker says that Wolf will likely return, and when he does, he will be taken to the pound.
Wolf manages to stay out of sight all day. It isn't until late that night that Grady spots Wolf from his bedroom window. Grady goes down to greet his dog, but he runs into Will. Will says that he heard howls, and he claims that he was trying to investigate. The two boys spot Wolf as he is wandering back into the swamp. Grady runs after him, losing Will in the process. Following his dog, Grady ends up at the Swamp Hermit's hut. He hears a horrible howling coming from near the shack. Suddenly, Grady is attacked by the werewolf. Grady quickly realizes that the werewolf is Will. Grady is bitten in the shoulder by Will. Luckily, Wolf returns and fights off Will saving Grady's life. However, Grady eventually passes out.
When awakens, he finds himself safely inside his own home. Grady's father tells him that the Swamp Hermit found him and carried him home. Grady's father also states that the Swamp Hermit saw Wolf fight off a large creature to save Grady's life. Dr. Tucker tells Grady that they can keep Wold. After listening to Grady's werewolf story, Dr. Tucker decides to investigate his son's claims. Grady's father goes to visit Will's house. He finds the house is abandoned as though no one had lived there for months.
It is revealed through Grady's narration that the events of the book took place a month earlier. Grady reveals that he is happy that he was able to keep Wolf because the dog makes for an excellent companion on nights when the full moon is out. When Will bit Grady, he passed the werewolf curse onto Grady. Now, Grady turns into a werewolf every time there is a full moon, so he can go exploring and hunting with Wolf.
Reprints and rereleases
| Book | Release date | Type | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
2003 - 2007 reprint series  |
September 2003 | Standalone | Paperback |
 |
October 2009 | Standalone | Paperback |
International releases
| Gallery | |
|---|---|
 UK  Italian  Greek  Norwegian  Danish  Dutch  French (Ver. 1)  French (Ver. 2)  French (Ver. 3)  French (Ver. 4)  Thai  Dutch (Ver. 2)  Brazilian  Korean  Chinese (2015)  Indonesian  UK (Classic Goosebumps)  Danish (Classic Goosebumps)  Canadian (French)  Canadian (French) (Classic Goosebumps) .jpg "Classic Goosebumps - The Werewolf of Fever Swamp (Portuguese).jpg (46 KB)") Portuguese (Classic Goosebumps) | |
Differences
- In France, this is the thirteenth book in the series.
- In Portugal, this is the sixth book in the original Goosebumps series.
Adaptations
TV series
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was adapted into a two-part episode of the Goosebumps TV series. It is the eighteenth (part one) and nineteenth (part two) episode of season one.
Goosebumps Graphix
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was adapted into a Goosebumps Graphix story in September 2006 by Gabriel Hernandez, as the first story in Creepy Creatures.
Audiobook
| Audiobook | Release date | Length | Narrated by | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
April 2015 | 2 hours, 26 minutes | Ramon de Ocampo | Scholastic Inc. |
Artwork
Trivia
- Night in Werewolf Woods references this book in the form of a question for the reader. However, unlike other Give Yourself Goosebumps books, the question only exists for the reader, and not for his/her character.
- Grady and Emily's father was mentioned by name in the book: Michael F. Tucker.
- The front and back taglines are both references to famous fairy tales.
- The front tagline is a reference to Little Red Riding Hood.
- The back tagline is a reference to The Three Little Pigs.
References in other Goosebumps media
- Will Blake (in his werewolf form) appears an antagonist in the Goosebumps film. The title of the book is mentioned by R.L. Stine when referring to Will Blake. The original cover art is also featured in the end credits animation.