Retro Horror Vol. 4 - Horror Meets Dog Days of Summer?

Welcome back to round four of Retro Horror.  I'm really enjoying this feature and have books planned for many months to come - hope Stormi does too!  This time around I tried to incorporate horror into La La's Dog Days of Summer Challenge and the best I could come up with was two Goosebumps books.  I never read Goosebumps as a child so this was my first foray into the world.  Also, Stormi read pretty much my favorite horror book this month and I can't wait for everyone to read her thoughts.  Since Stormi's book was much longer, I'm sharing two reviews with you today.

So read on to see what I thought of my pick this month, and then go see how Stormi's pick worked out for her at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

TITLE: The Barking Ghost

AUTHOR: R.L. Stine

PUBLISHER: Scholastic

PUBLISHING DATE: June 1995

FROM GOODREADS: Cooper, a nervous newcomer to the town, and his friend Margaret are targeted by two evil dogs who cast a spell to switch bodies with the children as a way of wreaking further havoc.  

MY THOUGHTS:  Cooper's family has moved and are now living in a new home in the woods.  Cooper is afraid of everything - and I mean everything.  This makes him an easy target for his older brother.  One evening he starts hearing barking dogs.  He makes friends with a neighbor, Margaret, aka Fergie, and together they try to figure out why they are being terrorized by the ghosts of two Black Labradors.  

I know I'm not the targeted reader for a book like this, and while I found it okay, it really bothered me in some aspects.  First of all, Cooper was rather annoying.  I mean, I understand that he is a scaredy-cat, but he is scared of EVERYTHING.  Some exampled include a sprinkler, a rabbit and a bird.  He is constantly falling for his brother's antics when he should have caught on.  I did enjoy seeing Mickey, the brother, get what was coming to him in one scene though.  

The ghost dogs weren't really scary and the whole reason they were haunting Cooper and Fergie was a tad lame.  And the ending!  I read it and was like "really?"  I felt it was really no conclusion at all!

So overall, I'm glad I gave it a chance but I am glad it wasn't much longer.

RATING: 3 PAWS

TITLE: Frankenstein's Dog
AUTHOR: R.L. Stine
PUBLISHER: Scholastic
PUBLISHING DATE: July 2013

FROM GOODREADS: 

Kat is reluctant to visit her Uncle Vic Frankenstein because of all the rumors about him. People in the small town where he lives say he's a mad scientist like his great-grandfather, Victor Frankenstein, who created a monster that came alive and terrorized the town. But Kat is relieved to find that even though he lives in a dark, old castle-like mansion, Uncle Vic is a quiet, gentle man, a scientist interested in building robots with artificial intelligence. Also, Kat loves Poochie, Vic's small, adorable, fluffy white dog, funny and playful. But after an accident occurs in her uncle's lab, strange things begin to happen.

Has Kat created a monster? Or is something else responsible for the horror that is unleashed?   

MY THOUGHTS: I found this book a lot cuter than my first choice.  Kat is off to visit her Uncle who is a descendant of the original Victor Frankenstein.  When Kat arrives, she learns that her uncle is creating robots with artificial intelligence.  She starts exploring his old home and soon finds some things that don't make sense.  Victor's dog Poochie immediately warms to Kat and really plays a few key roles in the entire plot.  Will Kat be able to find out what is going on or will she become one of her uncle's experiments herself?

I liked Kat.  She was curious and rambunctious and she clearly loved her uncle a lot. And as I mentioned, I also liked Poochie.  The book made me chuckle in places and I could actually see it play out well as a kid's animated film.  And the ending to this one actually made sense.

Overall, I'm glad I ventured into the world of Goosebumps and while I now see that I really missed these books due to older than the targeted audience when they released, they might be fun to visit from time to time.

RATING: 4 PAWS