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===Plot=== |
===Plot=== |
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Evan Ross' annoying little cousin Kermit Majors is getting on his nerves, always conducting strange experiments that usually get Evan in trouble. Evan decides to strike back by sticking a bit of Monster Blood in one of Kermit's mixtures. The mixture grows larger but then bursts, flying around the room. Evan accidentally swallows some and soon begins to grow bigger and bigger, almost ending up trapped in the basement. He narrowly escapes, and stops growing when he is several stories high. His clothes also grow with him, as they are splashed with some of the monster blood. After several unintentional accidents, the police and fire department hound the enormous Evan, believing he is an alien. Fortunately, Kermit quickly invents a compound which will make him shrink. Evan reverts to normal size. Later, as a twist ending, Evan wakes from a nightmare to see that he |
Evan Ross' annoying little cousin Kermit Majors is getting on his nerves, always conducting strange experiments that usually get Evan in trouble. Evan decides to strike back by sticking a bit of Monster Blood in one of Kermit's mixtures. The mixture grows larger but then bursts, flying around the room. Evan accidentally swallows some and soon begins to grow bigger and bigger, almost ending up trapped in the basement. He narrowly escapes, and stops growing when he is several stories high. His clothes also grow with him, as they are splashed with some of the monster blood. After several unintentional accidents, the police and fire department hound the enormous Evan, believing he is an alien. Fortunately, Kermit quickly invents a compound which will make him shrink. Evan reverts to normal size. Later, as a twist ending, Evan wakes from a nightmare to see that he had shrunken down to the size of a mouse due to a delayed effect of Kermit's compound. He is then carried into his parent's room by his dog, Trigger. The book ends with Evan saying, "Dad? We have a problem!" |
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===Trivia=== |
===Trivia=== |
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Revision as of 03:50, 21 June 2010
| Author | R. L. Stine |
|---|---|
| Original title | Monster Blood |
| Cover artist | Tim Jacobus |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Horror fiction Children's literature |
| Publisher | Scholastic, Inc. |
| Published | I: September 1992 II: April 1994 III: March 1995 IV: December 1997 |
| Media type | Paperback |
Monster Blood is a series of four books within the larger Goosebumps series of children's horror fiction novellas created and authored by R.L. Stine.
Monster Blood
| File:Goosebumps -3 monster blood.jpg | |
| Author | R. L. Stine |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Tim Jacobus |
| Language | English |
| Series | Goosebumps |
| Genre | Horror fiction Children's literature |
| Publisher | Scholastic, Inc. |
Publication date | September 1992 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 128 |
| ISBN | 0-590-45367-X |
| OCLC | 26597229 |
| LC Class | CPB Box no. 2023 vol. 5 |
| Preceded by | Stay Out Of The Basement |
| Followed by | Say Cheese and Die! |
Monster Blood is the third book in R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series.
Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (April 2010) |
The book opens with 12 year old Evan Ross being dropped off at his aunt Kathryn's house for a few weeks while his parents visit Atlanta. Kathryn is an eighty-year old deaf but robust woman who never learned to read lips or use sign language. Evan has brought his cocker spaniel Trigger with him for company. Evan takes Trigger for a walk around the neighborhood and meets a girl his age named Andrea, but he refuses to call her just Andy.
Evan readily accepts Andy's invitation to accompany her into town. In town, Andy reveals that she has to buy a gift for her cousin's birthday, so the two go shopping. In a novelty store, the kids find a metal can labeled "MONSTER BLOOD." The shopkeeper tries to stop the purchase and warns them not to return the item.
Back at Kathryn's house, the kids uncap the tin and discover a strange substance. It bounces, glows green in the dark, and is cool to the touch. The go outside, roll the Monster Blood up into a ball and bounce it back and forth. Trigger eats some of it.
The next morning, Trigger isn't feeling well so Evan takes a walk by himself. The neighborhood bully twins appear and pester Andy, who falls down and scrapes her leg. She runs home to clean the wound. Back home, Evan finds Trigger choking on his collar in the backyard. The collar never seemed this tight before.
Andy and Evan discover the tin of Monster Blood is overflowing. The substance has become disturbingly warm. This is not enough to discourage the kids from playing with it. They are cleaning up afterward when they hear a strange howl. Evan and Andy find that Trigger has doubled in size. The dog escapes from the backyard.
Evan wakes up and realizes he has had a dream. Suddenly he sees that his bed is too small because he has grown to the size of a giant. This is also a dream, and he wakes up again. Evan and Andy take Trigger to the vet. The doc tells them the dog is just having a rare growth spurt and sends them on their way. Andy rushes off to her piano lesson. Left alone, Evan decides to buy himself an ice cream treat at the local market. He leaves Trigger tied up outside. When he returns with his ice cream sandwich, Trigger gets angry and chases after the twins. Evan becomes terrified as he remembers how this happened in his dream. Evan worries that he might turn into a monster.
Back home, Evan calls Andy and asks if he can see her. At her house, he shows her his bucket full of Monster Blood. He begs her to take some of the stuff. She agrees to take a coffee can's worth. However, when she scoops the can into the bucket, the Blood scoops back. Andy freaks out as the Blood sucks the can right into the middle of the bucket. When Evan fishes his hands in to retrieve the can, he tells her he can feel the suction, like it's alive. As Evan is leaving Andy's house, the twins surprise him by beating him up. Andy helps Evan scoop the Monster Blood back into the overturned bucket, then they decide to return the Monster Blood to the toy store. Evan sneaks back home and realizes he needs to find a new container for the ever-growing Monster Blood. He empties the bucket into an old bathtub in the garage. Suddenly Sarabeth the cat pounces on him and he falls onto the tub of Monster Blood. Evan narrowly escapes getting sucked into it.
The next morning at breakfast, Evan decides he has to tell someone else about the Monster Blood. He writes Kathryn a brief note on a legal pad and she just laughs at his imagination. Evan calls Andy and the two drag several lawn bags worth of breathing Monster Blood to the toy store, which apparently has closed forever. The two lug the sacks back to Kathryn's house and empty them into a garbage can. As soon as they clamp shut the lid, Kathryn runs out of the house waving a yellow sheet of paper. It is a telegram from Evan's mother saying that she'll be picking him up that day.
Evan is so excited that he runs to tell his dog the good news. When Evan opens the gate, he sees that Trigger has doubled in size. The beast leaps out of the backyard into the street. Evan runs after him but trips and knocks the trash can over. The mass of Monster Blood spills out and tries to swallow him. Evan and Andy run down the street as the large rolling ball of Monster Blood moves quickly after them. They run into the twins, who are swallowed up by the Monster Blood. The kids stop to stare at the still outlines of the twins' bodies inside the giant heap of goop. The kids split up so that at least one of them may escape, but Kathryn sticks her head out of the house, causing the Monster Blood to chase after her.
The kids run into the house to save Kathryn. They spy her trapped in a corner, the huge round blob of Monster Blood about to engulf her. She cries out that she's responsible for the Monster Blood and she'll have to pay with her life. Evan accuses his great-aunt of trying to kill him by casting a spell on the Monster Blood. Kathryn insists it wasn't her who cast the spell. She points towards Sarabeth the cat (after Evan mistakes she is points towards to Andy) and cries out, "It was her." She Sarabeth turns into a beautiful young woman wearing a cape. Kathryn explains that fifty years ago, Sarabeth cast a spell on her that made her a slave. She also made her deaf and refused to let her learn sign language or lip-read so she could control her better. Sarabeth didn't allow Kathryn to have visitors, and so when Evan showed up, Sarabeth insisted she cast a spell on the Monster Blood to get rid of him. Kathryn tells Sarabeth that she's going to end the spell by letting the Monster Blood swallow her, thus ending Sarabeth's hold on her. Sarabeth tells her that she's still going to kill the kids. Trigger knocks Sarabeth into the Blood, which engulfs her. Trigger shrinks back to normal. The twins escape. Andy and Evan say their goodbyes to Kathryn then look around for the Monster Blood. All traces of it have vanished.
Properties of Monster Blood
This book marks the introduction of the substance, Monster Blood. It is green in color and slowly expands to a great size when released from its airtight container for the first time. The explanation in the book is of SaraBeth, the cat that transforms into a young girl, forces Kathryn to cast a spell on the can to make the Monster Blood grow, although magic has been implied to be the reason (at least in the TV adaptation). The Monster Blood is also portrayed as a living evil entity, capable of attacking people if they are close enough, similar to the Blob (Evan is almost drowned in the bathtub containing Monster Blood). In addition to its growth properties, any biological creature that consumes Monster Blood will slowly grow to a monstrous size, the main plot point for the following books Monster Blood II and III. Monster Blood is also known to be sold and kept in a plastic egg, just like silly putty. This is known from the third book in the Goosebumps Horrorland series, Monster Blood for Breakfast!. There are three kinds of Monster Blood: One that is only a twenty-four-hour sample of Monster Blood, blue monster blood, and the other is long lasting Monster Blood. Monster Blood is also used and mentioned in the Give Yourself Goosebumps series in the book Escape from the Carnival of Horrors. In the beginning of the Goosebumps 2000 Series book Return to HorrorLand, the protagonist is watching a paranormal TV show featuring Evan talking about the events of Monster Blood.
The Collector's Edition
Since the release of Monster Blood For Breakfast, Scholastic made a remake of the original Monster Blood novel. The book has a slightly different cover where it is raised into a bumpy texture. The book also has "Behind The Screams" in the back, bonus features (called bonus "Creatures"), and an interview with R.L. Stine.
The Monster Blood cover was used for the DVD cover of Chillogy.
Monster Blood II
| File:Goosebumps -18 Monster Blood II.jpg | |
| Author | R.L. Stine |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Tim Jacobus |
| Language | English |
| Series | Goosebumps |
| Genre | Horror fiction Children's literature |
| Publisher | Scholastic, Inc. |
Publication date | April 1994 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 121 pp |
| ISBN | 0-590-47740-4 |
| OCLC | 29967797 |
| LC Class | CPB Box no. 2029 vol. 6 |
| Preceded by | Why I'm Afraid of Bees |
| Followed by | Deep Trouble |
Monster Blood II is the eighteenth book in R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series.
Plot
While Evan is playing with Trigger, his dog, he notices his dog has because he realizes he is in the giant dog's mouth. Evan frantically begs Trigger not to bury him in the backyard. When he wakes up screaming, he is in his science class. Mr. Murphy, his science teacher, mocks Evan for having fallen asleep. Irritated, Evan calls his teacher dumb. Mr. Murphy punishes Evan by forcing him to stay after class to clean out the hamster, Cuddles, cage. Evan defiantly walks up to the hamster cage, plucks Cuddles from the wire structure, and hurtles him out the open window. This is also revealed to be a dream.
In the hallway after class, Evan is tripped by a bully, Conan Barber. Evan informs the reader that everyone refers to him as Conan the Barbarian, due to his size. When Evan first arrived to Atlanta, he tried to tell Conan the story of his adventure with Monster Blood; however, Conan informed Evan that he "doesn't tolerate wise guys." After helping Evan up off the floor, Conan offers him a free punch in retaliation for the tripping. Evan lightly taps Conan with his fist as Mr. Murphy wanders by. Mr. Murphy scolds Evan for taking out his aggressions on innocent classmates and sends him back into the classroom to begin the hamster cage cleaning.
Evan manages to lose the hamster. Eventually he tracks down the little guy and then proceeds on a chase. Cuddles escapes out the window. Eventually Conan catches the hamster and demands that Evan sing a song to get Cuddles back. Mr. Murphy shows up again and takes the hamster. Evan finds Andy, whose family is visiting. Her sample of Monster Blood has enlarged. The kids bury it in the woods. Back at home, Evan visits his father, who has been crafting giant abstract sculptures out of sheet metal in the garage. Evan pauses in front of a giant aluminum cylinder that his dad calls "the Wheel," which has been accepted into an art competition held at Evan's school.
The next day at school, he bumps into Andy in the hall, but can't chat because he's on his way to try out for the basketball team. As soon as he enters the gym, Evan is felled by Conan, who throws a basketball into his face. Biggie Malick, Conan’s friend, tells Mr. Murphy (who is also the basketball coach) that Conan was just tossing Evan the ball in a friendly manner. After practice, Evan shows Andy his hand, which had been crushed by Conan in condolence after he failed to make the team. Andy comes up with a plan to get back at Mr. Murphy: They'll dig out the Monster Blood and feed a small bit of it to Cuddles, just enough to turn the hamster into the size of a dog. However, when the two go to retrieve the Monster Blood, they discover it's been swiped, presumably by Conan. Evan accuses Conan of stealing the Monster Blood and Conan retorts by stuffing Evan into a locker.
Andy and Evan decide to break into Conan's house to steal back the Monster Blood. Evan complains that it's too dark to see anything and Andy snaps back that "It usually gets dark at night." After Conan and his parents leave, the two prepare to sneak inside when Trigger shows up. Leaving the dog outside, the two children sneak in and make their way upstairs to Conan's room. Andy spots the tin of Monster Blood next to Conan's tennis trophies and Evan decides to open the lid and stick his fingers inside. Conan and his parents arrive home while the two kids are still inside, forcing Andy and Evan to sneak out the window and cling perilously to the concrete ledge outside. Conan turns on some rap music and begins singing and dancing. Conan's parents then call him downstairs to enjoy some cake and ice cream. Evan and Andy sneak back inside and make their way out of the house.
Andy manages to pull the tin of Monster Blood off Evan's hands and Evan makes Andy promise to bury the Monster Blood. She reluctantly agrees. The next day, Evan stays home sick, so he's quite shocked upon his return to school to see that Cuddles has grown to the size of a rabbit. Evan knows the Monster Blood is responsible, but Mr. Murphy blames Evan for overfeeding him. Evan feels betrayed by Andy, whom he is sure is behind the hamster's growth.
Andy feeds Cuddles the Blood as a 'goof', englarging the hamster to dog size. Even barely leashes it. He's left at school overnight. Unfortunately he grows and attacks Mr. Murphy. Evan tries to use his father's sculpture, as a trap but the hamster destroys that as well. The enraged animal continues to threaten others. Evan eats a sample of the Blood and tries to overpower the animal. He fails, but the expiration date of the substance kicks in and both return to normal. Evan is hailed as a hero and given full care of Cuddles. The story ends with Andy acquiring more Blood from her well-meaning parents and Cuddles nibbling on a mysteriously acquired sample.
In Other Goosebumps books
The events of Monster Blood II are the subject of a TV documentary in Return To Horrorland.
Monster Blood III
| File:Goosebumps-29MonsterBloodIII.jpg | |
| Author | R. L. Stine |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Tim Jacobus |
| Language | English |
| Series | Goosebumps |
| Genre | Horror fiction Children's literature |
| Publisher | Scholastic, Inc. |
Publication date | March 1995 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 126 pp |
| ISBN | 0-590-48341-1 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: checksum |
| Preceded by | The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom |
| Followed by | It Came from Beneath the Sink! |
Monster Blood III is the twenty-ninth book in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series.
Plot
Evan Ross' annoying little cousin Kermit Majors is getting on his nerves, always conducting strange experiments that usually get Evan in trouble. Evan decides to strike back by sticking a bit of Monster Blood in one of Kermit's mixtures. The mixture grows larger but then bursts, flying around the room. Evan accidentally swallows some and soon begins to grow bigger and bigger, almost ending up trapped in the basement. He narrowly escapes, and stops growing when he is several stories high. His clothes also grow with him, as they are splashed with some of the monster blood. After several unintentional accidents, the police and fire department hound the enormous Evan, believing he is an alien. Fortunately, Kermit quickly invents a compound which will make him shrink. Evan reverts to normal size. Later, as a twist ending, Evan wakes from a nightmare to see that he had shrunken down to the size of a mouse due to a delayed effect of Kermit's compound. He is then carried into his parent's room by his dog, Trigger. The book ends with Evan saying, "Dad? We have a problem!"
Trivia
| This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (January 2010) |
- The front cover follows artist Tim Jacobus' long tradition of incorporating Converse sneakers into the artwork.
- Monster Blood III is referenced by the main character in a Give Yourself Goosebumps book, Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter.
Monster Blood IV
| File:Monster blood iv.jpg | |
| Author | R.L. Stine |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Tim Jacobus |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's funny books |
| Publisher | Harcourt |
Publication date | December 1997 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Preceded by | I Live in Your Basement! |
| Followed by | Cry of the Cat |
Monster Blood IV is the 62nd and final book of the original Goosebumps series. It is the third sequel in the Monster Blood saga. It is also one of the rarest books in the Goosebumps series.[citation needed] Evan's parents are going to Tucson. Evan's dumped off at his cousin Kermit's house. They discover a new species of monster blood that multiplies.