Under the Magician's Spell
| Author | R.L. Stine |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Nagata |
| Language | English |
| Series | Give Yourself Goosebumps |
| Genre | Horror novel, Children's novel |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
Publication date | July 1996 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 135 pp |
| Preceded by | Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter |
| Followed by | The Curse of the Creeping Coffin |
Under the Magician's Spell is the 7th book released in the spin-off series Give Yourself Goosebumps. It was released July 1996 on Scholastic Press. The book is just like many of the other books in the series where the reader decides which page to go and which adventure to do, one variation from this book is that the reader gets to draw cards out of a deck. And depending on what card he pulls determines his fate. Some endings in this book vary from being turned into stone forever, falling in an endless blackhole, or being turned into a playful dog.
Plot
You, your mom, your little sister Joanie and your best friend Sid go to the mall, but Joanie runs into a magic shop. She steals a magic book of magical spells while you are distracted. Later you come to know that the shop owner is an evil magician who wants his book back or he will make your sister disappear into thin air. Meanwhile, Sid cuffs himself with a pair of magical handcuffs and it is at this point where the reader chooses from one of two major plot twists. If the reader decides to have Joanie cast a spell to free Sid, the ground will open up and swallow you, Sid, and Joanie into the magician's workshop where you must fight to escape. If you choose to go home and manually remove the handcuffs, the magic book will be stolen by three bullies; Larry, D.J., and Buddy which you must take back before an hour passes or Joanie will disappear forever.
Choosing to have Joanie cast a spell can result in three positive endings, all concluding with the magician being defeated, although one of these "positive" endings carries a twist. Some negative endings include: getting beheaded, eaten by piranhas, slowly polishing rhinestones on a suit, being sawed in half, being stabbed by a real knife in the neck by Joanie, which was revealed as a "trick knife", and responding incorrectly to something Joanie did. Another ending results in you finding the book. So your mom takes you back to the mall to return it.When you get to the shop your mom makes you apologize to the owner who tells her it is quite alright, but wants to talk to you in private. Your mom tells you to meet her in the food court when your done. After your mom leaves the shop owner laughs before he makes you disappear into thin air. The story then cuts to where you ended up, which is a desert like planet with you as the only inhabitant. You realize you are stuck here forever and say, "well this stinks".
Trying to retrieve the books from the bullies will result in one actual positive ending. There is another ending where the book is returned but results in a twisted end. Several "death" routes can be: devoured by worms, summoning a genie who instead of granting you wishes turns you into a pile of dog crap, being turned into a dog, eaten by a werewolf, killed by a giant scorpion or rat, arguing with Sid until Joanie disappears, and drinking milk.
Trivia
This book references Bad Hare Day.