Reviews

Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine

millspages's review

4.0

Scares my shitless as a kid in all honesty

faemorgan's review against another edition

4.0

This was my second Summerween read, and I have to say for a kids book it doesn't actually disappoint on its creepy factor. Like, I was waiting around for Slappy to do something, but I have to admit Mr Wood was just rude and creepy. I hated Lindy throughout this book, though there were points when Kris was a little annoying. I was quite surprised that Kris didn't try to just get away or get rid of Mr Wood sooner. At times I couldn't fully tell whose mind or pov I was reading, but that's okay.
I am planning to read the other Goosebumps books that my sister owns, around Halloween. (We bought her a box set.)

theelazyyonee's review

5.0

Haven't read (really listened, audiobooked it) a Goosebumps book in awhile. So I found this a good thing to start with. I always love creepy dolls or dummys >:)

eacolgan's review

4.0

this book scared the holy bejeezus out of me as a child-- like, kept me up at night. firmly convinced this is why dead silence and other dummy movies scare me so bad now. :)

sweetesthoney86's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

mrs_j_will's review

4.0

Check out our Goosebumps book club, Welcome to Deadhouse on YouTube. Here is our review of Night of the Living Dummy: https://youtu.be/t_ko3kIgOMg.

Full book club playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO0Ln1uPMnlZlHslUisZHOb50SYAVl5B6

Follow us on Twitter:
Book Club: @GBCGhostNextDoor
Jennifer - @Coffee_With_Jen
Mandi - @aglitermacaroon

tarainez's review against another edition

I read this with my niece and nephews. ❤️

tyto_alba's review

5.0

Out of all the Goosebumps books, Night of the Living Dummy stands out the most as being one of the most iconic. It also embodies many of the staple tropes that show up in later books (parents not believing their kids, horror coming from an entity demanding the main character be their slave/"take care of them" forever, etc.). I love this book, even if

Spoiler

Slappy

* sits quietly from the sidelines for most of the story. (Note: I am far too nostalgic for this book to give it any kind of scrutiny, so my review is heavily biased towards how great it is.)

For the short amount of time you spend with the characters, they do undergo changes throughout the story, at least to how you perceive them. It's hard to like either sister at first because of their pretty squabbling, but Kris ends up feeling so trapped and isolated, you can't help but feel bad for her. Even though her sister Lindy was almost unforgivably awful to her, it's easy to forgive her once she ends up helping Kris because it's such a relief that she's no longer alone. The evil dummy

Spoiler

Mr. Wood

* is quite menacing, as he threatens the girls and their tiny dog, going so far as to actually strangle the dog to punish them. The core horror of the story comes from the dummy, of course--living dolls are naturally terrifying--but also from the powerlessness of the twins. Their parents don't believe them, so they have to figure things out themselves.

Overall, an absolute classic. If you've never read Goosebumps before and want to get a good feel for them, this is a great book to start with.


*I put spoiler tags around the dummies' names to be on the safe side, though I'm not totally sure that counts as a spoiler.

beth_books_123's review

5.0

Why? - 5*

breiner26's review against another edition

4.0

4 ⭐