Title: Give Yourself Goosebumps #3 – Trapped in Bat Wing Hall, a.k.a. “Tales from the Krupnik Crypt”

Author: R.L. Stine

Cover Artist: Mark Nagata

Tagline: Going Batty!

Summary: Join The Horror Club…

Being the new kid in school is no picnic. At your old school you had tons of friends, but now you don’t even have one. Then you meet Nick. He asks you to join the Horror Club.

The Horror Club meets in an old mansion known as Bat Wing Hall. It’s dark. It’s spooky. And it’s where your adventure begins.

The members of the Horror Club are going on a scavenger hunt. If you join the red team, you find out the truth about your new friends – they’re actually monsters! One is a green-skinned reptile. Another is a hulking giant! If you join the blue team, you get turned into a furry-faced vampire bat!

The choice is yours in the scary GOOSEBUMPS adventure that’s packed with over 20 super spooky endings!

[Wing: UMMMM. Does this summary really spoil the paths? WTF, editors.]

Initial Thoughts

Happy birthday to me. [Wing: Happy belated birthday!]

Following up from last year’s “Ghost Camp” review (and you guys probably expected me to cover the sequel) I decided to recap another of my lifelong favorite Goosebumps.

“Trapped In Bat Wing Hall” was one of the earliest GYG books I ever read. Back in elementary school it was one of the few Goosebumps books that consistently remained in my homeroom back in 4^th or 5^th grade. It took me years, if not decades, before I finally purchased a copy of my own. I loved it so much I even attempted to write a sequel that ultimately went nowhere.

I’m implementing the system I came up with when I reviewed “One Night In Payne House” this previous Halloween. Since the book diverges into two different storylines, the recap will consist of me covering both of them as far into a good ending as I can.

I feel Wing will very much enjoy some of the first storyline, but unfortunately there ARE spiders in this story. Not a giant, two-headed sentient ghost spider, but spiders nonetheless.

[Wing: I guess it could be worse… For other arachnophobes, right after the first path begins, there’s a drawing of the spiders. It’s not super detailed, but still.]

Recap

Jude is miserable. His family moved to this town a month ago and he’s been in school for a week, and so far no one wants to be his friend. It’s Friday afternoon and he has nothing to do but wonder why it’s so hard to make friends. He’s cool! He had tons of friends at his old school, so what’s the problem?

Oh gee maybe it’s because YOU’RE A SELF-SERVING, MANIPULATIVE LITTLE BLIGHT ON SOCIETY AND EVERY SECOND YOU’RE SUCKING AIR IS A MOLECULE OF OXYGEN THAT COULD’VE GONE TO SOMEONE WHO DESERVES IT.

But I digress.

As Jude drags himself home thinking about what a boring weekend he’ll have, someone throws a pebble at his backpack. He turns around to see an average looking kid with brown hair. The boy introduces himself as Nick and says he’s in Jude’s class, even though Jude doesn’t remember seeing him. Odder still is Nick claims to live right next door to Jude. Jude exclaims that’s impossible because the house next to his has been empty all month. Nick explains he was on vacation with his family and they just got back last night.

Nick starts to verify he’s in Jude’s class as he complains about all the weekend homework they’ve got and what an asshole their teacher Mr. McCormick is. Soon the boys start talking about their favorite bands and comic books. Nick’s got all the “Spider-Man” first issues from the last five years alone.

However, Nick declares he thinks horror stories are much cooler than comics [Wing: So horror comics, just not a thing in this world?] and is about to tell Jude something. Nick stops, wondering if Jude is too cowardly for what he’s about to say. Jude exclaims he’s not scared of anything when Nick tells him about the Horror Club. It’s a group of kids that meet every Friday night to tell scary stories in Bat Wing Hall, a creepy old house that used to belong to crazy Professor Krupnik before he died. [Wing: Stine, did you knock off Are You Afraid of the Dark? (One of the best horror anthology shows ever.)]

Jude knows that house, and laughs it certainly does look like it’s haunted. Nick tells him it is. Nick mentions a lot of scary stories have happened in Bat Wing Hall. Like how, one Halloween many years ago, a group of kids went trick-or-treating and ventured to Bat Wing Hall. A figure in black answered the door, ushered the kids in, and they never came out. Now, people have sworn they hear children screaming inside that house late at night. And sometimes, when the moon is full, you can catch a glimpse of horrible little monsters dressed in Halloween costumes trying to find their way out. Nick swears it’s a true story, and Jude has to be really brave to join the Horror Club.

Jude thinks about it and decides sure, why not? He meets up with Nick later that evening, and he’s brought another club member with him. Nick introduces Jude to Debbie, a squirmy, fidgeting young woman with dark hair that seems to cover most of her face. Jude wonders what Debbie’s problem is as Nick brings them to Bat Wing Hall. It’s an old fashioned, two story house that’s in a total state of disarray. The house has been empty for two years. The kids all love it, but Jude is having a hard time focusing on Bat Wing Hall. He’s grossed out by Debbie, who’s so nervous she’s chewing on the ends of her hair! Yuck!

Jude’s about to walk up the front steps when Nick screams at him to get down. Confused, Jude asks what the problem is. Nick explains they have to be really careful when entering the house, because they’re not really allowed inside and could get in trouble. Cautiously, the three kids sneak in through the front door [Wing: …because that’s a subtle way to sneak into the house.] and Jude is led to the living room.

The rest of the Horror Club has gathered, but a red-headed girl named Marcie exclaims Jude can’t be here. Turns out they aren’t telling stories this evening because today’s the “Special day.” The Horror Club starts to argue about Jude because this is the night they’re playing games, and new members aren’t allowed to participate yet. A muscular boy named Martin warns Jude you have to be tough to play these games. Jude says he can handle anything, so the kids start to debate on whether or not he can join. At which point Debbie pulls Jude aside and warns him to leave while he can!

Marcie announces the Horror Club’s decided to let Jude join in on the fun. Jude, ignoring Debbie’s warning, is ecstatic and asks what they’re playing.

The game is called THE HUNT. The Club splits off into two groups who search for the scariest thing they can find. The kids who locate the scariest object win the game. Jude is offered to join either:

THE RED TEAM: Nick, Debbie, and a smelly boy named Connor

Or

THE BLUE TEAM: Marcie, Martin, and a pretty blond girl named Lara

Which will Jude choose?

THE RED TEAM

Screw these new guys! Jude’s sticking with the kids he already knows.

The Red Team will be exploring the inside of Bat Wing Hall while the other guys explore outside for scary stuff. Nick actually has a list prepared for the stuff Jude needs to find, and it’s a pretty funny list.

1. ONE HUMAN BONE
2. THREE HAIRS FROM A WEREWOLF
3. A STRAW FROM A WITCH’S BROOM
4. A PIECE FROM A MUMMY’S BANDAGE

Nick asks why Jude is laughing when Jude explains he thinks this list is a real riot. Debbie and Connor join Nick in confirming the list is for real, and Jude has to find everything before midnight. Yeah, Jude is SO sure. Werewolves and witches and mummies, oh my!

The Red Team decides they’ll simply have to prove those things exist the one way they know how. By RIPPING OFF THEIR FACES!

Jude watches in horror as Nick jams his thumb underneath his chin and pulls off his face, revealing a scaly, fanged reptile hidden underneath. Debbie and Connor go through equally disgusting transformations. Debbie’s real face is purple and covered in oozing warts, her eyes are milky white, and there are tarantulas crawling through her hair! Connor has suddenly grown seven feet tall, his skin is red, and he has a single eye in the center of his forehead. Ugh and his body odor is even worse!

Jude hardheartedly wonders if this is a big joke but realizes no, these kids are monsters for real. And they’re not letting him go. Well, Debbie says the only way Jude can escape from Bat Wing Hall is if he finishes the Hunt. Nick warns Jude if he doesn’t find the items on that list before midnight, he’ll be turned into a monster as well and will be [INSERT TITLE HERE] forever!

And midnight is only two hours away!

Jude is given a choice of exploring the main floor or the upstairs floor first. He sticks to the main floor and tries searching the living room, while the Red Team hovers around, leering and asking if he’s scared yet. The house is more disgusting than Jude first thought, what with all the cobwebs and rats. Nick jokes if Jude is afraid of a little rat, he’ll have no hope of winning the game.

Taking the search into the kitchen, Jude looks through a cabinet and finds some old bandages. Are they mummy bandages? He’s not sure, so he decides to take them to be safe. That’s when he hears Debbie’s bloodcurdling scream as she grabs the bandages out of his hands. She says these are NOT from a mummy and orders him to stop dicking around if he wants to get out of here. With Nick and Connor guarding the only exits to the outside, Jude doesn’t have a choice.

Inspecting a closet, Jude finds a pantry full of broken jars and rotten vegetables. On the bottom shelf there’s a plastic shoe box, newer than everything else. Curious, Jude looks inside the box and finds an intact, skeletal hand. Debbie jokes he found their skeleton in the closet. Grateful he’s got the first item on the list, Jude is stopped by Nick. They only need ONE bone. Not an entire hand. Hesitant, Jude snaps off a finger bone from the hand and pockets it. One down, three to go.

Heading into the dining room, Jude is stopped once again by Debbie. She asks if Jude really believes Nick and Connor will let him go, and declares he’ll never complete the hunt. Debbie says she was an ordinary kid like Jude, until she joined the Horror Club and they turned her into this, this hag she is now. She claims she wants to help Jude escape if he’ll listen to her.

Jude doesn’t really trust Debbie, and decides to complete the Hunt on his own. Debbie is incensed her supposed goodwill is thrown back in her face, so she decides to throw a tarantula in Jude’s face! Jude struggles to get the hairy creature off his body when Debbie reaches to throw another one. Quickly, Jude hurries down the dark hallway and comes across two doors, one orange and one green. Picking the green door, Jude is back in the living room with no monsters around. And his watch reads 10:50, so he’s got about an hour left!

There’s a thumping, scraping noise in the living room, and when Jude turns around he sees an honest to God mummy! But the mummy doesn’t notice Jude, and it limps down a dark hallway. On the way, Jude overhears the Red Team arguing about something in a nearby room. Jude ignores them to keep following the mummy for its bandages. At the end of the hall, Jude spots the mummy leaning against the wall. Next to it is a fabulous, golden mummy case.

Thinking it’ll be safer not to disturb the mummy, Jude reaches to the bottom of the mummy case to snag a bandage scrap…

And then a hand grabs Jude and drags him inside! Jude bangs and hammers his fists on the inside of the case, screaming for help when at last the mummy case opens. Only he’s not in Bat Wing Hall anymore. Instead, Jude is inside a dark stone corridor where he can hear the sound of men chanting. Walking down the corridor, Jude is confronted by a man in a blue robe. The man is holding several clay pots and trays, and informs Jude where he is. This is apparently the palace of King Ra-ma-la-ma, a minor Egyptian king. The mummy case brought Jude back to ancient Egypt!

[Wing: I am pounding my head against the desk right now, Stine.]

The man, a wizard, explains the chanting men are the king’s priests. And unfortunately for Jude, because he’s trespassing he’ll have to be mummified for his troubles! Jude tries to look as pathetic as possible so the wizard will feel sorry for him. He decides to give Jude one chance to flee. The wizard presents Jude with a red rock and a gray rock. One will transport Jude back to where he came from, the other is just a rock. Jude picks the gray rock and…

It’s just a rock.

Jude starts to run away from the priests and wizard when he finds himself in a magnificent throne room, as big as a football field. Sitting on a throne is a tiny old man whom Jude assumes is the king. The priests catch up with Jude so he begs the king for help. Ra-ma-la-ma says he has no idea how to send Jude back home, but he likes the kid so he’d like Jude to stay with him. Jude passes on the old man’s offer, so the king shows him outside the throne room into a beautiful garden. Leaning against a nearby tree is a mummy case identical to the one Jude saw in Bat Wing Hall, when he suddenly hears the king summoning his guards. Quickly, Jude climbs inside the mummy case to hide and is transported back to Bat Wing Hall.

Glad he dodged THAT bullet, Jude carefully tears a bandage from the sleeping mummy before he goes on any other trips. Now the list is half complete.

Going down another hallway, Jude finds a circular stairway that goes up and up and up. Brushing some dust off his t-shirt, Jude turns down the left corridor at the end of the stairs and finds a rope ladder going further up. How big is this house? The rope ladder leads to a sliding door in the ceiling, taking Jude into the attic. Three stories up, there’s no way Jude can get down from the only window.

Searching through the clutter and junk, in the back of the attic Jude discovers a glass box. Inside it appears to be a broom? Could it be a witch’s broom? Well Jude can just ask the witch herself since she’s trapped in the box too! The woman inside the box exclaims she’s been trapped for over 200 years. She’s been waiting for someone like Jude to come along and free her. Jude says he’ll help the witch if he can have a piece of straw from her broom, but wonders how the witch couldn’t cast a spell to free herself in the first place.

Realizing he’s got 10 minutes to midnight, Jude wisely decides not to overthink the situation and asks the witch what he can do. She orders him to say some magic words and then clap his hands. Only the words don’t work. The witch tries some different words, and she’s got her fingers crossed. Luckily the second time’s the charm and the witch is freed.

The witch gives Jude her broom, who now has to find a werewolf in 10 minutes. Jude is told he can just look in the basement. That’s where Professor Krupnik kept HIS werewolf. Of course it’s been 200 years so maybe not. The witch points to an elevator at the back of the attic before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Jude heads to the elevator but hits a snag because the broom is too big and long to fit in the elevator. *Snerk* Jude has to wedge the broom diagonally to fit that big ol’ thing inside. He doesn’t want to risk breaking a piece of straw off, when suddenly the floor in the elevator falls out!

Grabbing the railing, Jude watches as the broom falls down the shaft… and then suddenly a bright blue glow appears in the darkness. The broom is all lit up, and sailing back towards the elevator for Jude. Good thing to, as his grip was about to slip off the railing. Jude rides the broom down to the basement where, by the raging glow of the furnace, he sees a werewolf pacing in an iron cage.

The Red Team returns to laugh at Jude, exclaiming he’s got 4 minutes left. Debbie asks if it would be so bad to become a monster. After all, isn’t she gorgeous? Jude gags at the thought of those tarantulas and needs to figure out how to collect the werewolf hairs. Nick sadistically informs Jude that to reach the werewolf, he has to go INTO the cage. But the closer Jude gets, the more scared the werewolf appears. It’s then Jude realizes the werewolf is scared of the witch’s broom!

Heading into the cage, Jude sees the werewolf is more like a big dog and, using the broom, starts issuing commands. He tells the werewolf to sit, and shake, when he hears the chiming of a large clock. It’s midnight! Quickly Jude orders the werewolf to shake and plucks three hairs before the final stroke of midnight. Only the final stroke never happens. Instead, a large thunderclap shakes the house.

Getting out of the cage, Jude sees the Red Team has disappeared. Leaving the basement, Jude tries to find Nick and the others to show he got everything on the list. Jude heads into the living room demanding to go home, when he finds the Red Team. Only…

They’re kids again! Debbie’s hair is tarantula free, Connor has both eyes, and Nick’s no longer scaly. Jude stammers he completed the Hunt and asks to be let go, but Nick and the others have no idea what he’s talking about. Jude babbles about the kids turning into monsters, but everyone thinks he’s joking. Monsters? What monsters?

Debbie explains Nick was about to tell a scary story and asks Jude to join them. Once everyone is seated, Nick begins his tale. It takes place a long time ago, about three kids who were transformed into monsters. The only way they could become human again was if a kid completed a daunting task. A scary task. A task to find objects belonging to other monsters.

Jude has a feeling he knows how this story ends.

[Wing: Poor caged puppy-like werewolf. Set him free! Set him free!]

THE END

THE BLUE TEAM

Screw Nick and Debbie! These new kids seem cool.

Marcie welcomes Jude to the Blue Team and they explain what the Hunt is about. The teams search for the scariest objects they can find, and then they vote on them to see who wins. Jude is all for it, but Martin declares since he’s the newest member he has to pass a little test first.

Jude has to look in… THE CEMETERY DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN.

That one right across the street you can, you can see it from the porch it’s like right there.

Jude thinks this is perfect because how hard is it to find scary shit in a cemetery? He’s practically won the game for them! Giving the Blue Team the thumb’s up, Jude hurries across the street so he can find his object. The graveyard is full of incredibly old and worn tombstones. With the moonlight available, Jude is able to make out a nearby tomb with the words “KRUPNIK CRYPT” inscribed on it. Figuring this is the perfect place to find something scary, Jude decides to venture inside. But written above the stone ring on the door is:

WHO TURNS THE STONE WILL GROW BAT BONES

Jude wonders what THAT could possibly mean.

Seeing a small bat fly out of a hole at the top of the crypt, Jude thinks maybe he could snatch a bat to bring to the Blue Team. Bats are scary, right? Even though the crypt door is covered with cobwebs, Jude pulls it open (the door making a horrible screeching sound) and ventures inside to find…

Nothing.

He decides grabbing a bat isn’t such a good idea, but there’s nothing else to take. Just a sealed coffin and rocks and shit. And since Jude’s not a grave robber (his only saving grace) he wants to reconvene with the Blue Team. Unfortunately, it looks like everyone went home. How long was he searching the graveyard?

Back home, Jude has difficulty trying to sleep. He’s really not feeling well and wakes up in the middle of the night. He goes into the bathroom to get a drink of water, but notices two disturbing facts. First, there’s something growing between his fingers. Two, he somehow shrank a few feet between when he went to sleep and now!

Jude thinks he’s dreaming as he attempts to climb up the bathroom sink, but his reflection is a startling reality check. He’s got fur growing on his face, his teeth have become fangs, and his nose has become shorter. He’s become a bat! Reeling, Jude recalls what happened with the Horror Club and suddenly remembers what it said on the Krupnik Crypt.

God damn it Jude, why do you always fuck things up? No wonder you don’t have any friends.

Thinking there must be something at the Krupnik Crypt that can change him back, Jude flaps his new wings and tries flying for the first time ever. Things are extremely rocky at first, and Jude loses his shit when he looks down and almost forgets to keep flapping those wings of his. Hey even Amelia Earhart wasn’t a natural flyer at first! By the time Jude gets the hang of flying, he’s so turned around he doesn’t know where he is.

Jude’s bat eyes are shit, but his bat ears give him excellent hearing. Essentially using bat sonar, Jude’s able to look around and figure out where to go. He sees a young couple walking down the street but figures he can’t ask them for help. A talking bat might freak anyone out. Jude sets out to find the cemetery on his own when Jude begins to notice dawn’s early light. He’s been out so long it’s almost morning.

Finally Jude reaches the Krupnik Crypt and sees the door is still open from earlier. The second Jude flies inside, the stone door closes shut behind him. And he’s still a bat. He’s trapped like a bat in a Gotham City funhouse. Jude looks around with his sonar trying to find another way out when he notices a crack in the floor. But above the crack, written on the wall, says:

WHO ENTERS HERE WILL BE

Jude can’t make out the rest because it’s crumbled away. Does it say “TRANSFORMED BACK?” He can’t tell, but at this point he’ll try anything. Flapping his little bat wings, Jude flies inside the crack in the wall. It leads into some tunnel that goes on for practically forever. It takes a bit before Jude realizes he’s not flying anymore. He’s falling. Because he’s been turned back to human!

Jude tumbles forever into the darkness when a patch of soft moss breaks his fall. Getting his bearings, Jude sees he’s no longer in the cemetery. He’s landed in some sort of swamp, full of bugs and the stench of decay and the sound of things crying. Like tonight couldn’t get any worse.

Walking along a river bank, Jude sees a fork in the road with a sign pointing in two directions. The right points across the river to “THE CRYPT,” but the left has become so worn Jude can’t make out the name. Cautiously, Jude follows the left. I mean, who’s to say “THE CRYPT” is the Krupnik Crypt?

On the path, Jude feels like he’s being watched from every direction. It isn’t long until he realizes he’s being followed as well. Whatever it is, from the sound of the footsteps behind Jude, the thing is BIG. Jude eventually starts to run, but the thing behind him runs too. At the end of the path is a large cave with a sign saying “MONSTER LIBRARY” posted on the side. Jude’s not sure what a “MONSTER LIBRARY” is when the thing catches up to him. It’s an eight foot tall monster with two heads!

The monster’s first head is blue, with a single yellow eye in the middle of its forehead, while the second is red and has rows of jagged teeth. The monster stops Jude and asks where he thinks he’s going. The two heads inform him if he wants to go into the Monster Library, he’ll need a card. As Jude explains he’s trying to find the Krupnik Crypt, the monster’s horrified and exclaims Jude’s in big trouble. The monster’s heads say there’s one safe way to get back to the Krupnik Crypt, but first it has to show Jude a tour of the library. No one’s visited ever since their librarian was eaten by the Swamp Thing.

[Wing: Librarians are super useful, yo. Eat the rich instead.]

The shelves of the library are filled with different books about famous monsters like Godzilla and Dracula, but there are also monster cookbooks and encyclopedias. While the monster tells Jude more about the library, he notices a door in the corner that says “THE CRYPT.”

Jude makes a break for it while the monster is momentarily arguing with itself about where the geography books are. He goes through the Crypt door…

And lands in neck-high, murky water. Turns out this is the crypt of the aforementioned Swamp Thing, and it’s going to eat Jude!

Or it WOULD have eaten Jude, if all this wasn’t going on in Jude’s head wondering what might happen if he goes back to the crypt!

(Note: On Page 35, the book offers you an out of nowhere chance to start over from the beginning on page 1)

Jude decides to wait until morning to return to the crypt, and it seems like that was the smart thing to do. By morning, Jude’s woken up to discover he’s back in human form and thinks maybe this was all a bad dream. He’s so relieved it makes him extra appreciative for breakfast when his mom prepares pancakes. Only something is off. The pancakes taste the same as always, but Jude’s thinking they’d taste better with… beetles?

It gets worse when he tries to go outside, and the sun practically fries his skin and eyes. Somehow Jude is still a bat, even in human form. It wasn’t a dream after all! Bats are nocturnal so of course he can’t go out during the day. Jude tells his mom he’s not feeling well and wants to sleep in. Once his mom leaves for work, he bundles up in all the heavy coats he owns but it’s still not enough. He’s got blisters by the time he makes it to the end of the driveway.

Waiting until evening to leave the house, Jude tells his parents he’s visiting a friend while he waits for the transformation to begin. Once Jude is a bat again, he flies out of his room and tries out his wings and sonar system. But with a bat’s sensibilities, Jude’s overcome with hunger and eats a moth! It tastes awful, but he can’t help himself. That’s even more incentive for him to make it back to the Krupnik Crypt.

Once Jude arrives back to the crypt, he discovers the stone door is shut and he’s too small to open it again. Jude decides he needs help, and the only people he can turn to are the Horror Club.

Given a choice of going to Marcie, Lara, or Martin, Jude decides to see Marcie first because of her take charge attitude. Jude flies around the neighborhood looking for a mailbox with Marcie’s last name on it. When he does, he spies Marcie babysitting her infant brother Darryl in their living room. Marcie’s trying to get Darryl to spell words with cardboard letters when she decides to get him a snack. Jude flies in through an open window and thinks he can use the letters to make a message. Darryl, on the other hand, thinks Jude is a “Doggie” and starts trying to grab him.

Just before Marcie heads back in, Jude manages to spell

HELP ME I AM A BAT

But Marcie thinks Darryl somehow spelled the message and declares him a genius. Jude flies down from the ceiling and attempts to make Marcie understand HE wrote that message.

She grabs a flyswatter.

Marcie begins chasing after Jude, trying to nail him with the flyswatter. Realizing Marcie’s not gonna help him, Jude flies upstairs and hides inside Darryl’s crib by camouflaging himself among the stuffed animals. Once Marcie stops looking for him, Jude thinks maybe Lara is the one to see for help.

Jude finds Lara’s house in time to spot her on the phone in her room. She calls up Marcie and Martin to see if they’d like to get together at the mall tomorrow afternoon. Then she calls information to look up Jude’s number so she can invite him too. Jude’s touched by how nice Lara’s being. Unfortunately Lara’s just as helpful as Marcie, only SHE breaks out the bug spray.

Figuring his only option is to talk to the kids when he’s human again, Jude returns home and plans for tomorrow afternoon. When the Blue Team meets up at the mall they ask why Jude is dressed so ridiculously, so he explains his mom goes overboard whenever she thinks he’s getting a cold. Lara sympathizes because her mom’s the same way. Well that was easy.

The Blue Team has to decide whether to visit the new science emporium or see “Dracula” at the movie theater. Jude’s the deciding vote and the kids go to see Dracula. But the movie theater is so dark, Jude begins to turn back into a bat! Seems the curse only requires extreme darkness. No one sees Jude transform, but they DO see a bat flying around and think it’s a publicity stunt for the movie.

Outside the theater in the daylight, Jude turns back to normal. He waits for the rest of the Blue Team to exit and explains to them what’s happened. Only they assume Jude’s telling a story and thinks it’s a good one at that. Realizing they’re not gonna believe him without proof, Jude proposes they hold a special Horror Club meeting at Bat Wing Hall later that day.

Thankfully it’s a cloudy day, so Jude’s able to make it to Bat Wing Hall without bursting into flames or sprouting wings. The moment he gets to the old mansion, Jude hears someone ordering him to stop. Turning around, Jude’s thankful it’s just a harmless old man…

Who keeps flickering.

The old man announces HE is the spirit of Professor Krupnik, and he wants revenge on the Horror Club for disturbing his peaceful rest for the last two years. Jude tries to explain he only joined the club two days ago, but Krupnik doesn’t care and prepares to kill Jude. Krupnik relents when Jude reveals he’s already been punished since the tomb cursed him. Realizing Jude’s the one who entered his crypt, Krupnik strikes a deal. If Jude can get rid of the Horror Club, he’ll turn Jude back to normal. Jude has no idea if Krupnik has the power to do that, to which Krupnik responds “Tough shit.”

At Bat Wing Hall, Jude sees the Blue Team got there ahead of him. Jude thinks the best way to get the kids out of Bat Wing Hall is to convince them it’s haunted, which means he needs Krupnik’s help. To that end, Jude bursts into the house exclaiming it’s haunted and they need to get out of there. The kids don’t believe him, so Krupnik’s ghost manifests inside and attempts to scare them.

Sadly for both of them, Krupnik’s not a scary ghost. The Blue Team is barely scared at all, but then Jude gets another idea when he sees the look on Lara’s face. Lara asks Krupnik what it’s like to be a ghost, shocking him. Marcie and Martin begin to ask questions as well, and Krupnik seems to enjoy the attention. That’s when Jude proposes the Horror Club inducts Professor Krupnik as their newest member!

Krupnik is so touched he manages to undo the bat curse on Jude, just in time for the Horror Club to begin their next session with their two newest members.

THE END

Final Thoughts

I realize I could’ve used the Page 35 route to start over with the Red Team storyline, but I wanted to recap both of them because they’re so much fun.

Now let’s take a look at a couple of the other endings. You could’ve…

• Gotten out of the house by beating the Red Team at a game of “Mud Monsters”
• Discovered the path to “THE CRYPT” would’ve put you on a ferry going to your own grave
• Gone to the science store and, overcome by your bat senses, eaten a bunch of rainbow colored beetles on display. While in jail, you come up with a money making idea for a new flavor of ice cream. “Beetle Berry Crunch.” Guess what’s the secret ingredient.

The library monster is one of my favorite monsters in the GYG line and I am so glad I was able to snag a commission of it in time for the review.

[Wing: Obviously I liked the first path because werewolf, but the second path is absolutely adorable! I love the ending we got, because asking a ghost to join a scary story club is an A+++ idea.]