The Stinal Countdown: Goosebumps Series 2000 #15: Scream School

Time for more school related horror I suppose as I dive deep into yet another installment of series 2000. Seems like something that Stine's been engrossing himself in as a place of horror for a good chunk of the later series. Be it The Haunted School or Creature Teacher. But I'll say this, they have more to do with school than this book. So, let's get down to business with Scream School.

COVER STORY

So, this is Johnny Scream, who is mentioned in the beginning of the book. And yeah, he's quite the scream indeed with his shocking red hair and melting face. He's also really good at drawing skulls apparently. Though this is a school in the nineties, wouldn't he be drawing that S symbol? Lots of Tim staples. Tiled floor, warped perspectives and whatnot. I bet he was dying to draw a checkerboard ceiling. Though we don't see Johnny's feet, so I'll say there's some Converses under there. Okay cover overall.

STORY

We open the book as a pair of kids named Ron and Rita are sneaking about in the old house of Johnny Scream, an evil Freddy Krueger-esque who murders children and who died fifty years ago. They're out to somewhat prove a point that they're not afraid, because their school is given the nickname "Scream School" because everyone there is afraid of monsters and ghosts and other such superstitions. The kids, terrified about being there, are more than ready to head out, but the doors of the house suddenly lock on them. As they struggle to get the door open, Johnny Scream sneaks up behind them with a giant axe. Suddenly something behind them crashes, to which Johnny wonders if that was in the script. Yep, this is all actually a movie being made. Reader beware, you're in for a trip into the film industry.

Our real focus is Jake Banyon, the son Emory Banyon, a film director who refers to himself as the "King of Horror". Jake had fallen out of his chair, which caused such a ruckus that it ruined production. Jake also feels that everyone on set kinda hates him, including possibly his friend Chelsea Paige. Mainly because Jake is easily scared of everything, even the scene being filmed (though he doesn't want to admit it). He keeps trying to claim his chair just fell over. He tries to claim his lack of fear to Chelsea, but when the actor playing Johnny Scream taps his shoulder, Jake jumps. Things don't go so well when they get home to the Banyon family mansion. At dinner, Emory continues to jokingly jab Jake about his constant fear, including putting a fake eye in their chicken bucket, to which Chelsea gets a good laugh over. Well Jake's about had it with being called a chicken. He is set to prove to everyone that he's no coward. But doesn't know how.

Jake plays some basketball with his friend Carlos, and eventually with Chelsea, when suddenly Jake gets attacked by his dog Dukie... well, technically it's more licking and playing than attacking. Emory arrives and once again embarrasses Jake claiming that Jake must be scared of dogs too. Jake walks home from Carlos' house, only for everything to suddenly go dark. Then suddenly Johnny Scream shows up. Jake tries to tell Johnny that he's not real and then grabs at Johnny's face like it was a mask. However his hands get stuck on Johnny's face like sticky glue. Suddenly he's awakened by Emory who tells him that he had a nightmare. When Jake tells him about Johnny Scream, Emory says that Jake has finally admitted that he's scared of his movies. Despite Jake's arguments, Emory ignores him and leaves. So now, more than ever, Jake wants revenge.

The next day, Emory offers Jake and Chelsea the opportunity to be extras in his Scream School film. The scene requires them to play students in art class, when suddenly one of the boy's projects unleashes dozens upon dozens of snakes. On set, Jake bumps into Devon Klar, a child actor who had been in a show about vampire kids. Aside from being taller and more muscular, he looks almost exactly like Jake. Sheila Farrell, the assistant director, gets everyone in their places as they start filming.

Suddenly Devon begins to groan and clutch his stomach, saying that he must have gotten sick from the danishes he ate at catering. Everyone panics, but Emory has an idea. Since the shot doesn't need to show Devon's face, Jake can do it instead. Jake gets into place, when suddenly he feels something coil around his leg. He screams, thinking it's a snake, only for it to actually be a cable. Devon recovers in time and Emory replaces Jake. Not only that, but since Jake won't admit to being scared, Emory decides to not bring him to set for the next few weeks.

Jake's birthday arrives, and he awakens to a note by the maid that Emory is wrapping up filming on Scream School. A driver will pick Jake up to come to the studio where the family will go out for Jake's birthday dinner, wherever he chooses. The limo takes Jake to the studio where he is greeted by a strange, short man. The man leads Jake into a green building, Soundstage thirteen, and opens the door. Jake asks about his parents, but the man knows nothing about it. He just had his orders. Jake enters the dark soundstage, only for the man to shut it behind him and lock Jake in.

Jake stumbles through the dark soundstage until he makes it to a room with some light in it. It's a costume room with practically every kind of movie costume imaginable. Suddenly, two ghoulish figures rise from the costumes. A man and a woman. They say that they were abandoned by the people using this set, and now they want Jake so that they can make a new movie. They grab him as two more ghouls rise from the costumes. One holding a head on a pike. Chelsea's head! Jake makes a run for it, only to be cornered once more by the ghouls. Jake is in a panic, when suddenly R.L. Stine finishes watching "The Game". The curtain goes up in front of Jake and he sees cake, balloons and his friends and family in front of him. This was all a surprise for Jake's birthday. Jake is in tears, now more embarrassed than ever. Mrs. Banyon's pissed, since Emory scarred her son for life, especially since Emory did all this as a way to test if Jake really wasn't scared of his horror movies. Emory tries to apologize, but Jake runs off.

A few weeks later, Emory tells Jake that he's filming Scream School VI and wants Jake to come along. It's being filmed in an old abandoned school in the middle of nowhere, but Jake still wants to prove he's not scared of Emory's films, so he agrees. They arrive to the set as Emory sets up to film exterior on the school. While Jake talks to Rad Donner, the actor playing Johnny Scream, Emory asks Jake to check out the lunchroom, as that's where they plan to film next. Jake works his way through the old, messy, abandoned school before finding the lunchroom. Suddenly, the door behind him shuts.

A girl then shows up behind him. She introduces herself as Mindy, one of the extras from Coronado who ended up lost while searching the set. She then tells Jake the story of why the school was abandoned. She grew up around here, Silver City, which was popular for its very "old west" aesthetic. And then the scariest thing in the world happened... gentrification! Soon the town got so overcrowded that the parents felt the old school was too small, so they built a new high school. And where do you put a new school? Atop a graveyard of course. When the new school was built, the dead beneath it began to haunt the place. And then the ghosts captured the kids in volleyball nets and set the school on fire. Holy crap! No, wait, the kids were fine and walked out because that makes sense. Regardless, this incident was enough for everyone to abandon Silver City. Jake and Mindy then run into another boy in a Grateful Dead T-Shirt named Gregory. He tells Jake that Mindy made the whole story up to scare him.

The next day, filming begins inside the lunchroom, which has been cleaned up incredibly well for filming. Everything is set up as a normal scene, pre-Johnny Scream. Kids just get their trays and their food. Suddenly, the kids all begin to notice human body parts in their food and panic. Emory tell Jake not to panic as he goes to see what's going on. However, he gets no answers. Jake tells him about Mindy's story, but Emory doesn't believe it. Next up is a cheerleading scene. Everything goes well until the girls end up in a weird muddy patch, despite no rain recently. Suddenly Mindy pulls out a human skull and screams.

The next day, more strange things befall the filming, including some equipment being destroyed. Emory is beginning to feel there's someone sabotaging the set, when suddenly he and Jake hear noises, like someone following them. They head off into the wood shop, but the laughter and scraping of feet continue to follow them. Jake is upset that Emory's trying to scare him again, but Emory promises that this wasn't his doing. They decide to continue the film, this time with Johnny Scream in the wood shop. Emory tries to tell Johnny Scream what to do, but there's no reply, when Emory goes to check, suddenly the costume is empty. Not only that, but no one's seen Rad anywhere. Emory is freaking out, but presses on to the classroom scene. However, when Emory arrives, the room is empty. None of the crew are in there. Instead there are ghouls with flesh that melts off their faces. Johnny Scream arrives, saying that he's no actor, he's real! Emory begs for his life...

TWIST ENDING

When the ghouls all come to a stop. Jake then asks his father how it feels to be scared. The crew all pull off their masks and laugh. Jake says that he had help from Mindy and Gregory, but everything was his idea. Emory checks the film in the camera, but is more afraid because none of the extras appear on camera. He runs to his trailer and starts to pack his things. Jake thanks Mindy and Gregory again, and laugh at how they tricked him, having filmed the empty classroom beforehand. Jake leaves, proclaiming himself as the king of horror.

CONCLUSION

I liked Scream School. It's a really well put together slice of life story with real life elements instead of supernatural ones. Which has been something I've crowed on before that I wish more Goosebumps books implemented. Jake is a likable protagonist. You actually feel bad for him, how his father constantly embarrasses him, and at his high point of humiliation, you can get behind his need for revenge. Emory is interesting as well, being a Goosebumps parent that is actually involved in most of the story's progression instead of being relegated to "not believing their child, or not trying to help their child with actual trauma". Though granted, his birthday party stunt kinda added to Jake's trauma, but it wasn't done in any form of malice, more obliviousness to Jake's concerns over being treated like a scaredy cat. Even the pacing is fine with all the important events given the right amount of time.

Now there is the issue of Are You Terrified Yet? which did a similar plot of a scared kid having to prove their bravery. There's also the issue with Fright Camp, as that uses a similar twist in the main character getting revenge by scaring a horror director. But this book differentiates from both in just the right ways to keep it from feeling like Jovial Bob got super lazy. Just semi-lazy. While not always perfect, Series 2000 continues to impress me. I'll give this one an A.