Time for another book that I wasn't super over the moon for last time. However, I definitely remember not hating it on the same level of Go Eat Worms. Can good tidings come to this beachcombing? Let's find out with Ghost Beach.
GHOST BEACH
RELEASE MONTH: August, 1994
FRONT TAGLINE: No swimming. No surfing. No haunting.
COVER STORY
This is a top ten work from Tim Jacobus. It's not a scary cover in the slightest and it never got me. But what it lacks in scariness it makes up for in atmosphere. The look of the beach/graveyard with the detail on the headstones, the cloudy and moonlit sky above blue waters with a green reflective glow, and the ghost who gives off a mysterious and ominous presence. While I'm not super crazy over the story as a whole, this is always a cover I remember when I think about this series.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?
Jerry can't wait to explore the dark, spooky old cave he found down at the beach.
The the other kid tell him a story. A story about a ghost who lives deep inside the cave.
A ghost who is three hundred years old.
A ghost who comes out when the moon is full.
A ghost who is haunting the beach.
Just another stupid ghost story. Right?
STORY
Jerry and Terri Sadler are visiting their really, really old cousins Brad and Agatha in their beach home in New England. A beach near a cemetery because I guess the name "Ghost Beach" isn't fooling around. While on the beach, the siblings run into three other kids. Sam, Louisa and little Nat Sadler. Yes, get ready for a lot of people named Sadler in this one, making things kind of confusing. They warn Jerry and Terri about the cave on the beach and that it's haunted and they should totally not go there because it's so spooky.
The next day, Jerry and Terri find a skeleton on the beach of what looks to be a dog. Sam, Louisa and Nat tell them that the dog was likely killed by the ghost that haunts the beach because dogs can detect the dead. A callback to Dead House? Did Stine do his homework for once? I'm impressed. Continuity? In MY Goosebumps? It's more likely than you think. Also we get a stock scare of Jerry scaring Terri by grabbing her arm. Oh yeah, now I remember how dry this book was. Jerry and Terri tell Agatha and Brad about the ghost rumors, but the elderly cousins say that it's just superstition and there's definitely no ghosts on this ghost beach. Nope. Why are you giving us THAT look?
While looking for sea stars the next day, Jerry and Terri run into the other Sadler kids again who add a bit more info on our ghost beach beach ghost. He lives in the cave and every night a strange light can be seen inside. At first the pair are skeptical, but after seeing light from the cave, Jerry investigates, only for another "hand grab" scare, Terri getting a bit of revenge. The light disappears, leaving the two kids spooked. When they relay to Brad and Agatha, they too seem nervous.
Jerry and Terri enter the cave. We get an okay fake out with Jerry thinking the cave's roof collapsed only for it to be a bunch of bats. But they do see some sort of ghostly figure who chases them out of the cave. However, it doesn't follow them outside. They talk to the other Sadler kids about it, and now the three seem to apologize for getting them into this mess. Later, Jerry and Terri find themselves in the graveyard and they find three child graves with the names Sam Sadler, Louisa Sadler and Nat Sadler written on them. Told you this book was going to have a whole bunch of Sadlers. Brad and Agatha explain that in 1641, the Sadler clan came to America to settle. However, a harsh winter killed most of the family, their bodies then buried in the nearby cemetery. The kids ask about Sam, Louisa and Nat, Brad and Agatha say it must be a coincidence. No, seriously, stop giving me that look.
Jerry and Terri then decide that they could keep the ghost trapped in the cave by causing a landslide at the entrance which I guess works even though this is a ghost, I don't know. But before they can do that, the ghostly man finds them. He introduces himself as Harrison Sadler, a man who came to the states a few years ago to learn about his ancestors. And that whole chase from last time was an attempt to warn them about the other kids. The three Sadler children are the real ghosts. We also learn that there is a way to keep the ghosts sealed in the cave as it seems to work as some sort of trap that keeps ghosts inside if the exit is sealed.
After Harrison lets them go, Jerry and Terri soon find themselves at the graveyard again and find the grave for Harrison Sadler. They inquire Harrison about it, but he claims it to be his ancestor, the same excuse everyone else is making. When the two return to the graveyard, suddenly two new graves are dug for Jerry and Terri. They run into Sam, Louisa and Nat who tell the siblings to seal the cave to keep Harrison trapped. Suddenly, rain begins to fall, so Jerry and Terri shove the three Sadlers into the cave which causes them to panic. Suddenly, a dog arrives and barks at the three siblings, confirming that they must be the ghosts. Sam, Louisa and Nat are driven further into the cave until their faces disappear, being replaced with skulls. As Jerry and Terri escape, the cave begins to collapse, they see Harrison, who sacrifices himself to trap the ghosts inside.
TWIST ENDING
Jerry and Terri return to Brad and Agatha to tell them about what's gone down. Suddenly, the dog who followed them begins to bark at Brad and Agatha, confirming that they're ghosts as well. We end the book with Brad and Agatha trying to think of what they're going to do to Jerry and Terri. Guessing they were the ones who dug those graves.
CONCLUSION
Ghost Beach in concept is one of the better ideas for Goosebumps. A ghost story wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a case of "who's the real ghost". And when it starts to ramp up, it's okay. The problem is the book is very slow to start and feels repetitive as we have Jerry and Terri running into one set of Sadlers who claim they aren't ghosts, another Sadler who claims he's not a ghost, while living with their super old cousins who also try to act like they're not ghosts. Meaning we get drip fed a lot of the mystery as we run around the same places over and over again. The story at least does a good enough job in not making it obvious who the ghosts truly are. You can buy it's the three siblings as they're the ones most fixated on sealing the cave, while Harrison seems like he's intentionally hiding something, like that maybe he's the Harrison Sadler from the graveyard. And the callback of dogs detecting the dead is very appreciated.
The protagonists are also just okay but after our last protagonist anything is a breath of fresh air. Jerry and Terri don't have that bratty sibling relationship, despite Jerry being somewhat more sarcastic in comparison to Terri. Pacing is slow early on, but does pick up overtime. I do like the look and feel of the beach itself, feeling enough like a different setting in comparison to the Caribbean feel of Deep Trouble. It's also a solid enough twist, feeling rather dark and foreboding. Leaving you wondering just how grisly their demise truly was. But not in a way that would make you really feel like revisiting this story. So you're left with a book that isn't bad by any means, but feels a bit messy in executing its mystery and just lacks some oomph to make it stand out among the stronger GB outings. So has my opinion on this one changed much? Eh, not really. Still super middle of the road. Life's a beach sometimes.
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