As we enter the thirties, it's definitely been an interesting ride these past books. A real up and down ride in quality more so than the previous twenty. I recall liking the next book we're covering, but hindsight hasn't been super kind to some of these. Let's see if the luck is still on the side of It Came From Beneath the Sink!
IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SINK!
COVER STORY
Another cover that never scared me as a kid, but one I do still think works really well. It has some of those classic Jacobus staples. A warped angle, great use of blues for shadows, and even some checkerboard tiling for the floor, for as little as you see of it. Then there's the ominous eyes. It's kept ambiguous enough, but given the texture, you could surely tell it's something spongy. But yeah, unless cleaning products scare the bejesus out of you, then this cover's not super impactful, but solid.
THEIR LUCK'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN THE DRAIN...
Kat and her brother, Daniel, are so lucky. They just moved to a new house with tons of rooms, two balconies, and a lawn the size of a football field.
But all that luck is about to run out.
Because there's something really evil living in their new house.
Something's that's moving. Watching. Waiting.
Something that comes from beneath the kitchen sink...
STORY
Katrina "Kat" Merton and her family are moving into a new house. Her mom and dad, brother Daniel, and pet dog Killer, who is another cocker spaniel because I'm almost certain R.L. Stine has never seen another breed of dog other than cocker spaniels and terriers. The house is amazing, almost mansion-like. As the family begin to unpack, Kat notices Killer barking at the kitchen sink. We get a stock scare as Daniel scares Kat while wearing a rat costume for some reason. But Kat then notices what Killer was scared of. A strange sponge. When she grabs it, she feels as if the sponge is breathing. Daniel grabs it from her, but suddenly trips and hits his head on the sink. When he tries to blame Kat for it, Mrs. Merton actually acts like a rational parent. After the last two books, I needed that.
Kat still notices that the sponge is alive. But when she goes to tell her father, who is conveniently working on a light fixture atop a ladder, he ends up falling, light fixture in tow, which smashes over his head. Mr. Merton blames Kat for pushing the ladder, though she was nowhere near it. So much for that parental praise. Daniel's friend Carlo arrives soon after and sees the sponge. When he takes it, he suddenly runs foot-first into a nail. I pointed this out before and it still rings true, this book is really violent. So far we've had two head contusions and a possible case of tetanus. And we're only on page 25 of this 112 page book. Kat also seems to notice the sponge seems happy after the nail incident.
The bad luck continues for Kat as she almost gets crushed by a falling tree branch. Kat wants answers about this sponge, so she takes it to her teacher, Mrs. Vanderhoff. She examines the sponge, but notices nothing peculiar, so she gives it back to Kat. However, Mrs. Vanderhoff accidentally slams her hand into the desk drawer, breaking her hand in the process. Add that to the list of injuries so far. Later, Daniel does get an answer from a book titled the Encyclopedia for the Weird. It is a creature known as a Grool which feeds off the bad luck of whoever finds it. So, just get rid of it, right? Well, there's a snag there too. If you were to part with the Grool, you would die within a day. So, at least we have an explanation as to why we can't just get rid of the cursed object. He also brings up a creature known as a Lanx, a potato with fangs that drains your energy, but I'm sure that's not going to matter.
As the kids return home, they receive more bad news. Killer has disappeared. Believing this to be another bad luck incident, Kat gets frustrated and throws the Grool at the wall. But in her haste, she ends up slamming her hand into a pair of scissors, causing a big wound. She sees the Grool turn blood red, as if it got more enjoyment from Kat's suffering. Daniel and Carlo just give up looking for Killer as well, believing the police might just find the dog. Boy, you really loved that dog, I can tell.
Things continue to get worse for Kat. Her birthday arrives and her big party gets cancelled due to rain. Frustrated, Kat buries the Grool in the backyard. That just ends up killing the grass. She tries to smash it to bits, but it just keeps reforming. Kat's luck continues to look bad as Carlo ends up stealing the Grool. They find him on the ground, once again in pain, but no Grool to be seen. Kat and Daniel assume that means the Grool fell in the sewer. This turns out to be a waste of time as all they find are rats and a rolled up paper bag that looks like a Grool. Then Carlo remembers that he was attacked by some bullies who likely stole the Grool. Somebody needed some filler chapters.
The kids head over to the bullies who, sure enough, did steal the Grool. The bullies are in the middle of a baseball game, but accidentally bean one of the other bullies with the baseball. In the fracas, Kat steals back the Grool. But, as she returns home, she almost gets hit by a truck and crashes into a curb. They make it home and try to find an answer as to how to kill this thing. They then get an idea. If it feeds off bad luck to survive, what happens when you feed it love. The kids continue to talk lovey dovey to the Grool, Kat even giving it a kiss. Sure enough, that does the trick and the Grool shrinks away to nothing and dies.
TWIST ENDING
Kat, Daniel and Carlo celebrate when Killer returns. The dog is holding something in his mouth. A potato with fangs.
CONCLUSION
I've always found it odd that this book appears to be disliked by a lot of people. I think because the premise involves an evil sponge, it's what makes a lot of people turn away. Probably remembering the far tamer episode instead. I think that's a shame because I feel this book does actually work pretty well. Mostly because it's such a violent book. Three cases of head trauma, a broken hand, a nail in the foot, a child's hand being nearly impaled by scissors, and other cases of near death. After more tame tales, this sudden violent turn is so unexpected that I do appreciate it. The horror comes from those scenarios and just how badly the Grool's curse will make Kat's life worse, and I think it's pretty effective.
It's also one of the few cursed objects where there's at least a reason that the protagonist can't just get rid of it. Granted, that leaves plot holes all over the place. Particularly in what became of those who had the Grool before or how it ended up under a random sink. But I can live with that if it's at least a more interesting creature concept. Yeah, it's an evil sponge, but I'll credit Stine in making the Grool feel like a threat. A threat that is unfortunately a bit too easy to defeat, but a threat regardless. I do wish the twist wasn't made so obvious early on, but the Lanx is also a neat monster concept and I guess the only way to end this story properly is for Kat to just end up with another cursed object.
So yeah, I still really like this one. Pacing, save for the pointless sewer scene, is solid. Its scares work in terms of how violent things get, and the twist is memorable. It ticks all the boxes in what I want from these books. It's not perfect, but I give Stine credit for making a sponge into a deadly threat. But that's just me and my tastes. I'll recommend it regardless. It's one that's worth soaking up.
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