NNTG: Ghosts of Fear Street #4: Nightmare in 3-D

The nineties. Bastion of many a strange object that would nowadays pop up in some "remember that" post alongside the casual reminder to zoomers about what a VCR is. And one such object of the past, aside from a thriving series of Goosebumps knockoffs was the 3-D picture. A jumble of imagery that could show hidden images if you focused your eyes correctly. Could never get it to work for me. And, leave it to R.L. Stine (or in this case Gloria Hatrick) to try and merge horror with 3-D images. Don't worry if you can't see the sailboat, because it's time to talk about Nightmare in 3-D.

COVER STORY

This cover is pretty mediocre to be honest. I like the concept of the 3-D image and the giant mantis popping out, giving us that 3-D horror that the book is touting, but, it's just a mantis. A well detailed and admittedly creepy mantis, but not exactly a mantis that will make you shake in fear or anything. But, I'll give the cover credit for at least being memorable.

STORY

Wes Parker seems like the only kid in school that can't quite see through the stereogram picture that his science teacher Mr. Gosling brought to school. And despite suggestions from his friend Lauren, he fears he just can't see 3-D. It's then he gets picked on by Cornelia and Gabriella Philips, or as Wes calls them, Corny and Gabby. A pair of twin mean girls that love to pick on Wes. Case in point putting a fake cow eyeball in his cafeteria food. After being humiliated again by the twins, Wes swears that he is going to get them back somehow. This is when he passes a place called Sal's Five-and-Ten. He sees a 3-D Poster on the window with a note saying that if you can see what's in the picture, you'll win a prize. Wes noticed that the twins had a similar looking poster, so maybe they're trying to win whatever the prize is. If he can beat them to the punch, he'll win the prize and get back at them that way. 

As Wes and Lauren check the place, they notice it appears to be a strange old shop filled with old stuff in crates and things like half-used lipstick containers. They then meet Sal the shop keep, a man dressed in black with a large mustache and large watery eyes that almost seem to bulge out of his head. As Wes goes to get the poster, Sal tells them that this isn't really his contest, but the poster company. He also mentions how the mall has taken up all his business and he really can't compete. Speaking of dated, malls. Wes still takes the poster but can't see anything. Sal tells him that he has the power to see more than others can. Something called true vision. This creeps out Wes and Lauren who decide it's a good time to leave.

Despite his best efforts, Wes can't get a fix on how to see in 3-D. Even his little sister Vicky can see the 3D on the back of their Froot Loops box. Did I mention that 3-D pictures were a big thing in the mid-nineties yet? Just checking as we're in page 16 of this 120 page book. Even their cat Clawd can see the mouse on the back of the cereal box. This frustrates Wes some more, so he tries to get them to see the image in the poster. The only one who can is Clawd and it sends the cat running off in fright. 

Undaunted, Wes continues to stare and attempt to see in the poster and sure enough he can see a tree and what looks to be a giant mantis. He then sees what looks to be the mantis moving on its own. Suddenly a moth enters his room, then seems to enter the poster where it gets eaten by the mantis. That's enough for Wes as he heads downstairs to dinner. He tries to tell his family about it, but they don't believe him. Suddenly, Clawd gets chased inside by Corny and Gabby's dog Fluffyums. The pets run to Wes' room as the twins arrive, angry their dog is in Wes' house. But when Wes goes in, he sees the dog and cat are in a state of fright, especially Fluffyums, who has also lost a clump of fur. As the twins leave, Wes looks at the poster and can see the fur clump inside. Frightened already, he puts the poster in his closet.

As Wes tries to sleep he sees a strange glow from his closet. Suddenly, strange colored dots begin to exit the closet and swarm all over him. He also smells a foul odor. Wes manages to cover his closet door which stops the strange color bugs. But before he can rest, suddenly the closet door begins to crack, and he sees what looks to be a feeler from the mantis in an almost "Here's Johnny"-esque moment. He gets his mom to check, but there's nothing to be seen. And it's not really so much a Goosebumps parent moment as it is Wes himself having doubts about if any of that really happened or if this 3-D poster ordeal is messing with his head.

The next day, Wes decides to take the poster to Mr. Gosling, the science teacher. As he goes to show Mr. Gosling, the twins steal his glasses which causes him to drop the poster. When he goes to pick it up, suddenly the giant mantis escapes from the poster and begins to attack him. He tries to tell Lauren about it, but only he can see it. But she can feel the mantis attacking her. However, when they try to stop the mantis from attacking Mr. Gosling, it only causes a mess. And because of class they don't get a good chance in warning him about this whole ordeal. So, despite the invisible mantis in the class playing with the skeleton, Wes can't really do anything about it lest he be suspended. He then sees the mantis head over to the animal cages. He manages to get the other kids to free all the animals, much to Mr. Gosling's confusion and anger. 

As Mr. Gosling leaves to chase after the class bat, the mantis continues to attack and drool. Despite not being able to see it, the kids listen to Wes as he plans to stab the mantis with a pointer. Suddenly the lunch bell rings and the mantis heads to the cafeteria. When Wes and Lauren arrive, the place is in chaos as the mantis continues to cause mayhem. It pins down Corny, ready to eat her since mantises prefer live meals. And despite the twins being horrible to him and stealing his glasses, Wes goes to help her. He also comes to a realization. Every time he's seen the mantis, he's had his glasses off. Maybe putting them back on will fix things. He gets his glasses back and puts them on. After staring at the mantis, it turns back into dots and returns to the poster.

Wes and Lauren take the poster back home and decide that maybe tearing the poster to pieces will do the trick. Lauren shreds it to tiny pieces. As Wes looks at the debris, he gets attacked by a pincer, knocking his glasses off and now causing hundreds of tiny mantises to escape the picture. The bugs attack the kids and in the fracas, Wes accidentally steps on his glasses, breaking them. Suddenly, the bugs begin to turn into a giant green blob. Not only that, but the poster reforms with a giant mantis shape now in the center. Suddenly, Vicky shows up. Wes takes her glasses and continues to focus on the giant blob, which eventually reenters the poster. Conveniently, Wes' parent are burning leaves, so he takes the poster and throws it into the fire, hopefully ending this nightmare... in 3-D.

TWIST ENDING

Some time later, Wes gets a package. It's the prize from the contest. He looks inside and this time it's another 3-D Poster of a giant tarantula. He then decides that this will be how he gets revenge on the twins as he invites them to see his prize.

CONCLUSION

Nightmare in 3-D isn't that bad. It's also the most Goosebumps-like book I've covered so far, right down to the twist ending. If I had a real issue though is I don't think they do a good job explaining Wes' power to see true sight. But the book does a good enough job in explaining that it has to do with his vision. And while not well explained, I guess that if his vision is obscured by glasses, it negates the effects of the 3-D poster. So, kind of like Cyclops from X-Men mixed with the glasses from They Live I guess? Other than that issue, I think the rest works fine. Lots of action scenes, some decent horror, and Wes is an okay protagonist. Even the twist is fine as again, it seems like the only way to end this book on a sort of happy ending and given the hell the twins put Wes through, I guess that's enough.

I will say it feels the most dated of any book I've covered in a while, particularly with the 3-D fad, which I'm surprised hasn't come back in any major way. If the Noid can come back, so can 3-D pictures. Of the knockoffs so far, I'll credit Gloria Hatrick for coming closest to emulating the Goosebumps style, only without as many cliffhanger endings. So far, with this being only the third I've read, I've been enjoying Ghosts of Fear Street. It definitely feels like it's had that Goosebumps feel without  feeling too much like it. Usually when I have this positivity that spells disaster for the future. Let's hope the future is clear to see on that. Nightmare in 3-D gets a B+.