Ghosts of Fear Street has been one of the more interesting detours we've taken for the blog. And there are a bunch of books in the series I'm interested in covering. It's just a case of actually finding them. And I recently lucked out on one that, by cover alone, I knew I had to talk about for this blog. It's time to go to the dogs with Monster Dog.
COVER STORY
STORY
It's Maggie Clark's birthday and the day's not going so great. Well, more positive then negative as she gets perfect grades in her teacher Mr. Gosling's class, and she's got a neat new gift that she can't wait to show her friend Judy. The real problem is Bullhead, the meanest dog on Fear Street, trained by Billy Caldwell (no relation to Carly Beth I'm sure). Interestingly, the back synopsis calls him Tommy. Maggie almost gets badly bitten by Bullhead but evades the dog for now. She sees Billy and tells him that she got a dog for her birthday. A mean, tough dog named Killer that will easily put Bullhead in his place.
When Maggie gets home, she sees her present and her "killer" dog. It's just a tiny little puppy. Not exactly what she thought she was getting, but she got Poocher the pup instead. Maggie's enthusiasm takes a plummet, but her parents say that maybe Poocher will grow into a big strong dog. Preferably like the cover of this book, but we'll see in about 100 pages time I guess. Her little brother Billy gives Maggie a box filled with rubber snakes to scare her, which also scares Poocher. Maggie's parents then tell her that Poocher has to go to Dr. Diller's Dog Clinic for a week to get his shots and some training.
Maggie falls in love with Poocher quick, while still trying to teach him how to be a tough dog. Billy and Bullhead show up and scares the two of them, but Maggie isn't as bothered, she tells Poocher she'll love him even if he never becomes a big, scary dog. The day arrives and Maggie has to take Poocher to Dr. Nina Diller's clinic. She says her goodbyes for now while Dr. Diller promises to take good care of the dog. Some time passes and Maggie decides to visit Poocher early. But when she heads to the clinic, the doors are locked. When she looks inside, she sees the dog cages are empty, and she hears a puppy's scream, as if it's in pain. Fearing Poocher's in trouble, she tries to get in, but to no avail.
When Maggie gets home, she tells her parents about what she heard at the clinic, but when they call Dr. Diller, they tell her that the dogs were down in the basement training. With who, Stu Hart? One of the dogs hurt their legs, but it wasn't Poocher, and that's why there was all that screaming. The week passes and Maggie can finally bring Poocher home. However, Poocher looks different. Bigger, darker fur, like a whole different dog. Despite that, it seems like the same Poocher. Dr. Diller tells Maggie that Poocher has to continue eating a specific formula of dog food or else he'll get sick. Maggie takes a look at Poocher some more, then notices that his eyes are glowing red. Upon leaving the clinic, Maggie and Poocher run into Bullhead, but suddenly Bullhead panics and runs off.
Maggie gets Poocher back home and the dog seems normal at first. But he goes after Peter, knocking over a vase. His fur is also sharp and bristly, so sharp it cuts Maggie. And at night, after putting Poocher in the doghouse, Maggie hears bizarre noises coming from the dog. When she goes downstairs, she feels something in her slipper, a decapitated mouse. But upon inspection, it's actually just a rubber toy that Poocher tore apart. The next day, Maggie gets attacked by Bullhead and Billy again, but no Poocher to help her. When she does find Poocher, he's outside tearing apart Bilbo, her favorite teddy bear. She tells her parents about it, but they just say that Poocher's just a puppy after all and it's more her fault for keeping Bilbo out.
Now more certain her dog is a monster, Maggie has a dream where she sees Poocher climbing up the side of the house to attack her. The next day, she hears scratching noises. It's Peter scratching their dad's records. That's when Maggie figures it out. The broken vase, the toy rat, her torn up teddy bear. It was Peter all along. The book had established that Peter was jealous of Poocher, that Maggie was putting more attention on it than playing the video game Alien Death Squad with him. So obviously he's trying to frame the dog to get rid of him.
Maggie decides to apologize for blaming Poocher by giving him a bone, despite the warning not to give him anything but Dr. Diller's formula. Later that day however, Maggie comes home to see Poocher holding a human skull. Not only that but his fangs and claws have gotten longer and sharper. Poocher starts to attack Maggie, but she manages to get inside just in time when Peter opens the door. However, that door got her in, but it sure doesn't keep Poocher out as the dog bursts through the door like a canine Kool-Aid Man. Poocher is now gigantic and muscular with spiky fur. Not exactly dog hulk like the cover, but close enough I guess.
Maggie and Peter hide in the pantry, only for them to easily be caught. I'd imagine monster dog nose is even stronger than a normal one after all. The kids realize that Maggie giving Poocher the treat must have been what caused all this, but maybe Dr. Diller would have a way to reverse it. They try to leave, but Poocher comes running back. So, they instead lure Poocher into a carrier with dog treats then drag him via Peter's wagon to the clinic. They head downstairs to the clinic's basement to see more dogs in cages. However, they soon learn these aren't normal dogs at all.
One of the dogs is all scaly with a snake head and poison fangs. Another dog is half-spider, while others are half bat. All of the dogs are monster dogs, created by Dr. Diller. All of the monster dogs begin to escape their cages and go to attack Maggie and Peter when Dr. Diller arrives. She saves the kids for the moment, then tells them that now that they've seen her creations, they can't leave. She hasn't been doing much... EXCEPT PLAYING GOD! She is a veterinarian Dr. Moreau, splicing the DNA of other animals with dogs. Just like what she did to Poocher. She also warned Maggie to stick to the formula as without it, it would mess with Poocher's genetics and turn the dog more feral.
So, yeah. Dr. Diller's been doing this for a long time and she's been considered mad by the scientific community. So she went to Shadyside to hide and continue her experiments. Case in point Poocher, who is her greatest mix of dog, lion, shark and porcupine. Maggie and Peter try to run, but Dr. Diller slaps dog collars on them. She drags them to her lab to be her next test subjects. She straps the kids down as they see cages with all sorts of animals. Rats, snakes, tigers and more. Suddenly Poocher shows up and attacks Dr. Diller. The other mutated dogs join in and tear her to pieces. Poocher, now calmed, helps free Maggie and Peter and the three escape the lab.
TWIST ENDING
Some time passes and Maggie and Peter still have Poocher with them. It's time for Maggie to take Poocher out for a walk. They pass by Billy Caldwell and Bullhead's house. The two are now afraid of both Poocher and Maggie. Especially now that Maggie can glow her eyes and grow her fangs. So, I guess she got a bit of the DNA in her?
So, before we head to the conclusion, there is one other bit to mention for this book. There was a contest associated with this book. The contest involved sending a picture of your dog, with the scariest dog winning you a "Pawtographed" photo of R.L. Stine and his dog Nadine. There was another prize as well, a chance to have a "Photo Spot" in book #36, with 25 copies given to the winner. However, here's the problem with that. Ghosts of Fear Street never got to book #36. So, whoever did win this likely had a "The Mask II" situation on their hands. I'm sure they at least got the Stine picture right... r-right? You gave them the picture from Stine, right?
CONCLUSION
Monster Dog is good. Not perfect, but really good. And one that definitely has that Goosebumps-like feel to its story and progression. Author this time is Rick Surmacz, and despite being a freelance writer, this is the only book he's authored. Which is a shame because I thought he did a fine job building a story with some decent creepy moments, some tension and an insane last act. The laboratory of Dr. Diller gives off one of more freakish scenarios with the description of all the mutated dogs. Particularly spider-dog and snake dog. And the concept of Poocher as this all powerful monster dog is a great concept, giving off a fearsome beast. Dr. Diller also works as a great real villain. Very twisted and deranged. Reminds me of the Bone Chillers book Little Pet Shop of Horrors with Mr. Willard. Wait. Willard. Diller. probably a coincidence.
Maggie makes for a decent protagonist. Not super dynamic, but okay. They set up her being super smart, but never do much with that. Peter is an interesting sibling character. Bad for his actions in sabotaging Poocher, but comes off as a better kid by the end. Though the trope of "it's the sibling who is the saboteur" feels overdone even to this point. Though if anything really feels weak, it's probably the twist which is likely the only way to end this book, but it's been done to death that I really wish there was a more interesting ending. Maybe have Poocher talk to Maggie or something. Or they get another animal, but it's a cat whose also mutated. I don't know, anything more fresh.
In the end, we got a book with a neat cover and a solid story throughout with one of the stronger climaxes to any of these Ghosts of Fear Street books that I've covered so far. Not to mention one of my favorite weird covers. Shame we don't get Hulk Dog, but there are enough crazy concepts in the book that it doesn't feel like a determent. In the end, it's a book that's not perfect, but is still dog gone good. Monster Dog gets an A-.
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