The penultimate book in the original 62 and one I vividly remember loving for how insane it ended up being. It's hard to think this can win my heart a second time, but that's the magic of this reread saga. Giving a better appreciation for certain books. And I am so ready to reappreciate this. It's I Live in Your Basement!
I LIVE IN YOUR BASEMENT!
RELEASE MONTH: November, 1997
FRONT TAGLINE: Talk about a MONSTER nightmare!
COVER STORY
I love this cover. It's just so freaky. Again, great use of color, and the angles work better here with less warping. But it's our monster who is the star and he is a slimy sight. With how putrid and veiny he looks, along with his beady eyes and snake tongue. Just pure grossness that still resonates as a frightening scenario.
HE'S GOT THE BASEMENT BLUES!
"Don't do this! Watch out for that!" Marco's mom thinks the whole world is a danger zone. She won't even let Marco play softball.
Bu Marco just wants to have fun. So he sneaks off to a game. And that's when it happens. He gets hit in the head with a baseball bat.
Now things are getting really fuzzy. Really scary. Because when Marco gets home he gets the strangest call. From someone who says he lives in Marco's basement...
STORY
Marco's got it rough. Well, he wishes it were rough. His mother is overly cautious, constantly telling him not to do stuff lest he hurts himself. So she'd probably have a coronary if she knew that Marco is out playing softball with the other kids. As he runs up to Gwynnie, one of the girls playing, he comes at the wrong time as Gwynnie ends up smashing him in the head with the bat. One chapter in and already we have a kid getting his skull cracked with a baseball bat. Strap in folks, this one's going to somehow get much wilder.
So Marco's banged up. I mean if he doesn't have a concussion I'd be surprised. Of course his mom is none too happy that her son went out to, you know, do anything. She says that now Marco's head is smashed like an egg, and when Marco asks if that's hyperbole, she doesn't give him a straight answer. Marco then hears the phone ringing in the living room. He answers it and on the other end is a boy named Keith who tells Marco that *Title of the book*. But when Marco tells his mother, she's confused. There's no phone in the living room.
Marco seems to be alright the next day. His friend Jeremy shows up, wanting to play some pool in the basement. Marco panics, given the whole phone call the previous day. Was it a dream, or is some weird kid living in his basement? They go downstairs and Marco hears a noise. But it turns out to just be a squirrel. That night, Marco hears noises in the basement and soon hears the voice of Keith who again tells Marco that he's down in the basement and that Marco will have to take care of him. Marco tries to tell his mother, but she doesn't believe him because parents of a heavily concussed child.
Marco returns to school and shows his class the bruise on his head. When he's asked about his hospital visit, he doesn't remember his hospital visit. Later, he sees Gwynnie swinging the baseball bat like a maniac. That's enough for him to run home. When he gets to his room, Keith is on his bed. Marco tries to get his mom, but when she gets there, Keith becomes Tyler, the family dog. So this leaves Marco even more confused. Is he seeing things? Is he going crazy? Well, don't worry. We haven't even come close to full on crazy yet.
So, with Marco's head still being a mess, he and his mother visit Dr. Bailey, who is described as a chubby bald man. He checks on Marco's head then deduces that he's going to have to cut it open and remove the brain. And like, there's no "gotcha" next chapter either. He's actually serious about it. And his mom agrees with the doctor. Like, for real, what the hell is this book?
Later that night, Marco is writing a paper on seeing things from different perspectives. Kind of an important tidbit that will matter more in the long run. Suddenly, Keith's face appears on Marco's computer. Gwynnie arrives just as the face disappears. In fact, the computer's not even turned on. Marco's still paranoid, so the two head downstairs, only to find nothing. Gwynnie makes a few jokes at Marco's expense... oh and then she opens her mouth wider and wider, and then pulls her insides out. Actually turning into some sort of inside out blob. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS BOOK?
Marco wakes up in the hospital. The human Gwynnie and his mom are there, but now Gwynnie is being referred to as Marco's sister. In this reality, she says that it was Jeremy who swung the bat. A blond haired man also named Dr. Bailey shows up and shoos the family away as he checks up on Marco... by grabbing his tongue and pulling it longer and longer. It's another really freaky moment... but it may have one of the dumbest chapter cliffhangers since "are there any more potatoes?" Marco panics and says "It's not a dream!" only for the next chapter to start with "and then I woke up". It still bugs me, but I'll admit, it's more funny bad than terrible bad.
Now Marco's in the hospital as a seven foot tall man also named Dr. Bailey watches over him. He gives Marco a note from Keith who is still waiting for Marco back home. He tells his mother, but Dr. Bailey is confused. He never gave Marco a note. Marco returns home and Keith is there. But this time, Keith doesn't just disappear. He's not leaving and he wants Marco to take care of him. In a panic, Marco grabs an owl paperweight and just straight up smashes Keith over the head with it. Holy hell Stine, you were pent up on just beating the shit out of kids. And then Keith's head falls inside his body and, like Gwynnie, he turns into a slime monster. No, like seriously, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS BOOK?
Keith grabs Marco and tries to suck him inside his mass. Suddenly, Marco's mom shows up, confused as to why her son is writing on the floor. When Marco gets up however, there's Keith again. Keith tells Marco that it's futile to resist him. They're going to spend the rest of their lives together in the basement with Marco taking care of him. Boy, I don't know if it was the intention, but there are some super gay overtones to this book. Maybe that's why I like it? Wouldn't shock me. Defeated, Marco heads to the basement.
TWIST ENDING
Hey, remember when I mentioned the whole "seeing things from another person's perspective" thing? Well, Keith wakes up in the basement, with his blob monster mom concerned about him. You see, we were following Keith the whole time. He's a monster that lives in Marco's basement. One day, he wanted to go and play with the human kids, so he turned into Marco and went out to play, only to be smashed by the bat. Keith's mom tells him to never go out and play again. As Keith slips back into the shadows, Marco is standing at the basement steps. He looks at Keith who tries to tell him that this is all just a dream.
CONCLUSION
Okay, I think my favorite book in Goosebumps might be Welcome to Camp Nightmare for just how well structured it is. But the one that battles for that spot constantly, and sometimes wins, is I Live In Your Basement! It is, without hyperbole, the absolute best book in the original 62. And, I can see people who don't agree, given how the book might skew a bit too much on the weird and bizarre. But I think this is a book that just works on such a Lynchian level that you can accept just how weird things constantly get. How we ramp up the nightmarish imagery and weirdness. Gwynnie's transformation stands high in the list of actual scary moments in Goosebumps. It works that well.
Marco/Keith is a decent protagonist. You feel for his plight in wanting more independence, while also feeling scared for him as he goes further down the rabbit hole. Keith also works as a villain, one who seems to control the narrative of Marco's reality, which makes sense given it is Keith's dream. And yes, there are super gay overtones to this, easily among the strongest we've gotten in Goosebumps. It would make more sense in why Keith wanted to turn into Marco. An appreciation on a near romantic level. As romantic as a slime monster can get in a book for 12 year olds, but it is most definitely there. I mean, given how Keith wants Marco to take care of him, it's hard not to come to that conclusion. And the twist works as well when you factor all of that in.
The scares, as I've already mentioned, are some of the best on a visual level. The transformations and the whole tongue scene are top notch moments for Goosebumps. But on a mental level, it's just as scary. How Marco gets more confused about what's going on with his world. How he fears Keith and what Keith wants from him. How his world never stays in one consistent form. It's more or less everything I wish Don't Go to Sleep! would have done. Be a heavier focus on just how bizarre and surreal the dream world can be. And while Don't Go to Sleep! tries, it just doesn't hit as well as this book does.
So, in the end, this book is near perfect in my eyes. Maybe that one dumb chapter cliffhanger is my only sticking point, but I just think everything else works. Story is super strong, scares work perfectly, the twist works well with the story and still feels jarring enough to leave you weirded out. I can also see people who will disagree with the glowing recommendation, but to me, it's everything that Goosebumps should have been from the get go. More straight up bizarre and frightening. It stands as an example of when he tries, like actually tries, R.L. Stine can make a good kids horror book. My only wish is that it was the final book of the original 62, because up next... ugh.
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