The Stinal Countdown: The Nightmare Room #01: Don't Forget Me!

The year is 2000. As the new millennium began, the new millennium of fear came to an end. R.L. Stine and Scholastic parted ways after several years of lawsuits and sniping at one another. Stine wasn't done with kids horror however. Initially, Stine wanted to continue Goosebumps without Scholastic via the now infamously cancelled Goosebumps Gold series. But as it became evident those plans were falling through, Stine was already working on another new book series with Harper Collins. This would become The Nightmare Room. 

However, despite Stine's best foot forward on the project, and an eventual TV series one year later, the books weren't even close to the success that Goosebumps had been years prior. Whether it was due to the kids horror genre finally feeling like a dried up well, or just lacking the same successful word of mouth that Goosebumps had in its beginning. There's also speculation that 9/11 had some hand in its cancellation after twelve books, given that the tragedy really put the screws on a lot of things, even Stine's works as well. But how was its first foot forward? Did Stine start strong or stumble? Let's find out with Don't Forget Me!

COVER STORY

This cover is cool. And already I dread what the actual book is like. That almost always spells disaster. I love the art here, the creepy bright white of the face in the background with the intense green eyes while our kid protagonist seems to be falling into some sort of weird otherworldly state. Definitely not a scary cover per se, but memorable. I'll also talk about the cover structure. It's fine. The logo's a bit ugly though, going with what feels like three random fonts that don't fit as well as Stine likely hoped. Other than that, it works well, but you really don't realize how effective the slime borders were when they're long gone.

STORY

We open this new era of R.L. Stine with a kid strangling another kid. Well, more so pretend.  Fifteen year old (oh wow, we're out of the twelve-eleven purgatory) Danielle Warner loves to pester her nine year old brother Peter. In fact, she seems to really love to joke about Peter disappearing or wishing that she were and only child. Our protagonist, yay?  Actually it's more playful than straight up wishing Peter were dead, so... still screwed up but less so? While this is going on, Danielle is showing her friend Addie the new house they recently moved into. While talking about how Addie has three piercings in each ear, Peter mentions wanting a nose piercing, to which Danielle jokingly grabs a hammer and pretends to smash him with it. Reader beware, you're in for a Three Stooges routine.

Addie mentions that she thinks Peter's hilarious, though Danielle thinks he's more annoying. In fact, the two are opposites. Peter has red hair (because of course he does, it's a Stine book) and is far more outgoing while Danielle is more quiet and serious. I mean, she said that after the hammer incident and pretend choking, but sure, quiet and serious. They look around the house some more. It's about a hundred years old and is pretty much in serious need of repair. There's also the basement, which Danielle hasn't checked yet since she finds it creepy. Look, as long as there's nobody down there making plant clones, you'll be fine. 

Danielle checks the basement and think they can hear strange noises down there as well as someone whispering Peter's name. She gets freaked out, but thinks it must just be the house settling. No basement dwellers certainly. She heads back upstairs, but when she grabs the door again, it's suddenly locked. She meets back up with Danielle and they note a photo of Peter's old teddy bear. When Peter was really young, he needed glasses, so when he went into the room with his bear, everyone thought it was the cutest thing ever, with the exception of Danielle, who wasn't amused. Though Addie says what we're all thinking, Danielle is super jealous of the attention that Peter gets.

As the girls check out Danielle's room, they see two boys outside. Zack Wheeling along with, and this may be the greatest character name yet in a Stine book, Mojo Dyson. Mojo. Dyson. Also, this is going to play to barely any of the readers of this review, but I just think the Hype Bros, Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley. And nobody wants to remember the Hype Bros. Actually, Mojo's name might be Archibald as Peter guesses, but I mean. At least it's not Hat. As the teens talk, Peter butts in to tell them that he has a new computer complete with Tomb Raider and next year's NFL Football game. I mean, it's probably Madden, but given this is 2000, when there were multiple NFL games and not one a year by one company, this isn't a case of lazy Stine for once. Also, going by timeline, this would also be Tomb Raider Chronicles. Reader beware, you're in for video game chronology. Again, everyone seems to want to hang around with Peter more than wallflower Danielle. And again she wishes she were an only child.

The next day, Danielle and Peter's parents are leaving on a business trip. Peter doesn't like the idea of being taken care of by Danielle given her history of, you know, wishing for his non-existence. After they leave, Addie comes over and mentions that she's going to practice some hypnotism on Danielle. Given this and her mentioning an interest in seances, Addie's a bit of a mystic. Neat. As they discuss all the fun they can have with hypnosis, Danielle spots a strange looking man in a black raincoat. One can only hope there's no hook hand. She goes to talk to him, but he disappears. And of course Addie never saw him either. 

So, why the interest in a hypnosis act? Well, given they were outclassed by Peter, they want to hold a talent show to at least keep some of Zack and Mojo's attention. Danielle agrees, provided she's the hypnotist. They grab a coin and Danielle starts trying to hypnotize Addie, only for Peter to show up, wanting to be hypnotized. They do so, and after finally settling him down, they seem to get Peter in such a trance that he doesn't wake up from it. The girls at first think he's joking, with Addie making an offhand comment to "just forget about it", then the two start to panic when they realize that either he's too good an actor, or he's completely comatose. 

Eventually Peter wakes up, after making some strange primal noise, then seems to be eerily calmer than usual. But that's less concerning to the fact that he has no idea where he is, or who Danielle and Addie are. Again, Addie thinks it's an act, but Danielle isn't so sure this time. Peter quickly resets back to normal and keeps saying that he's fine. Addie leaves and the girls are no longer high on the hypnosis idea, though Addie is certain that Danielle couldn't have really hypnotized her brother on the first go. Danielle checks on Peter, who now has no idea how to play Tomb Raider, only for him to snap back to normal seconds later. Danielle is now convinced that she may have broken her brother's brain.

Zack calls Danielle and asks her out to the local burger place. She's at first against it given Peter, but he says to invite Peter with them. It all goes well, until Danielle notices that Peter is eating left handed. Well that explains it. Peter's a reflection from an invisibility mirror. That night, Danielle again hears the voices whispering for Peter. She eventually makes it downstairs where she finds four strange, almost dead looking kids, bodies covered in a strange sticky clear gelatin. Look, I'm thinking it, you're thinking it. I AIN'T SAYING IT. She then sees Peter heading towards the strange zombies in their slime cocoons before Danielle wakes up. That was just a dream. That was just a dream. That's me in the corner... She checks on Peter who is fine, though he tells Danielle "[[Title of the Book]]".

At breakfast, Peter can't remember what his favorite cereal is, making Danielle realize that his memories are fading fast. Addie arrives, to which Danielle blames this on her. How she was the one who wanted to practice hypnotism, and even the whole "forget it" comment she made while Peter was in trance. Though, in fairness, it was Danielle who wanted to be the hypnotist. And it was Danielle who hypnotized Peter. So everyone's in the wrong is the general gist. So, what's the best way to reverse the damage caused by hypnosis? Why more hypnosis of course! Just then, Peter starts to head to the basement, which Danielle panics over. Maybe that wasn't just a dream, and maybe that's not me in the corner...

They try hypnosis again, but Peter doesn't go into a trance. So they head to school instead. Before leaving however, Danielle again sees the basement door open and the raincoat man staring at them from the window like that Sickos meme. He starts to chase Danielle, but she manages to escape him and catch up with Addie and Peter. After school, she goes to pick up Peter from the elementary school, but he's nowhere to be found. She remembers that his teacher is a Mrs. Anderson, but when she talks with Mrs. Anderson, she's confused. She doesn't teach a boy named Peter Warner. 

Danielle makes it home to find Peter in his room making more strange noises and now not knowing who Danielle is. She tries to call the doctor, but he's off on a business conference too because this is irony week for adult characters. Suddenly, the man in the raincoat shows up and enters the house. He says that he's actually a reporter, trying to get an article about the house, which has been dubbed the "Forget-Me House". According to reports, the people who live in the house soon come under some strange spell that causes amnesia. Forgetting more and more things until their memory vanishes entirely. She denies anyone in the house having amnesia and the reporter makes his leave for now. Then, Peter suddenly attacks Danielle, trying to strangle her. I mean, given she was joking about it earlier, this really is irony week.

Danielle runs to Addie's for a second, then remembers the dream about the kids in the basement. The other victims of the Forget-Me House. She runs back home and a dog tries to play with her, but suddenly she can't even remember the dog's name. So now it's not just Peter whose been affected. She returns home to hear the voices now calling for her. She heads down the basement and spots that the walls have been covered in BLOOD... well, blood-red paint, with the words "Don't Forget Me!" written all over them. She then sees Peter by a trapdoor near the furnace. His face now with the slime like the other kids had. He goes down to the room below, so Danielle has no choice but to follow him. Problem is, the doorway disappears.

Mr. and Mrs. Warner then show up and Danielle tries to lead them to the basement to get Peter. But they're confused. Who's Peter? She tells them about Peter and the Forget-Me House and everything, but they don't believe her because amnesiac parents. In fact they think to just send her to a doctor, but she apologizes and goes to bed. That night she continues to lose her memories, but then remembers Peter. Her parents are now gone as well. At school the next day, she talks to Addie about Peter, but even Addie's forgotten about Peter. As if he really did blink out of existence and the only person barely hanging on to his memory is Danielle. 

Danielle heads home to see her mom is there, but she now is super confused as to why this girl is in her house. Danielle tries to drag her down the basement, but Mrs. Warner panics and calls the cops on her. As Danielle heads down she sees Peter, now almost totally gray. He remembers her name and says that like himself she is a forgotten one. The other kids show up and start to tell her to join them. She runs up the stairs as her parents are even more frantic over this crazy girl in their house. 

That's when she remembers the framed photo of Peter and the teddy bear. She grabs it and tries to get them to remember. And sure enough, it works, their memories start to return of both Peter and Danielle. The cops arrive, but they say it was a misunderstanding. The Warners head to the basement and call for Peter, who soon does exit the basement trapdoor. The mucus leaves him and his memories return. So, it's all a mega happy ending. 

TWIST ENDING

Addie shows up as Danielle and Peter are super excited to have their memories back. But Addie's confused. Why are Brittany and Craig calling themselves Danielle and Peter? They've been living here for a while with their aunt and uncle. They didn't forget all that, right?

CONCLUSION

For the first Nightmare Room book, it's a strong first start. Don't Forget Me! is a solid book with a really good concept. The idea of memories and what would happen if you suddenly started forgetting everything to the point that even your own existence is forgotten. Which for a lot, that's a legitimate fear. The idea that you just aren't remembered for anything. Add in a story about how one's one memories can suddenly fade and the confusion and fear it would cause, and you have a really good recipe for a horror story. And Stine does really well with those elements, cooking up an actually creepy tale. 

Danielle is an interesting protagonist. Both for how she initially treats Peter, and for how she tries to fight to keep his memories alive. Not allowing them to simply fade away. I also like the idea of how we think this is hypnosis, but actually just the powers of the house. Though we don't really get much answer as to how that's happening or why other than the fact that the house is seemingly just cursed with a spell that causes people's memories to vanish. It's a neat idea for scares and I think it works better than this just being a story about hypnosis. Trust me, after enough Fear Street books with that being the twist, I'm glad to have a deviation. 

The obvious comparison is The Cuckoo Clock of Doom. Both have an older sibling annoyed by their younger one, and through a series of magical events, cause them to be erased from history. Though in the case of Michael and Tara, Tara was a bratty kid who loved to mike Michael suffer. Danielle is jealous of Peter and does say some dumb things about wishing to be an only child, but you can at least tell she does care about Peter and all her jealousy isn't the same as actually wanting him out of her life. Peter is also overall a good kid. Very energetic and outgoing, more so than Danielle, but he never has a moment where he treats Danielle poorly. Though clearly her comments about not wanting him around do bother him. 

The scares work well. There's a severe lack of the "gotcha" scares that bogged Goosebumps, and it doesn't drag its feet much. The twist is also fine. I like the idea that they lost their memories for so long that yeah, of course they'd forget their actual names. So, this is a solid book. Not perfect, and could have fixed some minor things, but I can't complain when I enjoyed the overall package. It's a strong recommend that hopefully I won't forget for a while. And yes, I am aware that this book did get adapted for an episode as well, but we'll get to that eventually. I totally won't forget to review it... I hope. Don't Forget Me! gets an A.