NNtG: Ghosts of Fear Street #10: The Bugman Lives!

CONTENT WARNING: BUGS AND TALK OF BUGS IN FOOD AND INGESTING BUGS. SO IF YOU HAVE A WEAK CONSTITUTION, THIS MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU. BUT THEN AGAIN, GIVEN THE TITLE, THAT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS.

Kid friendly Shadyside time. And this time we have bugs. We are certainly assured lots of bugs. And given I'm a person who doesn't much like insects, oh goody goody gosh. But sometimes books about bugs actually end up half decent. So, maybe we're in for something. Maybe I should go into this with a can or Raid at the ready. For you see, The Bugman Lives!

COVER STORY

I honestly don't know what's creepier, that head, that tarantula or that shirt. If you want a garish cover, this is definitely one of them. But it's also a really cool cover at that. The selling point is the giant fly head obviously. It's super detailed and super freaky looking. And, while it doesn't show as well in a static image, both the shirt and the compound eyes are actually holofoil, meaning they shine and reflect, making this one even snazzier than most covers. Hell, you'd probably be so focused on the fly head  you wouldn't even notice the tarantula he's holding. Thank you Broeck, I get that somehow this guy may actually be the bug man. Tarantula's a bit overkill innit? Top tier Ghosts cover.

STORY

Janet Monroe's summer is sucking eggs. Her friends are all at camp but the obnoxious Carl Beemer is still in town, annoying her with how successful and cool he is on his rollerblades. Janet wants to make some money and tries to find anyone willing to let her mow their lawn. Unfortunately, she doesn't get much luck. That is until she ends up on, where else, Fear Street. She spots a lawn in total disarray and visions of dollar signs dance in her head. The woman, Iris Lowry, allows Janet to mow for her. Janet strains to work the mower and spots a patch of grass filled with small black bugs. But when she tries to mow through the patch, she runs over something. A strange flat rock. But not just any rock, a tombstone that reads "Here lies the Bugman. Woe to anyone who wakes him". So the Bugman technically ISN'T living? At least not yet.

Janet shows Iris the tombstone, but Iris thinks it's some kind of joke. But then remembers that there were stories about the man who lived next door to her. A man simply known as the Bugman who loved to study bugs, with some people saying he went full Kafka and became a bug himself. But that's all one of the many weird stories that come from Fear Street. A bugman, living? Oh pshaw. Also the house next door has been abandoned for years. Possibly rumors about a man or bug or hybrid of the two living there, we don't know. But all of this is enough to start making Janet worry. Carl later tells Janet that his uncle Rich knew of the Bugman. That he could control insects to do his bidding. And then he follows that up by tricking Janet into thinking a wasp is on her shoulder, lest you thought this kid didn't suck.

Regardless of that jape, Janet continues to mow. She still wonders what was up with the Bugman and how that story started, thinking that maybe his name was Buckman and people mistook it for Bugman. Okay, now that would be the worst twist in the world. She also keeps looking at the Bugman house, thinking she sees someone in the window. Suddenly, she gets stung on the finger by a bee and trips over a hose. A man shows up to help her with the sting. He introduces himself as Mr. "totally not the Bugman" Cooney and that he moved into the old house the other day. He offers her a job helping him out then gives her a glass of juice. With a beetle in it. A beetle juice. Okay, that's at least clever.

After finishing up, Janet heads to the pool. But as she's about to go in, she sees a ladybug on her leg. She almost flicks it off before a girl yells at her not to. This girl, about Janet's age, tells her that she believes every animal is sacred, even bugs. Her family wouldn't think of killing bugs. Though, and this is indeed semantics, Unless you can hover in the air, you're stepping on hundreds of bugs a day without knowing. The bottom of your shoe is a crime scene. But I digress. The girl's name is Willow and she hits it off well with Janet. Even more so when she tries to drown Carl for tricking her into thinking an ant is drowning. But she certainly seems rather secretive, huh? Janet works for Mr. Cooney the next day and goes inside to get her pay. However, she spots Mr. Cooney kissing a tarantula. Clearly a loving relationship between a bugman and a bug, man!

After the scene of arachnid amore, Janet asks for her pay. Mr. Cooney offers her something to drink, but Janet's at least smart enough not to fall for that again. But she is starting to suspect something is awfully buggy about Mr. Cooney. She runs into Willow and talks about the Bugman story with her as they head to Janet's house. Carl shows up to be obnoxious as usual. As they talk, Janet feels something prickly on the back of her neck. That ends up being a tarantula. After Willow gets it in a Tupperware container, she makes some green looking health shakes for Janet and Carl and continues to listen to Janet talking about how odd it is that Mr. Cooney moves in around the same time she broke the tombstone. Carl says that maybe Mr. Cooney is the Bugman, but since Janet doesn't care much for his opinion, despite, you know, having that suspicion herself, she thinks that must be impossible.

The next day, Janet heads to Mr. Cooney's, still not totally convinced that he's not the Bugman. He offers her a drink again, but she just knocks it down by "accident". She goes to pick up the broken pitcher, but notices hundreds of bugs on the ground sucking up the liquid. The bugs start growing in size and exploding in a mass of green goo while Mr. Cooney whispers for Janet to drink the juice. She runs off to the pool, now in a panic. She had drank that juice once before, could it have affected her? And she also drank... ah we'll get to that part later. She looks down to notice a scab on her knee, which she picks at, and green slime begins to bleed out until she cleans the wound. 

So now Janet needs to know what's up. What's in that juice she was given? So she does the logical thing. Sneak into the alleged Bugman's house at night to get answers. She sneaks inside and soon finds what appears to be a whole bug museum. A container of cockroaches eating a hunk of meat, a tank full of centipedes, rabbits with leeches on their stomach. In terms of straight up messed up, this is easily in the upper echelon. She then spots Mr. Cooney, only now one of his hands is a bug's pincer. Janet panics and runs into a tank full of maggots, causing it to fall over. This enrages Mr. Cooney as he worries that Janet killed his babies.

And then... he starts to tear his face off. And it is described in grizzly detail of just how the flesh tears and parts like the nose just plop to the ground until any trace of a human face just disappears and a gigantic fly head appears from where Mr. Cooney's face once was. Holy crap, this kind of rules. Mr. Cooney then spits a green liquid on Janet that hits her arm, turning it white. She knocks over an ant farm and kills some of the ants which, okay, make the Bugman madder. She manages to escape, but when she makes it home she's almost delirious. Her parents thinking she must have some sort of fever. Yes, she has a fever and the only prescription is GET HER THE HELL AWAY FROM THE BUGMAN!

Janet tries to tell her about the Bugman, but they don't believe her because... okay in this case, given her state, they're not wrong here. She keeps thinking her scab is a giant beetle and is taken to a Dr. Brock, who she thinks is also the Bugman. She then goes to sleep, only to wake up outside in a giant mud cocoon. The next day, she tells all this to Willow who decides to head over to Mr. Cooney's herself. But she somehow never comes back, making Janet think that the Bugman must have captured her. Despite still being in a state, Janet heads to the Bugman house and finds Willow's backpack by the Bugman's tombstone. Suddenly, the Bugman rises from the grave and grabs Janet, and pulls her deep into the grave below. She then sees the Bugman's true form. A giant fly-like bug with a beetle shell and sticklike limbs. He is about to spit again when Janet spots Willow in a cocoon. Then Willow reveals what we already figured, she's the daughter of the Bugman.

See, Willow chose Janet all this time to be her friend. But being the daughter of a literal bug man has its setbacks. For two years she's in human form and for the other two years she's in bug form. But she wanted Janet as her friend, so this whole thing was a ploy to make Janet part of the bug family. The Bugman also reveals that he was never dead, merely hibernating. The tombstone was just a rock put there by some kids. But Janet did disturb his slumber and the trap was underway. He and Willow poisoned Janet with the juice and the health shake to turn her into a bug. Janet refuses this life, but the Bugman has a whole bunch of insects attack her and start building a makeshift cocoon. 

Unable to move, Janet is prone for the Bugman to have her drink more of the literal bug juice. She manages to spit it out which angers him more. He tries to attack her, but Janet knocks him over, giving her time to free herself and escape, while Willow wonders if they can still be friends. This book has been pretty awesome so far. Twist, please don't disappoint.

TWIST ENDING

We cut to some time later as Janet is finishing up her story about the Bugman, telling Carl that none of this actually happened, it's all just a story and nothing else. Later that night, she sees a butterfly climb up a tree. Janet makes some sticky mucus in her hands and climbs up to greet it. Turns out the butterfly is Willow and they are still friends. And Janet admits that they were right, being part bug isn't too bad at all. For a book with a lot of freaky moments, that's kind of a cute ending.

CONCLUSION

Carol Gorman is our ghostwriter this time. She has a bit of a history writing children's books and is the wife of author Ed Gorman. This is also her sole Ghosts of Fear Street book and wow, what a one and done. The Bugman Lives! may be my favorite book in all of the series so far. Hell, I'll go so far as to say it's in my top favorite books in general at this point because it's surprisingly good kids horror. With some pure nightmare fuel moments all throughout. This book promises a bug man and they damn sure give you one. The face ripping scene in general is just incredible with how gruesome it's described to be. Add in the stuff with the cocoons, the bug stuff and a general feel of gross and creepy throughout and you get a horror story that more than delivers what it promises.

Janet is a solid protagonist. Not much nuance to her, but you feel her plight, especially after she starts to realize she might be transforming. Mr. Cooney AKA the Bugman is also an amazingly freaky villain. From the basic sense of foreboding that he gives before the reveal to everything afterwards. A true threat in just how deadly he can be... unless he's knocked over I guess, but even that makes sense. He is a BUG man after all. Willow being a part of this was obvious from the start given that she's introduced being so concerned about insects, but I do find her arc a bit sweet. How she didn't do this with malice but because she wanted Janet as a friend forever. Granted there are better ways to do that instead of turning your friend into a Brundlefly, but you know it's the thought that count. And Carl exists.

When I started covering these types of books, I was hoping for more books like this. Ones where the horror can be over the top, but always prevalent. And many books come close, but seem to drop the ball by the very end. Once this book turns up the dial it actually offers a book that feels intense. Like an actual horror story with enough frightening scenes that stick with you. And its twist thankfully does not crap the bed. At least Willow isn't a giant butterfly with a needle, that's a plus. Maybe it's me overselling this one, but it's a winner for me. Hands down my favorite Ghosts of Fear Street book so far and a super high recommend. Between this and How to Be a Vampire, maybe I've found my favorite sub-series so far. I fear I should hold my tongue on that. The Bugman Lives! gets an A+.