The Stinal Countdown: 99 Fear Street: The Second Horror

It's time to open the door and get on the floor with the second chapter of 99 Fear Street: The House of Evil. And, surprisingly, it's not going to take two years to continue this. Mainly because it would be pretty screwed up to take forever to finish the next part of a story (Stares at my copy of My Teacher Flunked the Planet. It'll come eventually). The first part offered enough dark and gory elements to make it more memorable than most Fear Street books, so can the second part keep that momentum? It's Stine, so probably not, but let's see for ourselves as we experience The Second Horror. 

Oh yeah, this is definitely a better cover. Nothing out and out extraordinary, but the character designs are better and I like that we get a better visual of what the house looks like. Also we have a skull on the cover. What is this, a Shivers book? Also, we have random lightning which is a neat little touch. Compared to the last book which I felt the cover lacked the energy to make me want to invest in it, this one does a harder job in selling this book, and it pays off much better. Solid effort.

The Frasier family, which includes twin sisters Cally and Kody, move to Shadyside and reside in 99 Fear Street, a house that seemingly hasn't been owned by anyone for years. It doesn't take long for things to start going strange. A giant branch crashes through their roof, Kody's hands get injured when a window falls on them, Mr. Frasier ends up getting stabbed in the side. Cally chalks it up as coincidence, but Kody suspects the house is haunted. This gets confirmed by a boy named Anthony who tells the twins that 99 Fear Street was the burial ground of the victims of Simon and Angelica Fear. When the house was built in the 1960s, the vengeful spirits tore the heads off the family of the homeowner, Jason Lurie. Soon, things ramp up even worse. Anthony gets his hand mutilated in the garbage disposal, youngest son James and his puppy Cubby vanish, but can be heard in the walls. And finally, Cally ends up being killed by the house itself. The Frasiers leave, but Cally's ghost stays in the house, resentful for her fate, angry that Kody survived, and ready to take her anger out on whoever moves in next. 

Brandt McCloy, his parents, and their cat Ezra, are the next to move into 99 Fear Street. Mr. McCloy has a collection of tribal masks and spears and stuff, which giving this house more sharp objects can only bode well. They discover rats in the basement, and Mr. Hankers shows up again, ready to exterminate them. As Brandt sets up the spears, one shoots out of his hand and impales the cat. First chapter and we have a dead animal. That's gotta be a new record. I mean he didn't technically kill Cubby last book, so I guess Bob felt killing a cat was equivalent exchange?  Also heh, another character named Ezra in a Fear Street saga. Coincidence? The family move on from Ezra's death saying it was probably for the best since the cat was old. I dunno, maybe the cat would have liked to live instead of being impaled.

We learn that the McCloys have moved around quite a lot, what with Mr. McCloy being an anthropologist and a studier of magic and rituals. They lived on the small island of Mapolo for a while, which means they haven't had the luxuries of stuff like Pizza for years. Mapolo might be a paradise, but no Pete's Pizza, what's the point? On Mapolo, there was a girl who said her mother turned into a panther and wanted Brandt to trap the panther because of prophecy. Mrs. McCloy thinks it's because the girl had a crush on him. Oh, and the girl was 20 and Brandt 16, but you know, it's cool, different cultures. Oh we are not going to paint other cultures well in this one, are we? 

That night, Brandt hears scratching noises and checks the attic. No severed heads to find yet, but there is a rabid raccoon. Brandt fights it off with a broom, but the raccoon manages to knock it out of his hands. Eventually he throws a chair at it and the racoon runs off. His parents check on him, noting it odd that the window in the attic is open, while also mentioning something about Brandt's "condition", which was hinted at a bit earlier on as well, with mention of Brandt having a scar on his cheek. Brandt heads back to bed, all while Cally was watching everything goes down, promising that she'll make things much worse much quicker. 

Brandt decides to take a drive the next day, since he's already getting tired of his helicopter parents. He drives fast and sings to a song with the lyrics "Don't care if I live, don't care if I die" which my headcannon is a song from 2RUFF4U. He almost hits an oil truck and swerves, only to then almost crash into a gorge. May-maybe his parents have a point to worry about him. But Brandt found it fun to almost die. I guess he really loved those lyrics. That night he feels something bite into his neck, but when his parents check, there's nothing to see. Though the head-canon of the raccoon coming back for revenge makes for a more fun idea. The next day, he asks his parents if there could be a chance there's spirits in the house, and while Mrs. McCloy doesn't believe it because Fear Street parents, Mr. McCloy, being a guy who studies the supernatural, will at least humor Brandt and try to find some answers. Also Mrs. Nordstrom is back to be the housekeeper.

As Brandt heads to Shadyside High, he gets stopped by a girl named Abbie Ayler, who goes to Darwin Academy. She's here to be a love interest and exposition-giver, much like Andrew was last book. But just as she begins to talk about how Fear Street is home to a lot of FREAKY DEAKY SHENANIGANS, and how a girl had died in Brandt's house, something in the window of his parent's bedroom catches Brandt's eye. The image of his father hanging. But when he heads inside, his dad is fine. Narry a noose nearby. At Shadyside High he befriends Jinny Thomas, Meg Morris and Jon Burks, the latter inviting Brandt to basketball practice, which Brandt hems and haws for a sec given his parents might not like him getting too athletic, given his still unspecified "condition", but he accepts. Also Jon is super jealous and I guess concerned Jinny might leave him because I guess he has to suck a little. 

At practice, Brandt does well, but starts to get worn out super quick. At home, he smells something foul, like the smell of death in his closet. He opens it and gets attacked by a white cloud before his mother shows up, not seeing anything. All while Cally's ghost is essentially just going "mwahaha". I don't know, evil fart cloud feels like a step down from killing a cat. Maybe not to Stine, but I mean to most people perhaps. At practice the next day, Jon knocks Brandt down and Brandt suddenly develops a horrible bruise on his arm. Part of his condition. Which sounds like anemia, but we're not getting an answer yet as Brandt just keeps playing. 

That night, Brandt hears sounds in the attic and instead of finding a raccoon ready for round two, he finds Cally's notebook which is here to be the exposition. Damn, Abbie never even got to give the whole exposition. Well, at least that means she won't end up with a mutilated hand. Still early in the book to assume that. No, that role might be for Jinny who Brandt invites to the house. Okay, I know these are dumb teenagers, and the house hasn't fully started to go crazy like with the Frasier family, but maybe we oughta stop inviting future victims of the murder house. But before that, at practice, he dislocates his arm, which makes trying to hide all this from his parents kinda difficult. Also Meg's into him, Jinny seems into him, Jon is jealous and may be out to kill him, and I guess Abbie is too. Dude's got himself a harem. 

Jinny arrives at 99 Fear Street and it doesn't take long for her to get injured. She was holding a glass which shattered in midair and slit her wrists. Not too horribly, but enough for a lot of blood to spray. She returns home but at least seems in better spirits than Andrew. Later, as Brandt walks, he sees what appears to be a shadow chasing him. But it turns out to be Abbie, who he also invites to his place are you fucking kidding me? Well, just onto the porch because god knows nothing bad can happen there. That night, Brandt finds Cally's notebook which now reads that she made Jinny bleed and Abbie is next. Dude, SPOILERS! He tries to call Abbie to warn her, only to realize that Abbie never gave him her number, address or even her last name. So if the swerve here is what we expect, at least try to be a little surprised. And later when he checks again, the notebook reads that Brandt can't save her. Dude, SPECULATION!

All this is still happening while Meg and Jinny are still both into Brandt, which even he seems to note and kind of be into because I guess polyamory is Brandt's kink. That night he hears the wails of James who I guess took a bit of a break then came back to call for his family. James take a hammer to the wall and inside he finds the skeleton of a young boy holding a dead dog. Hey, what do you know, Stine DID get to kill Cubby after all! The parents see this as well, and the family come to the consensus that the hauntings were James' fault. James must have been the poltergeist and that James must have been the one playing tricks. Yes, even Brandt believes this despite the fact that he found CALLY's notebook. So yeah, whatever happens to Abbie is as much Brandt's fault as it is Cally, who is still around pretty much plotting and still not doing much else. 

So, despite his concerns about the notebook, the dumbass invites Abbie into the house. He mentions living on an island and being taught the belief that every person has two spirits, a personality and a lifeforce. As he's talking to Abbie, he gets a call from Jinny. He goes to answer that, and well looky what happens next. A scream from Abbie who gets crushed under a suit of armor. Not dead, but definitely hurt. B-b-b-b-b-b-but James is gone so the hauntings should have ended. Despite the fact that only James' corpse was removed from the house and not any actual spirit, oh and again, it was CALLY'S FUCKING NOTEBOOK. You know Cally, the one you were concerned about being the ghost before you scapegoated James. Also hey, that's two injured love interests. We still have plenty of pages left to invite Meg and go for the hat trick. 

James checks his father's studies for answers on the paranormal and finds a photo of the Frasier family, Cally and Cody. He then hears a girl's laughter that gets more manic and more evil, causing him to run out of the house. It's Cally, who I guess is into Brandt as well and is getting tired of the pranks. She's ready to finish him off soon. The next day, Jinny and Meg show up and Brandt invites them in. And I literally threw the book at the wall. I was kidding about inviting Meg. And Jinny comes in despite what happened? I'll save it for the conclusion but oh wow this book fell off a cliff. See Jinny's mom said that it must have been an accident when the glass shattered in midair and aimed directly at her wrists to slit them. Anyway, he shows them a blow dart gun with poison darts, then leaves to help his father. Guess what happens to Meg and Jinny? If you said both end up with darts in their necks you'd be correct. Mr. McCloy says that the girls will be fine, but hospitalized for a bit. Oh and they have nerve damage too. Yeah, "fine". 

Anyway the next entry says that Abbie will be next again because I guess Cally is running out of ideas. Kind of like this saga... Anyway, Abbie then shows up and reveals that she hasn't been Abbie at all. It was Cally. See, Cally killed Abbie already and took her form. Now she wants Brandt all to herself because I guess being a ghost doesn't stop you being horny. She then hits Brandt in the head with hatchet. And despite the hatchet in his head, it doesn't kill him because he's been dead the entire fucking time. THAT was the condition. And I literally threw the goddamn book on the floor. I mean it tracks with the bruising and the brittle bones but what the fuck is even this book at this point? 

So yeah, remember Mapolo, the island the McCloys were living on? Turns out that Mr. McCloy cheated one of the villagers out of some poison darts, so the villager got revenge by spreading poison powder outside their door and making panther noises to lure him out. However it was Brandt who would wind up poisoned and ended up dying. They buried Brandt's body, but the parents weren't ready to just let Brandt stay dead so they went to a witch doctor (Ah there's the stereotypes in full force) who says that while his life force is there, he can still be saved. And to do that, the witch doctor lures a drifter into his hut and poisons the drifter. He then stripped the drifter, put the clothes on Brandt, put a pouch around Brandt's neck, then set both Brandt and the drifter's corpses on the ground and began dancing and chanting. And no, the book doesn't confirm that he was chanting Ting, Tang, Walla-Walla Bing Bang, but knowing Stine maybe he fucking was. And it works, bringing Brandt back to "life" in a technical sense. Bob, stay off the weed, dude. 

So, while Cally tries to process all of this, the shadowy figure returns. It's the spirit of the drifter who wants his body back and like, yeah I think he's more than warranted his body back. The drifter grabs Brandt whose body then begins to wither and die. Cally is once again alone in the house as the McCloys have an actual funeral for Brandt this time and keep him buried. Or probably went to another witch doctor and tried to mulligan this. Either way, Cally is alone again, but knows she won't be for long because this is a three-parter, baby!

Sometimes, the strength of a book is measured in its twist. You can have all the window dressing in the world, it's the twist that has to pay off. And when it comes to Fear Street twists in general, this may easily be the uncrowned king of "What the fuck". I mean, there's precedent to it with Brandt's condition being played up so much and this constant sense of his body being pretty much that of a corpse. And Stine brings up the two spirits before getting to the end. But man, this was one for the ages. Also, of course, deeply filled with a lot of stereotypes about tropical islands and mysticism. To the point that it hasn't aged well in that sense, feeling like the closest we've gotten in a Stine book to full on racist gimmickry, not just stuff like "Strutting like a rapper on MTV". So there is at least a good reason to collar tug over that ending. 

It also does scream of Stine hitting a wall in how to get Brandt in and out of the story since this is the second of three books. Adding a family that will ultimately play less importance to that of the Frasier family early on. But even with all that, Cally's big moment as the villain kind of feels like a letdown. She mostly stews in the background and schemes, pulling off some scares that don't hit like the ones in the last book. At least we get some sort of payoff to the James and Cubby situation. I was worried that Stine would have just moved on from it. Maybe he was going to settle it last book and ran out of time, so we have to throw it in the middle of this book. All for everyone to blame James for the hauntings instead of Cally which again feels like padding.

Brandt is frustrating. Not the worst character ever, but kind of shit in a lot of places. Mainly for trying to get with Abbie, Jinny and Meg at the same time and yet still stupid enough to keep inviting people into the house so they can suffer in some form. And, of course, when we learn he's actually stolen the body of a drifter through magic, it does make him less sympathetic. Cally is still here, but mostly feels in the background until the end. Jinny and Meg are here mostly to be love interests and to add to the body count, even if they don't fully die. Jon is our Superfluous Clay of the book, feeling like he's here to be a rival to Brandt, but then just disappears after Brandt challenges him to a fight. Definitely the most filler character in a while. Also Hankers and Nordstrom are still around I guess. 

And superfluous is definitely how I feel about this second book. It exists, but feels like so little of it matters to the overall story. It makes this already feel like a book saga that did not need to be a trilogy. Even if the James and Cubby stuff got resolved here, it doesn't really feel like enough to justify this book at all. No new exposition on the house or the Fears, or even why Cally was chosen to die apparently. Just a redo of a lot of the shenanigans from the last book and a twist that feels so out of nowhere and also doesn't feel like it matters to the events of the story. A second part of a trilogy should be the bridge book. Strong enough in its own right as a story while also being able to build interest going into the finale. Sadly, I don't feel that this book did either that well. Its absurd twist is one to be at least appreciated, given we don't get enough over the top supernatural stuff in Fear Street for the most part. But you could have made this book its own standalone book and this saga wouldn't have suffered that much. It also feels like too much of a redo of the last book that it gets bogged down for that as well. So yep, cover I like, book I didn't. It just keeps happening. We have one more part and I'm hoping for a solid course correct. The Second Horror gets a C.