Back to Ghoul: The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids #02: Werewolves Don't Go to Summer Camp

It's time for another trip back to the Bailey School. Been a while, huh? Well, that was by intention given the second book in the series takes us out of the classroom and into camp. Where there may or may not be werewolves. And they may or may not go to Summer Camp. I mean if Ernest, Woody Woodpecker and Christmas Ape can go to summer camp, why can't werewolves? Let's see what howl awaits us as we ponder the possibility that Werewolves Don't Go to Summer Camp.

This is the most "a guy" I've ever seen on these covers. Like, werewolf or not, he feels right in place in the late 80s, early 90s vibe of "your dad". So much so that he definitely doesn't come off very werewolf like at all. But he is very hairy, which again I'd posit is more of a look than any pure sign of werewolf-itis. Also, I'll say it with every cover no doubt, but this guy TOTALLY was a gay awakening character. Don't kid yourself. Hairy barefoot masculine man. How could he not be? 

Now the reprint cover. Oh yeah, he definitely looks more werewolf-like. Still no doubt an awakening character. Also props to the clouds in the moonlight looking like a wolf's face. Very creative addition.

A new camp has opened in Bailey City, which all of the kids decide to sign up for. Howie and Eddie are excited, Liza's a nervous wreck and Melody mainly needs to go to the bathroom. They arrive at Camp Lone Wolf and are forced to listen to a tall hairy man with dog tags and bare feet named Mr. Jenkins. Our possible werewolf. He gives them their bunks, the boys in Cabin Silver Wolf, girls in Cabin Gray Wolf. The girls go to their bunks, with Liza being nervous and nauseous about taking a top bunk, meaning Melody takes it, despite her fearing she'll fall off and break her neck. Reader beware, you're in for complaints. Also Melody refers to Liza as Twitter Brain, which I hope to god in some reprint years from now they won't call her X Brain.

Things don't get much better for the kids at lunch when they realize their burgers are barely cooked. Turns out that Mr. Jenkins likes his burgers super raw. I mean what's summer camp without a little salmonella poisoning, huh? But it's the first major thing to make the kids suspect that something's off about Mr. Jenkins. Eddie suggests that this hairy weirdo might be a wolf, perhaps of the were variety. But Melody doubts it, mainly to keep Liza from panicking even more than she already is. The kids head to the nightly campfire where they see Mr. Jenkins in his Camp Lone Wolf shirt and lack of shoes. He tells the kids that he'll have no crybabies in this camp and soon he'll have them in line, before telling a story a boy whose family was camping in this very area. The boy wandered off from camp and disappeared, but ever since then, a piercing howl could be heard. A howl from a lone wolf, hence the camp's title. Eddie thinks it's bunk, so Mr. Jenkins suggests he sleeps outside. But on account of rain, Eddie postpones that plan for the next night. Reader beware, you're NOT going to get pneumonia. 

During the storm, lightning flashes, giving off the image of a hairy beast wandering the woods, which Melody thinks confirms there must be a wolf, a were, or a combination of were and wolf in these woods. The next day, it's time for the kids to swim. Liza doesn't swim, to which Mr. Jenkins tells her that she'll need to learn to swim to survive in the wilderness, then notes that she's plump and needs the exercise. I don't know if he's a werewolf, but he's definitely a dick. Mr. Jenkins starts to swim, first doing a doggie paddle, then licking the water and shaking it off in very dog-like fashion. Liza almost drowns in shallow water, so Mr. Jenkins saves her, which means that even if he's a werewolf, he's not gonna let a kid drown in stupid fashion.

The kids play some softball and wrap up for the evening with Eddie still planning to sleep outside to prove there's no lone wolf. Mr. Jenkins talks about wolves being in packs and eating animals that can't keep up with others. He also notes having experience with wolves, while also saying that he believes that the lone wolf was an outlier from the normal pack mentality. He also notes that he knows a bit about werewolves, which of course adds more pieces to Melody's checklist of this guy possibly being a werewolf. Eddie is still Doubting Thomas, so Mr. Jenkins suggests if he's sleeping outside to stay close to a campfire. It doesn't take too long into the night for Eddie to see what definitely looks like a werewolf, so he uses the fire to ward it off before running back to the bunk, now on board with the potential werewolfery. He and Howie hear a howl, so add Howie to the "Oh this place mostly likely has a werewolf" group.

Liza is still not fully on board, but it's three to one on this conspiracy. Eddie suggests they check Mr. Jenkins' cabin to see if there's any proof that he's their werewolf. After archery, they eat, to which Mr. Jenkins comes up to them, notes that Melody needs to fatten up, and when she doesn't eat her chicken, he eats it instead. Which might be the first horror to work in this book, mainly on a "the hell are you doing you creep?" level. He then notes the other counselors will help them learn to build campfires, since being near fire makes him uncomfortable. The kids sneak into Mr. Jenkins' cabin and find posters of wolves, and an encyclopedia of wolves and wolflore, which is TOTALLY proof this guy's a werewolf. They note a page about mistletoe and wolfsbane when they hear the howling outside once again. They hear the clinking of metal, and believe it's the dog tags belonging to Mr. Jenkins.

The kids decide that they need to get the mistletoe and wolfsbane, but didn't get enough time to read about what they do exactly. They find some and almost get lost, before Mr. Jenkins finds them and scolds them for almost getting lost. He then tells them they'll be taking a night hike in the next evening, which conveniently is when there'll be a full moon. So yeah. The kids don't have much time here. They then go on a hike out to an area that nobody could find them should something happens, werewolf or otherwise. The kids think that Liza will be doomed first because he'll eat the fat kids first. Jus-just gonna keep kicking her confidence into the dirt, I see? He leads them to a cliffside area complete with a waterfall and sparkling pool of water. The kids swim for a bit, then Eddie tries to put a spider on Liza's head to scare her, when Mr. Jenkins takes the spider and eats it. I know you need to get your protein somehow but yeesh.

The next night, the kids sneak back into Mr. Jenkins' cabin and sprinkle the wolfsbane and mistletoe around, since they still didn't read what it does exactly. The next day, Mr. Jenkins is sick from an allergic reaction and nowhere to be found, so maybe it worked. Or they just poisoned a really intense normal guy. Well, as long as he's hurt. But that doesn't mean the night hike's off. Mr. Jenkins will be taking them hiking out in the full moon. Alone. With no other counselors. They then spot Mr. Jenkins. He's shaven and wearing sneakers. So with him looking even less wolf-like than usual, they think that they're in the clear until camp ends. However, that confidence is shot when they see Mr. Jenkins again at night, hairy and barefoot once more. The kids feel like all is lost, but Liza kept some mistletoe, so Howie sneaks it into Mr. Jenkins' backpack. He starts to itch and runs off. This gives the kids time to warn the other campers, just as they hear a howl and see a wolf-like being in the woods. 

The next day comes and the kids leave camp. They see Mr. Jenkins, who is more silent and just as hairy. The kids don't have their proof that he was a werewolf, just a really really weird camp director. As the bus leaves, they see Mr. Jenkins howling. 

I like this one more than the first book. And I think the main reason why is that there's a lot more that was done with it to sell the concept of Mr. Jenkins being a werewolf than there was Mrs. Jeepers being a vampire. With the vampire stuff, you could really only go so far with the mystery. You don't get a lot of the smaller things that could make you wonder if Mrs. Jeepers was a real vampire. You can't have her suck any blood. But with Mr. Jenkins, there are definitely more moments that add to the ambiguity. His hairiness, his fear of fire, his allergies to the plants, him being doglike in the water, eating raw meat, eating spiders. All while coming off rather creepy in his own right. I don't think there was anything overly sinister planned with that night hike, but you never know. Like that scene at the dinner table still kind of creeps me out in that "adult reading a kids book and seeing the scenario in a more wrong way" type deal.

There really isn't any focused protagonist this time. They all sort of have their moments. Eddie gets to be annoying, but it's not the focus of the book like last time. Melody and Howie again feels more in the background to focus on the mystery. And Liza is there to not be as skeptical as the others. Seems like that's the assigned role for these kids at least at this point. I like Mr. Jenkins as our sort of antagonist. Like I said, there is a freaky feeling to him that could make you believe he's the lone wolf. That he was the boy who wandered off, became a werewolf, and then returned years later to form a summer camp where I guess the end goal could have been to turn kids into werewolves. That, or he's just an intense guy who gets really hairy really fast, enjoys free-footing it in the outdoors, and suffers from a lot of plant-based allergies. That's the strength of these books in that you really could go either way on the interpretation. 

So, we're two for two with this series. I took a while to get to this one by intent, but at least the wait didn't lead me to a mediocre book. I think for what it intends to do, it does everything very well. It's still a very simple kids book, but works in terms of building imagination over what's really going on at this camp and what's really going on with Mr. Jenkins. So yeah, easy recommend. Next book's got a maybe leprechaun. Hopefully I don't wait until March next year to get to it. Werewolves Don't Go to Summer Camp gets an A.