The Goosebumps House Of Shivers book where a brother and sister search for a scary book.
Betty and Billy Arnold are twin siblings sent by their parents to stay with their Uncle Wendell whom they haven't seen since they were babies. Once they arrive, Uncle Wendell tells them that they must search for the Scariest Book Ever, a book so terrifying that if opened will unleash evil into the world. The twins find themselves thrust into quite a harrowing adventure where they encounter several paranormal creatures and also greedy book thieves who will do anything to get their hands on the book, some of whom are closer to them than they expect..
This book provides examples of:
- Adults Are Useless:This is actually a big part of the plot. At the beginning, Betty and Billy's parents drop them off at Uncle Wendell's house and quickly leave them there without making sure Wendell is present at the house or meeting him at all because they didn't want to miss their flight. As a result, the twins meet and interact with two different people who claimed to be the real Uncle Wendell
- Ambiguous Ending: The kids reunite with the real Uncle Wendell, defeat the book thieves and recover the book. But when they return home to their parents, they discover that Wendell has entrusted them with the book as he feels that their house is the safest place to hide it. Billy plans on storing it in an old dresser he never uses, but after looking at it, he asks Betty if maybe they can take just one peek at the book. The Bookworm told them that if the book is ever opened, it will unleash evil into the world. This is not helped by Billy's dialogue at the beginning of the story, in which he says that he and Betty should have believed the story about the Scariest Book Ever.
- Beast with a Human Face: The man-bats, which are on the cover above.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The second Uncle Wendell, actually a book thief called The Collector, pretended to be the real Wendell's friend only to betray him. He likewise behaves kindly to Betty and Billy when they first meet, but once the jig is up he shows his true colors as a ruthless and evil individual.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Neither The Bookworm or the Collector's true names are revealed.
- Fire-Breathing Weapon: Jesse wields a flamethrower that she uses to threaten The Collector into giving her and her boss The Bookworm, the Scariest Book Ever.
- Foreshadowing: When the Man Bat first flies into Betty and Billy's room it tells them to get out. They are too freaked out to pay attention to this, but the bat likely knew that they were not currently with the real Uncle Wendell and was trying to warn the children that they were in danger.
- Spot the Imposter: At the climax, Betty and Billy are stuck with two individuals, one blonde, and one red head, claiming to be Uncle Wendell, Billy comes up with a clever way of finding out who, he tells them to say Betty's real name. The blonde one says Elizabeth, while the red head says Bethany. The redhead is right.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: The Bookworm's henchman Jesse doesn't appear to want to hurt Betty and Billy, even after it's revealed that she's a thief. The Collector on the other hand, implies he has no problem doing so.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Betty has this reaction when the twins see a man bat for the first time
