Based on How I Got My Shrunken Head, book #39 of the original Goosebumps series.
Mark travels to the jungles of Baladora to visit his aunt, only to discover the shrunken head she gave him is key to the magical powers he's unknowingly carried for much of his life.
The episode provides examples of:
- Actor Allusion: At one point, Kareen's father calls her Princess. She is played by Rebecca Henderson, who previously played Margret in "Stay Out of the Basement", a character who was referred to as Princess by her dad.
- Adapted Out: Mark's sister Jessica is removed, as are Mark's two friends Eric and Joel.
- Chekhov's Gun: Mark's mother, Alice, mentions how Mark has a red ant farm. The end of the episode reveals that Mark kept the shrunken Hawlings there.
- Elvis Impersonator: The pilot of the plane that brings Mark to Baladora is this.
- Evil All Along: Kareen Hawlings convinces Mark that she, unlike her father, is on the good side. In reality, she’s almost as bad as he is.
- Framing Device: The episode is actually a story that Mark is telling to his mother's boyfriend.
- Named by the Adaptation: Mark's surname Rowe originates from the episode, as does his mother's first name Alice.
- Our Zombies Are Different: Unlike the book, the episode has the villain experimenting on his henchmen to activate the powers of Jungle Magic. Instead of the desired results, they're possessed by an unknown energy that reduces them to mindless slaves.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: Richard and Carolyn Hawlings go from being siblings in the book to being husband and wife in the episode.
- Shout-Out: Dr. Hawlings is stated to have been sent by Miskatonic University.
