Characters from the Deep Trouble Goosebumps subseries.
Billy Deep
Portrayed By: Tod Fennell (TV); Adam Rich (Audiobook)
"I'd seen sharks at the aquarium, of course. But they were trapped in a glass tank, where they just swam around restlessly, perfectly harmless. Not very exciting. I wanted to spot a shark's fin on the horizon, floating over the water, closer, closer, heading right for us... In other words, I wanted adventure."
The protagonist of Deep Trouble, Deep Trouble II and the Goosebumps HorrorLand book Creep From the Deep''. Billy is a budding undersea explorer on vacation with his uncle, Dr. Deep, and his sister, Sheena. On the trip, he encounters a mermaid who he saves from kidnappers, and later goes on to have many more undersea adventures.
- Asian and Nerdy: According to the Horrorland spin-offs, he's Asian American.
- The Atoner: He spends the second half of Deep Trouble trying to make up for getting the Mermaid captured.
- Badass Adorable: Well, "Badass" would be a stretch, but he can still be pretty brave when push comes to shove.
- Badass Family: He, his sister, and uncle deal with sea based threats on a regular basis.
- Big Brother Instinct: He goes into the jellyfish to save Sheena in the second book.
- Break the Cutie: Doesn't last long, though.
- Character Development: He's introduced as an arrogant, hot-headed glory hound, but by the end of the book, he's a much more selfless individual, willing to risk his life to save his new friend.
- Cheerful Child: Oh, yes. This is what sets him apart from his successors.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: By Creep from the Deep, he's definitely earned this title.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: In the book's first few paragraphs, he criticizes Sheena for not opening her mind to concepts like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.
- Cowardly Lion: He's often visibly terrified at all the horrors he faces on his adventures,but he still can and will take a stand against them, especially when they threaten his family.
- Fearless Fool: Not entirely fearless, but when his uncle warns him about sharks in the reef, he replies, "Sharks! Wow!" Later on, he rushes headfirst into a gang of thugs trying to kidnap the mermaid.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish to his sister Sheena's responsible. He's more adventurous and reckless, while Sheena is more grounded and close-minded.
- Friend to All Living Things: He makes fast friends with the mermaid, and claims that when he's a famous undersea explorer, he's going to give the creatures he encounters pet names. H also shows remorse about feeding a school of guppies to Dr. D's pet eel.
- Green-Eyed Monster: When Sheena successfully pulls a prank on him for the first time, Billy is furious not for being pranked itself, but because he is jealous that she might be usurping his position in the family as the prankster.
- Hidden Depths: Billy's not the sharpest guy around compared to his scientist uncle, but Creep From The Deep shows he's pretty good at adapting to sea life, piloting a mini-sub and later using the harpooning lessons Dr Deep taught him to take out a crazed zombie pirate.
- Hot-Blooded: See above.
- I Just Want to Be Badass: Billy dreams of being a great explorer and even tries to fight like one a few times. Unfortunately, he's still a little boy facing giant sea-creatures, hardened criminals, or undead pirates, so he spends more time trying to stay alive than actually fighting.
- Loose Lips: When caught eavesdropping on a conversation, he tries to crack a joke that further confirms their suspicions. And when they are questioned by a passing crew over their boat briefly capsizing, he straight up tells them the truth, when it’s supposed to be a major secret.
- Meaningful Name: His last name is Deep, and he likes to explore DEEP beneath the waves.
- Mr. Imagination: He frequently has fantasies about being a famous undersea explorer.
- Nice Guy: He's certainly one of the more likable protagonists.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Thanks to him: the benevolent Mermaid was captured.
- Related in the Adaptation: In the mobile game Goosebumps HorrorTown, his uncle is Spidey from Say Cheese and Die.
- Sibling Rivalry: Him and Sheena engage in a prank war in the second book.
- Straw Loser: Averted. Billy avoids most of the characteristics that the other protagonists have. He also plays a lot more of a role in stopping the villain than most Goosebumps protagonists, who's role is usually "be the kid who experiences the weird/paranormal stuff of the month".
Sheena Deep
Portrayed By: Laura Vandervoort (TV); Hynden Walch (Audiobook)
"You're snorkeling at six-thirty in the morning, you're exactly where you're not supposed to be!"
The sister to Billy Deep in the Deep Trouble series. She shares Billy's undersea adventures when they visit their uncle.
- Acting Your Intellectual Age: Billy says she never believed in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy or monsters in her closet when she was younger, and often acts more like an old lady than a kid.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Due to her know-it-all attitude and tendency to condescend Billy, though Billy often pranks her as well.
- Asian and Nerdy: She is part-Asian, and Billy mentions how she gets straight As in school.
- Catchphrase: According to Billy, "No such thing".
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: A rare case where the Annoying Younger Sibling is the responsible one. She finds Billy's daydreams childish and refuses to believe in the existence of mythical creatures as easily as him.
- No Sense of Humor: Downplayed. She is rather serious and disapproves of Billy's daydreams and pranks, but also isn't above pranking him a few times.
- Only Sane Woman: With Billy being more reckless and imaginative and Dr. Deep apparently spending his time at their house playing with boats in the bathtub.
- Sibling Rivalry: Her and Billy engage in a prank war in the second book, with her being amused when she discovers that he played the exact same prank she was going to play on him.
Doctor George Deep
Portrayed By: Paul Miller (TV); Corey Burton (Audiobook)
"Billy, I'm a scientist. This mermaid is an extremely important discovery. If I let her go, I'd be letting down the entire scientific community. I'd be letting down the entire world!"
Billy and Sheena's uncle, he's a marine biologist who discovers all sorts of strange phenomena that endanger him, his niece, and nephew.
- Adults Are Useless: He does try to avoid it, though.
- Cool Uncle: Questionable decisions aside, Dr. Deep is a kind man who devotes his life to studying and protecting exotic sealife, and is willing to pass over millions of dollars to do the right thing. Both his niece and nephew clearly admire him and are always thrilled to join his adventures.
- Cloud Cuckoo Landers Minder: He's this for Billy, trying to keep him out of trouble.
- Distressed Dude: Billy and Sheena always have to save him from whatever menace he's disturbed. One wonders how he's able to survive without them.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Being stuck on land messes with his mind so much that it makes him shout things like "Billy, stand up straight! Sheena, swab the deck!" Then again, it's Billy describing this, so he might be exaggerating his uncle's quirks.
- Heel Realization: After the fight to save the Mermaid from the crooks, he still seems to be thinking of capturing her. When the zoo workers arrive, though, he tears up their reward money.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Attempts to reason with his treacherous assistant Alexander, even after he tried to kill him and the kids earlier that night.
- Meaningful Name: A marine biologist regularly exploring the ocean whose last name is Deep.
- Less obviously, his boat, the SS Cassandra. Like the fabled Greek prophetess, the Deeps know of things that are impossible for most of the world to believe. In fact, this is practically a recurring theme for the franchise.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He's useless in dangerous situations, but he does try his best to keep the children from danger.
- Reed Richards Is Useless: No, Dr. Deep, selling a freaking Mermaid to a children's zoo isn't a good idea.
Alexander DuBrow
Portrayed By: Tony Pope (Audiobook)
"Your uncle's worked his whole life for a discovery like this. It'd break his heart if you let her go."
Dr. Deep's assistant. A nice guy, but a terrible cook. After his boss captures the mermaid, Alexander decides to steal it for himself and make a fortune. He's last seen under attack by the creature's vengeful family.
- Asshole Victim: He was willing to murder children just to strike it rich. Needless to say, no one's complaining when the mermaids drag him to his doom.
- Big Bad: Of Deep Trouble.
- Dirty Coward: He claims he has no choice but to follow the criminals, as they'd kill him if he interferes. It's hardly sympathetic at all as he was the one who led them there in the first place.
- Evil Counterpart: Alexander's actions are meant to show Billy and Dr. Deep the dangers of discovery and ambition. Like them, he's a marine explorer seeking the ocean's secrets, but he has far less scruples and is way more selfish.
- Faux Affably Evil: He first appears to be a cheerful, hard-working scientist like Dr.Deep, and acts like a Big Brother Mentor to the siblings. Then he steals their new friend so he can sell her for a fortune, casually tries to dispose of them when they get in his way, and throws everything good they saw in him out the window.
- Greed: He screws over the rest of the crew just so he can sell the mermaid for triple the price of what the Zoo was already paying. Even worse, it's implied he expected Billy to do the same thing in that situation.
- Hate Sink: Once he shows his true colors, Alexander becomes a truly detestable character, made worse by how more grounded in reality his actions are compared to other antagonists. He not only looks to exploit an innocent mermaid for triple the amount of money he'd ''already be earning'', but he shamelessly allows his criminal employers to murder the family who trusted him just to save his own wretched hide.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: He is the first antagonist to have no supernatural qualities or associations.
- Karmic Death: Possible, since he never appears in the rest of the book or its two sequels.
- Lack of Empathy: Has no qualms about betraying his boss and allowing him to be murdered as long as he gets paid.
- Lethal Chef: The mermaid is the only one who can stand his cooking.
- The Mole: We never find out who he was working for, though.
- Murder by Inaction: While he doesn't try to directly kill the Deeps, he coldly leaves them to be thrown in the Mermaid's tank and drowned so he doesn't earn the wrath of his employers.
- Nice Guy / Reasonable Authority Figure: Subverted. It's all an act.
- Only in It for the Money: "The Zoo was going to pay 1 million dollars for this mermaid. But my new boss will pay me 50 million!''
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We never find out what happens to him and his cohorts after the Mermaid attack. Maybe it's better that way.
The Mermaid
A mermaid girl who Dr. Deep was being paid to capture. She bonds with Billy after saving him from a shark.
- Big Damn Heroes: Her first scene has her saving Billy from a hammerhead shark.
- Cute Monster Girl: A quirky and somewhat friendly mermaid girl. Her appearance in the Goosebumps Graphix version of the story tends to give her some rather cute expressions.
- The Unintelligible: Doesn't speak any human languages, only communicating by making a "kruu" noise.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Squid.
The Sea Monster
An octopus-like Sea Monster in the first book.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Until Alexander shows his true colors, it's the closest thing to the book's villain. And after he's been dealt with, it shows up at the very end to attack Billy again.
- Combat Tentacles: It's basically a giant octopus with too many tentacles.
- Generic Doomsday Villain: This thing barely counts as a "character" as it solely exists to attack the protagonist randomly and inexplicably.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: It just appears in the first book with no explanation twice in the book: once near the beginning, another time right at the end.
- Nothing Is Scarier: No explanation is ever given for what it is or why it's hunting Billy specifically, and it's all the more terrifying for it.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It doesn't show up at all in the second book, and is never even mentioned the ending to the first book has Billy run into it, so it may have just been retconned out of existence.
