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Hello.
I'm R.
L.
Stine.
I write the Goosebumps books.
You know, werewolf legends haunted people's dreams for hundreds of years.
Imagine a full moon, someone beneath it slowly turning into a ferocious wolf creature.
Our parents and our grandparents loved to be scared by the classic werewolf tales, and I hope you will enjoy "The Werewolf of Fever Swamp.
" I'll see you after the show.
Right now I'm going for a quick bite.
What a great space.
It's twice as big as your old bedroom, Grady.
It's kind of used.
Well, it's rustic.
Rustic's in these days.
Is this a bloodstain? No.
That's just, um, dry rot.
Ew! Emily, what's wrong? That's it.
That is it.
I don't care what you and Dad say, I am not living here.
What is it now? The medicine chest.
Cool! Oh! It's a little corn snake.
- It was a corn snake.
- Oh, gross.
Hi there.
Give the snake an earring, it'll look like your old boyfriend.
- Snakes don't have ears.
- Mom! Emily, we live near a swamp now.
You're gonna have to get used to things that crawl and slither.
- Besides yourself.
- Oh! Grady, set this free in the swamp.
Me? Have fun.
Mom! Go on.
A little wildlife never hurt anybody.
Just don't go too far in, okay? Wait a minute.
It wasn't this far.
I'm not lost.
I'm not lost.
I am not lost.
When summer vacation is over, I'm out of here.
A boarding school would be better than this hole.
You know, Emily, you're not the only one that doesn't wanna be here.
But at least I'm trying to make the best of it.
After running into that weirdo in the swamp yesterday, I thought you'd be on my side.
Mom and Dad have been talking about this experiment for years, and I'm not gonna be the one to ruin it.
Gee.
And the one time I was counting on you.
Ohh! Ohh! Everything's off the truck.
Great.
This place is beginning to feel like home already.
So, uh, when do you set the deer loose? Oh, not for a while yet.
Your mom and I have to tag 'em and make sure the trip here hasn't sent any of 'em into shock.
Did you ever think that you would be spending your teenage years in a place like fever swamp? Not in my wildest dreams.
Hey, this is a great opportunity for you, you know? Most kids don't get to expand their horizons like this.
Ah, I'll bet you'll make lots of new friends.
Oh, yeah, right.
Like that psycho I ran into last night.
He is not a psycho.
He's a He's a hermit.
I asked about him in town this morning.
He lost his family a while ago, and ever since then, he's been a little strange.
But he just lives off the land, doesn't harm anybody.
I don't feel right about this place.
It feels so It just feels so weird.
Look, Grady.
You see these deer here? Up until a couple of days ago, they had never seen a swamp before.
Now your mom and I get to study how they're gonna adapt.
Believe me, they will, because it's just natural to adapt.
And pretty soon, they're gonna love it here.
And so are you.
Very interesting.
Glad I could be a part of your study.
Grady, that's really annoying.
Grady! There's nothing to do here.
I saw you move in yesterday.
You live here? I didn't know any kids lived here.
People usually don't move in to Fever Swamp.
They move out.
Hi.
I'm Will Blake, and I live over there.
Grady Tucker.
So, what are those deer you got in that pen for? Well, my parents are scientists.
They're studying how the deer will adapt to the swamp.
Scientists, huh? We don't get many scientists around here.
It sounds like you don't get much of anything.
Yeah.
It's old-timers mostly.
We're the only kids.
I bet you had lots of friends where you came from.
Yeah.
I had like twenty right on my street.
Oh, that must've been great.
It was.
So, uh, do you wanna play catch? You got a mitt? Uh, I'm not much for baseball.
I've got some targets out back.
You've got a B.
B.
gun, don't you? Our family kinda doesn't believe in guns.
Oh.
You been in yet? Yesterday.
Did you get lost? Yeah.
People say the swamp starts to grow inside your head.
You get confused, turned around.
Sometimes people go in and are never heard from again.
You know why your parents got that house so cheap? Yeah.
Because it's a piece of garbage.
No.
'Cause the old lady who lived there went into the swamp one day and never came out.
So let's check it out.
Wait a second.
It's okay.
I know my way around.
This is incredible! Dinosaurs used to live in places like this.
They still do.
Alligators.
You know, some of the most successful predators live in swamps and jungles.
So, how come they call it Fever Swamp? 'Cause people around here believe there's a fever that comes from this swamp.
It makes your body get hot like an oven, and it gets inside your head and starts boiling your brain.
Makes you do crazy things.
Even makes you run into the swamp and stay there.
Maybe we shouldn't be here.
Oh, no! We gotta get outta here! What is it? Shut up and run! Over here.
The Swamp Hermit.
I thought he only came out at night.
I saw that guy yesterday.
It's lucky he didn't see you.
He did see me.
That's bad, Grady.
They can't prove it, but he's the real reason people keep disappearing.
My dad says he's harmless.
Don't believe it.
He's been roamin' around this swamp for fifty, sixty years.
Come on.
He can't be that old.
He's even older than that.
People like him don't age like the rest of us.
It's impossible.
It's true.
He'll never get a day older as long as he keeps finding victims.
The moon is full tonight.
You'll hear him howling, and you'll know exactly what he is.
Nothing else on earth howls like that.
Like what? Like a werewolf.
Dad, why can't I drive into town? I have a license, you know.
You just got your license, and you don't know the roads.
So I'll drive slow.
Is there any mail for me today, like from my friends? Mail doesn't come until Wednesday.
Amazing it comes at all.
I hear you met the neighbor boy today.
What's he like? - He's okay.
- Yeah? Without a car, I'll never meet anyone my own age.
Oh, Emily, come on! It's not like we're on the moon.
His name's Will.
You know what he said? He said there's a fever you get from the swamp.
The fever boils your brain and makes you go nuts.
That's ridiculous.
Are you sure? Did you know that a lot of people have disappeared around here? Did you know that the lady that owned this house disappeared? But Will knows what got her.
A werewolf.
- Well, that's just great.
- Werewolves.
I don't know about this Will.
Will knows the swamp, Mom.
And you know who he thinks that werewolf is? The Swamp Hermit.
All right.
I've heard just about enough.
Now, listen.
There is no such thing as a werewolf.
Those stories are just old folk legends.
There's never been a shred of scientific evidence.
And also, there's no such fever as the one you described.
And as I told you before, that old hermit is a harmless old eccentric who has never hurt anyone.
Or no one's lived to tell about it.
No! Normal.
I didn't do anything! Grady? He's gonna kill me! Help! Grady! Go away.
Honey, are you okay? Yeah, yeah.
I'm fine.
That was trying to kill you? Did I hear someone screaming? Oh.
It was Grady.
He was being licked to death.
Where were you? You missed all the excitement.
Something upset the deer.
I went outside to check 'em.
You left the door open.
Well, I think we've found the culprit.
Hey, boy.
He is huge! So that's who's been howling.
What are you doing scaring people like that? Huh, boy? Wonder who he belongs to.
No collar, no tags.
He's probably a stray.
- Well, he seems friendly enough.
- Can we keep him for a while? I bet he'll make a great watchdog.
I don't know, Grady.
Oh, come on, Dad! Life in the country is not complete without a dog.
You want to live here, you gotta take the whole package.
We'll see.
Come on, Dad! Okay.
I'll tell you what.
I'll check in town.
If nobody claims him, then we'll talk about it.
But he sleeps outside.
Deal.
Excuse me.
Doesn't anyone care about what I think? See? Someone cares.
Come on, boy.
There you go.
Here we go.
Come on.
That's okay.
Sit.
How long's it been since you had someone to play with? Huh, boy? Neither of us has to worry about it anymore.
Don't get too attached to that dog, Grady.
He might have a home.
I'm thinkin' about calling him Vandal on account of the way he broke in last night.
What'd you bring that out for? There's going to be a full moon tonight.
Full moon? It'll be really spectacular.
The sun, the moon and the earth will be lined up So the earth's shadow will pass over the moon.
A lunar eclipse.
Ooh.
Can I still get tickets? Someday something's gonna impress you kids.
I just hope I'm around to see it.
Did you hear the howling last night? - Yeah.
It was Vandal.
- Is that what you think? Come here, boy.
Good boy.
Don't worry.
If that Swamp Hermit comes around, Vandal will smell him a mile away.
Won't you, boy? What's this stuff tied to the trees? Wolfsbane.
It's supposed to ward off werewolves.
Of course, educated people know it doesn't work.
Oh, right.
The educated people use silver bullets.
Shows how much you know.
The fact is, werefolk invented that silver bullet story themselves so poor people couldn't afford to hunt them down.
- "Werefolk"? - I suppose you'd call them were-persons.
Maybe we should go back.
I don't know this part of the swamp.
Wow! Where are we? The bog is supposed to be the heart of the swamp.
Right in its very center.
A couple of years ago, a kid fell in.
Sucked him down like quicksand.
There's no tellin' what's down there.
- I wonder how deep it is.
- Let's find out.
What's it feel like? Like green, slimy mashed potatoes.
Ah, this is too gross.
Hey! Hey, wait a second! - What is it? - Something's got me! Help! Help me! There's something down there! It's got my hand! Oh! It was only a shoe.
Sucker.
You're not funny.
Oh, man, that was awesome.
You should've seen the look on your face.
Come on, Grady.
I couldn't help myself.
What's the matter, boy? Somebody's watching us.
I thought you said that didn't work.
Do you believe everything you hear? Come on.
Let's get out of here.
Come on, boy.
Oh, how cute! A bunny! It was horrible, Mom.
It was just sitting there looking up at me with those big, innocent eyes.
So I reached out to pet it.
Well, honey, didn't you realize something was wrong when it didn't run away? I thought it liked me.
What's wrong? It's that stupid dog.
I know it is.
We should've taken it right to the pound when we found it.
Hey, you leave Vandal alone! He's not bothering anyone.
I'm not so sure about that, Grady.
What are you talking about? - Come take a look.
- Stay.
Oh, that's sick, Dad.
It was mauled by some predator.
Just like half a dozen other animals in the area last night.
It just killed them for no reason.
Oh, come on, Dad.
Vandal didn't do this.
I mean, look at him.
Bite marks are canine.
So what? It could've been anything.
It could've been a wolf.
Grady, there are no wolves in the swamp.
How do you know? Look, the swamp's a pretty brutal place, you know? If that dog's been living there, he could've become just as brutal.
And he was outside all last night.
The bite marks.
I bet they're big, right? Too big for Vandal.
No, Grady, they're not.
We think it was Vandal.
It's not Vandal! There might be something going on out there, but it has nothing to do with my dog.
We'll get you another dog.
No! - It's okay, boy.
- No one's gonna hurt you.
I'll make sure of it.
I don't want another dog.
He's completely irrational.
Maybe he has that swamp fever he's been babbling about.
It's the Swamp Hermit killing all those animals.
I've got to find his shack.
I can't let them blame Vandal.
They'll take him away.
Oh, man! No one actually goes looking for the Swamp Hermit! Getting yourself wasted isn't gonna help your dog.
Well, if you're that scared, then go home.
I'll do it myself.
Oh, I wish I'd never even told you.
All right.
I'll go.
But I'm outta there before the moon rises.
One bite.
One bite, man.
That's all it takes, and you'll be just like him A werewolf.
If he kills you, you're lucky.
You see anything werewolf? I don't know.
It's dark in there.
Will! Get me out of here! Will! Get me out of this thing! Will! Help! Help me! Will!