The horror book Night of the Living Dummy was written by children's author, R.L. Stine, who created it as the first part of a series of books in the Goosebumps range. Of all the Goosebumps sagas, the Dummy saga is considered the most successful. It is known for introducing the most famous Goosebumps villain of all time, Slappy, a ventriloquist's dummy who came to life. However, Slappy didn't come to life until the surprise ending of the original Night of the Living Dummy.
Night of the Living Dummy
After the main character of the book, Lindy Powell, finds an old ventriloquist's dummy in a dumpster, she takes it home and decides to perform routines with it. Her twin sister Kris is instantly jealous and begins asking for a dummy of her own. Soon, Kris gets a dummy named Mr. Wood, but soon mischievous events ensue.
Many strange things begin to happen like, all of the food from the fridge is spilled on the floor, with pieces of jewelry in it, and the dummy sits right beside the catastrophe. But later in the book it was actually Lindy doing all of the tricks. But even before this is when Kris says some words on a piece of paper, which are found inside Mr. Wood's box, that are actually magic words to ressurect Mr. Wood.
The sisters soon discover that Mr. Wood is actually very much alive. The duo have to somehow kill Mr. Wood. Mr. Wood considers them as "slaves" even if the two tower over the tiny dummy. They have tried numerous attempts like decapitating him with scissors, and even burying him. They soon figure out the answer to this predictament, crush the dummy. There was a bulldozer moving near their area so they struggle but fortunately bring Death to Mr. Wood by crushing all that sick life out of him.
They assume their problems are all over. But... when the two go up to their rooms Slappy says "Hey slaves, is that other guy gone? I thought he'd never leave!" Now they have to... or not... kill Slappy.
Night of the Living Dummy II
After Amy's dad brings home a new dummy named Slappy to replace Dennis, terrible things happen, much like in the first book. Something is terribly wrong with Slappy.
Night of the Living Dummy II was R.L. Stine's second novel, tenth TV episode, and surprisingly, the first Dummy TV episode.
Night of the Living Dummy III
Trina O'Dell's father has collected dummies, and has a new addition, Slappy, a nearly-free antique. However, after cousin Zane visits, mischievous things happen. Weird sounds are heard, dinners are ruined, and dummies are found in bizarre places.
Both the TV and the book have different endings. But otherwise, the basic plot and characters remain the same.
In the TV adaptation, Slappy, and another dummy called Rocky, come to life. Eventually though, Rocky throws Slappy out the attic window, then lightning strikes Slappy and demolishes him.
In the book, all of the dummies come to life and tear Slappy apart, apparently neutralizing him. At the end, however, he is fixed and given to another character, in which Slappy winks before being carried away.
Bride of the Living Dummy
After seeing the famous Jimmy O' James' performance, Jillian and Katie love Slappy. Unfortunately, Jimmy has sent them Slappy. And Katie's doll Mary Ellen seems to have a "crush" on him. But who's doing the evil deeds is up in the air? Who stole the wedding ring? Who wants their bride?
The book also reveals a bit about Slappy's past; he was carved out of coffin wood by an evil magician.
Slappy's Nightmare
This story begins when Jimmy O'James, a magician, has cold sweat and fears. Among other weird things, his ventriloquist dummy, Slappy, has been committing pranks. But, when Jimmy buys another dummy, Slappy gets the feeling he's going to be "killed" in his sense, and he wants to prevent it from happening...
More Dummy Books
Other Slappy books include:
Goosebumps Presents TV Episode #5: Night Of The Living Dummy II: Based off of Episode 5, this book has eight pages of photos as well as a detailed book about Slappy, an evil dummy who comes to life and wrecks pranks on Amy Kramer's life. Slappy New Year: Third in the called Goosebumps Gold Series, in which Slappy would reappear for the first time since New Year's Day.
Trivia
- Comparisons have been made between Slappy and Chucky, the main character/villain of the Child's Play horror movies. Both are evil living dolls, both come to life through a magical formula, both have a story called "Bride of ..." and both have appeared in five stories so far. It seems that Child's Play inspired R.L. Stine.
Slappy Gallery
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