The Werewolf of Fever Swamp
When the moon rises over Fever Swamp, a terrifying beast awakens to hunt.
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is the fourteenth book in the original Goosebumps, the series of children's horror fiction novellas created and authored by R. L. Stine. The story follows Grady Tucker, who moves into a new house next to the Fever Swamp with his family. After a swamp deer is killed, his father believes Grady's dog is responsible, but Grady is convinced a werewolf is the culprit. The book was well received by critics, and was featured on the USA Today bestseller list.
Quick Facts
- Author
- R. L. Stine
- Cover artist
- Tim Jacobus
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Series
- Goosebumps
- Genre
- Horror fiction; children's literature
- Publisher
- Scholastic
- Released
- December 1993
Lore & Background
Grady and his family, the Tuckers, have moved from Burlington, Vermont to Florida into a house next to Fever Swamp because his father Mr. Tucker, a scientist, wants to determine if swamp deer from South America can survive in Florida. Grady's father keeps the deer in a pen but plans on releasing them in the swamp. Grady and his sister Emily get lost while exploring the swamp and meet a swamp hermit who lives in a shack. As the hermit chases after them, they run away ultimately making their way back home. A few days later, as Grady is going outside to meet Will Blake, one of his new friends, a big stray dog jumps onto Grady. Grady thinks the dog resembles more a wolf than a dog and decides to call the dog Wolf. One morning, Will tells him that a neighbor, Ed Warner, went missing after hunting in the swamp. Cassie O'Rourke, a girl who lives in the neighborhood, suggests that a werewolf is the reason for Mr. Warner's disappearance.
Reader's Guide
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was first published in December 1993 by Scholastic, and reissued in October 2009 under the Classic Goosebumps rename. The book was featured in USA Today's Top 150 Best-Selling Books database for 73 weeks, attaining a peak position of 24. In 2001, it was listed as the 209th bestselling children's paperback book of all time by Publishers Weekly, having sold 1,577,808 copies. In the 1990s, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was adapted into a television special, which first aired on May 17, 1996 on the Fox Network. The special was later split into two parts and denoted as the 18th and 19th episodes of the Goosebumps television series' first season. The special starred Brendan Fletcher as Grady Tucker, Maria Ricossa as Grady's mother, Mairon Bennett as Emily, Geoffrey Bowes as Grady's father, Michael Barry as Will, and Don Francks as the swamp hermit. Neal Shusterman wrote the special, while Steve Levitan served as producer, and William Fruet served as director. The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was released on VHS in 1997. Billboard listed the video as the 19th best-selling children's video in 1997, the only Goosebumps video on the list. In 2004, the TV special was also released on DVD. Gabriel Hernandez adapted the book into a comic book story in Creepy Creatures, published on September 1, 2006, as the first book in the Goosebumps Graphix series. The comic book story reappeared along with three other Goosebumps book adaptations in the Goosebumps Graphix book Slappy's Tales of Horror, published August 25, 2015.
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