Mask - Unmasked!. Review on Haunted Mask, The - R L Stine

“To fight the Evil of the Mask, you must fight the Evil in you”

I always knew about Goosebumps and R.L.Stine but had never tried to read it until the previous year because I thought they are not the type of books I like. But once my brother issued a book of the series from the school library, I decided to give it a try. And I actually understood what it means when they say “Never judge a book from its cover” - I am actually smitten by it now. Recently I read another book of the Goosebumps series, wanted: The haunted Mask.

The Story :

Prologue : William, a mask maker was doomed by his brother Randolph due to jealousy. He did it by giving him a mask that made him evil. William tried to remove it but it cost him his life. He hid it to make sure no one else falls prey of it.

The book is divided in two stories.

Ist Story :

Lu Ann's Story ; it is Halloween time but Lu-Ann is not looking forward to it. Firstly because her best friend, Devin O’Brannen is going out for two weeks and secondly, she has to attend Polly Martin’s party. She was expecting it to be pretty boring before things took unexpected turn and she finds the haunted mask. She puts it on oblivious to its evilness. Suddenly rage fills her and she starts destroying things around her. She goes to her friend’s father who was a mask expert and gets to know that it can only be undone by ‘an act of unbelievable kindness’ which is quite difficult to do if you are under the control of the evil mask.

2nd Story :

Devin’s Story : Devin has to spend his Halloween in a creepy pick-your-own-pumpkin farm away from his friends. He already is suspicious of some strange activities going on but when he gets to know the history of the farm and story lying underneath, he is severely scared.

Will Lu-Ann escape from the clutches of the evil mask and will Devin convince his parents to leave before it is too late? Are the two stories inter-related to each other? Find out by grabbing your own copy.

The Characters :

William : A mask maker with love for masks and children.

Randolph : William’s criminal brother. He dooms his own brother by giving him the evil mask.

Lu-Ann : The girl, who is the main character of the story. She is smart, funny who loves to play jokes. It was one joke that turned her life upside down when she jokingly wore the cursed mask.

Devin : A city boy who was never keen for a farm trip. He is Lu-Ann’s best friend. He keeps exchanging insults with her.

Mrs Barnes : The house keeper and cook of the farm house. She is a nice and warm lady with a friendly smile.

Zeus : The black farm cat who silently keeps observing Devin. Does it have anything to do with the the strange activities Devin is noticing in the farm or is it just a lazy cat?

Haywood : A quiet boy, who is Devin’s friend. He is Mrs. Barnes’s son. He is the one who tells Devin about the farm’s history and helps his family in the farm work.

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The only thing that is predictable about the book is its unpredictability. The mind expects some unexpected turn with every page turn, and it is delivered. The language is simple with puns and jokes included which keep the reader in a good mood. The book is quite interesting with electrifying moments that follow each other simultaneously. It keeps the reader hooked.

R.L.Stine has covered all kinds of horror in his Goosebumps series – Zombies, Frankenstein, mummies, ghosts – basically every kind one can think of.

The cover page looks scary. The cover is interesting but somewhat irrelevant. The mask shown was as per description but the ‘Wanted’ sign didn't have any significance with the story.

The central idea is scary, but as we read on, I didn't get the spooky feeling. According to me, there are three main reasons to this:

Firstly, the jokes and one-liners on every page distract the mind and take the concentration off the scary part.

Secondly, this book was more of a suspense-thriller than a horror and my curiosity got the better of me.

Thirdly, (personal speculation) I have read other Goosebumps series before including my favorites, ‘30 Tales to Give You Goosebumps’,’ This School is Haunted!’ and ‘When The Ghost Dog Howls’ which were quite scary and set my expectations  from this book to a higher level. Sadly, this book did not reach them.

About Author : Robert Lawrence Stine says that he has made a career out of scaring children and that he has never seen a ghost but he will keep looking! He started his career by writing joke books but was successful when went scary. He has written hundreds of novels till date. His unique style of writing which has humor and wit and unique advertising ideas like distributing books to kids on Halloween made him even more popular.

In the end, I would recommend it to people who are looking for suspense thrilled merged with horror. Although this particular book was not up to the mark, yet it is a good book to start if you want to discover R.L.Stine.