by Nelson
Reader Beware; You’re in for a Scare!
DoubtFire ventures into the terrifying world of zombies, werewolves, egg monsters, and annoying siblings that is GOOSEBUMPS.
The best thing about A Shocker on Shock Street is that the title is a not-so-subtle homage to A Nightmare on Elm Street. That’s not to say that it’s a bad story. It’s actually pretty good – right up until the end. This was the book that made me wonder if I was outgrowing the series, and it was all because of its totally absurd ending.
Our main character and narrator this time out is Erin Wright. She’s best friends with a guy named Marty, and guess what? Marty absolutely loves scaring Erin any chance he gets – definitely uncharted territory for this series. Erin and Marty look so much alike that people mistake them for twins. They’re not though. They’re not even related, but the two share a mutual love of Shock Street – a series of 50s b-horror-ish films. Erin’s dad just so happens be designing a big Shock Street theme park and has asked the two kids to test it out before it goes public. What fun!
It’s a little strange that Erin scares so easily considering her undying devotion to a horror series, and it’s weirdly coincidental that her best friend and fellow fan just so happens to be a guy who looks a lot like her, but that’s not important. What is important is that our obligatory boy/girl duo are in for the ride of their lives! The tramcar that’s supposed to take the kids through the park malfunctions right about the time the adults are conveniently out of the sight, and things only get worse form there. The animatronic worms (surprise, surprise) and werewolves and giant praying mantises don’t seem all that robotic, and they seem to have ill intentions for poor Erin and Marty. The mantises knock the kids around with a series of head-butts because Stine seems to love putting his characters in genuine no-holds-barred brawls with his monsters. They’re accosted by a horde of zombies in the Shock Street Cemetery and rescued by Wolf Boy and Wolf Girl – two characters right out of the movies!
Right about the time Erin realizes that the werewolves are really werewolves, Wolf Boy and Wolf Girl abandon the pretense and chase the kids all the way to a wall that they’re forced to climb over. While you may be thinking “gee this park sure seems dangerous,” it’s important to remember that this is a Goosebumps story, and Mr. Wright is just one in a long line of adult characters who like putting children in mortal danger just to see what happens. Erin and Marty eventually meet a guy who claims to be a film director and reveals that their wild, chaotic adventure was all a part of the new Shock Street movie! That makes total and complete sense. He tells the kids that they’ll find their way out of the park if they cut through “Shockros House of Shocks,” and all is right with the world – until Erin notices that the director has a power cord coming out of his back. He’s a robot! Erin tries to warn Marty but finds him face down and unresponsive in Shockro’s House. Then, Mr. Wright shows up, and Erin suddenly malfunctions and falls lifelessly to the floor because she and Marty were robots the whole time!!!
A Shocker on Shock Street concludes with a triple twist. First the whole thing is part of a weird film production that’s totally okay with nearly killing its cast; then that turns out to be a dastardly robot ruse, and then the main characters, themselves, turn out to be robots! The more this series progresses, the more R.L. Stine is willing to throw out any semblance of common sense and logic. We get the “kids are robots” reveal when the book abruptly goes from first-person to third-person. But how was Erin narrating the story if she……oh, nevermind.
“Who are you?” I shrieked. “You’re not my dad! Why aren’t you helping me? Why aren’t you helping Marty? Do something—please! Where’s my dad? Where is he? Who are you? Help me! Somebody? Help me AAAAAARRRRRRRRR. Help MRRRRRRRRRRRR. Dad—MARRRRRRRRRRRRRR. DRRRMMMMMMMMmmmmm.”
Mr. Wright stood staring down at Erin and Marty. He shook his head unhappily. He shut his eyes and let out a long sigh.
Jared Curtis, one of the studio engineers, came running into The House of Shocks. “Mr. Wright, what happened to your two kid robots?”
Doubtfire 
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