Mostly Ghostly 05 – Ghouls Gone Wild

R. L. Stine's Ghouls Gone Wild is the fifth Mostly Ghostly book, a funny, shivery story for 9 year olds about a boy who shares his house with two ghosts only he can see.

What happens

Max Doyle is eleven, top of his class, and about to hand the school trophy to the mayor on local TV. He's practised his speech in the mirror all night. Then Nicky and Tara pop up on either side of him (to help, which is always the problem).

A tug of war over the trophy later, the mayor is at the bottom of the brand new pool. Max is holding his trousers. It's on the evening news. Twice.

Then Dad announces a new job in Texas and puts the house up for sale. Max is half gutted and half thrilled. A new house means no ghosts! Nicky and Tara are horrified, because they can't leave, and Max is the only person alive who can see or hear them.

So when sour milk explodes all over the couple viewing the house, Max knows exactly who to blame. The same goes for the lemon meringue pie that lands on Mr Marvin's head. Except Nicky and Tara swear it wasn't them.

That's where the shivers come in. A boy dressed in black keeps following Max home in the dark, whispering that he's watching. One night, under the bedroom window, the boy's face stretches into a snarling wolf's. And the ghosts have news. There are ghouls in the house.

It's told by Max, and he's a very likeable loser. His big brother Colin calls him Fat Face and uses him as a punching bag (it's played for laughs, but it's there). Dad watches car crashes on the news at dinner and cheers. The dog, Buster, would like to eat him. Poor Max really can't win, and that's the joke.

Who hasn't wanted the ground to swallow them after something went wrong in front of the whole school? Max's version is just a lot bigger, with the mayor standing there in his underwear. Chapters are short and most end on a gasp, which makes it a good pick for a reader who likes funny first and scary second.

What to read next

This is book five, and Max fills you in on enough of the story so far to follow along. If you'd rather start at the start, though, Who Let the Ghosts Out is the first Mostly Ghostly book, and it opens with Nicky and Tara walking home on a windy night, wondering why nobody will look at them.