Previously, Kat and Daniel learned that the – and I know I say this every year, but this is really what this book is about – killer sponge is an ancient creature called a Grool that makes its owner unlucky. Worse, a Grool is only passed on when the owner dies, and that trying to get rid of the Grool will cause the owner to die in one day. Just never mind that Kat actually did this for a few days in chapter five and she’s still alive. Or we’re in for quite an intense plot twist at the end of this children’s book when we find out Kat’s been dead since chapter five.
It Came From Beneath The Sink: Chapter 15
Kat and Daniel’s Aunt Louise is coming to visit, whom Kat assures us that “even though she’s a grown-up, she’s completely cool”.
She wears long, flowery dresses and drives a bright yellow convertible.
And Aunt Louise blows the biggest bubble gum bubbles! And she knows a lot of really funny jokes.
This may not be convincing evidence that she is a cool grown-up, but then we find out she’s somehow basically a millennial:
she does know a lot about things like astrology and tarot cards.
Kat bets that Aunt Louise might know how to get rid of a Grool. It takes exactly half a page for Aunt Louise to show up and be like “Grool? What’s that?”
“Well, if it’s mythical, honey, that means it doesn’t exist,” Aunt Louise interrupted.
Kat tells Aunt Louise that the Grool is causing her lots of trouble and shows it to her. Naturally, Aunt Louise immediately touches it.
Chapter 16
Aunt Louise also thinks it’s just an old, dried-up sponge and laughs, thinking Kat’s played a fun little prank on her. But as soon as she leaves the room…
Before my amazed eyes, the dry brown sponge began plumping-up. In a few seconds, it became fuller and moister.
So far, the scariest part of this year’s Goosebumps is definitely that sentence using the words “fuller and moister”.
In a moment of blind rage, Kat grabs a textbook and starts smashing the evil sponge while shouting at it to die, because Goosebumps is an American treasure.
“Die!” I shouted. “Please! Die!”
Chapter 17
But it doesn’t take.
The pieces—the shreds of Grool—they were sliding across the desktop. Slithering. Rolling together.
Coming back together. […]
the Grool stared up at me again. And it vibrated so hard that my desk actually began to rock.
Its cruel snicker cut through my shocked silence.
Heh, heh, heh.
The next day is a teacher conference, so Kat and Daniel don’t have school! Daneil invites Carlo over to play video games, but Kat doesn’t know how she can enjoy anything anymore, worrying what bad luck the Grool will bring today. She gets her answer when she checks in on them later and sees that Carlo’s gone home, and gets to her room to find the Grool is gone.
Much scarier, video games in the world of Goosebumps apparently have names like “Underwater Adventure Quest”. Actually, wait, sorry, did I say “scary”? I meant “charming af and I wish I lived in this world”.
Chapter 18
Kat panics, thinking that the Grool escaped, remembering the Encyclopedia of the Weird‘s warning that giving the Grool away will result in the owner dying in one day (except when it doesn’t but shhhhh). Daniel panics too, realizing that Carlo probably took it because he thinks the whole thing in a joke.
They find Carlo lying motionless in the middle of the street.
Chapter 19
Carlo explains that he fell off his bike after some older kids peer-pressured him into a race and he crashed into a tree. They ask him where the Grool is, but he’s already lost it! It’s been one chapter, Carlo!
Chapter 20
Kat and Daniel look all around and can’t find it, realizing with dread that the only place that it could have gone is down a nearby sewer grate.
“It’s way too dark to see anything,” I reported. “Somebody will have to go down there.”
“Uh… somebody? Maybe… maybe I could go,” my brother offered in a shaky voice.
Daniel acts really brave. But I know he’s afraid of a lot of things. Like dark sewers.
He’d freak out down in the sewer.
“No. I’ll do it,” I said. “The Grool knows me better.”
This is really sweet of Kat and all, but by this point I’m wondering how much of this bad luck is maybe just self-inflicted.
It’s too dark, I realized. I’ll never find the Grool down here.
Then I heard it.
Whoa-ahhh. Whoa-ahhhh.
Or it’s a secret spongey sewer rave! WHOA-AHHH! WHOA-AHHH!
Then I saw the eyes. Not the Grool’s small, round eyes. Big, bright eyes. Several pairs of them. All glowing at me in the dark.
Chapter 21
Kat books it out of the sewer. Everything’s getting to Daniel now.
“But how?” he cried. “We can’t even find Killer. We’ll never find a little sponge.”
Man, I was just joking about how Killer was the new Plot Puppy and would disappear as soon as he wasn’t convenient to the plot anymore. Such is the fate of all dogs on this blog 🙁
Kat wonders if she’s really going to die if they can’t find the Grool, then Daniel announces that he sees it!
Chapter 22
But it’s just a paper bag. The ol’ Goosebumps gotchas get better every year, y’all.
Kat contemplates her mortality.
The panic rose in my chest. Would I really die if we didn’t find that evil creature?
I suddenly pictured Mom and Dad sitting around crying and missing me. I pictured Aunt Louise wailing, “It’s all my fault. I didn’t believe her.”
I imagined Daniel walking to school all alone.
Kat overthinks the conditions of her contract with the Grool a little bit.
I had a truly terrifying idea. Maybe the Grool wasn’t lost.
Maybe the creepy little creature had decided to hide.
To hide from me.
So it could perform its most evil trick of all.
Hide for twenty-four hours so that I’d have the ultimate bad luck.
Death!
OK, time to think way too hard about a children’s book. The Encyclopedia stated that “Anyone who gives the Grool away will DIE within one day.” Losing the sponge seems like a grey area for sure. And the Grool hiding from its owner is definitely not the same thing as its owner giving it away. But here’s what I’m most interested in: Carlo stole the Grool without Kat’s consent. What happens then? It doesn’t seem fair that Kat dies since she didn’t fulfill the conditions of actively giving away the Grool. And it definitely seems like Carlo might also be just as likely to die as Kat in this scenario? Do they have joint custody of the death sponge now? Did I overanalyze this just so I could write a statement as ridiculous as “joint custody of the death sponge”? Also, shouldn’t Kat already be dead?
The chapter ends with Carlo announcing he has an idea where the Grool would be! Tune in later this week for the exciting conclusion of Goosebumps: We Found A Magic Sponge Of Minor Injuries And None Of Us Are Gonna Grow Up To Be Lawyers.
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I read the title of this post and I was like “This is exactly what I come to this blog for”