This one begins with an introduction by R.L. Stine and the mole on his forehead [I thought maybe it’s just the two-parters that have him, but Stay Out of the Basement didn’t have a special intro. I wonder what the deal is?] talking about how scary werewolves are [I guess they are scary, but they’re just boring].
The main story begins with Grady Tucker complaining about his gross new bedroom in his gross new house in Fever Swamp. His mum claims that “rustic’s in these days” [This place is more ramshackle than rustic, darl], but older sister Emily is also unimpressed with the house after finding a corn snake in the medicine cabinet.
Grady’s nominated to set it free in the swamp, so off he goes through the woods [It’s a pretty cool setting, tbh. Would love to visit a creepy old place like this], where he hears a weird screeching sound [I think?? That’s the only way I can think to describe it]. Then the idiot gets himself lost as he tries to make his way home, but bumps into a feral-looking man and we fade to black [Boring].
It’s the next day now, and Emily’s complaining to Grady [I guess the swamp man didn’t harm him then. Boring] in the bathroom about how much she hates it here [The house is pretty gross house]. We learn that Mum and Dad have moved out the family here so they can run an experiment, and Grady’s “not gonna be the one to ruin it”, but that’s all the information we get [There’s also a (very fake and clearly rubber) spider in Emily’s closed tub of moisturiser… Did it hitch a ride from the old house?].
Later, Grady helps Dad with some captive deer and we learn what Mum and Dad’s experiment is – they’ll set the tagged deer loose in the swamp and study how they adapt to their new surroundings. They discuss the hermit Grady bumped into yesterday, and Dad reveals he learnt from some townspeople that he lost his family a while ago and has been acting strange ever since [Poor guy :(]. He’s perfectly harmless though, but Grady still doesn’t feel right in Fever Swamp. Dad explains that much like the deer will adapt and learn to love the place, so will Grady [We love analogies!], but that doesn’t seem too likely, especially when later we see Grady struggling to get anything but static on their box TV [He’s using a coat hanger as an antenna! Those were the days!] and exasperated by his boredom.
The next day as Grady plays with a ball in the front yard, he’s approached by another kid named Will. Grady’s been under the impressions there weren’t any kids in Fever Swamp [I guess Will’s the werewolf!], but Will explains they’re the only kids [Seems suss].
They hear the weird animal sound coming from the woods again [So Will’s not the werewolf? Not that it sounds like a howl anyway], and Will explains that “the swamp starts to grow inside your head” and people enter the woods but never return, much like the old woman who previously lived in Grady’s new house [Ooky spooky!].
Will convinces a reluctant Tucker to explore the woods with him, and soon enough, Tucker’s super excited because “dinosaurs used to live in places like this!” [Hahahaha it seems so out of place]. Will explains how the swamp got its name – people believe the swamp gives people a fever that makes them do crazy things. The hear another animal sound and run off, hiding as the feral old man strolls past.
Will explains that the hermit is the reason people disappear in the swamp, and “he’ll never get a day older as long as he keeps finding victims”. Will also says it’ll be a full moon tonight, and Grady will no doubt hear the hermit howling like a werewolf [It’s not like Grady suspect you, Will, you don’t need to try convince him so hard. Will is definitely the werewolf!].
Sure enough, later that evening Grady does hears a wolf howling! At dinner, Grady tells his family what Will told him about the swamp driving people crazy, people disappearing and Swamp Hermit [That’s the only name we every really get, lol] is the titular werewolf of Fever Swamp. Dad shuts all those ideas down, because that sort of fever doesn’t exist, werewolves aren’t real and Swamp Hermit is completely harmless [You don’t know that for sure, Dad! But Swamp Hermit is obviously a red herring so he’s probably right. I bet Swamp Hermit is trying to capture the werewolf!].
Grady wakes up with the sweats that night [He’s also got a skateboard in his room that has the mask from The Haunted Mask painted on it!], but is relieved to see his temperature is normal – no swamp fever here! He notices the back door open though, and as he goes to close it, a German Shepherd pounces on him [!!!]. It’s barking alerts Mum and Emily, and Mum doesn’t seem at all worried that a dog is possibly mauling her only son.
Then Dad walks through the back door – he was investigating why the deer were acting so spooked, and found the dog while outside. Grady assumes it’s the dog that’s been howling [I feel like a dog doesn’t howl like that though] and the family decide to keep it for a while since it doesn’t have a collar or tag.
The next day, we learn from Mum that there’ll be a full moon and a lunar eclipse tonight [Exciting!]. Grady, the dog, which he’s named Vandal, and Will explore the woods some more, finding wolf’s bait hanging from some trees. Will explains some more about werewolves, like how werefolk made up the myth that they can be stopped by silver bullets themselves “so poor people couldn’t afford to hunt them down” [That’s pretty clever! Will seems to know a lot about werewolves though, so I’m still suss about him].
They eventually come across “the heart of the swamp”, right in the centre of it, where Will explains a kid fell into the murky water a few years ago and got sucked in like quicksand. Will pokes his hand into the bog, declaring it feels like “green, slimy mashed potatoes” [Specifically green ones, Will?]. But then Vandal starts barking at something in the woods and the boys decide to skedaddle!
When Grady arrives home with Vandal, the family is inspecting a dead rabbit Emily and her funky hat had found. The rabbit was mauled to death, “just like half a dozen other animals in the area last night”. They all suspect Vandal, since the bite marks appear to be canine, but Grady argues that the werewolf is responsible.
Fashion icon xxDetermined to prove Vandal innocent, Grady and Will head to Swamp Hermit’s shack in the woods, but when he peeks out at them from inside, they just run away [?????]. Grady ends up being caught in a snare trap that hangs him from a tree inside a net, and although Will notices, he continues doesn’t stop to help [Hey Siri, play ‘True Friend’ by Hannah Montana] and the episode ends.
My final thoughts will be up with Part 2 in a few days, but so far, it’s not actually that bad!
