Tagline: Cheers—from the grave!
Back tagline: OUT OF THE GRAVE
Summary: Corky Corcoran is sure it’s just her imagination when she sees her dead sister rise from the grave. Or is it?
Corky is trying to put the nightmare of Bobbi’s death behind her—she’s back on the Shadyside cheerleading squad and has become friends with Kimmy and Debra. But everything is not back to normal for Corky—she hears horrible screams in the gym, her friend has become obsessed by the occult, and a strange young man is following her. And then the murders begin again….
Has the evil spirit from the Fear Street cemetery returned to destroy them one by one?
First impressions: This sounds more like what I was expecting from the first book! Occult stuff is always interesting to me, so I’m excited for that. Sounds like we’ll be seeing more of Bobbi too, which is cool! It sounds like it’ll be more slashery, which I’m also very keen for.
Now to the cover. These three appear to be the same girls that were on The First Evil‘s cover, but I still don’t know who they are. As the star of the book, it’s probably safe to assume Corky’s front and centre, even though Corky’s blonde in the book. We know Debra is blonde too, so I think that’s her on the left, but the third one doesn’t match Kimmy’s chubby, crimp-haired description, so it has to be one of the others. Ronnie’s a redhead so it can’t be her, and Megan and Heather are barely characters so I doubt they’d be cover stars. Maybe one is poor dead Bobbi, or poor dead Jennifer? This is really gonna annoy me.
Recap
Let’s get reacquainted with the gang:
Corky – Our heroine who’s still struggling with the events of the last book.
Kimmy – The current cheerleading captain who’s trying to help Corky move on.
Debra – Now obsessed with the occult.
Ronnie – Still around but doesn’t do much.
Megan and Heather – Still barely even characters.
Chip – Corky’s lover.
Jon – Jennifer’s older brother whose storyline goes nowhere.
Sarah Beth – A mysterious young woman with an interest in the Fear family.
Part One: Where Is the Evil?
The book opens with Kimmy, Debra and ‘Veronica (Ronnie) Mitchell’ [Why does he put her nickname in brackets? He did it in the first book too; was this the thing in the ’90s?] in the car discussing boys because Debra’s got a date with Eric Bishop this weekend, a surprise to Kimmy because ‘”Isn’t he going out with Cari Taylor?”‘ [They’re from Party Summer! Yay for continuity!]. ‘”Not anymore,”‘ replies a smug Debra, and Ronnie approves because Eric is ‘”definitely okay.”‘ [Does that mean hot? Because he didn’t sound hot to me in his book lol]. Debra wants to know who Kimmy’s keen on these days, and she denies still being hung up on Chip, her ex-boyfriend, who’s now dating Corky, which is very interesting.
The girls reminisce about how beautiful and talented Bobbi was, even though they were all assholes to her, and we learn that they’re on their way to Fear Street to convince Corky to come back to the squad. She quit last month and now doesn’t speak to anyone, and although I have no idea how much time has passed since the first book, it’s apparently been long enough that Debra’s curious as to why Corky took so long to leave after Bobbi’s death [She’s grieving, Debra, leave her alone!]. As if it has anything to do with Corky or Bobbi, Ronnie declares that Suki Thomas was giving Gary Brandt [Both most prominent in The Overnight, but mentioned often throughout the series] a sex education class in the library during study hall today, right out in the open for everyone to see [Classic Suki!]. Thanks for that info, Ronnie!
Kimmy turns onto Fear Street, which brings the conversation back to the Corcorans – Corky sill visits Bobbi’s grave all the time, and Debra thinks the family should move because living so close to where Bobbi’s body is resting is just a constant reminder of her death [What, you expect them to move far away from where their daughter is buried???]. Debra, who’s worn a crystal around her neck since Bobbi’s funeral and is now extremely interested in the occult, believes the evil spirit that killed Bobbi and battled Corky is still alive [Notice how she’s calling it an evil spirit and not Sarah Fear, which strengthens my theory that this spirit is another being entirely and just happened to get trapped with Sarah in the coffin somehow]. Kimmy, on the other hand, thinks Debra’s new hobby is stupid and doesn’t want to hear about it, and then they spot Corky in the cemetery, visiting Bobbi’s grave.
We cut to Corky now, who’s talking to her dead sister, She feels as though she’s pulled here sometimes, almost against her will, and she struggles to sleep at night because of her constant nightmares about battling the evil spirit. As if in reply, the ground starts to shake and a crack widens in the dirt as Bobbi’s grave splits open:
A bony hand reached up to the surface.
Bits of flesh clung to the arm that followed the hand. Another hand clawed through to the surface. A heavy stench filled the air, invading Corky’s nostrils.
The bony hands grappled at the edge of the crack, pulling, straining, until a head appeared, then two shoulders.
“It’s you!” Corky cried in horror as her dead sister pulled herself up from the grave.
[Ooky spooky!] While Corky is horrified, she doesn’t run away from the decaying remains of her sister as it hovers above her, instead opting to ask if she’s trying to tell her something [Brave lol]. Bobbi opens her grotesque mouth to reply but only a fat brown worm curls out, and then Corky wakes up to discover she’d fallen asleep at Bobbi’s grave and dreamed the whole thing.[Boring]. Just as she’s deciding she needs to stop visiting for a while and get back on track with her life, Corky spots someone watching her from behind a nearby monument. She hauls ass out of there, risking a glance back to see that the hooded figure, a man with ‘pale gray ghostlike eyes,’ is running after her [How close is he that she can tell the colour of his eyes but can’t see any other features of his face?].
Corky makes it out onto the street where Kimmy, Ronnie and Debra are running toward her, wondering what’s going on, but of course the man has disappeared by now and Corky has to wonder if it was just another dream. Kimmy and Ronnie help Corky to the car while Debra stares silently into the cemetery, grasping the crystal around her neck and ‘moved her lips in some sort of silent chant.’ [Has Debra been taken over by the evil spirit now? Or has her interest in the occult taught her how to do spooky things and she’s our villain? Or is she just a red herring? Probably that one.]
The girls take Corky home and quickly get down to business, encouraging her to rejoin the squad. Corky reminds them how much they’d resented her and Bobbi when they first arrived, but the others insists things are different since the night they saw her battle the evil spirit. They’ve had nonstop nightmares too, and that night has changed them all – Kimmy’s not even bothered that she’s not as pretty or talented as Corky anymore, now that she’s seen how fragile life is [A redemption arc for Kimmy!?]. Kimmy strongly believes they should all be friends after what they went through together – the girls really want to help Corky get through this hard time and returning to cheerleading is just the way to do it! Corky agrees to think about it because the girls seem so genuine, then spots her new friend Ghost Eyes heading for the house through the window. The other gals can’t see anything when they look outside, though, and once again, Corky’s questioning her own mind.
Kimmy and Ronnie then head home while Debra opts to stay behind to talk with Corky for a bit. She’d sworn to Kimmy and Ronnie she wouldn’t say anything, but she simply has to let Corky know that the evil is still around. She can feel it so strongly, even right here in Corky’s house! Corky doesn’t believe her, just like Kimmy and Ronnie, but Debra’s an occult expert now and insists she knows what she’s talking about, grabbing Corky’s hand and declaring ‘”There’s no way we can get on with our lives—not while it’s still here.”‘ Debra’s hand is burning hot, so Corky pulls away before they’re interrupted by the tea kettle, which she’d put on earlier in the kitchen.
She excuses herself to go make some hot chocolate and just as she’s about to pour the hot water into some mugs, her arm shoots straight up, raising the steaming kettle over her left hand [Omg]. She can’t move either of her arms herself, so all she can do is watch helplessly as her right hand begins to tilt the kettle:
Steam rose from the spout. Then the scalding water began to shower down on her left hand.
“Help! Ow!”
She couldn’t lower her arm, couldn’t move her hand out from under the boiling waterfall.
“Help me—please!” she cried.
The scalding water gushed over the back of her hand, splashing up her arm.
“I can’t stop! Can’t stop!”
The scalding water splashed onto her skin.
Burning.
Burning.
Burning beyond pain.
Beyond all sensation.
[I legitimately shuddered because this would be fkn horrible. What’s with the spirit’s love for scalding hot water? Could Debra and her crystal have a part to play in this? Too obvious, right?] Later that week, Chip’s arriving at Corky’s place, uncomfortable that Kimmy’s here too because she’s always so cold ever since he dumped her and went out with Bobbi [Wow, how dare she not be nice to you after that!]. Luckily for him, Kimmy leaves asap because she seemingly still has feelings for him [Fair enough, because they were together for two years. Of course she’d struggle with it!]. We learn now that it’s only been two months since Chip’s date with Bobbi, which means even less time has passed since her funeral, so now I’m understanding the timeline a bit better.
Corky, who’d previously told Chip her injury occurred because her hand slipped, comes clean about what really happened. He’s not as supportive as I’d expect someone who experienced the evil spirit’s paralysation powers himself to be, though, and Corky informs him she spoke to a psychiatrist while in the hospital. Apparently the doctors called one when she explained how she got burned, suspecting she did it deliberately. The psychiatrist is Dr. Sterne, who Mayra Barnes had told Corky helped her with when ‘”she started sleepwalking suddenly a couple of summers ago.”‘ [A reference to The Sleepwalker, which I’m yet to read! I’m confused about the series’ timeline, though. I always just assumed the bulk of the series takes place within the same year, especially because Cory, Lisa, Gary and Suki are mentioned so often, but how could that be if Mayra’s story, which is the sixth book, happened a few summers ago? Does Fear Street span more than a year, or is this a plot hole? The only way it makes sense to me is if maybe those reoccurring characters were juniors in their original introduction stories, and not seniors like I thought (I don’t recall if I just made that up in my head or if their year levels are mentioned somewhere in their own stories). I think the US school year spans across two actual years (it’s half and half, right??), so it might make sense that Mayra’s adventure happened not this summer just passed, but the one before it… I am probably thinking way to hard about this lol].
Anyway, Corky didn’t mention the evil spirit to Dr. Sterne and focused on her emotions surrounding Bobbi’s death instead, and he’d suggested she try to return to a normal routine, which is why she’s deciding to definitely return to cheerleading. The other reason is because she’s determined to find the evil spirit, which she suspects is inhabiting someone else she knows. She’d felt it in her house the other night, after all, so I’m not sure why her mind hasn’t immediately gone to Debra as the host body [Debra’s is obviously the red herring so she shouldn’t be at the top of my suspect list, but the fact that Corky isn’t suspicious of her makes me sort of convincing me that Debra is our bad guy…but again I’m probably overthinking lol]. Although Corky doesn’t plan on visiting Bobbi’s grave as often anymore, she wats to go tonight to tell her dead sister about her decision to go back to the squad, and Chip reluctantly agrees to accompany her because ‘”What could happen?”‘ [What could happen indeed, Chip!]
They head to the cemetery after dinner, passing poor Jennifer Daly’s grave as well as Sarah Fear’s, and Corky’s just about to speak to Bobbi when she hears a sound behind her, turning around just in time to watch ‘as a woman floated out of Sarah Fear’s grave.’ Chip sees her too, but they quickly realise it’s a real person and head over for a chat. The woman introduces herself as Sarah Beth Plummer [A descendant of Sarah Fear, maybe? Or Sarah Fear’s actual spirit? There’s gotta be some sort of connection, because why else would they have the same name?], a graduate student doing research on Shadyside’s history [A likely story…]. She’s here doing grave rubbings, and seems pleasant enough, although Corky silently notes that she is rather plain and has a scratchy voice that sounds much older than she looks, which Corky assumes is her early 20s [Sarah Fear was like 24 when she died, so it’s still suss! What’s the twist here, Stine can’t really be being this obvious about everything].
Corky asks if Sarah Beth knows anything about Sarah Fear, a question that seems to surprise the woman, who suggests they go to a local coffee shop for a warm drink so she can tell them all about Sarah Fear. As they settle down into a booth, Corky realises that something isn’t quite right about Sarah Beth, ‘a suspicion she couldn’t put into words.’ [100%] She asks why Sarah Beth is doing her grave rubbings at night, a question which seems to displease her as she explains she left the assignment til last minute and it’s due tomorrow [Classic]. Although it’s a perfectly good reason to Corky, she isn’t really buying it [I’m glad Corky’s just as a suspicious as I am about this woman, but again, why is Stine being so obvious about everything?].
She scolds herself for being so suspicious and asks to hear more about Sarah Fear, so Sarah Beth divulges what little information she’s been able to find. Sarah had married a grandson of Simon Fear. They lived in a big house on Fear Lake, and she gained a lot of wealth when her husband died of pneumonia two years into the marriage. Her two brothers and several cousins moved in with her after that, but then Sarah also died at a young age when ‘”The Fear family pleasure boat capsized on Fear Lake—for no apparent reason”‘ on a calm, sunny day. Sarah Fear, a brother, her niece and nephew, and a servant were the only ones onboard at the time, and unfortunately they all died, [Which explains the four other graves surrounding Sarah Fear’s], despite being only minutes from shore.
Corky suspects the evil spirit was responsible and contemplates telling Sarah Beth her concerns, but decides against it since she really doesn’t trust the woman. Sarah Beth also reveals that after Sarah died, there were stories that came out that she and the servant were secret lovers, and they could be seen strolling all over Shadyside long after their deaths, which Sarah Beth dismisses as the usual mumbo jumbo the Fears are known for. She admits to thinking it’s funny, and Corky can’t believe that she could find humour in such a tragic story. Corky and Chip leave soon after while Sarah Beth stays for another tea since she lives across the road, and once outside, Corky glances back at Sarah Beth, who’s got a strange smile on her face and an unmistakable gleam of evil in her eyes…
On Monday afternoon, Corky heads to the gym to join cheerleading practice and is immediately swarmed by the other girls who are simply ecstatic to have her back. Debra isn’t as enthusiastic as the others though, and tells her in private that she can feel the evil right now in the gym while once again fingering her crystal. Now’s not the time to discuss it, so they agree to chat about it later and join the other girls. The cheer they’re working on today is unfamiliar to Corky [And is pretty lame, if you ask me, because the first half rhymes but the second half doesn’t???], but we get the tiniest sliver of Heather’s personality when she gives Corky an encouraging smile and suggests she follow her lead, ‘”Then you’ll be sure to mess up!”‘ [Heather, the queen of comedy!]
As they begin, Corky hears a girl shrieking in horror, so close ‘as if she were right inside Corky’s head,’ because it is inside her head! Covering her ears, Corky begs someone to help whoever’s screaming, but the other cheerleaders are all staring at her in open-mouthed confusion. The screaming stopped when the cheer did, and since no-one else heard anything, Corky assumes she’s just hearing things. Debra’s grasping her crystal, as usual, but tucks it under her shirt when she notices Corky looking at her, and still Corky doesn’t suspect her of any funny business [She’s not our bas guy but come on, Corky! She’s so suspicious!]. Corky insists she’s fine and wants to do the cheer again, but once more her head is filled with screaming when they start.
Again, the screaming stops when the cheer does, and Corky decides to sit down watch practice instead. She can’t help but notice the smug smile on Debra’s face as she fingers her crystal some more, though, and Debra turns away when notices Corky watching [Why is she soooooooooo suss and why can’t Corky see it?!]. The other gals line up for the cheer once more but for a third time, a horrible screaming pulses in Corky’s head, forcing her to flee the gym and run straight into the arms of Ghost Eyes, her cemetery stalker.
His peppermint breath isn’t enough to entice her into a chat so she takes off down the hall, but of course he gives chase, calling out for her to wait. She ends up ducking into a science room and waits until she’s sure she’s lost him, but would you believe it? He’s waiting right outside the door for her! After initially claiming he’s the evil spirit and enjoying her shock and horror, he explains he’s actually Jon Daly, Jennifer’s brother, and he doesn’t believe ‘”all the garbage about how my sister was invaded by an evil spirit.'” He believes that Corky is a murderer and made it all up to avoid consequences!
Corky didn’t know Jennifer had a brother, and neither did I because he was never mentioned in The First Evil, and tries to convince him that the evil spirit is real, but it’s no use – Jon’s determined to prove her guilt and vows to be her evil spirit until he’s done so – ‘”I’m going to watch you. I’m going to follow you—you and your friends—until I find out the truth. Until I can prove that you killed my sister!”‘ [How long have you lived in Shadyside, Jon? Is an evil spirit that hard to believe? Even the police seemed to accept it!] Jon runs off when Chip appears down the hall, and Corky explains what happened. Chip remembers Jon, a ‘”bad dude”‘ who got sent to military school in his senior year for beating up a teacher. He’d also made a scene at Jennifer’s funeral, but it was all a blur to Corky so she doesn’t remember [And we didn’t see the funeral, so we couldn’t know about him].
That night, Kimmy calls Corky to check on her after what happened at practice today and encourages Corky to give it another chance. Corky agrees to think about coming to Friday’s practice, then informs Kimmy the evil spirit is back. Kimmy invites her over so they can come up with a plan because the evil’s return means they’re all in danger, and as Corky’s passing the Fear Street Cemetery on her way, she notices a figure dancing on Sarah Fear’s grave. In the moonlight, she recognises Sarah Beth Plummer, and she’s not alone – Jon Daly’s also there, although he’s standing as still as a statue, staring at Sarah Beth [OK, for once I have no idea what’s going n]. Confused and scared, Corky floors it out of there instead of staying to watch, the opposite of what I’d do because I’m a nosy Nelly.
Part Two: Here Is the Evil!
The next day after school, Corky’s doing a makeup test in the science room. The teacher has to go get his car from the mechanic’s but will be back in about half an hour, and he trusts Corky to be responsible and not cheat while he’s gone [So trusting!]. It’s 3:30pm, which means the cheerleaders will be practicing [And something spooky is about to happen!]. As soon as she’s alone in the room, the door slams shut and the venetian blinds snap closed. The lights go off too, and as her eyes adjust to the darkness Corky notices the lids of all the specimen jars flying off and smashing onto the floor. Then the dead flies and caterpillars inside the jars fly out and hover around her. A cow’s eyeball flies at her face, and dozens of frogs are released from their tank when it shatters, allowing them to hop and croak all over the joint.
Unsurprisingly, Corky can’t get the door open, and even more terrifying is the human skeleton trying to free itself from its stand [I’d be shitting bricks]. One of its bony hands ends up snapping off the body and floats right up to Corky where it quickly begins strangling her [!!!]. She manages to bend some of the finger bones back until they snap and is able to free herself, and finally the door opens. Remembering that Chip was staying back in the woodshop today so they could meet after her exam, Corky hurries there to find him, but discovers a dark red puddle on the ground:
It took her a long time to realize she was staring at a puddle of blood.
Then she saw two shoes on the floor. Legs. Almost hidden behind a worktable.
Taking a deep breath, she made her way around the dark puddle to get a better view. She cried out when she saw Chip lying facedown in a larger puddle of blood. A lake of dark blood.
Yes, thanks to a still-running power saw that cut off his hand, Chip is no longer with us. It seems to me that that pesky evil spirit trapped Corky in the science room with a cacophony of croaking frogs and banging blinds to prevent her from hearing Chip’s screams while it simultaneously murdered him. But it begs the question; why not murder Corky too? Or was it trying to, but she outsmarted the skeleton hand?
After Chip’s funeral, Kimmy, Ronnie and Heather [Where’s Megan? Were she and Heather surgically removed from one another?] express their condolences to an emotionally drained Corky before hopping into Kimmy’s Camry and very obviously talking about her. You’d think they would have offered her a lift, but no, so Corky starts walking home but is quickly intercepted by Debra, who’s taken to wearing a hooded black cape and insists they discuss the evil right now. Over some food at a nearby diner, Debra proposes that the evil spirit murdered Chip because why wouldn’t he have called for help if he accidentally chopped his hand off? Everyone thinks he went into shock and bled out but the girls know that’s not true, and Corky reveals what happened to her in the science room [Did she end up redoing that test?]. Corky also mentions her run-ins with Sarah Beth Plummer and Jon Daly as well as seeing them in the cemetery together, and how Jon just stood there like a stare bear while Sarah Beth danced. Corky wonders why the evil spirit didn’t stay in the grave and where it might be right now, and Debra mysteriously confesses she thinks she might know where to find it…
I’m sure we’re all dying to know what Debra’s thinking, but don’t get your hopes up because instead we jump ahead four weeks as the cheerleaders are practicing their most hilarious cheer yet:
“We’ve got razzmatazz!
Pep, punch—and pizzazz!
Hey, you—you’ve been had.
Shadyside Tigers got razzmatazz!
RAZZMATAZZ!”
[Hahahahahahah please, this is seriously so fkn funny] Corky had been convinced to come back to the squad after some touching words about sticking together from Kimmy. The practice is going well and Corky’s so ecstatic to be performing again that she wants to try a diamond pyramid. The other girls reluctantly agree to it, happy to have Corky back on the team, and Corky’s pleasantly surprised when everything runs smoothly – no falls or injuries and no screaming inside her head! Maybe the evil has left [Or maybe it’s waiting for the big game next Saturday to do something dastardly]!
What I’m assuming is that night, Corky, Debra and Kimmy sneak into the Fear Mansion, but Kimmy’s complaining the whole time – ‘”How can going to this burnt-out old wreck on the coldest night of the year make any sense?”‘ [Is she just exaggerating about the cold, or did they have to wait for the coldest night of the year for Debra’s plan to work? Is that why it’s been at least four weeks since she thought of the plan? What would they have done if the coldest night had already passed?] Sarah Fear apparently spent a lot of time in this mansion years ago, so Debra insists that if the evil spirit is hers [It’s not though, surely], this is the most logical place it would be hanging out, and she plans on raising the spirit with a spell from the book she’s brought with her.
Debra can feel the spirits around them, including the evil one they’re trying to pinpoint, and the girls quickly set up camp in the large sitting room, avoiding the holes in the floor as they make their way to the centre of the room. As per the book’s instructions, Debra lights a red candle for each of them to hold in their left hand, and then they clasp their right hands in the middle of the circle they’ve formed. As they do that, though, the flames ‘dipped low and nearly went out.’ [Ooky spooky!] Debra then closes her eyes and starts to chant something in a foreign language, her voice growing louder and stronger, while moving her candle in a circle in front of her. She stops after a few minutes, opening her eyes just in time to see the evil spirit rising from a hole in the floor [!!!!!!].
Except it’s just a mangy dog, which disappoints Debra because she really thought she was on to something. Kimmy’s had enough for one night and heads home for a nice, hot bath while Debra and Corky decide to go see Jon and get some answers. We’ve still got a third of the book left, though, so when they get to the Daly house, they learn from his parents that Jon has been missing for two days [Did the evil spirit kill him? Was Sarah Beth involved?].
The next night, Corky and Debra meet up at Alma’s, the coffee shop across from Sarah Beth Plummer’s house, with plans to visit Sarah Beth and get some answers. Kimmy’s supposed to be here too, but apparently she’s sick, which is why she wasn’t in school today [Sick…or possessed?!??!]. Hopefully she’ll be OK for the big game tomorrow night, though! Anyway, ignoring the potential danger they could be about to walk into, the two girls head across the road to the house Sarah Beth said she lived in, and surprisingly she does live there!
She ushers them in and agrees to tell them what she knows about Sarah Fear, but heads into the kitchen first to make a coffee. Debra notices how old Sarah Beth’s voice sounds compared to how young she looks, and Corky accidentally bumps the coffee table as she goes to take a seat, knocking a stack of files to the floor. A bunch of envelopes falls out of one of them as she hurries to put them back, and she notices they’re all addressed to Sarah Fear [!!!!!].
The girls wonder if Sarah Beth is actually Sarah Fear, and she confirms their suspicions when confronted after returning from the kitchen. Yes, Sarah Beth is a Fear and related to the actual Sarah Fear, although she’s not sure if that’s who she was named after. She uses her mother’s maiden name, Plummer, as a way to distance herself from the Fear curse [Why not change it legally then?], and laments that although she’s tried to escape the family name, she’s drawn to the history of her ancestors, ”’pulled to them as if by an invisible force.”‘
Corky and Debra explain that they need to know everything about the OG Sarah Fear because she’s connected to some kind of evil spirit that’s after them, but first Corky wants to know why she saw Sarah Beth dancing on Sarah Fear’s grave a few weeks ago. Sarah Beth alleges that she’d dated Jon in school but they’d lost touch [Wait, so she went to Shadyside High too? Please fact check this, Corky], and he’d called her out of the blue a few weeks ago, wanting to meet in the cemetery. He was acting weird when she arrived and asked if Sarah Beth knew the truth about Jennifer, but of course Sarah Beth had no idea what he was talking about.
Knowing of Sarah Beth’s interest in the occult, Jon wanted to know if she had any knowledge about summoning spirits, and Jennifer reluctantly told him that she’d read about a dance you can do on someone’s grave to call up their spirit. Jon insisted she show him and wouldn’t take no for an answer, so that’s what Corky saw when she drove by. Nothing happened, though, which surprisingly pleased Jon, and they went their separate ways and she hasn’t seen or heard from him since.
Despite suspecting that Sarah Beth isn’t exactly telling the truth here, Corky doesn’t challenge her story and allows Sarah Beth to dive into a more detailed rehash of what she’d already said about the OG Sarah Fear. This time she mentions the journal of OG Sarah’s cousin, Ben Fear [Who, according to The Burning, wandered into the woods with his father and vanished]], who described her as beautiful, kind, generous and loving. Sarah and her husband lived close to the mansion of Simon Fear, who was still alive during this time, and although they were childless, their house was always filled with cousins, friends and servants.
She mourned her husband’s death from pneumonia for a full year before resuming her busy social life, until she fell gravely ill in early 1899, a sickness Ben had describes as a ‘wasting disease.’ Although expected to die, Sarah made a miraculously fast recovery overnight and resumed her duties that morning [Could Kimmy have this sickness too?]. She was a changed woman, though – according to Ben’s diary, she was now withdrawn, reclusive and had a terrible temper, prone to tantrums for no apparent reason.
There’s less and less details in the diary toward the end of Sarah’s life, which Sarah Beth believes is because Ben was no longer invited to her home, but he did write of rumours of Sarah becoming lovers with a servant and reports of strange gatherings in her house at night. The police reports were super discreet thanks to Simon Fear’s status in the community, but scandalous stories spread nonetheless [This makes me excited for the Saga book about Sarah Fear!]. There were also unsolved murders that occurred in the mansion – a kitchen maid was found in the garden, stabbed through the heart with enormous hedge shearers, and a houseguest was also murdered, one leg ‘”cleanly cut off his body and found lying beside him on the floor of the stable.”‘
And then finally came the day of the pleasure boat trip on Fear Lake. A hurricane-force gale came out of nowhere on that calm day and upturned the boat, drowning Sarah, three of her relatives and a servant. We already know from earlier that they were so close to shore, but we learn now that that’s not the weirdest part:
“When the bodies were pulled ashore, their skin was bright red, blistered, and scalding hot—as if Sarah and her companions had all drowned in boiling water!”
[Was this the beginning of the evil spirit’s fondness for hot water?] Corky and Debra leave with more doubts and suspicions than when they arrived and they both agree that Sarah Beth knows more than she’s letting on [I don’t know, the fact that they’re thinking Sarah Beth suspicious is making me think she’s not hahaha. She’s definitely got some kind of agenda, though. WAIT, maybe Sarah Beth is Sarah Fear, back from the grave to help destroy the evil once again? That idea has potential!]. They determine that whatever evil is stalking them now must have been bothering Sarah Fear too, since the scalding water and severed limbs are recurring means of death in both eras. But there has to be some other clue in the story, and particularly confusing for them is that if the evil spirit killed Sarah, how did it become trapped in the grave with her [Good point. Was Sarah possessed by it, and it became trapped inside her body when she died or something? Did she sacrifice herself to keep it escaping? Was it a Catherine situation?]?
A short while later Corky’s getting ready for bed, wishing they could trust Sarah Beth Plummer, but for all they know, ‘Sarah Beth herself could be the evil spirit!’ Kimmy also calls with some bad news about Jon – ‘”They found him in Fear Lake. Drowned.”‘ [Oop. The poor Daly parents, losing both kids :(. Also how anticlimactic for his character? What was the point lol]
And now it’s time for Saturday’s big game! Corky’s nervous about something going wrong, but so far so good, and the girls hype up the crowd with some more lame cheers [Nothing will beat RAZZMATAZZ though!]. Just before halftime, Kimmy asks Corky to count to three before dismounting from the top of the pyramid so Kimmy will have more than enough time to be ready to catch her. It seems weird to me, so Kimmy’s either our bad guy or a red herring Speaking of, Debra hasn’t been suspicious in a while…
Unsurprisingly, as soon as Corky’s at the top of the pyramid, the room starts to spin. She notices Sarah Beth Plummer standing by the gym’s double doors, and then sees Kimmy in position ready to catch her, so she leaps off. I guess the evil spirit has paralysed Kimmy, though, because she doesn’t move, her face a mask of horror as our heroine plummets to the ground. Corky comes to long enough to hear Kimmy sobbing about being unable to move, then wakes up again in the hospital. She’s got some bruised ribs and a broken arm, but other than that she’s fine [Lucky gal!].
At home, Mum decides to run Corky a nice, hot bath to help her relax, which sounds like an awful idea because she has a damn cast on her arm [Which she can’t get wet, that’d be an uncomfortable bath, right?], but Corky disagrees with me. After letting her mother help her undress and slip into a robe, Corky heads for the bathroom and is just about to get naked when she notices someone behind her… someone in a Shadyside High cheerleading uniform – Kimmy! Corky’s all like “Kimmy, I cbf with this right now”, but she quickly changes her tune when her friend says in the evil spirit’s husky voice ‘”I’m not Kimmy,”‘ and explains the fall was supposed to kill Corky.
Yes, apparently the evil spirit jumped from Jennifer’s body [Ayyyyy! What are chances I can sneak this reference in for every Cheerleader book?] to Kimmy’s the night Corky thought they defeated it in the cemetery, but I’m not sure how because the stinky green breath stuff got trapped in the coffin? There’s no way Corky and the others wouldn’t have noticed if it made a beeline for Kimmy instead? The evil spirit reveals that Kimmy’s enemies became its enemies, which is why Chip and Jon are dead – Chip for dumping Kimmy and liking Corky, and Jon for following Kimmy around and getting too close to the truth [Seriously, his character was pointless]. Corky tries to escape the bathroom but of course the door won’t budge [Not sure why she doesn’t call out for her family or something though?]:
“Time for your bath,” the husky voice said. “So nice of you to draw a hot, steamy tub. Now, Corky dear, you can die like your sister.”
With startling strength, Kimmy grabbed Corky by the hair, jerked her toward the tub, and started to force her head down into the hot water.
Kimmy’s super strong but Corky refuses to let the evil win again, and with a sudden burst of strength she jerks her arm back, whacking Kimmy in the back of the head with her cast [Surely that would hurt Corky’s broken arm?]. It stuns her long enough for Corky to turn the tables, rising out of the water and forcing Kimmy’s face below the surface, resting her cast on the back of her head to keep her there [Again, that would hurt Corky as well, no??]. Kimmy thrashes about as a raging wind pours from her mouth [But not the green one], churning the water and making it scalding hot [So is actual Kimmy about to be scalded to death too?].
A thick, white steam rises from the tub and fills the room until Corky starts to suffocate on it. She doesn’t release her grip on Kimmy’s head though, and soon the cloud evaporates, allowing Corky to see a disgusting green liquid pouring from Kimmy’s mouth under the water. It forms a long, snakelike figure and coils around the tub, growing longer and longer as it oozes from Kimmy’s mouth, until finally Corky reaches into the tub and pulls out the plug, watching in disbelief ‘as the foul-smelling, green liquid snake was sucked down the drain.’
It makes a disgusting sucking sound as it disappears until finally it’s all gone, and Kimmy comes to [There’s no mention of any burns or anything to her face despite the water being scalding hot? Make it make sense, Stine!], confused because the last thing she remembers is seeing Corky wrestling Jennifer at the cemetery which was months ago [This memory loss and the green liquid is very reminiscent of Fear Street Nights, except it was smoke there. Also Fear-related, though!]. Corky assures Kimmy that the nightmare is over and the evil is likely gone for good since she just drowned it and ‘”saw it disappear this time.”‘ [Bitch, you saw it disappear into the coffin last time but somehow it ended up inside Kimmy; what the heck are you talking about? And also, you don’t know that you actually drowned it, it was sucked down the damn drain. Don’t be so naive!]
Corky has an amazing sleep that night because she’s just so stupidly happy that the evil is gone forever [Corky, please], and the next morning she finds a letter in the mail addressed to her in light blue ink with no return address. There’s a note inside, and the book ends with Corky gasping in horror as she reads the brief message – ‘IT CAN’T BE DROWNED.’
Final thoughts
There was enough mystery to hold my interest and I’m looking forward to the next one, but I feel like more could have happened here. As usual, it wasn’t really what I was expecting based on the blurb, but I still enjoyed it. It definitely needed more deaths – two is nice, but I wish we got to see them happen, like we did with Bobbi’s. Here, we only briefly saw the aftermath of one and simply heard about the second death. Boring. Chip’s death was a surprise though, because we don’t often see the boyfriend/girlfriend murdered, but I have no idea why Jon was even a character here. You could completely remove him and it wouldn’t impact the story whatsoever. I’m hoping the next book delves more into the occult stuff, because that’s always interesting, and I’m keen for Sarah Beth’s storyline to be fleshed out some more. Maybe Heather and Megan will get some more lines, too!
I really enjoy Corky as a protagonist; she’s smart [For the most part] and capable and I’m really rooting for her. I really want to know her first name, though! Kimmy and Debra have grown on me too, but now that Kimmy’s free of the evil spirit does that mean she’ll revert back to her First Evil self? God, I hope not. Speaking of possessed Kimmy, why did it take so long for the evil to enact her plan of revenge? Why not try Kill Corky straight away? Also, why was evil spirt-Kimmy so determined to keep Corky on the squad? She clearly knows how to murder people from afar, so why was she trying to keep Corky as close as possible?
Although this was pretty on par with the first book in terms of enjoyment, The First Evil has the edge thanks to some really good scenes, so 30 evil spirits obsessed with scalding water out of 42!
