Go Eat Worms Review: Have the Worms Turned?
Do you find worms scary? Most likely not. Gross maybe. If you are looking for scares, straight away I can tell you that this book is probably not for you. Yet, the purpose of this Go Eat Worms review is not to determine its scariness, but rather its entertainment value.
Let’s burrow into this story further, so that you can decide!
Blurb
In this 20th instalment of Goosebumps, Go Eat Worms tells the tale of the very strange boy, Todd Barstow. The title is potentially a spin on the phrase “Eat my shorts“, one of Bart’s catchphrases from The Simpsons. Regardless, Regina uses it as an insult against her brother and his unhealthy obsession with worms.
He is a complete worm freak. Todd and his best friend Danny enjoy scaring others, especially Todd’s sister, Regina, and her best friend Beth.
He keeps a worm farm in his basement and has even built a ‘worm house’ for his Science Fair project. It is safe to say that his singular focus is on worms.
Regina jokes one day that the worms want revenge on her brother, after witnessing him mistreating them.
Todd brushes the joke off as idiocy… but then worms start sneaking their way into Todd’s bag, his clothes, his bed, and even his food! Somehow Regina’s joke doesn’t sound so stupid anymore.
Themes in Go Eat Worms
Natural Horror
Natural horror is a subgenre of horror where the subject of fear comes from the natural world – either animals or plants. This story features both giant creatures and worms en masse, making it safe to categorise Go Eat Worms as natural horror.
Despite this, the reader still may ask who is the villain in this piece? Whilst it is the worms that supposedly torment Todd, it is Todd himself tormenting the worms, and using them to prank his sister and her friend. The worms present themselves as the menace in this story, but it would also be safe to say that what the worms really want is revenge for Todd’s actions.
Eco-Horror
Eco-Horror is a subgenre of natural horror where the natural world is taking revenge on humanity for exploiting it. Todd doesn’t exploit the environment in the traditional sense, he is not dumping toxic waste in the lake, or burning down a local forest – but he does exploit nature for his own morbid curiosity and pranks.
There is an element of eco-horror, where nature takes revenge against Todd for what seems his cruelty for its own sake. This idea of revenge will be explored further later. However, it is because the animals in this story are seen to be taking revenge, at least by Todd, that this Goosebumps does not fit into the “animals gone wild” category of Natural horror.
The worms’ efforts to spook Todd are viewed as calculated, with both a reason to torment Todd, and done in such a way that shows some cunning. It would be hard to imagine a worm in a blind murderous rage, like the birds in Daphne du Maurier’s The Birds or the farmyard animals in M. D. Spenser’s The Animal Rebellion.
This is somewhat achieved in Shaun Hutson’s Slugs and Breeding Ground, as the slugs are shown to be quick enough to ambush the unsuspecting.
In Go Eat Worms, the worms are seen only as garden-variety worms with a grudge – no superpowers (at least for the majority of the book).
Infestation Horror
Another sub-genre of natural horror this tale falls into is infestation horror. This takes the idea of the protagonist(s) being trapped in their own home, where they are supposed to be the master of their domain, whilst dealing with an infestation of some kind. James Herbert’s The Rats series explores this idea, as well as; Shaun Hutson’s Slugs series; Guy N Smith’s Locusts; and Richard Curtis’ Squirm.
Todd is often ‘attacked’ in his own home, finding the worms in his clothes and bed. Todd is a kid (he is not boss of the house), yet he still exerts the behaviour of an apex predator. Through the worms’ revenge, this position of power is becoming undermined.
Mad Science
Todd is emphatic throughout the book that he wants to become a scientist. When asked why he collects worms, he replies “Because I want to be a scientist when I grow up”. He is also obsessed with winning in the science fair.
Yet, all we see of Todd’s ‘experiments’ is putting worms in a doll house, cutting them in half, and sticking them where they don’t belong.
This is not a story of a character taking their quest for knowledge too far. If Todd is trying to find out anything, it is either how much he can annoy others or the most harm he can do to his creatures before they die.
This is hardly Frankenstein!
Summary
The plot is aimless. Goosebumps books are not complex, yet unlike most of the series, there is no overarching goal that Todd sticks with throughout the plot.
It feels like you are witnessing the mind of Todd, and your attention jumps back and forth from revenge, to worms, and to being known as ‘the worm guy’. The story takes form in third person, but, it reads almost like first person.
Stine conveys a feeling of dread that is successfully built up throughout the story. The book builds this dread also through imagery which incurs disgust.
If you have read any of Silent Night Fear Street books, you’ll know what it is like to be rooting against the main protagonist.
Following Todd’s day-to-day life will make you feel like you are witnessing Jeffery Dahmer’s childhood first-hand.
The book is entertaining, with some wackiness and easter eggs sprinkled in. It’s a road trip with no destination in mind, and unusual sightseeing.
