Deep Trouble (novella)

infobox Book | | name = Deep Trouble
orig title =
translator =


author = R. L. Stine
cover_artist = Tim Jacobus
country = United States
language = English
series = Goosebumps
classification = fiction
genre = Horror fiction, Children's literature
publisher = Scholastic
release_date = Monday, May 1, 1994
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 117
isbn = 0-590-47741-2
preceded_by = Monster Blood II
followed_by = The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight

Deep Trouble is the 19th book in R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series.

Plot Summary

Billy and his sister, Sheena, are visiting their uncle Dr. Deep on a tiny Caribbean island. While swimming in the reef, Billy encounters a giant octupus-like sea monster. Luckily, he survives. Of course, Dr. Deep, Sheena, and Alexander (Dr. Deep's assistant) don't believe him when he tells them about the monster. Later, Billy hears Dr. Deep talking with people from the local zoo, who have been convinced by local fishermen that they have seen a mermaid about Billy's age with blond hair and a green tail, and they want Dr. Deep to capture her and put her in the zoo. Billy is caught listening, but he is let in on the secret. The next day, Billy tries to find her, Sheena follows him, and Billy is almost killed by a hammerhead shark. Suddenly, a green fishtail (the mermaid) attacks the shark and saves Billy's life. The two are then caught in a net by Dr. Deep and the mermaid is put in a tank, much to both Billy and the mermaid's disliking. With the exception of the little-seen monster, this book isn't considered by many to be scary.The book was later adapted into Goosebumps Graphix Terror Trips. However, in Graphix, (as seen on the cover) the mermaid seems to have a dark pink tail and seems to have hair with darker hair in a color such as brown or red. It is unknown because the book is in black and white, and her description is never given.

Deep Trouble II

One year later, Billy (now thirteen) and Sheena are vacationing with Dr. D. again, this time encountering a good-intentioned mad scientist, Dr. Ritter, who's been experimenting with plankton as part of a plan to solve world hunger. This plankton, if ingested by fish and other sea life (including jellyfish, snails, crabs, seagulls and dolphins), causes them to grow gigantic. However, if a human ingests the plankton, they are permanently turned into a fish. Ultimately, Ritter's own greed and paranoia prove to be his downfall, as he tries to protect his secret by using said plankton on Billy, Sheena and Dr. D. to turn them into fish. Luckily, it doesn't work, as Billy had earlier switched one of the bottles of plankton with a bottle of iced tea. Dr. Ritter freaks out and drinks the plankton himself, and thus turns into a fish, disappearing overboard. In a cliffhanger ending, Sheena drinks another bottle of what she thinks is iced tea, but suddenly starts complaining of stomach pains, indicating that she might have drank one of the plankton samples.

Creep from the deep

It has been announced that Billy and Sheena will be returning in "Goosebumps HorrorLand: Creep From the Deep", which will be released. The plot summary states that the two will be invited to Horrorland, only to be trapped aboard a sunken ship with a captain who might be someone thought dead. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0439918707]

Deep Trouble The Collector's Edition

After Scholastic made Creep from the deep, they made a remake of the Deep Trouble novel.It has special features in the back. It also has a raised cover, to where you can feel it.It is said to be released in March 2008.

Tagline

Deep Trouble: Billy is in deep trouble now!

Deep Trouble II: Fish used to be nice. Not anymore.

TV Episode

An episode of the "Goosebumps" television show was based very loosely on the novel, though the focus of the novel shifted from Billy to his sister Sheena, and the plot varied significantly and borrowed from Deep Trouble II's plot about turning fish into huge monsters since the plot of the first story (where Billy finds a mermaid living in the forbidden coral reefs and tries to save her from scientists who want to experiment on her) wasn't scary enough. Also, the TV version ended with the mad scientist appearing again as a freak in a carnival sideshow after his fish experiment fails on him.