The Horror at Camp Jellyjam

infobox Book | | name = The Horror at Camp Jellyjam
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 = July 1995
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 121 p.
isbn = 0-590-48345-5
preceded_by = The Barking Ghost
followed_by = Revenge Of The Lawn Gnomes

"The Horror at Camp Jellyjam" is the 33rd book in the Goosebumps series, by R. L. Stine, written for younger readers.

Book summary

Two siblings, Wendy and Elliot, end up in a strange summer camp, King Jellyjam's Sports Camp, after an accident leaves them stranded. Camp Jellyjam is very strange because of its camp motto "Only the Best", not to mention the fact that every counselor there is always smiling and always pushing the other campers to win, no matter what. While waiting for their parents to come find them, Wendy and Elliot decide to join in with the camp's activities, which center around trying to win medals called "King Coins" for events. After each kid wins six King Coins, they get to partake in something called the "Winners' Walk", which is an Olympic-like event where all the winners just stroll with each other.

However, none of them return to the camp the morning after the walk. Something is controlling the camp counselors and only Wendy can stop it. The counselors are actually hypnotized by the mascot, "King Jellyjam", because he is "real"--a giant blob monster. The ground rumbles out at night because of King Jellyjam's massive burps (he is very large). Wendy finds out that the medal-winners are taken to an underground cavern where King Jellyjam lives, because that is what the motto means: "only the best" can be King Jellyjam's slaves. The kids who have won the six King Coins are forced to wash him all the time because he hates his own horrible stench. They also can't take breaks from their chores, lest they get eaten by King Jellyjam (who already ate some).

Wendy defeats him by telling every kid to lay belly-down on the ground because his slimy, bulgy fingers can't reach them. With no one to wash him, King Jellyjam suffocates on his own repulsive stench and dies. The counselors then snap out of their trance and the police come, because they have been smelling this stench and they finally determined its origin. Wendy and Elliot are eventually rescued by their parents.

Some time after the ordeal, Wendy and Elliot get visited by Buddy, one of the former camp counselors. He gives Elliot the sixth King Coin that he earned before camp ended. Upon taking it, Wendy and Elliot smell a familiar stench, but it just turns out to be their mom cooking brussels sprouts.

Tagline

Tennis... Canoeing... "Monsters", anyone?However, in reprinted copies of the book, the tagline is changed to "Tennis... Ping Pong... Monsters, anyone?

Book description

Swimming, basketball, archery. King Jellyjam's sports camp has it all! Too bad Wendy isn't a sports fan like her brother, Elliot. But how excited can you get over a game of softball? It's just a game, right? WRONG! Because Camp Jellyjam is no ordinary sports camp, Wendy's about to find out why. Why the counselors seem a little "too" happy, a little "too" obsessed with winning. And why the ground is always rumbling late at night....

Trivia

* Wendy and Elliot's last names are never mentioned in the story.
* The story was adapted in "Goosebumps Graphix: Scary Summer" by artist Kyle Baker.
* A free "decal of doom" was included with the book.
* Series artist Tim Jacobus reveals in his book "It Came From New Jersey!" that the camp counselor on the front cover, which is most likely the character of Buddy, was drawn from a self-photo that he posed to render the artwork.