Elvira: The Boy Who Cried Werewolf by Elvira with John Paragon

 

(pb; 1998: YA novel. Third novel in the Elvira trilogy.)

From the back cover

“I thought I had bad hair days!

“I’ve dealt with wolves before, but never like this. The kind I’m used to are all bark, no bite. They howl, they drool, and who do you think gets stuck with the check? I mean fangs a lot, fellas!

“Now my young friend Whitney keeps trying to convince me he’s a werewolf. As if, I mean, I like a good practical choke as much as the next ghoul. But if this kid doesn’t give it up soon, he’s off to his tomb with no supper.

“There he is now. Look at him. What’s with all the fur? And those fangs—hasn’t he heard about caps? Still. . . the blood looks pretty real. That arm in his mouth, too. You don’t think. . .

“Jeepers creepers! I better give Whitney a yelping hand before the neighbors scare up some silver bullets. I tell ya, a ghoul’s work is never done!”

Review

Caveat: (possible) reference spoilers in review. 

The third and final Elvira novel, not linked to the 1973 or 2010 films, is my favorite book in this bunch. In Boy, a rest stop trailer gypsy curses one of Elvira’s adolescent, easily influenced friends (Whitney Benedict) with lycanthropy just as a string of bloody (briefly but not gratuitously described), full-moon murders terrorize Elvira’s chosen town, Beaver Hills. Is Whitney the furry killer, or is it the craven Dmitri Ouspensky (son of the gypsy) or Officer Paul Tanner (the wolfishly aggressive and charming cop who’s won Elvira’s heart)? As the body count mounts, Elvira, with help from Kimberly Henning (Whitney’s girlfriend), investigates, risking their lives and the lives of those around them.

Like the first two standalone books, double-entendres and horror film references/set-ups are seamlessly, often hilariously baked into the deftly paced storyline, a work suited for older teens who are familiar with the horror host’s work. Appropriately, references are made to The Wolf Man (1941), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), and The Howling (1981) as well as A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Stephen King (specifically his 1983 novel Christine, which resulted in a same-year John Carpenter-helmed film). What elevates the Elvira novels above other “light”/young adult books is that it balances horror and humor in equal measure, an excellent terror-flick introduction work worth owning (if you can find it for a reasonable price, it’s an out-of-print book).