Goosebumps Rewatch S01E10: Night of the Living Dummy II
âNight of the Living Dummy IIâ is the episode that introduced the world to Slappy and likely instilled â90s kids with a fear of ventriloquist dummies that they still have to this day.
The episode opens on a peaceful suburban home with piano music playing in the background.  A young teen, Sarah, is showing her family a picture she painted of their house, entitled âHome Sweet Home.â  She is going to enter it into the city art show.  Her parents love it, but her sister Amy quips, âShe showed us the exact same picture last family night.â  Amy starts to get up, but her father tells her to wait her turn.  Their brother Jed gets up instead, and announces that heâs made a movie all about the family.  He presses play, and the video is full of embarrassing videos that he combines with snarky commentary, like a shot of their mom eating ice cream right from the container and Jed says, âThereâs Mom sticking to her diet again!â  Everyone in the family is angry, and their mother says that he has to ask to use the camera next time.
Finally, itâs Amyâs turn, and she sets herself up with her ventriloquist dummy, Dennis. Â She tells a joke, but when sheâs making him laugh, his head falls off. Â âThatâs the best part!â quips Jed. Â Amy is embarrassed and whines to her father that he said she could get a new dummy. Â âLook behind the couch!â says her father. Â Amy excitedly opens the giant box. Â Her father explains that he found the dummy just sitting in the window of a second-hand shop near his work.
Amy opens the box and sees her new dummy, named Slappy. Â She takes Slappy out of the box and finds a piece of paper in his pocket.
Amy reads the card out loud and says it sounds like a foreign language.  She hugs Slappy and says, âYou and I are gonna make a great team.â
That night, Amy is practicing with Slappy. Â Sarah comes in and warns Amy not to go in her room ever again (the video that Jed made showed Amy secretly trying on Sarahâs sweater). Â Sarah tells Amy to go to bed. Â âDonât have to,â says Amy. Â âYeah, we donât have to,â agreed Slappy. Â Amy gasps and whips her head around, but Sarah doesnât seem to notice. Â Amy decides to go to bed after all. Â She puts Slappy on a bench with Dennis on the side of her room, and wishes them both good night. Â Just as sheâs going to turn off her light, she hears a thud. Â She gets up and finds Dennis on the floor. Â She thinks itâs just the old toy falling apart again, and shakes her head.
In the middle of the night, something creeps through the house and into Sarahâs room. Â It runs up to Sarahâs prized painting...
The next morning, Sarah is in tears.  âItâs ruined!â she cries.  Amy comes in carrying a paint brush.  Her sister blames her for ruining the painting, but she says she didnât do it; she just found the paint brush out in the hall.  âIâm always blamed for everything around here!â she says.  On her way out the door to school, she grabs Slappyâs hands and says, âSorry you had to end up with such a bizarre family.â  Pulling her hands away, she sees red paint on her hands.  She checks Slappyâs hands and finds red paint there, too.  âHow did this get here?â she asks.
At the next family game night, Amy brings Slappy out for a show. Â Amy tells some jokes, but then Slappy takes over, making offensive comments about her family. Â âAnd how about that mother of yours! Â She went to the store and asked the clerk if he had something her size and he told her to try the freight elevator!â
Her family gets very upset, but Amy says itâs not her saying it - itâs Slappy! Â Amy tries to get Slappy off of her hand, but heâs stuck. Â She finally gets him off with the help of Sarah. Â Her father sends her and Slappy up to bed. Â Amy is frustrated, and closes Slappy back in his box.
The next day, Amyâs friend is over to help color posters for school. Â She brought her younger sister because sheâs babysitting. Â The two girls complain about being the middle child and always being stuck doing everything. Â âSometimes, I wish I didnât have any brothers or sisters,â says Amy. Â In his box, Slappy hears.
Sarah stomps into the room, mad that Amy is using Sarahâs markers to do the poster. Â Sarah and Amy get into a fight. Â When Sarah leaves, the girls see Amyâs friendâs baby sister holding Slappy. Â âDonât touch that!â cries Amy. Â âHe said he couldnât breathe in there,â says the little girl. Â Slappy says something mean about Amyâs friend. Â âI think heâs funny,â the little girl says, holding Slappyâs hand. Â
Then, Slappy grabs the girlâs finger and wonât let go! Â Amy begs Slappy to stop it. Â The girl screams. Â Slappy just laughs. Â Amyâs mother comes into the room, and Slappy shuts down. Â âWhat in the world is going on?â she asks. Â Amy tries to explain that Slappy grabbed the girlâs finger, but her friend accuses her of being a liar and tells her she never wants to see her again. Â She storms out. Â Furious, her mother locks Amy in her room... alone with Slappy.
When Amyâs father comes home, he tells Amy she canât keep blaming the doll for bad things she doesnât want to take responsibility for. Â Her brother and sister agree that itâs getting weird. Â Her father says he understands how she feels, being caught in the middle of her siblings. Â âNobodyâs listening to me! Itâs all Slappyâs fault!â screams Amy. Â Her mother suggests that maybe Amy needs to go to a therapist. Â Amy maintains that she isn't making this up, and storms out.
That night, while Amy is asleep, Slappy sneaks out of the room again. Â Amyâs parents are in the living room, having fallen asleep watching TV. Â Amy wakes up and realizes that Slappyâs gone. Â She runs to the living room and catches Slappy about to smash her fatherâs guitar.
Amy tackles Slappy, but ends up smashing the guitar anyway and waking up her parents. Â âAmy, how could you?â asks her mother. Â Amy explains that Slappy was going to hit Dad, and she had to stop him. Â Her father does not believe her, and is furious. Â He tells her to go to bed, and they will talk to her in the morning.
At breakfast, they tell her they just cannot understand whatâs going on with her, and she cannot keep blaming Slappy for everything. Â âWhen youâre ready to tell us whatâs really bothering you, then weâll talk,â says her father.
Amy heads out to a large road and throws Slappy down the sewer, saying, âYouâre never going to hurt me again.â  But that night, Sarah is wiping up some footprints that look suspiciously small...
Amy goes into her bedroom and sees tiny footprints leading under her bed. Â She peeks under it, and hears a voice from behind her saying her name. Â Itâs Slappy! Â âWeâre partners, remember?â says Slappy. Â He explains that Amy canât get rid of him, because she spoke the magic words in his pocket. Â âYou and I are one now. Â Inseparable. Â My slave.â Â Amy says she wonât be Slappyâs slave, but he reminds her that he already controls her, and that her whole family thinks sheâs crazy.
Sarah comes into the room, and Slappy turns to face her, showing her that he is real. Â âWanna play?â he asks her. Â The girls scream and run. Â The lock themselves in the bathroom. Â Slappy tries to get in, but canât. Â The girls realize he must be going after Jed.
All the lights are off in the house, so the girls arm themselves with flashlights and mops to try and find Jed.  In the kitchen, Slappy runs all around them, so fast they canât keep up.  He runs off and the girls chase him into the living room.  Slappy trips Amy and she falls to the floor.  She tries to reach the mop to defend herself with while Slappy climbs up onto the table and announces, âFrom now on, this family belongs to me!â
Suddenly, something jumps out at Slappy and knocks him to the floor. Â His head hits the ground and cracks open, and a green evil spirit comes out.
The girlsâ parents come home right then, and the girls run into their arms.  Sarah explains that Amy was telling the truth and Slappy was after them, but Jed saved their lives.  But then, Jed appears on the stairs and says, âWhatâs going on?  Whatâd I do?â  âif you didnât do it, then who...?â  They turn around and see Dennis standing on the table.
âItâs good to be back in the family again,â he says.
Thatâs the end of âNight of the Living Dummy II.â  On a scale of 1-10, how terrifying was Slappy when you first saw this episode?  How about now?