The Barking Ghost has a twist ending in which Cooper and Margaret are turned into chipmunks. This might not seem scary at first until you realize chipmunks only live for about ten years, and Cooper and Margaret are not revealed to have returned to their original bodies, so R. L. Stine essentially sentenced the protagonists to an early death.
While The TV version ends much happier with Cooper and Fergie getting their bodies back, Mickey gets switched with a chipmunk. He's an Asshole Victim for sure, but he's still Cooper's brother, and since he's in the chipmunk here, that means he's been sentenced to an early death. Hopefully, Cooper can find a way to change him back without endangering himself.
