Based on You Can't Scare Me!, book #15 of the original Goosebumps series.
Eddie and his friends attempt to scare their obnoxious classmate Courtney, only for things to take a startling turn.
The episode provides examples of:
- Adaptational Distillation: The episode is extremely pared down from the book: several characters are absent, and the dog scare is cut out. As a result, the Mud Monster has a much larger presence.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Overlapping with Adaptational Jerkass, both of which Courtney manages to be at different points. In the book she did a few bad things such as mocking Eddie early on but these bits are not in the episode. However, as it goes on she starts acting much more smug and condescending towards the boys.
- Adapted Out: Molly and Charlene are removed. The same can be said for Eddie's older brother, Kevin. Plus, there is now only one Mud Monster.
- Censored Child Death: In the prologue, a child and her grandpa were killed by Mud Monsters. While we see the grandpa's demise onscreen, the child's fate is cut off and only revealed in the following narration.
- Distant Prologue: The episode begins with a Mud Monster in the distant past attacking a little girl and her grandfather.
- Named by the Adaptation: The episode gives Courtney the last name of King.
- Talking the Monster to Death: This is how Courtney stops the Mud Monster. She gives it a lecture on how this isn't what a monster is supposed to do, long enough for the sun to dry it up while it is being bored by her speech. A subsequent rainstorm revives the monster, however.
