''Superstitious'' is a 1995 horror novel by author

R.L. Stine Robert Lawrence Stine (; born October 8, 1943), sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor. Stine has been referred to as the "St ...

. This was the first adult novel by Stine, most famous for writing

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

fiction such as the ''

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually i ...

'' series. This book deals with Sara Morgan, who falls in love with Liam O’Connor. It was published on September 14, 1995"Supersitious"
''

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'' (July 15, 1995). Retrieved on December 7, 2010. by

Grand Central Publishing Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...

in the United States. R. L. Stine began writing this book after an agent offered him a one million dollar advance.Tabor, Mary (September 7, 1995)
"AT HOME WITH: R. L. Stine; Grown-Ups Deserve Some Terror, Too"
''

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''. Retrieved on December 7, 2010. It took him four months to write.Cohen, Joel
''R. L. Stine''
Lucent Books, 2000. p.55.
''

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'' (October 28, 1999). Retrieved on December 7, 2010.

Plot summary

Sara Morgan, a graduate student who has left an abusive relationship with Clip, starts a new relationship with a handsome professor named Liam O'Connor. Liam is extremely superstitious and lives with his sister Margaret, to whom he is very close. Sara does not mind these quirks and marries Liam. Shortly, people start dying in grisly ways, and it turns out the professor knew all of them. Sara begins to wonder if her husband might be the killer, while Liam's superstitious behavior increases. One day, after Sara discovers Margaret and Liam in bed together naked, she smashes the mirror out of protest and runs out of the house. She returns later to retrieve her keys only to find Margaret dead; she leaves afterwards in search of her boss' house. There, she spots her boss dead and Liam glaring at her. He explains to her that Margaret was his wife and that the demons of superstition living inside of him can pass through Sara to the child she bears. He went on to explain that when the demons slip away, they kill someone he knows; when Sara broke the mirror, the demons slipped out, murdering Margaret. Sara, who wants to show Liam that there are no demons, shatters a mirror in the house; the demons slip outside of him, he says it's okay because with his death Sara will be safe, and they murder Liam. Sara is knocked out afterwards by the demons, and later awakens in the hospital. Sara then finds out she is pregnant, causing her to scream in horror.

Reception

The novel was not as well received as his young adult novels,"R.l. Stine"
''

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'' (December 25, 1995). Retrieved on March 22, 2009. selling 150,000 in its first 8 months."The Stephen King of preteen readers R.L. Stine knows how to give kids ''Goosebumps.''"
''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' (May 12, 1996). Retrieved on December 7, 2010. Nonetheless, the book was featured on ''

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s bestseller list for 7 weeks, attaining a peak position of 80"Best-Selling Books Database"
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''. Retrieved on December 7, 2010. and was a main selection of the Doubleday Book Club.From the back flap of the ''Superstitious'' book published by

Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...

. Sue-Ellen Beauregard from ''

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'' stated that "readers who can accept scary supernatural beings and evil demons as forces to be reckoned with will find this a satisfying, although somewhat superficial, page-turner".Beauregard, Sue-Ellen (August 1995)
"Superstitious."
''

''. Retrieved on December 8, 2010. Barbara Hawkins from the ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

'' stated "the book is a long way from "Fear Street" (Pocket), and sure to be as popular"."Superstitious"
''

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

''. Retrieved on December 8, 2010.

Douglas E. Winter Douglas E. Winter (born October 30, 1950, in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American writer, critic and lawyer. Winter grew up in Granite City, Illinois. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1975 and became a lawyer in Washington, DC, currently w ...

from the ''

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'' stated that the book had a "tired plot" and wasn't good.Winter, Douglas E
"'Goosebumps' author fails at adult chills"
''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

''. Retrieved on December 8, 2010. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' stated that the book had a "crude yet functional casting, plotting and prose".

Film

In 1995, Miramax bought the film rights for this book before it was published, with

Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was the president of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as ''Hill Stre ...

in negotiations to produce at the time.Kelly, Katy (September 19, 2005)
"A Stine misstep // `Superstitious' plots too silly for adults"
''USAToday''. Retrieved on December 7, 2010."It's luck, 'says the creator for Goos'bumps'"
''

Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'' (December 31, 1995). Retrieved on December 7, 2010. However, R. L. Stine stated on his Twitter page that ''Superstitious'' was never released as a movie.Stine, R. L. (September 30, 2010)
"The IMDB listing for Superstitious is a hoax. That film was never made. Someone is having a good laugh."
''

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

''. Retrieved on December 7, 2010.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Superstitious (Book) American horror novels American fantasy novels Novels by R. L. Stine 1995 novels 1990s horror novels 1995 fantasy novels