Bunnicula

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Bunnicula is the name of a series of children's books written by James Howe about a "vampire bunny" who is adopted by the Monroe family, who give him the name "Bunnicula" when they find him on a seat in the theater while going to see the movie Dracula. The story centers on the family's pets, Harold, an old, good-natured mongrel, who is the narrator of the story, Chester the cat, who has a vivid imagination and suspects Bunnicula of being a vampire, and the eponymous bunny, who never displays any overt vampiric traits despite constant accusations by Chester.

The series is something of an Affectionate Parody of the horror genre, with equal parts mystery and comedy as well. The first book, simply titled Bunnicula, was written together with Howe's late wife Deborah.

Books in the series:

  • Bunnicula (1979)
  • Howliday Inn (1982)
  • The Celery Stalks At Midnight (1983)
  • Nighty-Nightmare (1987)
  • Return to Howliday Inn (1992)
  • Bunnicula Strikes Again! (1999)
  • Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow! (2006)

There is also the spin-off series Tales From The House of Bunnicula:

  • It Came From Beneath the Bed!
  • Invasion of the Mind Swappers from Asteroid 6!
  • Howie Monroe and the Doghouse of Doom
  • Screaming Mummies of the Pharaoh's Tomb II
  • Bud Barkin, Private Eye
  • The Odorous Adventures of Stinky Dog

There is also a series of Bunnicula books for very young readers:

  • The Vampire Bunny
  • Hot Fudge
  • Scared Silly
  • Rabbit-Cadabra
  • The Fright Before Christmas
  • Creepy Crawly Birthday
  • Bunnicula Escapes!: A Pop-up Adventure

As well as several non-fiction books:

  • Bunnicula's Wickedly Wacky Word Games: a Book for Word Lovers & Their Pencils!
  • Bunnicula's Frightfully Fabulous Factoids: a Book to Entertain Your Brain!
  • Bunnicula's Pleasantly Perplexing Puzzlers: A Book of Puzzles, Mazes, & Whatzits!
  • Bunnicula's Long-lasting Laugh-alouds: a Book of Jokes & Riddles to Tickle Your Bunny-Bone!

Also, being made into a stop motion animated film by Henry Selick (of The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and Coraline fame).

The following tropes are common to many or all entries in the Bunnicula franchise.
For tropes specific to individual installments, visit their respective work pages.

"IT WAS NOT a dark and stormy night. Indeed, there was nothing in the elements to foreshadow the events that lay ahead."

    • It was implied that it was in the first chapter, "The Arrival", in the first book.
  • Killer Rabbit: or so Chester assumes
  • Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Pete trying to explain to his family that the white vegetables are caused by "vegetables that aren't organic".
  • Literary Agent Hypothesis: The prologue claims that Howe is merely the literary agent for Harold the dog.
  • Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Bunnicula may or may not be a blood-sucking fiend, though it becomes less debatable as the series goes on. Much of the humor in the series comes from Chester's belief that Bunnicula's eating habits mean that the world around them follows horror tropes.
  • Metaphorgotten: Chester in Bunnicula Strikes Again:

"You can lead a horse of a different color to water but it's still a horse."

The Bunnicula series provides additional examples of:

  • Adaptational Personality Adjustment: The animated version of goes with this for all three of the main characters. Harold in the books is a lovable but observant dog that realizes that the title character is not a threat. Chester is paranoid that Bunnicula is evil but goes overboard in putting garlic everywhere. Meanwhile, the worst thing that book Bunnicula does is drain all the vegetables of their juice, something that his family rectifies by putting him on a strictly vegetable juice diet. Cartoon Harold is The Ditz being a dog with more floof than brain, Chester is a Nervous Wreck who is more than willing to work with Bunnicula to solve a problem, if not trusting him that much, and Bunnicula becomes a flying, shapeshifting prankster who will troll Chester if it amuses him.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: In Bunnicula Strikes Again!, Harold reminds the audience that he, like the books he writes, is a work of fiction.
  • Hell Hotel: Chateau Bow-Wow in Howliday Inn and Return To Howliday Inn
  • Mad Scientist: Parodied (and ultimately subverted) with Dr. Greenbriar. Jill could even be seen as his beautiful daughter, and Harrison as his Igor.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: M.T. Graves is an Affectionate Parody of Stephen King.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Bud and Spud, who come across as dumb hicks, but are actually well educated. Of course, most of the obfuscation comes from Chester's overactive imagination.
  • Pounds Are Animal Prisons: ...So are the kennels in Howliday Inn.
  • Ten Little Murder Victims : parodied in Howliday Inn

The Tales From The House of Bunnicula series provides examples of:

  • Affectionate Parody: Howie is a parody of Fan Fiction writers, and The Doghouse of Doom is mistakenly seen as a parody of Harry Potter by Howie's editor.
  • Aliens Speaking English: The Mindswappers From Asteriod 6™ speak English. "Justified" in that Howie is the author and he wants them to. So there.
  • Author Avatar: Howie's books star himself and his friend.
  • Death By Newboney Medal: Howie tries to make Tales #4 more tragic in order to win a Medal. It doesn't work.
  • Depending on the Writer: Used in-universe as the quality, direction, focus, and title vary depending on if Howie of Delilah is writing Tales From The House of Bunnicula.
  • Product Placement: Howie likes to promote his previous books, though he claims to be simply giving helpful references to the reader.
  • Purple Prose: Lots in Howie's books. Even Harold tells him that he's going overboard, especially with self-description.
  • Title Drop: "Mindswappers From Asteriod 6™" is always emphasized and trademarked.
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