The Monstrumologist
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| Author | Rick Yancey |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | The Monstrumologist |
| Genre | Gothic Horror |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing |
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Publication date
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2009 |
| Pages | 434 |
| ISBN | |
| Followed by | The Curse of the Wendigo |
The Monstrumologist (2009) is a young adult horror novel by Rick Yancey. It received the 2010 Michael L. Printz Honor Award for excellence in young adult literature.
Folio one
The Monstrumologist begins when Erasmus Gray visits Dr. Warthrop's house in the middle of the night. He reveals the body of a young woman and a male anthropophagus, of a species called Anthropophagi. The girl has "half her face" missing, and her throat is torn out. Dr. Warthrop dissects both the girl and the monster, and finds an Anthropophagus fetus in the dead girl's womb. Warthrop explains to Will Henry, who is taking notes on the procedure, that Anthropophagi require a host to grow their young in. They poison the baby and continue examining the bodies. Dr. Warthrop theorizes that because Anthropophagi are indigenous to Africa and have never been seen in the Americas before, there could only be one or two more in the area at most. The next night, Warthrop, Gray, and Will Henry go to the cemetery to return the girl's body to her grave.
While Gray and Will Henry re-dig the grave, Warthrop tries to discover how the Anthropophagus accessed her body in the first place. Suddenly, an Anthropophagus bursts up from under the dirt in the hole Will Henry and Gray were digging. It seizes Gray by the legs and starts dragging him down. Will Henry grabs Gray's wrists and tries to pull him back, but starts being pulled in himself. He tries to release Gray, but Gray hangs on to him and refuses to let go. Dr. Warthrop shoots Gray and pulls Will Henry back, while Gray's body is devoured.
Warthrop and Will Henry run for their lives as more Anthropophagi pour out of Eliza's grave. They jump on the back of Gray's horse and ride off, narrowly evading the approaching swarm. Back at Warthrop's house, he and Will Henry begin searching through old newspapers for suspicious deaths over the past thirty years. Warthrop marks possible Anthropophagi attacks on a map, and estimates that there are around twenty five or thirty Anthropophagi in the area. The map also shows that the Anthropophagi have been steadily making their way from the coast to New Jerusalem (where Warthrop lives) over the last couple of decades.
Warthrop then composes a letter to John Kearns asking him to come and use his "inestimable services" to help with the infestation. Then, in some of Warthrop's father's old journals, he finds a reference to a place on Motley Hill, in Dedham, that might be connected to the Anthropophagi's arrival. Will Henry finds a key among the old papers as well, and puts it in his pocket to show to Warthrop later. Will Henry also realizes that he has lost his hat, the last object in his possession from his home before his parents died. Warthrop and Will Henry leave that night for Dedham, where they find the Motley Hill Sanatorium. A woman named Mrs. Bratton answers and refuses to let them in, until Warthrop mentions he's the son of Dr. Alistair Warthrop.
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