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''Bunnicula'' is a children's book series written by James Howe, featuring a vampire bunny that sucks the juice out of vegetables. Alternatively, ''Bunnicula'' is the main title of the first book in the series, published by Atheneum Books in April 1979.〔 The husband-and-wife team James and Deborah Howe wrote it together, but she died before it saw print. About a dozen sequels by James Howe alone were published from 1982 to 2004.〔 The story is centered on the Monroe family and their pets and is told from the perspective of their dog Harold. The Monroes find a bunny at the theater where they were watching a Dracula film. Because of this, they name him Bunnicula. Their cat Chester, however, is convinced Bunnicula is a vampire and attempts to get Harold (the dog) to help save the Monroes from the perceived menace. A 1982 animated TV special (from Ruby-Spears) by the same name was created based on the first book and aired on the ABC Weekend Special. The animated special deviated heavily from the novels and actively depicted Bunnicula using vampiric powers, which did not occur in the novels. The full title of the first book is ''Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery''. The second and third books of the series are ''Howliday Inn'' and ''The Celery Stalks at Midnight''. ''Nighty-Nightmare'' followed in 1987, followed by ''Return to Howliday Inn'' in 1993. In 1999, ''Bunnicula Strikes Again!'' was published. ''Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow'' was published in 2006, and appears to be the final book in the ''Bunnicula'' series. Following the end of the ''Bunnicula'' series, James Howe began a spin-off series called ''Tales from the House of Bunnicula'', which are "written" by Howie, the dachshund puppy introduced into the series in ''Howliday Inn''. There is also a series called ''Bunnicula and Friends: Ready To Read''. They are a series of six picture books about adventures of the characters from the stories. They are aimed for beginning readers. An animated series adaptation of ''Bunnicula'' will air on Boomerang in 2016.〔http://idlehands1.blogspot.com/2015/06/boomerang-presents-bunnicula-be-cool.html〕〔http://kidscreen.com/2015/06/29/turner-inks-original-wb-content-deal-for-boomerang/〕 ==Characters throughout the series== Harold – The main character, despite Bunnicula being the title-bearing character. Harold is an old, scruffy and loving dog under the Monroes' care. He narrates the books, sometimes claiming he would not even write the books if it weren't for Bunnicula. He enjoys his life with the Monroe family, particularly with the youngest child Toby, always being a diligent and loyal pet. His longtime friend is Chester the cat, who also lives in the Monroe household. Harold has a strong affection for chocolate cupcakes, as well as other typical snacks such as cheese crackers and fudge, despite the potential risk of food poisoning due to chocolate consumption. He is a mongrel, but is part Russian wolfhound, and quietly proud of his bloodlines. He says that this is why he is able to recognize an obscure dialect of Transylvanian writing (albeit in Cyrillic script as per the 1982 cartoon special) in the first book. In the first book, Harold sees Bunnicula for the first time, as well as seeing a bunny for the first time. While Bunnicula's vampire-like activities do scare him a little, he holds no grudges against the bunny, even befriending him. Unluckily, Chester, who has an outrageously vivid imagination and a narrow mind, thinks Bunnicula is a ''real'' vampire and forces Harold to assist him to kill the rabbit. All attempts fail, and finally Harold goes against Chester's crazy attempts to do away with Bunnicula. Throughout the series, Harold is portrayed as good-hearted and sensible in his own way, though perhaps a bit slow (which subjects him to rude nicknames given to him by Chester), and remains unconvinced of Chester's belief that Bunnicula is a vampire regardless of some actual evidence that may support Chester's theories, however briefly seen or referenced. Despite everything, Harold never stops thinking of Chester as his best friend. Chester – The highly imaginative, prideful cat who loves good literature. He was given to Mr. Monroe as a birthday present, and the name "Chester" was derived from G. K. Chesterton. Ever since Bunnicula's arrival, Chester becomes increasingly convinced that the bunny could be a threat ("Today vegetables, tomorrow the world!" he exclaims in reference to Bunnicula's "diabolical plans" when trying to convince Harold of his belief that Bunnicula is a vampire), and becomes singlemindedly obsessed with controlling him. For a long time, Chester really wanted to kill or at least disable Bunnicula, and has done the latter by drinking the bunny's vegetable juice or spreading garlic around to contain him. He once tried to kill Bunnicula by using a steak (not a ''stake''), a mistake he prefers not to dwell on. Another time, he led Harold and Howie on a chase around Centerville, "murdering" vampire vegetables, which were in fact the leftover meals from Bunnicula. (An apparent 'survivor' of the purge Chester lead them on appears to try sneaking up on Harold at the climax of ''The Celery Stalks at Midnight'', only to be spotted by Harold, who then asks Chester for a toothpick in order to 'kill' the offending object. It is never explicitly stated if Chester was playing a prank using one of the leftover vegetables that they hadn't "destroyed" or if this was an actual attempt at an attack by one of Bunnicula's 'minions'.) Harold and eventually Howie disagree with Chester's methods, as Chester is often carried away with his imagination and narrow-mindedness. Harold mentions in ''Nighty-Nightmare'' that Chester's constant reading and watching horror movies have given him "a reality leak that requires constant attention". He usually calls both of his canine friends "dolts", "simpletons", or "idiots." He is known not to apologize for his errors that greatly affect Harold, instead referring them as "a slight misinterpretation in the facts." Despite having a tense relationship with Bunnicula, deep down he accepts him as one of the family, and in the final two books of the series, ''Bunnicula Strikes Again!'' and ''Bunnicula meets Edgar Allan Crow'', becomes friends with Bunnicula, claiming that by knowing the facts about vampires best, he can protect Bunnicula from himself. Bunnicula — The rabbit with strange eating habits and vampire-like qualities, but otherwise harmless, Bunnicula came to the Monroe household on a dark, stormy night. Toby found him in the theater, which was at the time showing ''Dracula'', and brought him home, where Mrs. Monroe brought up the clever name ''Bunnicula''. A note was placed with Bunnicula when he was found, written in Russian, reading "Please take care of my baby." It is unknown who left Bunnicula in the theater or wrote the note, but the letter was written in a dialect that nobody except Harold could read. He is subjected to many murder attempts by Chester, who thinks that the rabbit would eventually become carnivorous. However, his "indestructible" stature proves to Chester that he cannot be killed. Due to his young age, Bunnicula cannot talk - or at least he simply doesn't speak at any point in the series — but shows emotions all the same, such as winking happily at Harold or crying. He does exhibit the unusual ability to get in and out of his cage without using the door, and initially opens the refrigerator by himself. Instead of a rabbit's buck teeth, Bunnicula inexplicably has fangs, which enables him to bite vegetables and suck the juice out of them, similar to the method by which Dracula dines, leaving them ghostly white. In ''The Celery Stalks at Midnight'' Bunnicula, by that point put on a vegetable diet, escapes his cage due to being put in a special cage intended for use at a pet show while being left in the Monroe's garage, and escapes into the night, leaving a trail of white vegetables in his wake which Chester is convinced must be destroyed by using a stake through their hearts. Chester had learned from his mistake in ''Bunnicula'', and chose toothpicks as his weapon of choice in this book. (How and where he was going to locate the actual 'heart' of a vegetable was never explained.) One of Bunnicula's apparent victims tries to sneak up on Harold at the end of the book, and it is left ambiguous as to whether or not Chester was playing a prank on Harold, though Chester seemed to be oblivious to the thumping noise the vegetable was making, or if this was indeed an actual attempt at an attack by a vampire vegetable. Bunnicula, at the end of ''Nighty Nightmare'' is revealed to have produced a litter of offspring with a rabbit owned by a friend of Pete Monroe as part of a project for the novels' equivalent of the Boy Scouts. At least one of the offspring is stated by Pete as looking identical to Bunnicula, and was briefly mentioned again in ''Bunnicula meets Edger Allan Crow'', where he was named "Sonnicula", due to his being the son of Bunnicula and carrying an identical appearance to his father. Sonnicula never made any direct appearances in the series, being referred to only twice in passing during the events in the series. In ''Nighty Nightmare'', Chester's story implies that Bunnicula's parents were vampire rabbits who were created by a lonely vampire, though Chester may have made the entire story up as implied by revelations at the end of the novel. However Chester seems personally convinced that the story is complete truth at the time that he tells it and tells it in such a way that it resembles a ghost story, one that entrances the other characters until the truth about the subject that brought up the story is revealed. It is the closest there has ever been to an 'origin' story for Bunnicula and his apparent powers, whether or not it was concocted entirely in Chester's imagination, and the author has never produced an actual origin for him or his abilities. Nor has he ever explicitly confirmed or denied whether or not Bunnicula is vampiric outside of occasional hints in the novels by way of Bunnicula's odd abilities and physical features. In the non-canon animated special, produced by Ruby-Spears, Bunnicula's name is written in the note itself, to avoid having the Monroes name him. The note is one of the few aspects of the novel to carry over into the animated special, as Bunnicula is found near a processing plant in the special. In the televised version, when Bunnicula goes into his vampiric form, he sprouts bat wings under his arms and his eyes turn yellow. His vampire powers include flight, hypnosis, levitation, and telekinesis. Chester's murder attempts do not take place in the special and he ultimately decides that the idea that Bunnicula is a vampire is "ridiculous", something which doesn't occur in the novels, which has a touch of irony, since Bunnicula is blatantly shown using his vampiric powers (in as far as the animated special is concerned), and Chester was correct in his belief of Bunnicula's true nature. Howie — The carefree and sometimes slightly dim Dachshund puppy who was adopted by the Monroes from Chateau Bow-Wow, making him the newest member of the family. He was the runt of the litter and his parents, Howard and Heather, were valuable long-haired Dachshunds (whom Chester secretly suspected of being werewolves). Howie's somewhat eerie howling has not changed the cat's mind on the matter. Howie usually does not understand the seriousness of matters, thinking that murdering vampire vegetables is a game and chasing Bunnicula is a race. He did not even know what a vampire was when Chester informed him, though he does not think Bunnicula is a danger. For an unknown reason, he calls Harold and Chester "Uncle Harold" and "Pop", respectively; while Harold is perfectly comfortable with his nickname, Chester is still not used to his own. Howie's hobbies include chewing things, eating and chasing cars (which he's not allowed to do). Despite his boldness, Howie was a bit unnerved by scary stories at first, then outgrew it after the pets' adventures in ''Bunnicula Strikes Again!'' Later, he decided he wanted to try writing too, and his first drafts turn out to be pretty good- for a puppy's work. Robert Monroe — He is the husband of Ann Monroe and the father of Peter and Toby Monroe. He works as a college professor of literature, and he often used Chester to practice his lectures, which enabled Chester to read as well. In the animated special, he is described by Harold as being a scientist, rather than a college professor, and works at the plant where Bunnicula is discovered. Ann Monroe — She is Robert's wife and the mother of Peter and Toby Monroe. She thought up of the name Bunnicula by combining "Bunny" and "Dracula". She had previously tried to name him "Bun-Bun" and "Fluffy". Names like this seem to be a habit with her, because Harold and Chester were both called "Fluffy" for a short time. In the books, she is a lawyer, but her profession is unmentioned in the animated special. She also does not name Bunnicula in the special, as the name is included in the note they find with him. Peter "Pete" Monroe — The oldest of two boys who slacks off often. He's often selfish, and usually bullies his younger brother Toby and the pets, except for Bunnicula. Harold and Chester avoid him, Chester being largely indifferent, but Howie finds him intriguing, mainly because of the scary books he reads. The space under his bed is very messy, and in addition to keeping a stuffed animal named Puddikins under it for emergency hugs, many other stuff has turned up such as Oreos, dirty socks and a notebook that Harold gives Howie. Toby Monroe – The younger brother, and much more dignified and kinder than Peter. He likes to share his snacks with Harold during his late-night readings, and is adored by Chester and Howie. He cares a lot for the pets, and was known to slip pieces of food to Harold at dinner. Sonnicula - the son of Bunnicula. He looked just like Bunnicula and was born during ''Nighty Nightmare''. His mother was a rabbit brought by Peter's best friend Kyle. It was not said whether he inherited his father's vampiric appetite, but he sleeps during the day, just like Bunnicula. In the last book he was adopted by Miles Tanner. Miles Tanner (M.T. Graves) is the author of the "Fleshcrawlers" series, of which Peter is a fan. He lived temporarily at the Monroe's house when Peter won a contest allowing it. He shows interest in Bunnicula and carried his pet, Edgar Allan Crow, around. He had a pale face, long curly hair, a black cape, and was very attached to a black bag. The black bag was thought to contain Bunnicula (by Chester, of course) when Bunnicula escaped. The pets opened the bag, greatly embarrassing Miles Tanner in front of company. The contents were stuffed animals. Miles admitted that they were to train him to overcome his fear of animals. He said he was scared of dogs, cats, and people. He wanted a rabbit because a rabbit never barked at him before. Therefore, he wants Bunnicula. In the end he adopts Sonnicula, saying "It won't be Bunnicula, but it will be fine." The Monroes are greatly relieved to still keep their amazing pet. In a letter, Miles says he will marry Ms. Pickles, Peter's school librarian and they shall be neighbors. The Monroe pets changed his mind towards animals. Edgar Allan Crow is a crow Miles adopted, found on his doorstep when he was a wounded baby. Edgar gives Miles company and Miles has said he can't do anything without him. Edgar, however, wants to go back to his own kind. He was seen courting another crow in the Monroe's place. Edgar learns to write and sends an e-mail to the Monroes. Mrs. Marjorie Tanner (née Pickles): Peter's English teacher, who is also a fan of M.T. Graves and in fact his wife (assumedly). She first met Tanner when she brought over a cake as an excuse to meet him before he came to visit Peter's school. Soon after the Monroes received a letter from Tanner announcing his engagement to Ms. Pickles, she is assumedly now Marjorie Tanner. Ms. (Mz.) Kipper: The principal of Peter's school 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bunnicula」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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