Deep Dive Into Middle Grade Fiction: Goosebumps

Image

R.L. Stine is famous for authoring the Fear Street and Goosebumps book series, both of which rank among the bestselling book series (regardless of audience demographic) of all time. He began his horror writing career by publishing Blind Date in 1986, and since that time has authored hundreds of novels for children and teens, and is still writing today.

Goosebumps is anthology middle-grade book series, where each installment showcases different children in different settings encountering spooky, supernatural monstrosities. The stories are simple and archetypal, and generally include plot twists that further the creepiness of the supernatural. However, Goosebumps is set apart from many paranormal series because it blends horror elements with humor. There is essentially no gore at all; the horror arises from the unsettling spookiness of the narrative.

Listen to R.L. Stine talk about his early childhood and big break here:

Learn other fun facts about R.L. Stine's life and writing and career in "Fun Author Facts," and learn more about the publication history of Goosebumps in "Goosebumps History."

Fun Author Facts

• R.L. Stine's birth name was Robert Lawrence Stine, though his nickname was Bob. He was born in Ohio on October 8th, 1943.
• Growing up, he shared a bedroom with his brother, Bill, and they would often tell each other scary stories before going to bed.
• As a kid, Stine loved to read comics, but his parents didn't allow him to read them. His barber had comics available in the shop, however, and so for a while, R.L. Stine got a haircut every week so that he could read the continuing storylines.
• Young Stine found a typewriter in his parents' attic. As soon as he found it, he began typing up jokes and stories and found a new favorite hobby.
• At age nine, Stine created his first magazine, The All New Bob Stine Giggle Book, which was full of jokes, riddles, and his own illustrations.
• Young Stine continued to write throughout middle and high school. He loved scary stories and he really loved funny stories. He was happiest making people laugh.
• Stine's first professional writing job was contributing stories to humor magazines. He decided that, for his professional pen name, he would choose "Jovial Bob Stine," a name that emphasized that he was a humor writer.
• Jovial Bob Stine's first book for children was called How To Be Funny. He wore rabbit ears to his very first book signing and only one copy of the book was sold. Ultimately, How To Be Funny was a flop.
• In 1980, Stine and his wife had their first and only child, a boy named Matthew. The couple decided that Stine would write at home while also being a full-time dad.
• For many years, Stine continued to write humorous novels and magazine articles. He was happy and willing to write everything and anything and became very good at being able to quickly produce work, a talent that has led to a bibliography of over 300 novels.
• Stine began to write horror novels, which led to his second most famous series, Fear Street. He went on to the Goosebumps phenomenon. The pen name "Jovial Bob Stine" did not seem like a good pen name for scary books, so it was changed to the more somber "R.L. Stine."
• He also was instrumental in the production side of several television shows, such as Eureka's Castle, Goosebumps, and R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour.
• Stine's writing office is filled with all sorts of scary, inspiring things. He has a life-sized skeleton, a three-foot-long cockroach, and a pair of ventriloquist dummies (one looks like Slappy, his famous villain, and the other looks like himself).
• R.L. Stine loves to read fan letters, which often make him laugh. One of his favorites says "When you die, can I take over your series?" Another beloved letter says "Dear R.L. Stine, I've read over forty of your books--and I think they're really boring!"

Goosebumps History

• R.L. Stine was first contracted to write stand-alone scary books for teenagers. After his first few became bestsellers, he was encouraged to write a young adult series of scary books, which became Fear Street. Fear Street focused on a street in a town where many evil, often supernatural things happened. After Fear Street became a bestselling series, Stine's publisher approached him to write a scary series for younger kids. It would still have chills and thrills, just no gore or blood. Also, the main characters would be younger.
• Stine didn't want to commit until he thought of the perfect name. Stine was reading his tv guide one morning and saw an advertisement saying "It's Goosebumps week on Channel 11!" This gave him the idea for Goosebumps, and the rest is history.
• Stine wrote the first book in the series, Welcome To Dead House, in just a little over ten days.
• Goosebumps became the best-selling book series of all time (later beaten out by Harry Potter).
• The idea for a Goosebumps tv show came from readers' letters, who often asked if they could see their favorite characters acted out on the screen.
• The first novel to become an episode was The Haunted Mask. (This story was actually based on something that really happened...Stine's son put on a rubber Frankenstein mask and then was unable to take it off for several minutes. Stine often took spooky inspiration from everyday events.)
• Goosebumps was translated into many foreign languages, allowing children from faraway countries to also read the books. This also allowed R.L. Stine to get to travel across the world and sign books in Europe and Asia.
• R.L. Stine was chosen by then-First Lady Laura Bush to go to the International book fair in Moscow, along with Peter Lerangis and Marc Brown.
• While the original Goosebumps series ended after 62 books (most of which are still in print!), the series was continually revived in the form of many different spinoff series, graphic novels, and video games, all of which allowed newer installments of this proven formula.
• Eventually, Goosebumps was brought to the big screen with two major motion pictures, in 2016 (starring Jack Black) and 2019.

How did R.L. Stine come to create Goosebumps? Listen to his own words here.

In "Role Call," read more about the characters of Goosebumps. In "Other Goosebumps Factoids," learn interesting trivia about this fabulous series.

Role Call

• Unlike most popular book series, the Goosebumps series is an anthology book series where each book features completely different characters in a different location (except when a single installment is so popular, a sequel to it is published).
• Some books feature a group of main characters, some have a single main character (sometimes male sometimes female.) 
• The main characters (or protagonists) are generally ages 8-12, so as to reflect the ages of the reading audience.
• The villains (or antagonists) vary between supernatural beings (e.g. The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena) and cursed objects (e.g. Say Cheese and Die!).
• Generally, the protagonists are children raised in middle-class, nuclear families with otherwise ordinary lives. The events of the novel are what serve to be unique about their experiences.

Other Goosebumps Factoids

• For each of his books, Stine always thought up the perfect title first. After deciding on the title he would plot out every chapter in an outline before he began writing.
• Many titles were wordplays on movies that he had seen in theaters when he was a kid. For instance:
  • Night of the Living Dead --> Night of the Living Dummy
  • The Little Shop of Horrors--> the Little Comic Shop of Horrors
  • It Came From Beneath the Sea --> It Came From Beneath the Sink
• Stine was already very successful writing monthly installments of his YA series, Fear Street. He was reluctant to take on a second series when his publisher asked him, but once he thought up the concept for Goosebumps, he was excited to get started. From that point on, he wrote two or more novels every month.
• Stine uses a "cliffhanger" at the end of each chapter. A cliffhanger is when the story pauses in the middle of an exciting event so you become anxious to find out what happens next.
• R.L. Stine wanted the dialogue in his books to sound like real kids. Since Stine had a son of his own, he would listen in to his son's conversations when he had friends over.

In the following section, you will find listed the titles for every series, sub-series, and visual media Goosebumps product. As the publication history goes back to the 90s, ACLD will not carry all of them in our collection. However, any print book can be accessed by utilizing our Interlibrary Loan Service. Where the material is available in Alachua County, the title will have a hyperlink connecting you to its entry in the card catalog. Listed here you will find a whole lot of books, two movies starring Jack Black, and DVDs for the Goosebumps television series that sometimes featured future stars such as Ryan Gosling or Hayden Christensen.

All The Books...

GOOSEBUMPS:  ORIGINAL SERIES (1992-1997)

1. Welcome to Dead House
2. Stay Out of the Basement
3. Monster Blood
4. Say Cheese and Die!
5. The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
6. Let's Get Invisible!
7. Night of the Living Dummy
8. The Girl Who Cried Monster
9. Welcome to Camp Nightmare
10. The Ghost Next Door
11. The Haunted Mask
12. Be Careful What You Wish For...
13. Piano Lessons Can Be Murder
14. The Werewolf of Fever Swamp
15. You Can't Scare Me!
16. One Day at HorrorLand
17. Why I'm Afraid of Bees
18. Monster Blood II
19. Deep Trouble
20. The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight
21. Go Eat Worms!
22. Ghost Beach
23. Return of the Mummy
24. Phantom of the Auditorium
25. Attack of the Mutant
26. My Hairiest Adventure
27. A Night in Terror Tower
28. The Cuckoo Clock of Doom
29. Monster Blood III
30. It Came from Beneath the Sink!
31. Night of the Living Dummy II
32. The Barking Ghost
33. The Horror at Camp Jellyjam
34. Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes
35. A Shocker on Shock Street
36. The Haunted Mask II
37. The Headless Ghost
38. The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena
39. How I Got My Shrunken Head
40. Night of the Living Dummy III
41. Bad Hare Day
42. Egg Monsters from Mars
43. The Beast from the East
44. Say Cheese and Die—Again!
45. Ghost Camp
46. How to Kill a Monster
47. Legend of the Lost Legend
48. Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns
49. Vampire Breath
50. Calling All Creeps!
51. Beware, the Snowman
52. How I Learned to Fly
53. Chicken, Chicken
54. Don't Go to Sleep!
55. The Blob That Ate Everyone
56. The Curse of Camp Cold Lake
57. My Best Friend is Invisible
58. Deep Trouble II
59. The Haunted School
60. Werewolf Skin
61. I Live in Your Basement!
62. Monster Blood IV

TALES TO GIVE YOU GOOSEBUMPS (1994-1997)

1. Tales to Give You Goosebumps
2. More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
3. Even More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
4. Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
5. More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
6. More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps

GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS (1995-2000)

1. Escape from the Carnival of Horrors
2. Tick Tock, You're Dead!
3. Trapped in Bat Wing Hall
4. The Deadly Experiments of Dr. Eeek
5. Night in Werewolf Woods
6. Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter
7. Under the Magician's Spell
8. The Curse of the Creeping Coffin
9. The Knight in Screaming Armor
10. Diary of a Mad Mummy
11. Deep in the Jungle of Doom
12. Welcome to the Wicked Wax Museum
13. Scream of the Evil Genie
14. The Creepy Creations of Professor Shock
15. Please Don't Feed the Vampire!
16. Secret Agent Grandma
17. Little Comic Shop of Horrors
18. Attack of the Beastly Babysitter
19. Escape from Camp Run-For-Your-Life
20. Toy Terror: Batteries Included
21. The Twisted Tale of Tiki Island
22. Return to the Carnival of Horrors
23. Zapped in Space
24. Lost in Stinkeye Swamp
25. Shop Till You Drop...Dead!
26. Alone in Snakebite Canyon
27. Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel
28. Night of a Thousand Claws
29. Invaders from the Big Screen
30. You're Plant Food!
31. The Werewolf of Twisted Tree Lodge
32. It's Only a Nightmare
33. It Came from the Internet!
34. Elevator to Nowhere
35. Hocus-Pocus Horror
36. Ship of Ghouls
37. Escape from Horror House
38. Into the Twister of Terror
39. Scary Birthday to You
40. Zombie School
41. Danger Time
42. All-Day Nightmare
43. Into the Jaws of Doom (special edition)
44. Return to Terror Tower (special edition)
45. Trapped in the Circus of Fear (special edition)
46. One Night in Payne House (special edition)
47. The Curse of the Cave Creatures (special edition)
48. Revenge of the Body Squeezers (special edition)
49. Trick or...Trapped! (special edition)
50. Weekend at Poison Lake (special edition

GOOSEBUMPS PRESENTS (1996-1998)

1. The Girl Who Cried Monster
2. The Cuckoo Clock of Doom
3. Welcome to Camp Nightmare
4. Return of the Mummy
5. Night of the Living Dummy II
6. My Hairiest Adventure
7. The Headless Ghost
8. Be Careful What You Wish for
9. Go Eat Worms!
10. Bad Hare Day
11. Let's Get Invisible!
12. Attack of the Mutant
13. Ghost Beach
14. You Can't Scare Me!
15. Monster Blood
16. Attack of the Jack-o'-Lanterns
17. Calling All Creeps!
18. Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes
19. The Blob That Ate Everyone

GOOSEBUMPS TRIPLE HEADER (1997-1998)

1. Three Shocking Tales of Terror Book 1
2. Three Shocking Tales of Terror Book 2

GOOSEBUMPS SERIES 2000 (1998-2000)

1. Cry of the Cat
2. Bride of the Living Dummy
3. Creature Teacher
4. Invasion of the Body Squeezers: Part 1
5. Invasion of the Body Squeezers: Part 2
6. I Am Your Evil Twin
7. Revenge R Us
8. Fright Camp
9. Are You Terrified Yet?
10. Headless Halloween
11. Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls
12. Brain Juice
13. Return to HorrorLand
14. Jekyll and Heidi
15. Scream School
16. The Mummy Walks
17. The Werewolf in the Living Room
18. Horrors of the Black Ring
19. Return to Ghost Camp
20. Be Afraid – Be Very Afraid!
21. The Haunted Car
22. Full Moon Fever
23. Slappy's Nightmare
24. Earth Geeks Must Go!
25. Ghost in the Mirror
26. The Incredible Shrinking Fifth Grader

GOOSEBUMPS GRAPHIX (2006-2015)

1. Creepy Creatures
2. Terror Trips
3. Scary Summer
4. Slappy's Tales of Horror
5. Monsters At Midnight
6. Download and Die!
7. Horrors of the Witch House
8. Secrets of the Swamp

GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND (2008-2012)

1. Welcome to HorrorLand: A Survival Guide
2. Goosebumps HorrorLand: Write Your Fright
3. Revenge of the Living Dummy
4. Creep from the Deep
5. Monster Blood for Breakfast!
6. The Scream of the Haunted Mask
7. Dr. Maniac vs. Robby Schwartz
8. Who's Your Mummy?
9. My Friends Call Me Monster
10. Say Cheese - And Die Screaming!
11. Welcome to Camp Slither
12. Help! We Have Strange Powers!
13. Escape From HorrorLand
14. The Streets of Panic Park
15. When the Ghost Dog Howls
16. Little Shop of Hamsters
17. Heads, You Lose!
18. Weirdo Halloween: Special Edition
19. The Wizard of Ooze
20. Slappy New Year!
21. The Horror at Chiller House
22. Claws! (Hall of Horrors)
23. Night of the Giant Everything (Hall of Horrors)
24. The Five Masks of Dr. Screem: Special Edition (Hall of Horrors)
25. Why I Quit Zombie School (Hall of Horrors)
26. Don't Scream! (Hall of Horrors)
27. The Birthday Party of No Return (Hall of Horrors)

GOOSEBUMPS MOST WANTED (2012-1016)

1. Planet of the Lawn Gnomes
2. Son of Slappy
3. How I Met My Monster
4. Frankenstein's Dog
5. Dr. Maniac Will See You Now
6. Creature Teacher: The Final Exam
7. A Nightmare on Clown Street
8. Night of the Puppet People
9. Here Comes the Shaggedy
10. Lizard of Oz
11. Zombie Halloween (special edition)
12. The 12 Screams of Christmas (special edition)
13. Trick or Trap (special edition)
14. The Haunter (special edition)

GOOSEBUMPS SLAPPY WORLD (2017-present)

1. Slappy Birthday To You
2. Attack of the Jack
3. I am Slappy's Evil twin
4. Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo
5. Escape From Shudder Mansion
6. The Ghost of Slappy
7. It's Alive! It's Alive!
8. The Dummy Meets the Mummy
9. Revenge of the Invisible Boy
10. Diary of a Dummy
11. They Call Me the Night Howler!
12. My Friend Slappy
13. Monster Blood Is Back
14. Fifth Grade Zombies
15. Judy and the Beast
16. Slappy in Dreamland
17. Haunting with the Stars
18. Slappy, Beware!
19. Night of the Squawker
20. Fright Night

All The Shows and Movies...

TV Show on DVD

Season 1

1. "The Haunted Mask"
2. "The Cuckoo Clock of Doom"
3. "The Girl Who Cried Monster"
4. "Welcome to Camp Nightmare"
5. "Phantom of the Auditorium"    
6. "Piano Lessons Can Be Murder"
7. "Return of the Mummy"              
8. "Night of the Living Dummy II"  
9. "My Hairiest Adventure"             
10. "Stay Out of the Basement"       
11. "It Came from Beneath the Sink!"              
12. "Say Cheese and Die"    
13. "A Night in Terror Tower"            
14. "The Werewolf of Fever Swamp"

Season 2

1. “Be Careful What You Wish For”
2. “Attack of the Mutant” 
3. “Bad Hare Day”
4. “The Headless Ghost”   
5. “Go Eat Worms”              
6. “You Can’t Scare Me”    
7. “Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes”
8. “Ghost Beach”  
9. “Attack of the Jack O Lanterns” 
10. “Haunted Mask II”          
11. “Let’s Get Invisible”        
12. “Scarecrow Walks at Midnight” 
13. “Monster Blood”             
14. “More Monster Blood” 
15. “Vampire Breath”           
16. “How to Kill a Monster”
17. “Calling All Creeps”        
18. “Welcome to Dead House”         
19. “Don’t Wake Mummy” 
20. “The Blob That Ate Everyone”   
21. “Night of the Living Dummy III” 

Season 3

1. "Shocker on Shock Street"
2. "My Best Friend Is Invisible"       
3. "The House of No Return"           
4. "Don't Go to Sleep"        
5. "Click"  
6. "An Old Story"  
7. "The Barking Ghost"      
8. "One Day at Horrorland"              
9. "The Haunted House Game"      
10. "Perfect School"              
11. "Werewolf Skin"              
12. "Awesome Ants"            
13. "Bride of the Living Dummy"      
14. "Strained Peas"
15. "Say Cheese and Die… Again"     
16. "Chillogy"           
17. "Teacher's Pet"

Season 4

1. "How I Got My Shrunken Head"
2. "The Ghost Next Door" 
3. "Cry of the Cat"
4. "Deep Trouble"          ​​​​​​

Movies

• Goosebumps
• Goosebumps 2:  Haunted Halloween

Further Reading...

Image

Image

Who Is R.L. Stine? by M.D. Payne, part of the "Who Is" biography series. Provides an overview of Stine's professional career and successes.

It Came From Ohio!  My Life As A Writer by R.L. Stine. This autobiography shares personal insight into his childhood and literary loves, as well as provides answers to frequently asked fan questions.

Author Read-Alikes

Alvin Schwartz: This author's works feature children in a small town and are in the genre of "ghost stories" and "horror." His most famous book series is Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark.

J. Scott Savage: This author's works are attention-grabbing, plot-driven, in the genre of juvenile horror and fantasy, and often feature monsters (and other creepy things...). Savage's most popular series are Case File 13, Mysteries of Cove, and Farworld.

K. R. Alexander: (Sometimes writes as A.R. Kahler). This author's works are scary and in the juvenile horror genre, featuring the supernatural, new neighborhoods, haunted houses, and so on. Some popular novels include The Collector, Vacancy, and Escape.

Find more author and title Read-Alikes using our NoveList K-8 Plus database with your library card...