Tubi announced over the weekend that R.L. Stine’s The Babysitter is coming in 2027!

The upcoming Tubi Original horror movie from director Trevor Calverley will adapt R.L. Stine’s 1989 book with the same title, which was followed by sequel novels in 1991, 1993, and 1995.

The Hollywood Reporter details, “The film follows a 16-year-old babysitter, Jenny, who is so desperate to earn enough money for a prestigious writing program that she takes the job despite a prowler terrorizing girls across town. But when she starts receiving threatening phone calls and a dangerous fugitive surfaces in town, Jenny’s suspicion of those around her grows.

“Meanwhile, danger begins closing in.”

Jem Garrard (R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead, Afraid of Clowns) will write and produce.

“R.L. Stine has an incredible ability to tell stories that are scary, fun and endlessly entertaining, and that combination continues to connect with Tubi viewers,” said Adam Lewinson, Chief Content Officer, Tubi. “With The Babysitter, one of R.L. Stine’s most iconic novels, we’re delivering a fresh, fun thrill ride for longtime fans and a whole new generation.”

R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead and Pumpkinhead 2 are now streaming on Tubi.

Look for both Afraid of Clowns and The Babysitter next year.

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For instance, his 1999 anthology book, The Nightmare Hour, provided the basis for one of the best children’s horror shows around. As of last year, stories from that omnibus have become the source material for a new series of movies. This includes Pumpkinhead, as well as its sequel, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2.

In the first movie, a folk horror-inspired plot to improve the town of Redhaven had been exposed; in exchange for a prosperous harvest, a child had to be sacrificed—turned into a “pumpkinhead”. To make that offering easier on everyone else, though, the victim was wiped from the townspeople’s memories. It was as if they never existed.

So although Sam (Bean Reid), the central character in Pumpkinhead, was successful in both saving his older brother Finn (Seth Isaac Johnson) and putting an end to the pumpkinhead ritual, he himself became forgotten. Well, by everyone apart from his two confidants: the sheriff’s daughter Becka (Adeline Lo) and an adult outlier named Rusty (Matty Finochio). The latter took in Sam now that his mother and brother’s minds had been wiped of him.

It’s been a year since the events of the last movie, and all but Sam is calm before Halloween. Reid’s character simply can’t accept that his family doesn’t remember him, and he’s insistent on finding the magical tome that could put an end to his ordeal. No luck yet, but that’s only because the book has found its way to another boy: a mistreated classmate named Evan (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez).

As with the first movie, Pumpkinhead 2 has little to do with the source material. Even less so here, on account of Stine never issuing a sequel to his short. Jem Garrard’s own continuation certainly has nothing to do with “Return of the Pumpkinheads”, an episode from the Haunting Hour series. No, Garrard’s sequel is more high concept, even if it does end up like a mix between the Care Bears movie, Hocus Pocus and Stranger Things.

As sequels tend to do, or rather, they should, Pumpkinhead 2 aims for bigger and better. The stakes are raised, and not just for Sam. His emotionally stunted but likable guardian gets his own arc, and it proves effective. As for the secondary antagonist, who’s only outranked by the town’s curse, Evan is never fleshed out. He merely exists as a sort of sad parallel for Sam, whose own domestic situation could be worse. After all, he has someone like Rusty in his corner, whereas Evan has no one.

There is also an upgrade in monsters. While the last movie housed just the one scarecrow enforcer, Evan is assisted by a brigade of walking and stalking pumpkinheads. They’re still very much actors in costumes, but there is more effort in concealing that fact.

If you took a shine to the previous Pumpkinhead, its successor should also be to your liking. It’s more on the dark fantasy side than before; horror icon Cassandra Peterson is crucial to the story’s magic element. The sense of originality is a bit lower this time around, but even so, Pumpkinhead 2 is a fine patchwork of familiar and popular ideas. Plus, it’s never a bad thing to have more gateway horror.

R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 is now streaming on Tubi.

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The news was first reported by Variety this morning.

Variety details that the cast for R.L. Stine’s Afraid of Clowns will feature Frankie Honey, Ava Ferrer, Azriel Dalman, Joe Moore and “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 8’s Jimbo.

Filmmaker Jem Garrard, who directed both R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead and its upcoming sequel for the free streaming service, will be back to direct R.L. Stine’s Afraid of Clowns.

Here’s the official synopsis…

“When Ringmaster Rollo and his mysterious clown troupe arrive in Redhaven, Frankie discovers their visit may be connected to a child who vanished years ago. Convinced they’ve now set their sights on her little brother, Frankie must convince her friends to help uncover the truth and stop the clowns before her brother disappears with them for good.”

“R.L. Stine has been the first taste of fear for legions of fans — and the beginning of a lifelong love of horror,” said Adam Lewinson, chief content officer at Tubi. “Tubi’s collection of R.L. Stine movies gives longtime fans more of the stories that sparked their imaginations, while welcoming new audiences to the thrill of being scared.”

R.L. Stine added in a statement of his own, “Clowns have been scaring kids long before I ever got to them — I just gave them a reason to be afraid of the ones in Redhaven.”

This year’s Terror on Tubi celebration will premiere R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 on October 9.

Check out a creepy clown doll we got in the mail from Tubi this morning…

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This year’s Terror on Tubi celebration will premiere R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 on October 9.

Based on the story by R.L. Stine, this continuation of the wildly popular movie begins when a new Pumpkinhead curse awakens in Redhaven, and Sam (Bean Reid) and Becka (Adeline Lo) must stop it before it claims the entire town. Jem Garrard will be returning to write and direct the sequel.

Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson will play a witch named Cassandra who may be key to stopping the curse.

“Elvira and R.L. Stine each gave me a completely different way to experience horror growing up – Elvira through her unforgettable late-night movie presentations, and Stine through twisty, page-turning novels. Bringing them together in one film feels both nostalgic and completely fresh, which is exactly the kind of surprising combination we love creating for Tubi audiences,” said Josh Van Houdt, Vice President of Original Scripted Content

A feature adaptation of the same-titled episode from the television series “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour,” R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead premiered October 17, 2025 only on Tubi.

In the first film, Sam’s family move to Redhaven is made worse when his brother Finn disappears — and no one else remembers that he existed. Sam joins friend Becka and eccentric Rusty in the race to find Finn and break a harvest curse before Halloween ends.

Joe Lipsett wrote in his review for Bloody Disgusting, “R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is a solid gateway film for pre-teens. It’s clearly aimed at a younger audience for whom a daytime chase by a Scarecrow through an empty field is equal parts scary and exciting. With that said, everyone is apt to be affected by the horrifying spectacle of the screaming titular character, which looks amazing. Add to this two delightful animated sequences and a finale that employs a spell, a ticking clock, and a surprisingly dark coda, and it all feels appropriately R.L. Stine.”

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All you had to do was see the cover of the original book and it would immediately give you nightmares, and if you read the book or watched the series, any sound you heard in your room at night would make you wonder if Slappy was scurrying around. In a new collectible gift set, you can prank any young Goosebumps fans, courtesy of the Hide and Scare Slappy. The set is available now for preorder before releasing on July 6, 2027.

The new gift set takes a page out of the Elf on a Shelf playbook and comes with a Slappy doll, the original book, and an all-new prank book. The gift set is described, “Bring home your very own Slappy doll in this gift set that also includes a book of pranks to do with your Slappy and a retro edition of Night of the Living Dummy! Slappy is the most iconic Goosebumps villain of all time. Now you can take him home to help prank your friends and family — if you dare!”

This collectible set includes:

• A Slappy doll: Use the classic magic words “Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molonu Karrano” to bring your Slappy to life — and to put him back to sleep when your mischief is done!
• Slappy’s Book of Pranks: Includes directions for over 20 different fun pranks, as well as an introduction by R. L. Stine, Slappy trivia, a history of pranking, jokes, and more!
• A retro edition of Night of the Living Dummy: The classic that started it all, featuring original cover art.

Given how memorable the character is, it only made sense that, when Goosebumps finally jumped to the big screen in 2015, Slappy was a central figure in the narrative. He also returned for the sequel, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, and the Disney+ Goosebumps series. Following the cancellation of that series, it’s unknown what the future holds for the franchise outside of the books.

Will you be adding this set to your collection? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by R.L. Stine with illustrations by Joe Simko, the Craniacs line has launched with the first two books: Escape from Chrome Dome and Revenge of the Rhinobino.

Publisher Simon Spotlight previews, “Readers decide their own fate in the interactive middle grade series inspired by the collectible trading cards of the same name.”

In each interactive book in the Craniacs series, it’s up to the reader to make the correct choices and outlive the competition.

In Escape from Chrome Dome, a looming volcano eruption leads to a flaming-hot competition in the skull-shaped Chrome Dome…

When the ultra-futuristic planet Futerra and the Stone Age–style Retrovia smashed together, they formed one world with two very different populations who must find a way to live in peace. Their solution? The Chrome Dome, where danger is the name of the game and kids compete in wild and wacky challenges to settle domestic and interplanetary disputes.

It’s a battle to the fiery, lava-filled death when a giant volcano on Retrovia is about to explode and destroy the entire planet. The winner will have to get past the hot-snot-dripping, pointy-toothed Boarger, scale the Slippery Sock Slide of Ultimate Shame, traverse the Exploding Toilets of Doom obstacle course, and pass the Excuse Me, Your Zip Line Is on Fire challenge.

And then in Revenge of the Rhinobino, a school field trip ends in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with a dangerous beast…

The kids of Futerra and Retrovia are taking a break from Chrome Dome challenges to pile on the skull buses for a school trip to the skull dogs eating contest on Boney Island. By the end of the competition, every single skull dog on the island has been eaten. Unfortunately, the local beast Rhinobino loves snacking on skull dogs, and with none left, he’s ready for his second favorite food: Craniacs! Making it to safety means getting past other dangerous cranimals: saber-toothed hamsters, lava lizards, a Bonosaurus Rex, and more!

Grab your copies of the Craniacs books over on Amazon today!

The post R.L. Stine’s ‘Craniacs’ – Brand New Interactive Middle Grade Series Launches With Two Books appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Whatever the number of copies of the Goosebumps book series that my elementary school library actually housed was decidedly not enough to meet the demand of its ravenous patrons. Checking the return bin for those spooky covers with their strikingly colored, pimply raised fonts was a daily affair, and one that was often met with disappointment. You’d think that with the fervor and speed that kids in my school seemed to be devouring R.L. Stine’s tales of terror that there’d be nothing but Goosebumps books sitting available atop the library’s countless rows of shelves but, to my pained chagrin, the tomes remained as elusive as many of the mysteries which burned within the pages of the books I so desperately sought.

But, despite the heartbreak of countless empty handed exits from the library’s front double doors, it was those times where the playfully macabre cover art stared back up at me from the dark recesses of the book return that my breath would catch in my throat, that my heart would skip a beat and when my imagination would reel. From my first ever find of The Ghost Next Door to subsequent discoveries like Night of the Living Dummy, The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and Let’s Get Invisible, that unassuming school library became my entry point into the strange and bizarre world of horror. But of all the covers to first meet my gaze in that misleadingly wholesome place, none held so strong an impact as the aptly titled, Say Cheese and Die!

A polaroid of a family barbecue, a perfect summer’s day shared with laughter, food and fun, all soured by the absence of tissue and flesh. The family in question, the father in his chef’s hat and apron flipping burgers, the mother beside him, her mouth agape in a frozen chuckle and their kids in the background, lounging at the picnic table, wore only their clothes atop their exposed bones. Devoid of dressing, their smiles seemed sinister, their presence an omen, a promise of death where you might least expect it.

Goosebumps was a diabolical concoction, every element key to its witches’ brew bent on intoxicating the young mind. The same held true when the show leapt to the screen some years later, its presentation carrying over those mysterious elemental components that made the books so resonant. As his name hung over each title in plain font, R.L. Stine would appear at the top of each episode as the credits began, shrouded in black and spilling his briefcase into the wind, releasing his horrors on an otherwise mundane and unsuspecting world. And with each new episode, a memory was sparked, the first time I laid eyes on the cover art swam through my mind, and I was frightened and excited all over again.

Arriving toward the end of the first season, Say Cheese and Die! was one of the earliest and most iconic books to be adapted. Moody and atmospheric, the episode transposes and simplifies the events of the book in striking ways, crafting a different experience that nails the tone and feeling that the original material conjures so well. Having been a personal favorite since the moment I first spied those eerily grinning skeletons in the library at Willow Elementary, I could not wait to see what horrors the episode had in store and, alterations and all, the end result did not disappoint.

What is Goosebumps: Say Cheese and Die! about?

Greg and his friends are bored. There’s nothing to do in Pitts Landing— that’s why everyone calls it “the pits.”

Still, are they bored enough to sneak into the abandoned Coffman House? The old, dilapidated manor that every kid has heard stories about? Greg doesn’t think so, but his friends Shari, Doug (nicknamed Bird due to his avian-like features) and Michael have the last word. All too soon, they find themselves in the creaky basement, noticing that someone has made a home for themselves there, perhaps the lanky homeless man dressed in black that the town’s kids have nicknamed Spidey on account of his spindly legs and unnerving mannerisms.

It’s there Greg stumbles upon a hidden compartment and an old, heavy camera. Always having been interested in photography, Greg snaps a photo of Michael at the top of the stairs. It’s when the photo prints out that he notices something’s wrong: Michael is falling in the photograph, despite being perfectly stable when the picture was taken. There’s little time to dwell on the mystery, however, as a moment later, the railing breaks and Michael plummets.

Spidey returns to the old house and the kids must flee. They escape with the camera and a slew of questions that will only get more complicated as Greg comes to realize this particular camera doesn’t take pictures of what’s happening… it captures what’s going to. More than that, it twists things and turns them. It makes them bad. A new car becomes a wrecked one. A baseball player ends up unconscious on the ground. His best friend disappears.

How can Greg stop the evil camera? How can he save his friends when no one will believe him? When the only one who could possibly understand his problem is a deranged vagrant who will stop at nothing to retrieve the cursed camera that cannot be destroyed?

Say Cheese and Die! was one of the earliest Goosebumps books released, serving as a foundational effort that would solidify those elements that would go on to become tried and true in the series. Constructed around a core group of relatable kids, the horror is the kind of immediate fantasy that feels chillingly grounded. The book not only serves as a shining example of R.L. Stine’s penchant for crafting instantly classic, kid-friendly horror fare but the raw power of Tim Jacobus’ artwork and how, together, new nightmares are so expertly born.

The Say Cheese and Die! TV episode… starring Ryan Gosling!

Both the book and the episode open with the core group of kids engaged in conversation, but in different places and with slightly different motivations. In the book, Greg, Shari, Bird and Michael are in Greg’s driveway, waxing endlessly about how bored they are. Their conversation is meandering but relatable as they discuss baseball, comic books— namely The X-Force— and what they’d do if they had superpowers. Finally they take a walk across the neighborhood and find themselves staring at the old Coffman house. Hidden in the shadows of some old oak trees, the place reeks of wealth, but its broken windows, cracked shingles and hanging shutters tell a story of neglect and abandonment.

The show excises Michael entirely, focusing on Greg, Shari and Bird as they stand before the gate of a large, imposing industrial building. Gone is the feel of haunted suburbia, replaced with the blunt coldness of the city. Rather than talk of boredom, the kids seem to be swapping stories of the supposed madman who dwells inside the building they’re so keen to spy on.

“I hear he sleeps in there!”

“I hear he eats rats!”

Spidey makes an appearance here, something he doesn’t do until several chapters later on the page, a wild looking man with long, scraggly gray hair and strange black goggles, providing him the insect-like appearance that his elongated, slender lankiness does in the book. In the book, Michael suggests that they check out the house in an effort to cure their boredom. Spidey is mentioned here, along with the rumors that he frequents the house. In the show, it seems that the reason the kids want to check out the soon to be demolished building is specifically because Spidey lives there, which is why the three so eagerly enter once Spidey runs off.

Both the book and the episode make sure to highlight Greg’s protests, his friends pushing him forward regardless. The book provides a bit more atmospheric nuance to the three story manor it concerns, the pale circles of light dotting the creaking floorboards, a mysterious dark, oval stain on the carpet and a low hanging chandelier so covered with dust that its glass frame is indiscernible just a few of the details filling out the spooky space. On the other hand, in the show the kids enter directly into Spidey’s laboratory.

The lab on the screen is fairly sparse, containing a television and a tool bench, marked with odd, nondescript inventions. In the book the basement of the house is brighter, made up with an old table and mattress as though someone had been living there. They even find an old Hungry Man frozen dinner, which the kids make a point to note that Spidey most likely eats frozen “like pop-sickles” given that he has no microwave, casting the unsettling feeling that they are no longer exploring an abandoned place but invading someone’s personal living space. They also notice an area with rusty tools, a worktable and a metal vice. Thoughtless curiosity leads to Greg turning the vice and exposing a hidden door on the bench. Inside is a large, old camera.

The show accomplishes all of this in seconds, as Greg bumps into the tool bench and opens a shelf immediately upon entry. He too discovers a camera, although onscreen it looks more like an alien weapon than a traditional piece of photography equipment. Large and black with small fins protruding and several blinking red lights, the camera’s whir and otherworldly green flash makes for a strikingly strange device. While it may be more visually interesting in some ways, it also seems less likely Greg would recognize it as a camera.

The book dwells on Greg’s indecision of whether or not to take the object, feeling that it was hidden for a reason, before finally giving into the budding desire to snatch the surprisingly heavy object. Exposition of Greg’s interest in photography, how he had been saving his allowances for a nice camera with a plethora of lenses and how he daydreamed of traveling the world with it are excised. Instead, the moment he finds the camera in the show, he snaps a picture of Bird (instead of Michael), who promptly falls from the top of the stairs whilst attempting to juggle. It’s then that Spidey shows up and shouts, “What are you doing here?” and the three kids quickly flee in a series of canted angle shots that provides the brief opening with an even more chaotic feel.

The book follows a similar trajectory, Michael falls but, unlike Bird who claims to be fine in the show, complains about his ankle. Instead of Spidey showing himself, footsteps resound on the floor above. As the kids panic and attempt to find a way out, the footsteps grow louder and a man’s voice calls out, “Who’s down there?” Their exit slowed by Michael’s injured ankle, there’s a bit more tension and build up on the page, culminating with the kids bursting through locked wooden double doors leading to the overgrown backyard as Spidey, only referenced as a dark figure, watches through a window of the house.

The book and the show match up closely here, as Greg discovers that the picture depicts Bird/Michael falling, despite the event occurring after the photograph was taken. In both versions Greg pockets the photo and pushes the thought out of his mind, assuming the camera must have gone off later than he thought. In the book, Greg arrives back home to find his father’s new navy blue Station Wagon in the driveway. He snaps a photo of the car to remember it as it was when it was brand new, before running up to his bedroom to hide the camera so that he would not have to explain its origins to his parents. It’s there that he looks at the snapshot in surprise.

In the show, Greg also finds the new car, here surrounded by leaves and presenting the comfortable feeling of fall that the book doesn’t feature. His brother Terry is also there, someone only mentioned in the book up until this point. Terry approaches Greg with the greeting, “Hey troll!” Terry is a completely different character here, presented as something of a mindless older brother bully-type as opposed to the genuinely supportive and, at worst, aloof sibling that he is on the page. Terry is more excited about the car than Greg and goads him into taking a photo in the show. Greg complies, while Spidey watches from behind a nearby tree, something the book doesn’t mention.

Greg reacts to the photo alone in his room in both versions, the car on the small rectangular photograph no longer new, but completely wrecked. In the show, Terry is leaning against the car in the photo, an odd choice as he has his own photograph subplot in the book that is excised in the show and nothing is done with him here in its place. Still, the following scene, where Greg’s family eats dinner and decides to take a ride in the new car, plays out on screen fairly closely to how it does on the page. The one exception here is that in the book Greg attempts to get out of the leisurely drive to no avail with excuses of homework and not feeling well whereas, in the show, he never speaks up.

In the book, Greg’s father is a little over excited, pushing the car above 70 miles per hour despite Greg’s mother’s consistent concerns. In the show, Greg’s father is far more conservative, responding to the request that he slow down with the fact that he’s only going 35. Greg also attempts to show his mother the picture in the episode while driving, a picture which goes flying out of the open window as a result. That’s when the truck horn blares and the car spins out, narrowly missing a collision. On the page, Greg wishes his dad would slow down but doesn’t verbalize it. Distracted by his new, unfamiliar dashboard, Greg’s father doesn’t see the truck barreling toward them. The horn blares and they swerve out of the way. More time is spent with the family here as Greg’s mother comforts her children and scolds her husband.

The book also features an additional excised scene in which Greg stares once more at the picture of the damaged car in his bedroom, before deciding to test the camera out on himself. Thinking that the flash would distort the image if he used a mirror, he enlists his brother Terry instead. When he takes Terry’s picture, however, Terry is not smiling awkwardly in his bedroom, he is outside and frightened looking. This provides a further string to the burgeoning mystery of the camera as well as what might soon transpire that the runtime of the show apparently couldn’t afford.

The show moves directly from the near miss incident with the car to the scene which conjures the instantly recognizable key art into the real world, as the family is seen grilling together. Greg sets up the camera and they all say “Cheese!” Strange carnival music plays as the photo prints out, depicting them all as skeletons. Greg wakes up a moment later, terrified. While this scene is referenced briefly in the book, outside of the cover art, it’s not for several more chapters.

This transposition marks a breaking point in the episode and the book, the show removing large swaths of exposition and set pieces in an effort to arrive at the climax. In the next scene, Bird and Greg discuss the camera, whether it can predict the future and how there seems to be no place to put in additional film (a conversation that’s had between Greg and Shari in the book). They then encounter Joey and Mickey, two bullies from school, who attempt to steal the camera, resulting in a chase that lands Greg and Bird in Shari’s backyard. It’s there that she demands Greg take her picture only to be miffed when she doesn’t appear in it, the empty backyard where she had been standing the only thing to show up on the square image. Then suddenly, Terry bursts into the backyard, breathlessly informing his brother that their father’s been in an accident.

The book skips ahead a few days to Bird’s first little league game, something mentioned in the first chapter on the page but abandoned on the screen. Greg and Shari talk extensively about the camera and accidentally snap a photo of Bird in the process, an image which depicts him sprawled out on the ground with his neck and limbs at odd angles. The following chapters serve to flesh out Greg and Shari’s best friendship, making her the central sounding board for Greg regarding the camera as opposed to Bird on the screen. It culminates with Bird taking a line drive to the head and passing out, fulfilling the picture’s prophecy just as Terry turns up looking frightened, fulfilling the promise of his own photograph, informing that their father, and his new car, had been in an accident. All the while, a dark figure watches from behind the bleachers.

For a moment, the show and the book align once more, as Greg visits his father in the hospital. The book comments on the indistinct colors and shapes of the hospital as Greg takes the long walk to his father’s room, unsure of the state in which he’ll find him. The aroma of “rubbing alcohol, stale food and disinfectant” greet him as he sees his crying mother and father whose head is wrapped like a mummy, his arm in a cast while attached to a tube dripping dark liquid. From the perspective of a child, there is a sense of weighted trauma invading his senses that suggests not only the danger his family is in at the moment but the potential for far worse outcomes should the camera not be decommissioned.

The show doesn’t quite capture the horrors of the hospital in the same way, offering a quick glimpse at Greg’s father whose leg is elevated in a cast and whose sense of embarrassment at the trouble and worry his accident might have caused outweighs any fear he might’ve had for his life. Unlike the book, the show spends very little time at the hospital, finding Greg back at home and face to face with several police officers with questions about Shari. She’s been missing since that afternoon and given that Greg was one of the last people to see her, he’s on the hot seat. The cops express a great deal of attitude and a forceful sense of intimidation, as Greg debates about whether to tell them the truth. All the while, Spidey watches.

The book jumps from the hospital to the following weekend, Shari’s birthday party. While the show somewhat sidelined Shari prior to the events of the car accident, on the page she is still a major presence, demanding that Greg bring the camera to her party to take a picture of her. He argues, but as it’s her birthday he ultimately relents. It’s here that he mentions the dream shown earlier in the episode and the one featured so prominently on the cover of the book. The mention is fleeting and barely a blip on the story’s radar, clearly revealing its true origins as something R.L. Stine added after the book was written in an effort to include Tim Jacobus’ wonderful art into the story itself.

The party is a big one with a large group of kids. It’s there that Greg takes the photo of Shari that doesn’t have her in it, no matter how many times he snaps the shutter in her direction. The kids head out to the woods to play truth or dare, something Greg is not excited about due to the potential for “kissing and awkward stunts”, before being called back for Shari’s candle lit pink and white birthday cake. It’s there that everyone realizes Shari is missing.

Rather than disappearing offscreen, the book depicts Shari’s disappearance as it’s happening. Uniformed police search the woods around Shari’s house as the birthday cake sits untouched, its candles melted down to puddles atop the pristine pink and white icing. There’s a disturbing sadness that pervades the event as Greg, their next door neighbor, sits against a tree and watches the search along with Shari’s grieving parents— knowing what happened while, at the same time, at a loss to provide any reasonable explanation as to how or why it did.

The book dives deeper into Greg’s psyche than the show is able to, depicting his conversation with a police officer there under the tree as opposed to later at his home. Instead of an accusatory line of questioning, the officer approaches with concern in his voice. After reassuring Greg that they’d find her, Greg finally admits that he knows the camera is why Shari is missing, explaining the object’s powers to the authority figure. Again, instead of mistrust, the officer pats him on the shoulder and acknowledges how difficult this must be for him. The lesson for Greg is clear: no one will believe that he is in possession of an evil camera. If something is to be done, he will have to do it himself.

While the show depicts Bird and Greg arguing about what to do before Greg finally decides to take the camera back to Spidey’s workshop on his own after tearing up Shari’s blank photograph in anger, the book follows Greg home from Shari’s to find his room in complete disarray. Multiple chapters pass as Greg gathers Michael and Bird together to form a plan to dispose of the camera, save Shari and finally shake Spidey off of their backs.

Here is where Greg and his friends encounter the bullies and the scene which transpired much earlier on screen plays out on the page, this time resulting in an accidental photograph being taken. While it would have helped for a more cohesive narrative to introduce the bullies earlier in the story, their presence feels natural in the unique brand of kid jungle that Stine tends to craft for his young characters to live in. The inadvertent photo shows Greg, frightened but not alone. Shari is there too, someone who apparently may not be missing for much longer.

Days pass in the book, with the authorities developing the working theory that Shari had been kidnapped. A heavy sense of fear and grief pervades Greg’s household, despite his dad’s return home from the hospital, in part because of their close relationship with Shari and their family and also because of the implications a kidnapping in their quaint suburban town might represent. Without this element, Shari’s disappearance on screen holds less weight and, again, relegates her to a far less reaching supporting role than she plays on the page.

In the show, Greg heads out to the old building with the camera in hand when he’s surprised by a figure in the darkness— Shari. Without an idea of where she had disappeared to, she seems to have reappeared after Greg tore up the photograph. Having found out from Bird what Greg was up to, she decided to join and support him in putting the camera to rest.

The book resolves Shari’s disappearance in much the same way, albeit with more breathing room. Greg destroys the photograph before falling asleep, waking up several hours later to a phone call from Shari. As in the show, she had turned up at approximately the same time that Greg tore up the photograph with no memory or knowledge of where she’d been or what had happened to her. They meet up and finally bring the most recent photograph’s image to fruition as both Shari and Greg stop dead, terrified, in the face of a tall, gangly man.

Likening him to a “black tarantula”, they run before being stopped by one of their neighbors who frightens Spidey off with a warning of calling the police. Shari and Greg then decide that the camera has to be returned if they’re ever going to rid themselves of Spidey. They decide on the following afternoon at 3pm, not under the cover of darkness as in the show, but in the bright light of day, when their neighborhood will feel safe rather than sinister.

Here, once more, the book and the show connect. As before, the book offers additional set dressing as the two venture through the house, describing cobwebbed ducts spiraling out like old tree limbs and a sudden lightning storm flashing periodically much like the signature of a certain cursed camera. The show instead once more finds the kids descending straight down into the green and blue haze of Spidey’s lab.

In the book, Greg deposits the camera back in its secret compartment before being confronted by Spidey, but in the episode, Spidey appears almost immediately. This is the first good look at the man the book provides, describing him as old, with small eyes resembling dark marbles. He speaks softly, explaining that they should not have taken the camera, that it is not broken but evil. He explains that his real name is Dr. Fritz Fredericks and that he stole the camera from his partner who would have made a fortune from it. He explains that his partner dabbled in the dark arts and had cursed the camera, ensuring that if he could not profit from it, then no one could.

In the show, Fredericks is far more intense and wild. His tone is crazed and raised, heightened in a way that feels understandably theatrical. This version of the doctor explains that while some primitive tribes believe cameras to be soul stealers, this one is far worse than that. Insinuating that he invented it rather than stole it, he laments that it should’ve made him his fortune but that it ultimately not only predicted the future, it made it worse.

Both versions explain that the camera can not be destroyed and so therefore must be hidden as well as land on Dr. Fredericks telling Greg and Shari that they know too much and can never leave. Completely aligned, both versions depict a struggle, culminating with Shari snapping a photo of Dr. Fredericks, effectively positioning Shari as the hero of the day. That’s where the versions diverge once more.

In the book, Fredericks howls like a “wounded animal”, flailing on the floor before lying still, his eyes bulging in a frozen stare of utter terror, exactly what the photo depicted. Frightened to death, Greg and Shari decide, despite the paramedic’s eventual conclusion that it was heart failure. On screen, Fredericks disappears in a flash of green light, only to be shown visibly inside of the camera shouting, “Release me! Someone! Anyone! Release me!!” Not dead, but trapped. Perhaps not as macabre as the page and easily more palatable for younger viewers, the show still offered a fascinating fate for the evil camera’s keeper.

Still, both versions leave its viewers and readers with the same scene: consummate bullies Joey and Mickey sneaking into Spidey’s lab, laughing at the idea that Greg could hide the camera they were so intent on stealing from them. They take a picture and say “Cheese!”, excitedly huddled around the photo to watch as it develops. Of course, while the book ends there, in keeping with the earlier alteration, in the show Spidey stands up behind them, grinning widely.

It seems, regardless of the version, the camera’s curse is far from over.

Say Cheese and Die! – The Book vs. The TV Episode

Unlike so many unsatisfactory trips to the library, Say Cheese and Die! delivered just the sort of Goosebumps experience my young mind had craved. Like many of the episodes before it, and so many that would come in its wake, it managed to capture much of the feel of reading a Goosebumps book while providing something different than what the page had to offer. Friday nights continued to reign supreme, as though infused with a drug made potent by watching my favorite series’ entries come to life in new and exciting ways.

Brought to life by prolific Goosebumps director Ron Oliver, helmer of Welcome to Camp Nightmare and Night of the Living Dummy II, the episode comes imbued with an autumnal atmosphere and a sharp juxtaposition between Spidey’s lair and the pleasant suburbia nearby. Those two locations craft a stark contrast mirroring the dark, potential futures which may or may not lie ahead depending on how the protagonists choose to proceed. There’s an energy to the episode in how the camera moves and in the way the story flows that maintains momentum right up until the last frame. Not to mention, the whole affair is headlined by a young Ryan Gosling in the role of Greg.

The book remains more emotionally complex and narratively cohesive, providing a better sense of what’s at stake. Shari in particular works much better on the page and is a far more interesting companion to Greg than Bird, making the decision to diminish her role in the episode all the more disappointing. Still, the core elements remain in place, making the episode an essential companion piece to the book that only further serves to solidify its place as one of the best Goosebumps properties in Stine’s extensive stable of scary.

Say Cheese and Die! does what Goosebumps does best, placing relatable, average kids in remarkable situations. Providing an avenue in which to face fear, rejection, grief and anxiety through the lens of everyday life so that they might be able to suss it all out, and have a bit of fun while doing it. Sure, it’s a book about an evil camera, but it’s also about a parent in a car accident. For every spider-like mad inventor lurking in the shadows, there’s a missing friend or an injured companion, the fear that something bad might happen and there will be nothing you can do to stop it.

It was always disappointing peering down into a return bin devoid of Stine, but when I think back to those endless days after school, scouring the library for the odd copy of anything brightly colored and dripping with the familiar Goosebumps moniker, I don’t remember disappointment. I don’t even recall the fear the books might have caused. No, it’s the curiosity. The budding wonder of what might be in store. There would be danger, certainly, but danger could be navigated, explored— conquered too.

Kids like me did it all the time, after all, just pick up a Goosebumps book and see for yourself, the library should have plenty of copies. Still, if they’re not on the shelf, check the return bin; you never know, you might get lucky.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on March 30, 2022.

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R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 will premiere on Tubi in October 2026!

Once again directed by Jem Garrard (Slay), “R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 centers on Evan, a student dealing with bullies who finds a forbidden spellbook that revives the ancient curse for his town of Redhaven. This leads the pumpkin-headed children of previous sacrifices to emerge from the earth in hopes of claiming the town during its Harvest Festival. Perhaps the only hope for Redhaven is the return of a witch who is dead set on destroying the book.”

“Few storytellers have shaped the horror genre for young audiences as profoundly as R.L. Stine, and his work continues to find new life with each generation,” says Tubi chief content officer Adam Lewinson. “Given the breakout success of Pumpkinhead, we’re going deeper into this mythology and continuing our commitment to fans of young adult horror.”

R.L. Stine (Goosebumps, Fear Street) said in a statement of his own, “Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without a good story about kids being trapped inside a pumpkin. I’m so happy that we are going to have another pumpkin head adventure on Tubi.”

A feature adaptation of the same-titled episode from the television series “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour,” R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead premiered October 17, 2025 only on Tubi.

What was Tubi Original horror movie R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead about?

In the first film, teenager Sam’s family move to Redhaven is made worse when his brother Finn disappears — and no one else remembers that he existed. Sam joins friend Becka and eccentric Rusty in the race to find Finn and break a harvest curse before Halloween ends.

Joe Lipsett wrote in his review for Bloody Disgusting, “R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is a solid gateway film for pre-teens. It’s clearly aimed at a younger audience for whom a daytime chase by a Scarecrow through an empty field is equal parts scary and exciting. With that said, everyone is apt to be affected by the horrifying spectacle of the screaming titular character, which looks amazing. Add to this two delightful animated sequences and a finale that employs a spell, a ticking clock, and a surprisingly dark coda, and it all feels appropriately R.L. Stine. For those who love The Haunted Hour and Goosebumps, this is perfect seasonal fare.”

Watch the trailer for last year’s Tubi Original Pumpkinhead below.

The post ‘R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2’ Announced for Tubi Premiere This Halloween appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Seven years in the making, the 152-page graphic novel is written by Hans Rodionoff (Lost Boys: The Tribe, Deep Blue Sea 2) and illustrated by Garbage Pail Kids artist Joe Simko.

Cereal Savages follows four disgraced cereal mascots from the 1980s now struggling to survive in the modern world. With help from their middle-aged superfan Mike, they’ll confront old demons, repair broken friendships, and battle an oozy, apocalyptic milk monster threatening the globe.

It’s heartfelt. It’s ridiculous. It’s crunchy chaos at its finest.

The limited hardcover edition features shimmering blue foil-gilded page edges, a pink ribbon marker, and a foreword by “The Goldbergs” creator Adam F. Goldberg.

“This hilarious book kept me choking with laughter ’til long after breakfast!” praises Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine.

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From the master of spine-tingling horror for young audiences, Nightmare on Nightmare Street is full of strange sounds, terrifying visions, and things that go bump in the night…

In R.L. Stine’s latest nightmare, “Twelve-year-old Joe Ferber, his sister Sadie, and their parents have just moved into a house that has all the hallmarks of a horror movie–tombstones in the basement, a creepy doll lying around, strange noises in the wall, and so on. As Joe tries to fall asleep on the first night, his nightlight begins to flash and change colors, and the creepy doll appears in his bed … and then twelve-year-old Shawn Hannigan wakes up from a dream.

“Shawn and his little sister, Addie, are seemingly living in the same house with their mother. But when they arrive at their new school for the first day, the teachers are all wearing animal masks, and the principal’s office is pitch black and full of noises. At the end of the day, a stranger claiming to be Shawn’s mom picks him up and tells him he doesn’t have a sister.

“As more and more strange things happen to each of them, Shawn and Joe have to figure out what is real, and what is a nightmare.”

The upcoming novel promises “horror tropes abound” in a “frightening and occasionally self-aware standalone romp from Stine (the Goosebumps series) about the difference between nightmares and reality—and what happens when that line begins to blur.”

From Blackstone Publishing, Inc., the 220-page hardcover novel Nightmare on Nightmare Street will be released on February 17, 2026. You can pre-order your copy on Amazon now.

The post R.L. Stine’s New Horror Book ‘Nightmare on Nightmare Street’ Releasing Next Week appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Like last time, and the time before that, I delved into children’s horror anthologies of yesteryear—some I already owned, others I recently came across—and singled out the ten stories I felt were memorable and would enhance your Halloween.

Tales for the Midnight Hour (1977)

Before Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was available, young and horror-hungry readers had Tales for the Midnight Hour. J. B. (Judith Bauer) Stamper then wrote three more Midnight Hour books in the 1980s and ’90s. That first collection, however, sticks the most, if you’re of a certain age. And its opening story is probably why. Stamper didn’t hold back just because “The Furry Collar” was the first entry; she did quite the opposite. Here, two girls are left home alone on Christmas night, and after one of them checks out a strange noise downstairs, the other waits in anticipation for her return. What comes next is a gruesome way to kick off this beloved book.

Other recommended stories: “The Jigsaw Puzzle” and “The Face.”

Monsters You Never Heard Of (1983)

This next book was brought to my attention by a fellow reader, asking about a specific story whose source they couldn’t recall. The tale in question turned out to be “Windigo,” a gruesome yarn about a hunting party holed up inside a cave after an avalanche, and one by one, the group fell victim to the titular creature hidden among them. It was clear from “Windigo” that Raymond van Over’s Monsters You Never Heard Of wasn’t exactly going to be kids’ stuff.

Other recommended stories: “The Burr Woman,” The Golem,” and “The Beautiful Werewolf.”

Cold Feet (1985)

The name Philip Pullman might ring a bell. Along with Robert Westall, Joan Aiken, and others, the author of His Dark Materials contributed to Cold Feet, an assortment of British shorts. And with a title like “Video Nasty,” horror hounds are bound to want to read Pullman’s story of boys getting a rude surprise while watching a legit snuff tape. As far as I know, this is the first—and maybe only?—instance of snuff films coming up in a children’s anthology story. Then again, the most disturbing part of “Video Nasty” isn’t even the snuffing. Bravo, Pullman, bravo.

Other recommended stories: “The Boys’ Toilet” (Robert Westall), “Nathan’s True Self” (Alison Prince), and “Not at Home” (Jean Richardson).

Phone Call from a Ghost (1988)

Daniel Cohen was a prolific author of children’s paranormal books that drew from supposedly real hauntings and the like. And in one of these books, Phone Call from a Ghost, I was caught off guard by “Something in the Room.” The illustration here, courtesy of David Linn, gave the biggest jump scare as I turned the page and saw that terrifying face looking back at me. So while the Cole haunting is questionable, “Something in the Room” can still be enjoyed as a good old-fashioned ghost story.

Other recommended stories: “Phone Call from a Ghost” and “Beware!—Jack.”

Happy Deathday to You… And Other Stories to Give You Nightmares (1995)

G. E. (George Edward) Stanley had his own Goosebumps-like series at one point; under the puntastic pseudonym of M. T. Coffin, the Texas-born author wrote Spinetinglers in addition to some Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. And in my last dose of anthologies, I mentioned another Stanley anthology: Rats in the Attic and Other Stories to Make Your Skin Crawl. Compared to that one, though, Happy Deathday to You… And Other Stories to Give You Nightmares is darker and more horrific. The title story alone, one about a teenager who is afraid of her brother and his imaginary friends, proves Stanley wasn’t clowning around.

Other recommended stories: “A Greeting Card for Every Occasion,” “Bats,” “Dad Came Home to Play War Games With Me,” and “Who Wants to Play Old West.”

Still More Night Frights: Thirteen Scary Stories (1996)

J. B. Stamper wrote a trilogy of anthology books called Night Frights in the 1990s, and the last installment, Still More Night Frights, operated on the belief that the threat of harm is as good as actual harm. So these books didn’t always go so far as to kill a child directly on the page, but make no mistake—the kiddos weren’t safe in Stamper’s hands. For example, “Moans from the Closet” features the most haunted comeuppance for one young prankster who hid inside an infamous piece of furniture.

Other recommended stories: “Audrey,” “Horrorscope,” and “Good Luck Charm.”

Even More Scary Stories for Stormy Nights (1997)

Scary Stories for Stormy Nights branched off from the Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs line, although other authors filled in for Q. L. Pearce as the series continued. Even More Scary Stories for Stormy Nights was credited to Don L. Wulffson, and out of everything in the volume, “A Charmed Life” stood out the most. Yes, even more so than the tale about the bloody boar featured on the cover. “A Charmed Life” shall remain unspoiled, though, seeing as this tale of missing children, the summer solstice, and the hunt for eternal beauty is best left discovered on your own.

Other recommended stories: “Five Bucks” and “The Bone Box.”

Christopher Pike’s Tales of Terror (1997)

Here is a story written by one of the best authors from YA horror’s past. Sure, one might say Christopher Pike (real name Kevin McFadden) is for teens and older readers, not kids, but that didn’t stop us youngins from devouring his work well before we understood it. That said, the opener from Pike’s anthology, Tales of Terror, is easy to follow. It’s also pure Pike goodness delivered in less than forty pages.

“Death of Despair” centers on the teenager who believes he’s now dead after falling off his balcony, but things are not what they seem. The idea for this twisted story, by the way, came to Pike as he was adapting his novel Remember Me as a script. We obviously never got that movie, but at least we have this little gem as well as Tales of Terror (and its sequel).

Other recommended stories: “Timespell” and “Dark Walk.”

Nightmare Hour (1999)

After the original Goosebumps boom, and before the revivals, the king of young horror himself, R. L. Stine, penned Nightmare Hour. This anthology went unnoticed for those who stopped keeping up with Stine, but there are some solid stories here. And most of the tales, including “Pumpkinhead,” were eventually used for television’s The Haunting Hour: The Series.

Apart from “Pumpkinhead,” which is very different from the new movie, I suggest another Halloween-set tale called “I’m Not Martin.” This story about a boy who will do anything to get out of his surgery was actually the one story Stine had qualms about when it came time to adapt it for The Haunting Hour.

Other recommended stories: “Afraid of Clowns” and “The Most Evil Sorcerer.”

Scary Sea Stories Vol. 2 (2000)

Publishers can turn any theme into an anthology. Hence, Scary Sea Stories is a duology of coastal and seafaring horror shorts written by Jonathan Schmidt and Mark Kehl. The two volumes’ offerings ranged from monsters to ghosts, and Kehl’s “The Off-Season” leans toward the latter. It’s not a frightening story, mind you, but it also stayed with me long after reading. It’s emotionally haunting and perfect for fans of Ray Bradbury and A Ghost Story for Christmas.

Other recommended stories: “The Lighthouse” and “Island of Terror.”

The post Another 10 Classic Children’s Anthology Books Worth Revisiting for Halloween appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Just thirteen episodes of “The Nightmare Room” aired on Kids’ WB from August 2001 – March 2002, with the tales pulled from the same-titled book series that was penned by Stine. The series was positioned as a sort of new age “The Twilight Zone” for modern teenagers, and like the Goosebumps television series from the 1990s, it presented an anthology of terror tales.

Guest stars who made appearances in Stine’s “Nightmare Room” included horror legend Robert Englund as well as young stars at the time including Amanda Bynes, Frankie Muniz, Drake Bell, Brenda Song, Shia LaBeouf, Kaley Cuoco, and Dylan & Cole Sprouse. One episode even featured the late Angus Scrimm, who played the Tall Man in the Phantasm saga.

Each episode began with a Rod Serling-esque opening narration from “R.L. Stine,” but it wasn’t actually Stine who provided the voice. It was “Fresh Prince” actor James Avery!

“When the lights fade and the moon rises, anything can happen. The world becomes a carnival of shocks and chills. A whirling merry-go-round that never stops, spinning faster and faster, taking you on a frightening ride.

“I’m R. L. Stine, don’t fall asleep… or you might find yourself in The Nightmare Room.”

Chris LaVigna wrote on Bloody Disgusting back in 2017, “While The Nightmare Room might not be the scariest kids show around, it certainly holds up as a markedly darker entity, something that was certainly trying to provide some real scares for its young audience. Both the show and its literary source were an earnest attempt at darker stuff, and I’m honestly a bit stumped as to why both ended so quickly and seem to have been forgotten even quicker.”

The standout episodes Chris particularly recommended in that piece were “Don’t Forget Me,” “Scareful What You Wish For,” “Full Moon Halloween,” “Locker 13,” and “Four Eyes,” while the episode Robert Englund fans will want to watch first is titled “The Howler.”

Stream all 13 episodes of “The Nightmare Room” on Tubi now!

The post R.L. Stine’s Forgotten Early 2000s Horror Series ‘The Nightmare Room’ Is Now Streaming on Tubi appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead, the new Tubi original written and directed by Jem Garrard (Slay), it’s pretty evident that there’s more to the bountiful harvest and cheerful farmer’s market than meets the eye. Of course, this is par for the course for a Stine text, which typically wastes no time throwing its middle grade protagonists into the creepy/supernatural deep end.

That’s how Pumpkinhead works: 13 year old Sam (Bean Reid) moves to Red Haven the day before Halloween with his 17 year old brother Finn (Seth Isaac Johnson) and single mother Cassie (Kendra Anderson). Sullen and withdrawn, Sam feels excluded from decisions made by his family, who have moved to the small town for a fresh start in the wake of a tragedy.

Within hours, however, Sam has been creeped out by the town’s cheerfully demeanour and its benevolent benefactor Farmer Palmer (Kevin McNulty), who grows a prized pumpkin in his barn each year. It’s part of a tradition that the townspeople claim saved the crops and, by extension, the town, “at the turn of the century” (ie: 2003).

The history lesson is imparted to Sam by Becka (Adeline Lo), the daughter of the Sheriff (Bob Frazer) and Sam’s immediate confidant. When Finn goes missing while trying to fix a prank Sam pulled and all of the town’s adults, including Cassie, forget he ever existed, it falls on Sam and Becka to figure out the mystery and rescue Finn before it’s too late.

It should be noted that unlike Garrard’s last film, which pitted drag queens against vampires, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is very much gateway horror for the tween crowd. The plot is fast paced and straightforward and the comedy, principally povided by town recluse Rusty (Matty Finochio), is extremely broad. Themes involve untrustworthy adults and kids being forced to look after themselves, both benchmarks of genre middle grade fiction, while the penchant for creepy monsters and violent threats are classic Stine.

In this case, the principal antagonist is a Scarecrow (Troy James) who protects Palmer’s property and a key text that holds the power to unravel the whole scheme. The creature design is a little underwhelming for the body as it’s basically a burlap outfit, but the mouth opens unnaturally wide to emit black smoke tendrils that suck the life out of victims if the monster lays hands on you. Then there’s the acrobatic way the Scarecrow moves, which involves loping, back bending and racing around on all fours. It’s a good physical performance despite clearly being “a man in a suit.”

As for the human actors, Reid and Lo are fully capable leads. The former negotiates the shift from petulant sulker to reluctant hero when Sam is forced to step up and save his brother. Lo is the MVP, though; in addition to managing the early exposition dump, Becka is both the brains of the group and its protector (she carries a slingshot and her targeting accuracy is spot-on).

The third member of the group is stunted adult Rusty, who fills in the backstory of the town while also acting as the film’s main source of comedy. Audience mileage may vary with this character, however; Rusty has a tendency to deliver self-aware exposition, such as when he admonishes Sam for interrupting his tale because rushing it ruins “the world-building.” These kinds of on the nose references are relatively infrequent. Becka’s acknowledgement that splitting up “isn’t very Final Girls of us” is a bit more egregious, but Finochio’s performance is much showier. What he’s doing is much bigger than everyone else in the film, so he’s likely to be a fan favourite or a grating distraction (my money’s on the former for the target audience).

Overall, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is a solid gateway film for pre-teens. Audiences hoping for the same campy execution and social commentary as Garrard’s last film will undoubtedly find this a little cheap and simple, but it’s clearly aimed at a younger audience for whom a daytime chase by a Scarecrow through an empty field is equal parts scary and exciting.

With that said, everyone is apt to be affected by the truly horrifying spectacle of the screaming titular character, which looks amazing. Add to this two delightful animated sequences and a finale that employs a spell, a ticking clock, and a surprisingly dark coda, and it all feels appropriately R.L. Stine.

For those who love The Haunted Hour and Goosebumps, this is perfect seasonal fare.

R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is now streaming on Tubi.

The post ‘R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead’ Review – Tubi Original Is Prime Gateway Horror for Halloween appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Limestone Animation is behind this first ever animated adaptation of R.L. Stine terror tales.

The series, based on Stine’s books under the “Stinetinglers” umbrella, is set in the seemingly idyllic town of Blooming Hills, where unknown forces unleash chilling terrors on local teens.

“Animation is the perfect medium to tell the twisted tales of Stinetinglers,” said R.L. Stine. “These spooky stories will be brought to life in a way unlike any of my work before. But more than that, I was blown away by the unique spin the team at Limestone Animation proposed and I immediately knew they were the right partners to bring to screen my newest stories.”

Limestone said in a statement, “We’re honored that R.L. Stine has trusted us with his latest book series. Stinetinglers is the perfect project to launch our studio with because it represents everything we want Limestone Animation to be; the home of creative storytelling that is bold, imaginative, and designed to bring audiences of all ages together.”

But first up, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead premieres on Tubi on October 17. The feature film is an adaptation of an episode from the television series “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour.”

The post R.L. Stine’s ‘Stinetinglers’ Will Become the First Ever Stine Property to Get an Animated Adaptation appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A feature adaptation of the same-titled episode from the television series “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour,” R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead premieres on October 17 only on Tubi.

Watch the official trailer below for classic family-friendly Stine horror vibes!

“R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead centers on teenage Sam, whose family’s move to Redhaven is made worse when his brother Finn disappears — and no one else remembers that he existed.

“Sam joins friend Becka and eccentric Rusty in the race to find Finn and break a harvest curse before Halloween ends.”

Bean Reid, Adeline Lo, Kevin McNulty, Bob Frazer, Matty Finochio and Seth Isaac Johnson star. Jem Garrard (Slay) directed Pumpkinhead and also wrote the screenplay.

“R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is a playful blend of good fun, big scares with an element of adventure that taps into everything audiences love about Halloween and young-adult horror,” says Tubi chief content officer Adam Lewinson. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with the legendary ‘master of fear,’ R.L. Stine, as part of our growing slate of YA storytelling that bridges generations and delivers fresh, genre-driven entertainment.”

“There’s something rotten inside these pumpkins — and it isn’t pumpkin meat!” Stine teases. “I’m so happy to see one of my most terrifying Halloween stories brought to chilling life in this new movie.”

The post ‘R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead’ Looks Like a Classic Episode of the ’90s ‘Goosebumps’ Series [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A feature adaptation of the same-titled episode from the television series “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour,” R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead premieres on October 17 only on Tubi.

“R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead centers on teenage Sam, whose family’s move to Redhaven is made worse when his brother Finn disappears — and no one else remembers that he existed.

“Sam joins friend Becka and eccentric Rusty in the race to find Finn and break a harvest curse before Halloween ends.”

Bean Reid, Adeline Lo, Kevin McNulty, Bob Frazer, Matty Finochio and Seth Isaac Johnson star. Jem Garrard (Slay) directed Pumpkinhead and also wrote the screenplay.

“R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is a playful blend of good fun, big scares with an element of adventure that taps into everything audiences love about Halloween and young-adult horror,” says Tubi chief content officer Adam Lewinson. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with the legendary ‘master of fear,’ R.L. Stine, as part of our growing slate of YA storytelling that bridges generations and delivers fresh, genre-driven entertainment.”

“There’s something rotten inside these pumpkins — and it isn’t pumpkin meat!” Stine teases. “I’m so happy to see one of my most terrifying Halloween stories brought to chilling life in this new movie.”

The post ‘R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead’ – New Halloween Movie Premiering on Tubi This October appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Variety reports this afternoon, “According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, series producer Sony Pictures Television plans to shop the show to other outlets and explore different creative directions for the IP.” In other words, the Goosebumps property is far from dead on the small screen, but this particular take on the franchise isn’t likely to continue.

The site’s exclusive report also notes, “The two seasons pulled in 75 million hours viewed combined in the U.S., on top of 43 million hours viewed across 16 international markets.”

The Goosebumps property has proven to be massively popular across the decades, with new books still being made and sold on a regular basis to this day. The property of course made its way onto the big screen with the successful Goosebumps movie in 2015, and it was later followed by the lower grossing big screen sequel Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween in 2018.

But it was on the small screen that adaptations of R.L. Stine’s tales originally lived, with the original live action television series running for four seasons between 1995 and 1998.

While the original series adapted the books on an episode-by-episode basis, the Disney+ series instead made the decision to loosely draw inspiration from the books. The characters and storylines were largely new creations for the series, with iconic monsters and characters from Stine’s Goosebumps books finding their way into the show’s storylines from time to time.

The new series was created by Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller for Disney+ and Hulu.

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While not every Fear Street book will be cinematized, surely the fans would appreciate more direct adaptations after Netflix’s Prom Queen. Keeping that in mind, Lights Out and the Cheerleaders series have already been skimmed for ideas, more or less, but these ten other worthwhile Fear Street stories have yet to get any screen-time.

Now would be the perfect time to change that.

The Sleepwalker (Fear Street #6)

Dream horror is due for a comeback, and The Sleepwalker could help open the floodgate. Here, a teen named Mayra experiences sleepwalking after becoming an old woman’s caregiver. Every time she wakes up on Fear Street, she’s confused and scared, as well as one step closer to learning the source of her sudden affliction. The earliest installments of Fear Street didn’t quite delve into the uncanny as much as the later ones, but that can be changed. Plus, this book has potential for surreal horror sequences.

Scream, Jennifer, Scream! (New Fear Street #3)

Just when it seemed like Fear Street was over, New Fear Street popped up in the very late ’90s, albeit for a short time. This revival ended after only four books, but in hindsight, they’re a great collection of self-contained thrills. The third entry, Scream, Jennifer, Scream!, seems like it’s rehashing old plotlines; like The Cheater and Final Grade from the original series, this story deals with dangerous academic ambition. However, things take a turn after the main characters try to kill one of their own, that same someone who plans to expose both herself and her friends for cheating on a college placement test. You might even say the tables are turned as the target becomes the targeter! On top of this delicious plot reversal, there’s a bigger twist at the end that makes Scream, Jennifer, Scream! all the more memorable.

Silent Night 3 (Fear Street Super Chiller #11)

Christmastime horror never goes out of style, and the Silent Night trilogy would be an obvious choice for a holidays-set Fear Street film. Yet, there is one important matter to consider before ever adapting it; the first two books are more about crime than horror. Abduction, robbery, ransom and chases are abundant, but actual scares? None, really. So, concentrating on the third and final volume, Silent Night 3, would be the wisest choice. Here loathsome rich kid Reva puts on a fashion show, and one by one her models start to die.

Switched (Fear Street #31)

The longer it went on, the stranger Fear Street became. The simple, and sometimes bloodless, whodunits from the very beginning were later followed by the likes of Switched, a truly out-there and shocking book that is begging for adaptation. The ending remains divisive among fans, but it’s also one that’s hard to forget.

Fear Park

A chapter of Fear Street’s dark origin story is the focus of this three-book spinoff series. As the namesake of Fear Park reopens in the present day, we journey back to the 1930s and meet members of the notorious Fear Family. Robin Fear’s father was dead set against the town using a part of his woods for a new amusement park, so much so he was willing to kill for it. And from there sprung the curse that followed anyone who had anything to do with what’s now called Fear Park. This trilogy delivers one of the goriest set-pieces in the whole franchise, namely one where teens are compelled to hack each other up with hatchets, and only provides more bloody fun as death repeatedly strikes the employees and visitors of Fear Park.

Trapped (Fear Street #51)

The final offering in that original Fear Street run is also one of the best and most gruesome. Trapped is a far cry from the early books, and it really has more in common with The Blob (1988) or Phantoms (1998). Indeed, this is honest-to-goodness creature horror built upon a Breakfast Club-esque setup. Trapped would be the ideal starter material for a special effects-loaded monster movie.

The Dead Lifeguard (Fear Street Super Chiller #6)

Look no further than The Dead Lifeguard if you’re craving a summertime mystery. In this Super Chiller, Lindsay leaves her home of Fear Street to be a country club lifeguard for the summer, but neither her boss nor her coworkers are expecting her. In fact, they have no idea who this Lindsay is, and as things unfold, she herself starts to question her own identity. Could Lindsay be the drowned ghost her coworkers keep bringing up, or maybe she’s the killer who’s been picking off the other lifeguards. It’s one twist after another in this wild whodunit.

Door of Death (Fear Street Sagas #15)

It seems only likely that Halloween Party will be adapted as a film down the line, but for more Halloween-set, Fear Street goodness, the lesser-known Door of Death is also an option. Plucked from the Fear Street Sagas bush, this period slasher is set in the mid-1800s and follows the legend of Jake Fear. Betrayed in life by his lying wife, Jake Fear died a bitter and broken man. Now exactly a year later after his death, Jake has come back, on All Hallows’ Eve, to kill anyone he deems a cheater. Like most entries in this supporting series, Door of Death was ghostwritten; author Eric Weiner definitely didn’t skimp on those descriptions of Jake Fear’s ghastly handiwork.

The Wrong Number (Fear Street #5)

Although The Wrong Number shares its setup with William Castle’s I Saw What You Did, this book goes down a completely different road once the characters investigate the murder-in-progress they heard over the phone. Deena’s half-brother Chuck gets charged with homicide while she and best friend Jade look for the real killer. It’s a straightforward story that would need some updating, but nevertheless, that possible adaptation best not leave out the chainsaw! And if there’s room for a sequel, The Wrong Number 2 also exists.

99 Fear Street: The House of Evil

For all the creepy whispers there are about Fear Street, the mainline books didn’t explore the houses themselves. In what feels like the franchise’s answer to The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist, though, 99 Fear Street: The House of Evil gives a blood-soaked tour of its ominous address. Built in the 1960s, this trilogy’s titular abode remained vacant after a prospective buyer’s family was mysteriously beheaded. We then fast-forward to the ’90s where twins Cally and Kody have moved in with their parents and little brother. Being new to Shadyside, they are clueless about this place’s disturbing legacy. In the second book, another unaware family occupies the cursed house, and in the third and final book, 99 Fear Street’s haunted history becomes the subject of a shot-on-location horror flick. So there’s more than enough ideas here to fill out a film, if not an entire miniseries.

Fear Street: Prom Queen is now streaming on Netflix.

The post ‘Fear Street’ – 10 Classic R.L. Stine Stories to Adapt After ‘Prom Queen’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Based on the 1992 R.L. Stine novel The Prom Queen, the fourth film in the Fear Street franchise releases May 23 on Netflix.

Prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.

India Fowler (“The Agency”), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket), Fina Strazza (“Paper Girls”), Chris Klein (American Pie), David Iacono (“Dead Boy Detectives”), Ella Rubin (Until Dawn), Ariana Greenblatt (Barbie), Lili Taylor (The Conjuring), and Katherine Waterston (Alien: Covenant) star.

Darrin Baker (“The Strain”), Rebecca Ablack (“Ginny & Georgia”), Ilan O’Driscoll, Damian Romeo (“Ginny & Georgia”), Dakota Taylor (“Sullivan’s Crossing”), Eden Summer Gilmore (“Nancy Drew”), Brennan Clost (“Tiny Pretty Things”), Cecilia Lee, and Ryan Rosery (“Mayor of Kingstown”) round out the cast.

Matt Palmer (Calibre) directs from a script he co-wrote with Donald McLeary. Chernin Entertainment (Fear Street, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) produces.

Fear Street: Prom Queen is rated “R” for strong bloody violence and gore, teen drug use, language and some sexual references.

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These two official posters for Netflix’s fourth Fear Street movie pay tribute to the classic Fear Street book covers from the 1990s, and you can check them both out below. Below them you’ll find the actual original cover for The Prom Queen, the Fear Street book the movie is based on!

Just how bloody is the next movie going to get? Fear Street: Prom Queen is rated “R” for Strong bloody violence and gore, teen drug use, language and some sexual references.”

Fear Street: Prom Queen takes place between the events of Fear Street: 1994 and Fear Street: 1978. Matt Palmer (Calibre) is directing the franchise’s brand new fourth installment.

In the upcoming horror movie, “Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway, and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

The ensemble cast includes India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (American Pie), with Lili Taylor (Outer Range) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From).

Ariana Greenblatt, Darrin Baker, Rebecca Ablack, Ilan O’Driscoll, Damian Romeo, Dakota Taylor, Eden Summer Gilmore, Brennan Clost, and Cecilia Lee also star.

Matt Palmer & Donald Mcleary wrote the screenplay, based on R.L. Stine’s book.

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Fear Street: Prom Queen is coming to Netflix on May 23, 2025.

Four years after an epic streaming event that saw the premiere of three Fear Street movies across three weeks, the R-rated fourth installment of the film series fittingly arrives around prom season.

Fear Street: Prom Queen is set between Fear Street: 1994 and Fear Street: 1978. Matt Palmer (Calibre) is directing the franchise’s brand new fourth installment.

In the upcoming horror movie, “Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway, and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

The ensemble cast includes India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (American Pie), with Lili Taylor (Outer Range) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From).

Ariana Greenblatt, Darrin Baker, Rebecca Ablack, Ilan O’Driscoll, Damian Romeo, Dakota Taylor, Eden Summer Gilmore, Brennan Clost, and Cecilia Lee also star.

Matt Palmer & Donald Mcleary wrote the screenplay, based on R.L. Stine’s book. Fear Street is a young adult horror fiction book series written by Stine, starting in 1989 with The New Girl.

Watch Stine’s intro video below and get ready for a summer of slasher mayhem.

The post Save the Date: R.L. Stine Reveals ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Release Date appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

While you wait, check out a gallery of brand new first-look images below.

Just how bloody is the next movie going to get? Fear Street: Prom Queen is rated “R” for Strong bloody violence and gore, teen drug use, language and some sexual references.”

Fear Street: Prom Queen takes place between the events of Fear Street: 1994 and Fear Street: 1978. Matt Palmer (Calibre) is directing the franchise’s brand new fourth installment.

In the upcoming horror movie, “Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway, and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

The ensemble cast includes India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (American Pie), with Lili Taylor (Outer Range) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From).

Ariana Greenblatt, Darrin Baker, Rebecca Ablack, Ilan O’Driscoll, Damian Romeo, Dakota Taylor, Eden Summer Gilmore, Brennan Clost, and Cecilia Lee also star.

Matt Palmer & Donald Mcleary wrote the screenplay, based on R.L. Stine’s book.

The post Netflix Previews ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ with Five New Images; Streaming This Summer! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

But first up is Fear Street: Prom Queen, which doesn’t yet have a trailer or premiere date. The film has been officially rated by the MPA this week, however, landing a hard “R” rating.

Fear Street: Prom Queen is rated “R” for…

“Strong bloody violence and gore, teen drug use, language and some sexual references.”

With the rating turned in, a trailer is likely coming soon. Stay tuned.

Fear Street: Prom Queen takes place between the events of Fear Street: 1994 and Fear Street: 1978. Matt Palmer (Calibre) is directing the franchise’s brand new fourth installment.

In the upcoming horror movie, “Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway, and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

The ensemble cast includes India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (American Pie), with Lili Taylor (Outer Range) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From).

The Prom Queen was book #15 in R.L. Stine’s teen franchise, originally published on March 1, 1992. If you’d like to read it before the movie comes out, you can always find copies on eBay.

The post ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Rated “R” for Strong Bloody Violence and Gore appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“The writers are working,” Stine told the outlet. “So I’ve got my fingers crossed.” 

Considering there are over 50 novels included in the original Fear Street series, there are a lot of stories to mine for feature adaptations. The author didn’t divulge any additional details, either, including whether the three new movies will be tied to Leigh Janiak’s trilogy or the upcoming Prom Queen, though it seems likely. We do know that Fear Street: Prom Queen will be nestled between the events of Fear Street: 1994 and Fear Street: 1978. Matt Palmer (Calibre) is directing the franchise’s upcoming fourth installment.

The Fear Street Trilogy was released as an epic summer movie event over three consecutive weeks in July 2021. The acclaimed films – Part 1: 1994, Part 2: 1978, and Part 3: 1666 – spent 12 collective weeks on the Netflix Top 10.

The surprise reveal that a new trio of Fear Street movies is in development arrives as Stine is doing press for the brand new season  “Goosebumps: The Vanishing.” Stine amusingly broke down the difference between his Fear Street series, targeting an older teen demographic, versus the middle school-aged Goosebumps.

“The thing about Goosebumps is that no one ever dies. That’s the difference between Goosebumps and Fear Street [where] we kill off teenagers, right and left. We kill them all. Everyone loves it when you kill teenagers,” the author told THR.

The new season adapts Stay Out of the Basement, The Haunted Car, Monster Blood, The Girl Who Cried Monster, The Ghost Next Door, and Welcome To Camp Nightmare. As for the new Fear Street movies, which novels would you like to see adapted next?

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And to help demonstrate why they were — and still are — so appealing, a creepy story from each book is highlighted.

The Hardy Boys: Ghost Stories (1984)

Joe and Frank Hardy weren’t known for their supernatural adventures. Most of the time, those kinds of mysteries were debunked and grounded. However, that’s not quite what happened here in The Hardy Boys: Ghost Stories, a six-part collection perfect for Halloween.

“The Walking Scarecrow” is a quality opener where the Hardy Brothers are stranded in the countryside. After a day of backpacking and then some car trouble, Joe and Frank hurry to a nearby farmhouse in hopes of finding a phone. Their efforts are for nothing, considering the place is abandoned. There is also the matter of a pesky, sentient scarecrow lurking in the fields. This entity continues to menace the Hardys, or so they think. The story’s namesake saying “don’t go to the house” and “leave this house at once” should have been a tipoff for Joe and Frank, but they insist on entering the house anyway. Lo and behold, the scarecrow wasn’t scaring them; it was warning them. The farmhouse catches on fire and burns down during a lightning storm, and the Hardys were nearly toast along with it. This first tale is simple and fun, and it even has some personality in the writing (“I’m not an expert on scarecrow psychology,” one Hardy Boy remarks).

The Scariest Stories You’ve Ever Heard, Part II (1989)

Previously I dug up The Scariest Stories You’ve Ever Heard, Part III, which was written by Tracey E. Dils. The middle volume by Katherine Burt is far less grisly than its successor; it’s more of a medium between the tone and style of the first and third books. As in, it retells renowned stories and adapts popular urban legends. It doesn’t live up to its daring title, but The Scariest Stories You’ve Ever Heard, Part II has its moments.

This collection contains a mix of adolescent and college-aged characters; unaware teens and their little sister befriend an escaped murderer in the Halloween-set story “Trick or Treat,” and in “The Last Initiation,” a hazing ritual ends with a frat boy’s accidental hanging. Then in the offering “Terror Trip,” a teenager’s family road trip is imperiled by otherworldly forces. After some car trouble, Jennifer’s family seeks help at the home of Shelley and her father. The daughter wears the random accessory of a red ribbon around her neck, and her father’s thin bow tie clashes with his sweats. Aside from that though, the hosts are lovely. It is only later that Jennifer and her family learn Shelley and her father are, as you expected all along, dead. The real twist is how they died. Upon coming to visit their gracious hosts on the way back from their vacation, Jennifer’s family meets Shelley’s mother, who, regretfully, informs them that she killed her husband and daughter on accident. By running them over on an icy road, then dragging them to their deaths. Jennifer returns to the now-empty house where she first met Shelley and her father, only to find their bloody ribbon and neck tie hanging on the front door’s doorknob.

Even More Tales for the Midnight Hour (1991)

J.B. Stamper, or Judith Bauer Stamper, began her Tales for the Midnight Hour series back in the late ’70s. And this final book of thirteen stories contained more original material, with the exceptions of two retellings (specifically folktales “The Golden Arm” and “The King of Cats”).

A standout in Even More Tales for the Midnight Hour is “When Darkness Comes,” a moody and ambiguous yarn about an art collector’s fixation with a cryptic painting. Matthew picks up a rare piece of art from an antiques shop; the painting features a castle with a golden light shining in the highest tower. After having the painting restored, that light is even brighter. In addition, a Latin message on the painting is now legible: “Every century, darkness comes.” As he learns from the art restorer, the painting is of an old Scottish castle where a young lord mysteriously died in the highest tower. With no more info to go on though, Matthew’s fascination only grows. He becomes more bothered once the light in the painting “disappears” just as he’s showing the piece to his friends. Fed up with the lack of answers, Matthew goes to check on the painting one late night. That’s when he hears footsteps coming up the stairs. The next day, Matthew is found dead with no signs of how he died. Eerily, the light in the painting has returned.

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural (1992)

Patricia McKissack‘s book The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural is not just another anthology of fleeting campfire stories. It intersects the otherworldly with Black American History so that these shorts and essays not only entertain, they also educate.

“The Woman in the Snow” takes the familiar concept of haunted roads and vanishing ghosts to a new level by offering readers finality. It has a truly bittersweet ending. A prejudiced bus driver leaves a Black mother and her sick baby out in the cold rather than giving them a ride to the hospital, and as a result, she and the kid become spirits forced to relive their trauma over and over. Only later, after a Black bus driver gives a lift to these spirits, does the curse on this route lift. It’s an affecting tale that sheds light on how things, sadly, once were in this country. And to some degree, still are. The Dark-Thirty delivers more than thrills; it gives us food for thought.

More Night Frights (1993)

In addition to her Tales for the Midnight Hour books, J.B. Stamper penned a trilogy of anthologies called Night Frights in the ’90s. The second volume, which, by the way, features Dracula in chinos on the cover, is more of the same; bite-sized stories you can easily slip in and out of.

While most morsels in More Fright Nights don’t exactly linger on your palate, “Over the Hill” ends uncertainly enough to where you still have questions once everything is done. A scout troop, one headed by two neglectful teenage leaders, gradually disappears as members go and see what’s over the hill. The teens don’t care the least bit about their dwindling numbers until no one else is left. When the remaining characters go see what lured these boys away, they find only “blackness — nothing but blackness” over the hill. It’s almost a cosmic horror-esque conclusion.

Tales to Give You Goosebumps (1994)

Some pitches don’t lend themselves to longer books, so Tales to Give You Goosebumps is a great outlet for R.L. Stine‘s musings. Not every piece is successful, but for the most part, these standalones are entertaining.

The story that kicked off this run of anthologies is a standard but satisfying one. In the aptly titled “The House of No Return,” three kids have started a group called The Danger Club (Danger Incorporated in the TV adaptation). The only problem with their club is they have no other members. So, naturally, they try to recruit other children. The initiation requires the pledges to spend an hour inside a supposedly haunted house, but as you can guess, no one makes it that far. Then enters the new kid in town, Chris, who refuses the task until he has no choice: the other children force Chris inside the house on Halloween night. At first the founding Danger members are impressed; then they’re concerned when Chris doesn’t come out after an hour. The three go look for him, only to then be seized by the spirits of the house. Where is Chris, though? Well, he went out the backdoor almost immediately. However, before being allowed to exit, he promised the ghosts they could have three other children.

Bruce Coville’s Book of Ghosts: Tales to Haunt You (1994)

Children and YA author Bruce Coville (My Teacher is an Alien) only provides one actual story in his Book of Ghosts: Tales to Haunt You, and the rest of this omnibus is made up of works by other authors. And as is often true with these collections, the headlining storyteller doesn’t even deliver the best work.

Vivian Vande Velde contributed a dark and mature piece called “For Love of Him.” It’s beautifully laid out and haunting. Here a Boy  Scout named Harrison is sprucing up a run-down cemetery with his young peers. And when Harrison comes across a grieving woman at two adjacent graves, he becomes obsessed with the occupants: in one plot lies Robert Adams, and in the other lies Eulalia Meinyk. They each died in 1892, with Eulalia only dying two days after Robert. Harrison assumes they were a couple before Robert died first and Eulalia, presumably, died later of heartache. This theory, of course, is merely based on the grave inscription: SHE DIED FOR LOVE OF HIM. Soon enough, Harrison becomes consumed by the romance he’s spun in his head; the boy is blacking out out and hearing voices. He’s drawn to those graves by Eulalia’s cries, and if it weren’t for a retired gardener named Mr. Sonneman, Harrison would have joined her. It was Sonneman who told the boy the truth: Eulalia killed Robert, who was abusive, and two days later, his spirit returned to claim the woman who said she would love him forever. “She didn’t die for love of him,” Sonneman explained. “She died for promising to love him.” Free from the spell of Eulalia’s lonely spirit, Harrison finally learned Sonneman himself had died that last fall.

Rats in the Attic and Other Stories to Make Your Skin Crawl (1995)

Texas-born teacher and author George Edward Stanley — or just G.E. Stanley, because some authors love using their initials — ghostwrote for Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys as well as penned his own series of children’s horror books called Spinetinglers. The latter, however, was published under a pseudonym: M.T. Coffin. (Get it? Empty coffin?) And one of his standalone horror works was Rats in the Attic and Other Stories to Make Your Skin Crawl, a collection of unrelated tales of the macabre. Despite the title and cover, not every entry is about rodents.

The title tale is fine, as well as a bit gruesome, but “The Birthday Party” is delectably evil. A boy named Larry is nervous about the first day of school, but he’s happy to make a new friend. Even if that new friend, William, gets on the school bus at the cemetery. What’s even stranger is when William asks Larry to hand out birthday party invitations to three particular boys at school. William can’t seem to do it himself, and he requests that Larry not say who the party is for. The three invitees eventually agree to attend the party that Larry isn’t invited to, although William promises to save him some cake and ice cream. The guests are picked up by the same bus as before, and after panicking at the sight of William on board, the trio joins him at his party… In the cemetery. Back home, Larry’s parents recognize the names of William and the three other boys; they then tell him William died a while back after being pushed into a well by his three friends, all of whom went unpunished. That is, until now.

Fright Time, Vol. 4 (1995)

If you ever went into a discount store in the ’90s, you might have seen copies of Fright Time. These cheap books each contained three standalone novelettes, with each one having been written by a different author. Unlike a lot of anthologies, these tend to have more conclusiveness to them. The writers have more space to wrap things up rather than leave the kiddos wondering.

The fourth volume, whose cover features a mummy giving chase to two children, begins with the best and most allegorical of the set. It’s not clear who wrote it, though. Anyway, “Don’t Breathe” has an asthmatic seventh grader moving to a Florida community after his father is hired by a top-secret chemical company. Shortly after arriving, Ricky learns, from his age-mate and neighbor Lisa, that there is something not right about this place. Everyone acts like automatons, including Ricky’s parents. Individuality is prohibited. Ricky and Lisa, who has diabetes, are, somehow, immune to the widespread mind-control; their respective conditions prevent them from being affected by the brainwashing at hand. And the culprit? A gas monster accidentally created at the chemical plant.  The only way to save everyone now is these two kids. “Don’t Breathe” reads like a full novel limited by its page count. So be forgiving when it feels rushed and easily plotted. Otherwise, it’s an agreeable distillation of other “conformity is bad” stories.

Mega Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs (1996)

The Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs anthology series is a mixed bag, particularly because each volume is helmed by a different author. Don Wulffson took over for the seventh book, Mega Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs, which many readers would agree was overall better than other installments. Something that stood out was the lack of child death. Instead there is more of that kind of jokiness that the core audience enjoys as much as frights.

The first tale, “The Corpse of Mr. Porter,” is set on Halloween. The mischievous Danny and his friend Steve hope to pull a prank on Danny’s older sister, Sheryl, during her sleep-over. As the parents leave for the night, Danny and Steve carry out their plan. This involves Danny wearing a mask resembling the face of a recently dead man in town named Mr. Porter. Well, the trick doesn’t work like the boys wanted; Sheryl sees right through the mask. At first you assume this is going to be a “that’s actually Mr. Porter, not Danny” twist, what with Danny and Steve getting locked up in the attic rather than executing their stunt. Then comes another plot switch-up when the mother arrives home with bad news: someone has dug up Mr. Porter’s grave and the body’s now gone. The story could have ended there, but then there’s a knock at the front door, and Danny and Sheryl’s mother invites in the undead Mr. Porter. That’s when mom reveals hers and her husband’s own prank on the kids; the dad dressed up as Mr. Porter after overhearing their son’s plot. In the end, there was no real peril, however, the Halloween fun is amusingly told.

The post 10 More Classic Children’s Anthology Books Worth Revisiting for Halloween appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Directed by Leigh Janiak, the three movies were Fear Street: 1994, Fear Street: 1978 and Fear Street: 1666, the first film taking a page out of the Scream playbook, the second paying tribute to the golden age of slasher cinema, and the final film turning the clock even further back. What’s next from the saga? The fourth film is titled Fear Street: Prom Queen.

Coming soon, Fear Street: Prom Queen is based on the same-titled book that R.L. Stine published in 1992, and it’s set to take the film franchise – yet again – into a brand new decade.

Fear Street: Prom Queen will be nestled between the events of Fear Street: 1994 and Fear Street: 1978, with the new movie confirmed this week to be set in the late 1980s!

In Fear Street: Prom Queen, “Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

Matt Palmer (Calibre) is directing the franchise’s upcoming fourth installment.

The Prom Queen was book #15 in R.L. Stine’s teen franchise, originally published on March 1, 1992. If you’d like to read it before the movie comes out, you can always find copies on eBay.

No word yet on when the Netflix movie will be released. Stay tuned for updates.

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The new Fear Street movie will be based on the book Fear Street: The Prom Queen, published in 1992, and Bloody Disgusting has been provided with more information this week.

For starters, Fear Street: Prom Queen will be directed by Matt Palmer (Calibre), and we can also exclusively let you know who’s starring in the upcoming horror movie.

The ensemble cast includes India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (Sweet Magnolias, American Pie), with Lili Taylor (Outer Range, Manhunt) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, Perry Mason).

In Fear Street: Prom Queen, “Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

Matt Palmer & Donald McLeary wrote the script for this brand new Fear Street movie. Producers for the film include Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and Kori Adelson for Chernin Entertainment, with executive producers including Yvonne Bernard, Joan Waricha, and Jane Stine. Caroline Pitofsky will be overseeing production for Chernin Entertainment.

In a first for Netflix and for the horror film genre, the Fear Street Trilogy was released as an epic summer movie event over three consecutive weeks in July 2021. The acclaimed films – Part 1: 1994, Part 2: 1978, and Part 3: 1666 – spent 12 collective weeks on the Netflix Top 10.

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Carly Beth will return in a brand new Goosebumps: The Graphic Novel, we’ve learned!

Adapted by Maddi Gonzalez, Stine’s The Haunted Mask is the next classic Gooosebumps tale to get the official graphic novel treatment, and it’s releasing on September 3, 2024.

“How ugly is Carly Beth’s Halloween mask? It’s so ugly that it almost scared her little brother to death. So terrifying that even her friends are totally freaked out by it. It’s the best Halloween mask ever. With yellow-green skin and long animal fangs, the mask terrifies the entire neighborhood. Before long, it has a surprising effect on Carly Beth, too. She tries to take it off . . . but it won’t budge! Halloween is almost over, but fright night is just beginning.”

The 160-page graphic novel is being published by Graphix.

The Haunted Mask was originally published in September 1993, and it was the eleventh book in the original Goosebumps series. The story has spawned sequels and spinoffs over the years, and the original book was famously adapted as part of the live action TV series in the 1990s.

Just last year, the new “Goosebumps” series for Disney+ loosely adapted The Haunted Mask, with the series pulling bits and pieces from classic stories and putting a new spin on them.

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Stine has taken to Twitter this morning to confirm recent reports that the next Fear Street movie will be based on his book Fear Street: The Prom Queen, published in 1992.

Stine tweets, “I can finally announce that a new Fear Street movie is about to go into production for Netflix. It’s based on my Fear Street book, The Prom Queen. Good news!”

This news was first reported by the website What’s on Netflix earlier this week. The site noted in their exclusive report, “Fear Street: Prom Queen is a stand-alone feature that likely won’t feature characters from the Fear Street trilogy released on Netflix in 2021.”

Here’s the official synopsis for the Prom Queen book from Stine…

A spring night…soft moonlight…five beautiful Prom Queen candidates…dancing couples at the Shadyside High prom — these should be the ingredients for romance. But stir in one brutal murder — then another, and another — and the recipe quickly turns to horror. Lizzie McVay realizes that someone is murdering the five Prom Queen candidates one by one — and that she may be next on the list! Can she stop the murderer before the dance is over — for good?

Based on R.L. Stine’s teen horror franchise, Netflix’s “Fear Street Trilogy” debuted in Summer 2021, the three films unfolding one massive story across three weekends of release.

Netflix’s Fear Street franchise thus far includes…

Fear Street Part One: 1994 – A circle of teenage friends accidentally encounter the ancient evil responsible for a series of brutal murders that have plagued their town for over 300 years.

Fear Street Part Two: 1978 – Shadyside, 1978. School’s out for summer and the activities at Camp Nightwing are about to begin. But when another Shadysider is possessed with the urge to kill, the fun in the sun becomes a gruesome fight for survival.

Fear Street Part Three: 1666 – The origins of Sarah Fier’s curse are finally revealed as history comes full circle on a night that changes the lives of Shadysiders forever.

Movie News: I can finally announce that a new Fear Street movie is about to go into production for Netflix. It’s based on my Fear Street book, The Prom Queen. Good news! pic.twitter.com/lgKvhDFV5F

— R.L. Stine (@RL_Stine) January 13, 2024

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To let children in on the festive and frightful fun, here is a variety of age-appropriate Christmas horror film and television specials the entire family can enjoy.

Creeped Out: Splinta Claws (2019)
Season 2, Episode 10

“Everyone knows there are nice children as well as naughty. But are there good and bad Santas as well?” This question is posed in the opening of the “Splinta Claws” episode of the anthology series Creeped Out on Netflix, which originally released in the UK and Canada. Creators Bede Blake and Robert Butler aimed for an Amazing Stories meets The Twilight Zone for children, desiring the series to terrify, inspire and enchant. The story unfolds in a department store on Christmas, where young boys Lawrence (Taighen O’Callaghan) and Mikey (Alex Eastwood) must survive an evil Santa animatronic who gives mercy to the naughty, but hunts after the nice. 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever (2023)

In the two weeks lead up to Christmas, middle schooler Greg (Wesley Kimmel) yearns for a Mega Station 9000, the latest and most sought-after video game console. However, as everything goes wrong, he fears his mishaps may land him on the “naughty list,” never to receive the gift this year. Writer Jeff Kinney intentionally added elements of horror into the story, stating, “Holiday stories usually are very heartwarming, and I wanted to tell a story that’s kind of a scary story. It’s bit of a thriller.” There are several homages to the genre such as Psycho and Frankenstein, but it’s not an outright scary film. The horror mostly arises from Greg’s anxiety that he may get caught red-handed. 

A Scooby Doo! Christmas (2002)

A take on The Legend of Sleepy Hallow, Scooby and the gang embark on a journey to a Christmas condo vacation but run against complaints of a Headless Snowman wreaking havoc on the citizens of Winter Hallow. The Headless Snowman prevents anyone from celebrating the holiday for reasons that are unclear. The gang then learns about a centuries-old tale of Blackjack Brody, a highwayman who stole gold and hid inside of a snowman only to freeze to death. Whether or not it is his vengeful ghost is the mystery that must be solved, so the town can celebrate Christmas safely once again.

Tales from the Dark Side – Monsters in My Room (1985)
Season 2, Episode 12

Timmy (portrayed by a young Seth Green) wants to spend the holiday playing piano and completing homework, but his alcoholic stepfather (Greg Mullavey) keeps encouraging him to participate in activities that will “man him up.” During the night, monsters come out from Timmy’s closet and under his bed, while a giant buzz saw zooms towards him. Despite Timmy expressing his frustrations, his mother (Beth McDonald), insists his stepfather is a good man. In the end, Timmy must learn that he alone has to stand up for himself in more ways than one.

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy – Billy & Mandy Save Christmas (2005)
Season 5, Episode 7

This is another special that falls under the “Saving Christmas” trope, but stands out in its unique storyline: Santa Claus has been turned into a vampire. The young protagonists Billy and Mandy, alongside their best friend the Grim Reaper, investigate how to help Mrs. Claus (Carol Kane) transform her beloved Santa (Gilbert Gottfried) back to normal by confronting the Head Vampire, Baron Von Ghoulish (Malcolm McDowell). Creator Maxwell Atoms originally planned for a Krampus-centred episode, but decided against it due to Cartoon Network already having Satan in Cow & Chicken and The Powerpuff Girls, who looks too similar to the Christmas devil.

Tales from the Cryptkeeper: It’s For You (1999)
Season 3, Episode 11

In the animated children friendly version of Tales from the Crypt, Gary (David Deveau) receives his very own landline phone in his bedroom for Christmas, where his parents warn him not engage in pranks. Against their wishes, Gary still prank calls multiple people and disturbs a mother and children in the process. When he takes it too far, the Cryptkeeper intervenes and teaches him a lesson in manners. This episode does feel very much of its time. Today’s technology is too advanced for prank calls to fool anyone, though the moral lesson still rings timeless.

R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour – A Creature Was Stirring (2010)
Season 1, Episode 3

On Christmas morning, an excited Timmy (Thomas Robinson) opens presents with his family. While he loves his gift, his brother and sister vocalise how much they hate theirs. It adds more tension in the air because unknown to the children, the parents are planning to get a divorce. When the conversation ends in an argument with everyone leaving the room, a mysterious package under the tree wiggles. Timmy opens it to find a winged bat-like creature that begins terrorising the family, who plays a larger role in his Christmas wish than he could have ever anticipated.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Recently selected for preservation in the National Film Registry for its cultural, historic, and aesthetic importance, The Nightmare Before Christmas makes a delightful family watch for both Halloween and Christmas. Jack Skellington (the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town) finds the Hinterlands, a forest with doors to different holidays. When he enters Christmas Town, he is forever changed by the experience and decides to bring the spirit to Halloween Town. The film was inspired by a poem Tim Burton wrote in 1981, which was later recited by Christopher Lee in 2008. 

Gremlins (1984)

No list would be complete without the children’s horror Christmas classic, Gremlins. When Billy (Zach Galligan) receives a Mogwai as a gift, he is given a set of rules to abide by: avoid exposing it to bright light, don’t get it wet, and never feed it after midnight. Naturally, these rules are broken which spawns the Gremlins to manifest and wildly execute their shenanigans all over town. Fun fact: thanks to Gremlins and Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom, the PG-13 rating was established. The films were deemed too intense for younger children, and previously there was nothing in-between PG and R. 

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For over a century, the world’s stage has been haunted by a mysterious, masked phantom. From the pages of Gaston Leroux’s 1909 novel to Lon Chaney’s unnerving performance that would inspire countless screen versions over the coming decades, The Phantom of the Opera has emerged from the depths of the theater to shock, awe and embody the depressing, torturous truths of show business’ fickle refrain.

While big, bold, romantic tragedy starring the likes of Herbert Lom or Claude Rains seems far flung from the Goosebumps milieu, R.L. Stine carried the well-worn tale of the scarred phantom and his jilted passion to the pages of his paperbacks with aplomb. Trading the opera house stage for the middle school auditorium, Stine’s phantom forgoes the disfigured musical genius and embraces the desperate junior high desire to be seen.

Phantom of the Auditorium may veer off from its source material, but it transposes the gothic, brooding atmosphere of its progenitor to the silly and spooky realm of the Goosebumps page. Given the story’s historic roots on the silver screen, it was quickly adapted for the television show, airing only weeks after the series premiered and a little more than a year after the book’s publication. Filled with eerie corridors, strange warnings and ghostly goings-on, it quickly became a series classic, joining the ranks of the phantom family of adaptations that so wonderfully haunt the hallowed halls of horror entertainment.

The Story 

For over 70 years, a mysterious phantom has haunted Brooke’s school. When the school first opened the students decided to put on a play. It was called The Phantom. But the show never went on, as a boy disappeared that night. The star of the show. The phantom himself. Now, Brooke’s class is going to put on the same show. But will it go on as intended, or will it be stopped once more? For strange things are happening. Warnings are showing up in lockers. Sets are being destroyed. And Brooke can’t help but wonder: is someone out to ruin the play or is the phantom really on the prowl?

Phantom of the Auditorium came out in October of 1994, poised to spook the imaginations of Halloween readers everywhere. Focusing on two horror loving pre-teens and their quest to identify the mythical phantom who supposedly haunts their school, the book invites an otherworldly gothic ambience into the blasé world of junior high. Smart, silly and appropriately tragic, it’s both a solid entry in Goosebumps canon and a welcome addition to the myriad of approaches on The Phantom of the Opera.

The Adaptation 

The book opens by introducing readers to Brooke and Zeke, two horror movie obsessed tweens looking forward to a Creature From the Black Lagoon film festival and their leading parts in the new school play The Phantom. Their school is haunted by such a phantom, rumored to be a boy who disappeared over 70 years prior on the night the play was originally to be performed. Their teacher, Ms. Walker tells them the ghostly tale, regretting her decision to illuminate the class on the creepy mythos the moment Zeke scares the frightened group with a mask and his penchant for pageantry.

The show condenses these chapters and crafts a dream sequence to open the episode, filling it with fog, shadow and imagery of the white mask clad phantom emerging from the darkness and whispering the name Esmerelda, Brooke’s character in the play. These dreams pepper the runtime, crafting an airy mood that pervades the proceedings. This segues to a group of kids pouring over scripts atop a school stage. It’s here where a girl named Tina, mean spirited and jealous of Brooke’s leading part on both the page and the screen, details the story of the phantom in Ms. Walker’s place. The only addition is that Tina claims a year later the ghost of the boy appeared. All the while the kids are watched from a figure in the rafters, unseen by all.

Zeke scares the kids, as on the page, and Ms. Walker explains the narrative of the play. In it, a theater owner believes his theater is haunted but it is really just a scared man known as the phantom living beneath its floorboards. The phantom and the theater owner’s daughter fall in love but it is not to be, for when her handsome boyfriend discovers this, he murders the phantom, breaking Esmerelda’s heart and leaving the phantom’s spirit to forever haunt the theater. Soon after, the kids discover the trap door, which Ms. Walker scolds them to stay away from as it is very old, constructed for the play’s original run. Although the order differs slightly and it’s Ms. Walker who quickly disappears down the trap door by accident on the page not one of the students, there’s very little difference narratively as these events occur in the book.

The page and the screen sync up here as Zeke holds Brooke back in the theater after everyone leaves for the night. Convincing her to try out the trapdoor, they lower themselves, finding that it descends far beyond the five feet below the stage as it was intended to. The mechanism takes them to the bowels of the school. In the show, the place looks like an abandoned basement, bathed in cobwebs and grime amidst its network of interlocking pipes. In the book the place is a pitch-black passage, leading into a dark abyss. Either way they quickly retreat, finding a switch and returning to the auditorium where they climb out of the trapdoor to find themselves face to face with an angry stranger.

His name is Emile on the page and the screen. He claims himself to be the night janitor and angrily tells them to stay away. In the book he’s very old with wild white hair and dark eyes, while on the screen he has dark and wavy hair with a grizzled face. Still, the effect is the same. While the book follows the kids home and introduces Brooke’s little, much less interested in being scared brother Jeremy, the episode jumps to the next day at school where she meets Brian, a new kid in school who laments that he missed out on tryouts for the new play.

She interacts with Brian in the book as well, in class as opposed to the theater, and takes pity on him, asking Ms. Walker if he can become a part of the play. In both cases, the teacher allows Brian to join the crew, where he’s paired with Tina on scenery. Shortly thereafter, on the page and the screen, Brooke finds a monster mask and a message in her locker, a variation of the words: STAY AWAY FROM MY HOME SWEET HOME. Later at rehearsal, the phantom swings down from the rafters, scaring everyone and grabbing Brooke, rasping the message again before disappearing down the trapdoor.

The episode truncates the following events by having a prop door slam down, marred with the painted message: LAST WARNING STAY AWAY ESMERELDA. Zeke appears after the phantom departs and Ms. Walker confronts him. After following a trail of paint to his locker, Ms. Walker evicts Zeke from the play and threatens to cancel the whole production. Soon after, a janitor tells them that there is no night janitor and both Brooke, Zeke and Brian decide it’s time to hunt for the phantom themselves.

No door falls on the page. Instead, Ms. Walker cancels rehearsal and Brooke finds Zeke at home. He had been at a dentist appointment and could not have been the instigator on stage. The next day he explains himself to Ms. Walker and rehearsals continue. Once again, the phantom arises from beneath the stage and grabs Brooke, horrifying her as she can see Zeke waving frantically off stage. After discovering from the school secretary that there is no night janitor and being turned away by Ms. Walker when attempting to confide in her about their suspicions, Brooke, Zeke and Brian sneak into the school to uncover the truth about Emile and maybe the phantom.

Strange sounds in the dark and eerie theater space alert the three that they are not alone in the school. Scenery cranks to life, lowering on the stage and revealing graffiti smeared across its surface reading: STAY AWAY FROM MY HOME SWEET HOME. Ms. Walker finds them there and much of what occurred on the screen occurs here. She accuses all three of them of being responsible and a fight erupts, ending with a paint trail to Zeke’s locker. His parents are called and he’s kicked out of the play. Rehearsals continue for weeks after with no issues until Ms. Walker’s script is glued together as opening night approaches and the play is nearly cancelled once more. That’s when Brooke decides they need to unmask the phantom once and for all.

Hewing closely to the page, the episode continues with the three students venturing back into the forgotten basement where they discover a small, furnished room. In the book they venture down the dark tunnel and find the same, citing a table with corn flakes, an unmade bed, an old couch with a cushion missing and a bookshelf. That’s when a door slams and they become trapped inside with Emile. In both versions he yells that they should have listened and stayed away. In the episode they run, but in the book Emile continues to elaborate. They ask him what happened seventy-two years ago and he replies that he’s not that old. He is homeless and knew about the room from when his father worked for the school years before. He’s no phantom, just a man looking for a place to stay.

In the book they find Zeke’s angry father descending the platform, looking for his troublemaking son. In the episode it’s the school principal. Both authority figures serve the same purpose, however, alerting the police. In neither instance do the police find Emile, but in the episode their principal informs them that the police think he was a homeless man who was pretending to be the phantom in hopes of keeping his spot beneath the school a secret, aligning the explanation with the page, albeit in a clunkier narrative way.

The night of the play arrives. As Brooke takes the stage and faces the phantom, she looks into his eyes and sees that Zeke’s own are not staring back at her. In the show, she sees literal flame in his eyes. The phantom goes off book and tells the tale of a boy who has waited over 70 years to perform the role of a lifetime, a role he was meant to play decades before but was never able to as he plummeted to his death before the show. The crowd goes wild.

In the episode, he informs Esmerelda that she will soon join him in eternal darkness, but she refuses, knocking him back down the long trapdoor shaft that the boy had tumbled into so many years before. In the book, the phantom takes a bow before his adoring crowd and Brooke attempts to unmask him. In the chaos of the shifting fog and blinding stage lights, the phantom stumbles away, shielding his face and slipping into the trapdoor’s open chasm never to be seen again.

In both versions, Zeke regains consciousness. In the book they descend the trapdoor and look for the phantom but find nothing. In the episode, Zeke is lying atop the trapdoor, beside an old yearbook. The yearbook appears on the page as well, sometime later in Brooke’s locker. The two versions end in unison, as Brooke opens to a page advertising the upcoming play and she eyes a picture of Brian, the boy tasked with playing the phantom.

Final Thoughts 

Like the very best Goosebumps tales, Phantom of the Auditorium serves as an eerily fun journey into the idiosyncratic uncertainties of the adolescent mind as well as an introduction to some of the broader horror-centric tropes that genre storytelling has at its disposal. Dealing with everything from stage fright to eternal damnation, R.L. Stine’s Phantom carries romantic gothicism to the middle American public school system in a way that only Tim Jacobus’ wonderful caped and wild haired cover art could capture.

The television adaptation holds up well to the text on the page, snipping here and reshaping there to forge a version that feels accurate yet distinct. With the advent of ghostly dream sequences, condensing the amount of times that the story’s heroes descend to the depths of the school and keeping the action firmly planted in the auditorium in question, the episode offers the 126 page novel in a tight 22 minutes that flies by and captures the book’s unearthly atmosphere.

The phantom has enjoyed a rich tapestry of interpretation over its lengthy lifespan, showing up in all manner of entertainment, from prestige studio pictures to brief references in Saturday morning cartoon shows. It’s a character whose iconography will outlast most, a story which resonates out of time and place and a cultural touchstone that has evolved far beyond any one artistic platform. To be a part of that history is a honor in and of itself and to do its legacy justice is a mark of true creative success.

And if the twenty fourth entry in a spooky line of literature aimed at kids ushering a multitude of young minds toward discovering Gaston Leroux’s ethereal creation isn’t doing that illusory phantom justice, I’m not sure what would.

The post ‘Phantom of the Auditorium’ – Revisiting the ‘Goosebumps’ Book and Its TV Adaptation appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

And now Goosebumps is back again. A departure from its anthology television roots and infused with more menace and horror than ever before, the series emerges ready to delight and terrify a new audience of adolescent thrill-seekers. Following a group of five teenagers as they navigate inherited trauma, haunted objects and one quite infamous ventriloquist dummy, this fresh iteration of R.L. Stine’s classic world of fun and fear is an engaging, long-form tale unlike any Goosebumps story that’s come before.

In the wake of the new show’s finale, Bloody Disgusting caught up with the series’ creators Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller along with executive producer Hilary Winston to discuss their history with Goosebumps and R.L. Stine, the way their plans for the show evolved during production and the thrill of finally unearthing Slappy the Dummy’s mystical backstory.

“My kids read them,” Nick Stoller reflects, “I’m a little too old to have read them when I was a kid, but I did read Stephen King. I was obsessed with Stephen King… and I loved horror. But I really came to Goosebumps through my children.”

“Yeah, same for me,” Rob Letterman remarks. “Goosebumps had been floating around Hollywood for many years. A lot of people were trying to do something with it. Spielberg was trying to do something, Tim Burton… it had a presence in Hollywood. My deep dive happened on the movie. So it came late to me but I did all the homework.”

“I loved working on it, but I especially loved meeting R.L. Stine,” Letterman continues. “He’s a cool guy. He’s so nice. He’s so funny to talk to because really he just wanted to do comedy. He’s a comedy guy!”

“Yeah,” Hilary Winston agrees, “when I was talking to the people at Scholastic, they were saying that he was the joke book writer when they had the idea of doing kids’ horror comedy. His roots come from comedy and he brought that to horror. They’re really closely tied, you know. The same instincts. A [comedic] button to a scene versus a scare to a scene are so similar.”

Goosebumps has long been known for its expert balance of comedy and horror, the 2015 film also helmed by Rob Letterman serving as a prime example of that tonal tightrope walk. The creatives involved made it a priority to maintain that sensibility while evolving beyond the candy-colored stylistic flourish and aesthetic with which Goosebumps has long been associated.

“You have to be true to the source material and the source material is funny,” Stoller remarks. “It’s funny and it’s light and it’s really fun. Rob and I were developing it and when Hilary came onboard we just wanted it to be a blast. Whenever something is super serious I feel it’s a little bit dishonest in some way… one of my favorite movies is The Shining. It’s terrifying but it’s also very funny and super weird and it’s not just dead serious.”

The show pulls back from the meta-approach that made the Jack Black starring film so hilarious and narratively engaging, however the structure still snuck in the kind of self-referential storytelling techniques that have permeated the Goosebumps brand over the years.

“I mean, that’s always been a thing,” Letterman says, “sneaking in that meta concept of reading [the books]. You know the ‘Reader Beware’ and ‘Give Yourself Goosebumps’… choosing your own story… I was tying into that with Margot using the scrapbook and making the choice to dive into any particular story point. We had a lot of those big ideas brewing in the writers room the whole time.”

The latter half of the season is full of surprises, including a startling narrative pivot in episode eight. Serving as a conclusion to a large portion of the season’s story, the remaining two episodes delve into new territory that adds context and depth to what’s come before while setting up what the future might well bring. When asked about the plan behind this decision, Letterman, Stoller and Winston respond with candid charm.

“Um, plan?” Letterman remarks as the three of them laugh.

“No, that really wasn’t the plan,” Letterman continues. “The plan was to sort of, you know, stretch that out to episode ten and we had all kinds of thoughts about that. But… what we didn’t want to do is just tread water. We didn’t want to hold back story just to stretch it out over multiple episodes.”

“Which is a big problem with peak TV!” Stoller remarks as the three laugh in unison once more.

“By design each episode is kind of a mini-movie and that story engine has to turn,” Letterman continues. “So, in order to deliver on that, it did lead us to that spot in episode eight. We saw it coming. In our heads, the finale was always a two-parter. Episode nine is really the reset and set up to make you comfortable so that we can throw all this stuff back at you as an audience member. It also played on the idea of R.L. Stine always having a twist at the end of his books.”

“And, you know, the parent story was just not the end of the story,” Winston reflects. “Harold Biddle was this sweet kid who had this horrible thing happen and it was a part of the legacy of his family… We wrapped up the parent story but that idea of evil still kind of lingering was still there. We wanted to make sure that we didn’t do what a lot of shows do and end without answering any of the big, tough questions. We challenged ourselves to answer those tough questions.”

One of those tough questions revolved around one of the most recognizable and iconic villains to ever grace the pages of Goosebumps’ hallowed tomes: Slappy the dummy. While Slappy has made many appearances in stories, TV episodes and feature films over the years, his origins have never been entirely clear— until now.

“Let’s look at who Slappy really is,” Winston says. “How Slappy came into being.”

“One of the things that’s fun is getting to do that origin stuff,” Stoller reflects. “You don’t get to do that in comedy… I love knowing the origin of horror, fantasy and sci-fi stuff.”

“The backstory evolved around after Episode 5,” Letterman says. “We started putting brain power into it. We knew the runway was going to be what it was… and diving into the Goosebumps canon we started noticing that there were threads of Slappy’s mythology… contradictory [threads]… and we were like, ‘wait a minute, there’s all these cool ideas… how can we glue them together?’”

“[Slappy] wasn’t just the devil, you know?” Winston remarks. “We wanted to make him a more complex character in Kanduu. Kanduu is not really wrong about how he sees the world… it’s bad in practice, his idea, but it’s not necessarily wrong on paper. We really wanted to make Slappy not just an obvious evil for evil’s sake character.”

With Slappy’s backstory revealed and a cave containing the secret incantations that have the power to bring all of the old, forgotten horrors of the world back into being, this new Goosebumps show is poised to unleash more of Stine’s uncanny world of supernatural horrors than ever before. It’s clear that a delivery method for future stories and further book infusions was at the top of the creators’ minds while developing the season’s final components.

“Once we made the choice to go back and do the mythology and see where it started— at least for Slappy— and found the Kanduu character in those later books… we wanted to expand on that,” Letterman recalls. “It was the themes… the thing that Kanduu says, which Hilary just said, isn’t wrong. You know, you kind of need horrors. Otherwise mankind will create their own… the cave was a way to say, ‘Okay— where does all this stuff blossom from?’ It was building mythology that connected all the dots of every episode.”

Considering the fun, thrills and world-class production design, performances and creature effects that this first season of Goosebumps had to offer, one can only hope that Rob Letterman, Nicholas Stoller and Hilary Winston get to continue exploring, mining and redefining R.L. Stine’s 30 year old series in subsequent seasons. The three seemed to agree, although Rob crossed his fingers as he did so.

“I’m superstitious,” Letterman says, “I don’t want to jinx anything.”

We here at Bloody Disgusting are crossing our fingers too, Rob. Whatever it takes to see what spooky, strange and surreal horrors await as Goosebumps seeps ever forward across the page, the screen and imaginations the world over.

The post “Goosebumps” – Creators of Disney Series on Breathing New Life into R.L. Stine’s Universe [Interview] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

This format isn’t as regularly seen these days in children’s horror literature, but a properly spooky short story never goes out of style. The ten classic collections below, ones chiefly from the ’80s and ’90s, are just a few examples of this former trend. And to help demonstrate why they were — and still are — so appealing, a creepy story from each book is highlighted.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981)

It only seems fitting to mention Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark first. This is the series people think of when it comes to these types of books. And a good reason for that is the accompanying drawings by Stephen Gammell. As many fans would agree, the updated artwork from a newer edition doesn’t come close to the same sort of nightmare fuel brought on by the original illustrations.

In addition to two more volumes (More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones), there is the 2019 film adaptation directed by André Øvredal.

It’s nearly impossible to pick just one entry from these books; late author Alvin Schwartz delivered a memorable assortment of unsettling yarns, folktales and urban legends. Yet one that sticks to the ribs, particularly since most of these books’ readers are adults now, is “The Thing.” Two best friends, Sam and Ted, encounter a frightening-looking man in a field one evening. Sam approaches the ghastly “thing” in question — he was described as having “bright, penetrating eyes that sunk deep into [his] head” and he “looked almost like a skeleton” — and pokes him. The walking corpse then follows the panicked boys to Ted’s house before vanishing without a trace. The eeriest part of this tale is the ending: Ted becomes deathly ill a year later, and on the night he finally died, it’s said that Sam’s dead best friend resembled the thing they both saw that one night.

Southern Fried Rat and Other Gruesome Tales (1983)

Daniel Cohen was a non-fiction writer who had a number of children’s horror books published throughout his long career. It might seem strange to include his work here, seeing as Cohen didn’t come up with original short stories. The stuff in his books was based on “true” hauntings and whatnot. Nevertheless, Cohen’s books are still entertaining as well as informative.

Cohen researched urban legends on top of his paranormal findings. Southern Fried Rat and Other Gruesome Tales is basically a collection of familiar and contemporary American folktales, although there are some surprising variations and “new” myths not so recognized by the public. For example, “The Dinosaur in the Swamp” is an obscure legend when compared to something like “The Hook.” It’s not scary, but it is interesting. Then there’s “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” which appears to be a blend of two different horror urban legends: “The Licked Hand” and “The Boyfriend’s Death.” Here a couple, Chris and Lisa, visits a supposedly haunted old house that’s no longer occupied. They end up having to stay the night because it’s too dark and dangerous outside. To keep Lisa calm, Chris tells her to hold his hand and squeeze as needed. Lisa dozes off, only to then wake up to find herself holding Chris’ hand — however, the rest of him is hanging from a beam in the ceiling. And sitting across from Lisa in a rocking chair is a “huge, wild-looking man, dressed in rags and clutching an enormous, bloody knife.”

Short & Shivery (1987)

Like Daniel Cohen and others, revered children’s author Robert D. San Souci compiled rather than wrote original stories in his Short & Shivery series. What set Souci apart from his peers, though, was his manner of adaptation. He was applauded for how he recounted these well-known tales.

Anyone who has read Still More Tales for the Midnight Hour may recognize “Tailypo.” To be fair, though, the titular creature comes from old Appalachian folklore. So Souci isn’t simply recycling someone else’s work; he’s sharing a variation of a widely distributed oral folktale much like Schwartz did with “The Big Toe” in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Of course, a lot of people first came across the beastie in its purest form in Short & Shivery. Katherine Coville‘s illustration is also difficult to forget. Souci’s version of “Tailypo,” which is said to be of West Virginian origin, is the one most people know and share. A solitary hunter swipes the tail off a mysterious animal in the woods, then brings it home to cook and eat. Soon enough, the owner of said tail comes to the hunter’s cabin to retrieve what was taken (and has since been consumed). The creature demands its tail back before taking more drastic measures to recover the missing body part. “Tailypo” has some similarities to another American folktale called “The Golden Arm.”

Nightwaves: Scary Tales for After Dark (1990)

It’s difficult finding significant information about the author of Nightwaves. However, Collin A. McDonald did publish two additional anthologies: The Chilling Hour: Tales of the Real and Unreal and Shadows and Whispers: Tales from the Other Side. And if they’re anything like this one, they’re worth seeking out.

“Geraniums” is the inspiration for the weird cover artwork, which was provided by Tim Jacobus. The image looks silly, but surprisingly, this is a serious story about a tense mother-daughter relationship. Janet would love to have a normal life where she can go to the mall with her friends, but her mother would rather Janet stay home all the time and help take care of the garden. With her husband and Janet’s father now out of the picture, the mother clings to all she has left. This includes the geraniums that Janet resents. In due time, the main character experiences what can only be described as floral body horror. Janet only thinks she’s cracking under the weight of her mother’s green thumb, although as it turns out, something sinister is in store for the girl who demands independence. The book’s cover makes it obvious what awaits poor Janet as she tries to run away.

The Scariest Stories You’ve Ever Heard, Part III (1990)

Calling an anthology The Scariest Stories You’ve Ever Heard is bold but forgivable. Every book in this horror trilogy is written by a different author, and many fans agree the second and third are the best of the bunch. The Scariest Stories You’ve Ever Heard, Part III‘s Tracey E. Dils didn’t go on to write more in the genre, but after reading, you’ll agree she should have pursued horror.

The majority of Part III is highly enjoyable. The variety of horror is also great. From a supernatural dollhouse to a cursed summer camp, this book has it all. If twists are important, then “The Slasher” is a perfect choice. A student named Sarah stays too late at the library, so she has to take the subway late at night. The only other people in the car are two men sitting next to each other and across from Sarah. One man wears a blue suit, sits still, and stares intently at the student. Meanwhile, the other man is falling over in his seat and is also struggling to stay awake. To make this situation more suspenseful, there is supposedly a killer on the loose who attacks on the subway. Much to her relief, Sarah is joined by an older man who takes a seat next to her. He writes a message on a piece of paper and slides it over: “You must get off at the next stop. Ask no questions. Just follow me.” Sarah obviously suspects him of being the subway slasher, but at this point, she’s terrified of the other two men. Finally, Sarah gets off at the next stop and the older man, a doctor, explains the man in the blue suit was actually dead. And in his back was a knife. The doctor got on the subway car only to warn Sarah after spotting the knife. The drowsy man next to the corpse was evidently the subway slasher.

Night Frights (1993)

Judith Bauer Stamper, better known as J.B. Stamper, has been scaring the kiddos since the ’70s. It was her four Tales for the Midnight Hour books that most people know her for. After concluding that series in the early ’90s, she returned shortly with Night Frights. Two “sequels” were later published.

These Night Frights books are quite short; the first of the three volumes comes to a whopping total of seventy-five pages. It’s a very “get in, get out” kind of read. In the first entry, “The Mysterious Visitor” stood out only because it wasn’t just about a child running into a malevolent weirdo out in the wild. Here a babysitter named Amy hears what she thinks are her clients coming home on a snowy evening, but upon checking the front door and the rest of the house, she finds no one else is there other than the sleeping baby. That’s when she hears footsteps slowly ascending the stairs. And again, not another person in sight. Eventually, the disembodied footsteps edge toward Amy downstairs before going out the way they came. That’s when Amy looks outside the front door and sees footprints in the snow on the sidewalk, leading away from the house. Brrr!

Even More Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs (1994)

The Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs series began in 1991, with R.C. Welch penning the first volume. The torch was later passed on to Q.L. Pearce for the next several entries (there were ten total). These books feature more violence and death than others like them.

The fourth book, Even More Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs, is off to a good start with the grisly opener “The Tune of Terror.” On his birthday, the young Juan buys a strange flute for $3 at a flea market. The seller was more than eager to part with the heirloom. Juan’s best friend remarks the flute looks like it’s made out of human bone, but Juan doesn’t care; he experiences a weirdly comforting sensation whenever he uses the flute. However, what Juan doesn’t realize is, he’s actually summoning a “hideous corpse” with an “eyeless skull.” Every played note brings this “loathsome entity” closer to him. And in its wake, the monster leaves behind a series of brutally murdered victims, including Juan’s next-door neighbors. In the end, the bewitched Juan is compelled to keep playing the flute, which only then leads his destroyer straight to his front door.

Scary Stories for Stormy Nights (1995)

Scary Stories for Stormy Nights and Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs were both published by Lowell House, although the latter’s first few volumes were originally published by Price Stern Sloan (which is now owned by Penguin). This spinoff series offers more of the same: mean, merciless horror for and about children.

R.C. Welch injected multiple entries here with a vital folk-horror element. “Bloody Laundry” has a Scottish messenger of death called the bean-nighe, and “The Good Deed” features a European water spirit known as the nix. As for “One Hot Night,” readers can’t help but think of The Wicker Man as they learn the fate of one hapless boy scout. Lee is on a campout with his troop when he runs into two random kids who are vacationing nearby. The protagonist, who is already annoyed by the “no campfires” rule in place because of the dry brush, is invited to a party thrown by the kids’ families. He’s enticed by the big fire they’re planning. Upon his arrival at the party, Lee notices people in robes standing around a bonfire containing a hollow effigy made of sticks. This story ends exactly as you think it will: Lee is taken as a sacrifice. The last line here is a fitting one: “Then he almost had to laugh — after all, he’d wanted a fire so badly.”

Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps (1996)

The fourth volume in R.L. Stine‘s Tales to Give You Goosebumps series delivered ten Halloween-themed stories, and for the most part, they’re all entertaining.

“The Scarecrow” could have easily been the standout of the bunch. It’s weird and unnerving. Sadly, the silly twist at the end knocks some points off. This leaves “An Old Story,” which may be one of Stine’s most disturbing works in the whole Goosebumps franchise. Two young brothers, Tom and Jon, are now being taken care of by their estranged aunt Dahlia while their parents work all the time. Neither boy remembers Dahlia, but they’re not going to question an adult. Under Dahlia’s care, the boys are fed only prunes, which cause them to become physically old. And when Dahlia’s friends show up, it’s clear what’s happening here — the aunt is turning children into old people so can then sell them as mates for her senior clients. Thankfully, Tom and Jon find an antidote that de-ages them, and they defeat Dahlia (by killing her with her own age-accelerating prune juice), who wasn’t even their aunt in the first place. The parents come home and realize they had let a stranger look after their boys. As if this story couldn’t be more upsetting, it’s implied at the end that this trafficking business didn’t stop at Dahlia; other kids are being targeted by their “aunts.” The original Goosebumps TV show also adapted this bizarre entry.

Bruce Coville’s Book of Ghosts II: More Tales to Haunt You (1997)

Bruce Coville is prolific enough in children and young-adult fiction to where his name will draw in readers. And it might appear this Bruce Coville’s Book of… series features only the My Teacher is an Alien author’s own work, but reading the cover’s fine print reveals the truth: these books are compilations of other authors’ stories as well as one original Coville short. This isn’t an uncommon practice in anthologies, and a lot of the time, the supporting writers outshine the headliner.

Neal Shusterman is no stranger to genre fiction. His contribution here, “Soul Survivor,” is proof that he knows his way around horror. In Donnie Darko fashion, a boy named Peter is killed when a failing jumbo jet destroys his house. His parents survive, but now Peter wanders the earth alone and scared. That is until he figures out how to possess people and manipulate their thoughts and actions. To his surprise, though, Peter’s current host, a rookie baseball player nicknamed Slam, is fully aware of his unexpected guest. Slam allows the spirit to stay, and naively, he informs Peter’s parents about their son’s whereabouts. The kind gesture backfires and Slam is ostracized by society. So it’s no shocker when Slam asks Peter to vacate, but what comes next is totally out of left field. At a marine park, Peter forces Slam’s soul into a dolphin. Yes, a dolphin. Unfortunately, Peter’s plan backfires when he realizes his host didn’t know how to swim. This leaves Peter no choice but to abandon ship. Slam’s soulless, dead body finally sinks to the bottom of the dolphin tank. As for Peter, he continues to body-jump and even implies he’s probably been inside your body at some point. What a creep!

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In their own way, every Goosebumps book felt like it was about Halloween. Just spooky enough to be exhilarating but never so much so that they ceased to be fun, R.L. Stine’s macabre works reveled in all that was dark, twisted and strange, evoking that crisp gust of energy that a kid could only harness when out and about on Halloween night.

Of course, a few Goosebumps stories did deal directly in the goings on of October 31st, trading in haunted masks and headless ghosts. A special sort of alchemy fusing late October atmosphere and the eerie wonderment of the Goosebumps milieu, such entries were treasured both on the page and the screen as ideal All Hallows’ Eve entertainment.

And when the series’ forty eighth distinctly Halloween themed entry hit shelves one October, imagine young trick-or-treaters’ delight when the corresponding television adaptation aired only weeks later. The book was called Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns and from the looks of it, the story would be bathed top to bottom in orange, black, purple and green— the full spectrum of Halloween.

More about the tricks than the treats, Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns delivers the October goods. With pumpkin headed creatures and regrettable amounts of candy, the story is exactly what the Goosebumps aficionado would hope to reach for as the reddening leaves crisp over and a chill frosts the ever yellowing landscape. While simplified, the adaptation offers a generally accurate portrayal of the page, despite altering key relationships to enable a streamlined narrative. The result was an unforgettable October of Goosebumps goodies, steeped in all the delightfully ghoulish iconography that makes every horror fan’s favorite holiday and R.L. Stine books so indelibly special.

The Story

Drew loves Halloween. Still, for the last two years the holiday has been a nightmare— and not in a good way. Two kids from school, Lee and Tabby, are always playing practical jokes and ruining the scariest night of the year for Drew and her best friend Walker. But not this year. This year Drew enlisted some help and she’ll finally have her revenge on Lee and Tabby. Revenge in the form of large pumpkin headed monstrosities. Monstrosities that may have more on their flaming pumpkin minds than Drew realizes. If Drew’s not careful, her trick might not be the treat she’d hoped.

Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns was published in October of 1996 as the forty eighth entry in the initial Goosebumps run. A fun romp spanning multiple Halloween nights, the story is an October set tale of playful revenge gone wrong complete with all the candy, unearthly decor and costume changes that might entail. It’s a story that values the magic of a flame lit carved pumpkin under the light of a partial moon and in its own strange and mysterious way perfectly captures its ghostly holiday.

The Adaptation

Similar to The Haunted Mask, Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns opens on the screen with a conversation between Drew and Walker condensing several chapters worth of information. As they stroll down a suburban street adorned with pumpkins, skeletons, spiders and all manner of Halloween lights and decorations, Drew explains that Halloween is her favorite holiday and brushes off Walker’s concerns about people who have recently gone missing in their town.

Something watches them from the shadows and shortly thereafter the two run into twins Shane and Shana, Drew’s old best friends that had moved away years before. That’s when the true mask-clad foes from the shadows emerge and attack, revealing themselves to be Lee and Tabby, two kids from school that seem to delight in frightening Drew and Walker. Once Lee and Tabby depart, Shane and Shana offer Drew a chance for revenge on her tormentors. The mischievous twins explain that if Drew can get Lee and Tabby to trick-or-treat with them, the twins would take care of setting up something that would scare them for a change.

The book opens with the common Goosebumps monologue as Drew professes her love of Halloween and hatred for the nickname “Elf” that her dad gave her as it suggests she’s small and strange. The following chapters tell the tales of two Halloweens past. The first brings the reader to a lavish costume party hosted by the popular and attractive duo of Lee and Tabby, ruined after the two convinced their older neighbor and his friend to crash the event under the guise of malicious burglars (an event mentioned in passing in the episode). Embarrassed and terrified, Drew and her friends spent the following year plotting revenge, rigging Drew’s house for the sole purpose of petrifying Tabby and Lee. It might have worked perfectly, had Lee and Tabby actually bothered to show up.

These handful of chapters are fun and set the stage for the spooky night to come, offering multiple perspectives of how a kid might spend their Halloween. Ultimately, they build to where the episode begins, with the exception that twins Shane and Shana are there the entire time and a part of Drew’s friend group from the start. In both versions, Drew asks Tabby and Lee to trick-or-treat with them. On the page, they simply agree, rather aloof to how others actually perceive them. Onscreen, Tabby is suspicious, certain that the invite is a trap.

The show progresses with an obvious dream sequence where the group approaches a house amidst various canted angles and distorted lighting. An old woman ushers them inside where she traps them in a room with chained children and a disfigured old man who wants to keep them forever to admire their costumes. This happens in the book as well, however it’s presented as reality, tricking the reader into believing the danger before the real threat enters in.

In both versions the threat suggested by real-life missing people near the town lingers menacingly, causing Drew’s mother to request she stay in before her father undermines the decision. While the book dwells more on the emotional weight of those missing, the show simply informs that the people are adults and from one town over. In the book, there’s one last scare in the form of the same boys who had conned the kids attending Lee and Tabby’s party two years back before the pumpkin headed menace emerges. The teenagers leap from the hedges wearing masks, terrifying Drew and Walker, something that the episode repurposed for its opening, supplanting the neighbor boys for Tabby and Lee themselves.

After hitting a few houses they encounter two, tall robed individuals with bulbous carved pumpkins where their heads should be. In the book, the pumpkins are illuminated by dancing flame which licks the exposed flesh of the oversized jack-o’-lantern faces, spitting fire from their orifices in inhuman ways. Unable to recreate this for an extended period of time in the episode, the pumpkin faces are generally dark, however imposing and strikingly haunting creations all the same.

In both versions, Tabby and Lee are unimpressed with the scare but approving of the costumes, following who they assume to be Shane and Shana through the woods to what they hoarsely whisper to be a “new neighborhood” and “a better place.” All the while Drew and Walker grow increasingly less certain that these pumpkin headed things are their unimposing twin friends at all.

The episode presents their destination as nothing short of a Halloween wonderland. A neighborhood crammed with houses all decked out in blinding Halloween brilliance. In line with the book, the seemingly endless rows of houses spouting candy is the perfect place for trick-or-treating. The episode quickly reveals its hand by depicting the homeowners as expressionless and robotic, their heads transforming into large pumpkins with exaggerated carved faces the moment the kids move on.

Regardless, in both cases the group begins to grow tired of trick-or-treating but discovers that their two pumpkin headed guides refuse to let them stop. In the book, this happens in stages, with the pumpkins swirling around them in a wall of flames and forcing them back to gather more candy. Eventually, Lee and Tabby yank off the monstrous heads, expecting to find the twins but stumble back in shock to see empty shoulders staring back at them. More flames encircle the group and they’re told they’ll be trick-or-treating forever. The pumpkins force the beleaguered trick-or-treaters to eat handfuls of candy to make more room in their sacks and the people in the houses surrounding them finally reveal their own jack-o’-lantern faces.

The show streamlines these chapters. Like the book, Tabby grows tired of trick-or-treating and confronts the pumpkin headed pair. Certain that it’s the twins, she removes one of their heads, dropping it in shock as it continues to talk and its headless body stands before her. They run but quickly return, accusing them of being the ones who took the missing people. The pumpkins chase the kids back into the woods and then fire ignites from within, providing a moment of awe just as they reveal their plans to transform the kids into pumpkin people. Tabby and Lee run off as the pumpkins shout after them, promising that they will not be far behind.

The book, on the other hand, spares no expense on production value. Jack-o’-lantern heads emerge floating from the houses and encircle the kids, a wall of flaming pumpkins slowly closing in. Four figures approach, carrying four giant pumpkin heads toward them for assimilation. They shove a pumpkin onto Lee and Tabby’s head, causing them to scream and run off blindly into the night.

In both versions the two pumpkin headed creatures transform back into Shane and Shana. The twins reveal that they are of alien origin, remarking on the page that they need to tell their “brothers and sisters” to hurry home before anyone sees them. In the show, Walker had no idea, but on the page they were all in on it. Other than the visual of them turning into spindly green creatures and boarding a spaceship to leave, the book and the page conclude in the same place. After offering them candy, Drew realizes that what her alien friends eat tends to be plump adults, like the four that recently went missing.

As it is, with Shane and Shana around, or coming back next year as they suggest on screen, candy and its fattening effects suddenly seemed far less appealing.

Final Thoughts

Perhaps Halloween is inextricable from those creations which manage to embody its spectral spirit. Books like Night of the Living Dummy, Monster Blood and It Came From Beneath the Sink are definitely not set on that most phantasmal of eves, but there’s no denying the sense that rises while reading them that October 31st cannot be too far away.

Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns is one of only five of the original Goosebumps books that tackle Halloween head on, engaging directly with the folklore, emblems and spooky suburban motifs that collide under October’s imposing shadow. Fun, odd and constructed out of as many jack-o’-lanterns as the title and Tim Jacobus’ cover art might suggest, the tale is wonderful Halloween entertainment.

While the television adaptation struggled to capture the full grandeur of the pumpkin headed beasts and their fiery gaze, what appears on screen is striking and memorable in its own unique way. Every second of screen time oozes with Halloween spirit and the empty, leering glares of the enormous jack-o’-lantern skulled creatures plant themselves firmly in any Halloween dreamer’s mind, much as Carly Beth’s sneering mask did on some distant Halloween past.

Populating any story with costumed kids going door to door looking for candy and hoping for adventure all while the moon shines dimly against a pitch black sky is a recipe for greatness. Still, that alone does not a classic Halloween story make. There are few properties as undeniably linked to Halloween’s hallowed halls as Goosebumps and even fewer that don’t directly relate to the holiday at every turn. No, that relationship is a bond forged in playful eeriness, whimsical frightfulness and the unexpectedly strange, the kind of connection that could only come from talking ventriloquist dummies, living, breathing masks and the occasional pumpkin headed alien looking for some fun on All Hallow’s Eve.

The post ‘Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns’ – Revisiting the ‘Goosebumps’ Halloween Book and Its TV Adaptation appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The beginnings of The Haunting Hour can be traced back to a 2007 straight-to-video movie called Don’t Think About It, which then aired on Cartoon Network. Despite its title and Stine’s writing credit, though, the movie’s script wasn’t based on anything from its literary namesake. In fact, this was an original story penned by creative partners Dan Angel and Billy Brown. One of the production companies behind Don’t Think About It, The Hatchery, then revived the Haunting Hour brand a few years later once its co-founder and the movie’s executive producer, Margaret Loesch, contacted Angel about making a children’s anthology series for The Hub (later rebranded as Discovery Family). Angel and Brown were experts in the format after previously working with Loesch, the former president of Fox Kids, on the original Goosebumps TV show.

One important distinction between The Haunting Hour and its spiritual predecessor, Goosebumps, was the degree of adaptation. The ‘90s anthology veered away from Stine’s work only one time; the original three-part miniseries “Chillogy” was scripted by Angel and Brown. Meanwhile, the books The Haunting Hour and Midnight Hour have only a total of twenty short stories between them. So for the TV series to go beyond one season, an extensive amount of original material was necessary. The Haunting Hour went on to directly adapt ten stories from the two books — most hailing from Nightmare Hour — however, a couple of episodes share aspects with the unused tales. For example, Season 2’s Night of the Mummy has things in common with Stine’s “The Mummy’s Dream.”

The Haunting Hour didn’t start to air regularly until Christmas Day in 2010, but just before Halloween that same year, the series gave audiences a considerable sneak preview of the kind of formative frights in store for them. In the doll-themed two-parter Really You, Angel and Brown, as well as recurring director Neill Fearnley, delivered an unnerving opener that plays out like a reimagining of Night of the Living Dummy from Goosebumps. Lilly D, one of the Haunting Hour’s most recognizable villains, is a sinister satire of realistic dolls. She puts a young Bailee Madison (The Strangers: Prey at Night) through absolute hell; Lilly D first spellbinds the protagonist’s already peeved mother, then she gradually switches forms with Madison’s character. This would not be the last time the series dealt with body horror, by the way.

Stine intentionally tries to avoid heavy real-life matters in his children’s books and instead focuses on far-fetched dilemmas. In stark contrast, The Haunting Hour made it its business to contextualize the difficult parts of adolescence and merge harsh reality with fantasy. This need to confront and bring out kids’ literal inner demons wasn’t quite as pronounced in that first season, although there are meaningful stories there. The remaining three seasons just so happen to have more.

Before the “metaphorrorical” element was unmistakable in later episodes, the first season tested the waters. As a whole, The Haunting Hour ventured into darker territory far more than other children’s anthologies that came before it. And in Season One’s two-part finale, Scary Mary, Angel and Brown reinterpreted a staple of children’s sleepovers. The infamous Bloody Mary was reworked into the episodes’ gruesome namesake, the badly burned and vain woman-turned-spirit whose M.O. is stealing the youth of anyone foolish enough to summon her. The firmly grim tone in tandem with gothic atmosphere and charred imagery made this dose of cautionary horror more effective. Back then, it appeared impossible to top such a macabre entry, but the series only continued to challenge both itself and the target demographic’s endurance.

The Haunting Hour hosted a variety of horror over the course of 76 episodes. Most common were those straightforward encounters with monsters, boogeymen and other supernatural creatures. This included a manifestation of fear itself (Fear Never Knocks), the legendary kid-drowning ghost known as La Llorona (The Weeping Woman), and an Asian snake demon who comes between a helicopter parent and her daughter (Bad Feng Shui). This formula was usually trustworthy and provided positive results, although there were the less exceptional examples from time to time. For example: Poof De Fromage, a nutty tale about invading aliens disguised as cheese puffs, still perplexes fans to this day.

For a lot of Gen-Z kids, The Haunting Hour was part of their introduction to horror. It’s where they became acquainted with the genre. Of course, this series put its own spin on the familiar. This includes geriatric vampires residing in a senior living community (Grampires), a witch using technology to cast her revenge on a snotty brat (Wrong Number), and Frankenstein’s monster being reimagined as a lethally codependent automaton (My Robot). In addition to its unique takes on classic horror sub-genres, the series tackled more contemporary trends. For instance, ghost hunting television was targeted in Lights Out, where a jaded viewer of these kinds of reality shows sets out to disprove their validity. This same episode, along with Really You, also partly utilized the period’s flourishing found-footage style.

Older viewers likely won’t be too scared of anything here, especially if they aren’t new to the horror genre. Nevertheless, there are more than a few instances where The Haunting Hour catches even the most unafraid off guard. There are obvious boundaries inherent to a production like Goosebumps, given its era and venue. Meanwhile, The Haunting Hour oftentimes acts like the younger sibling of Angel and Brown’s adult anthologies: the 1993 movie Body Bags and the short-lived Fox series Night Visions.

Counteracting the comparatively gentler episodes in this show were the ones that did the unthinkable: kill the kids. This is considered taboo even in adult horror. Simply put, neither happy outcomes nor concrete resolutions were guaranteed in The Haunting Hour. The young protagonists are left to perish so frequently in their hopeless and unresolved scenarios. Scarecrow went ultra-bleak in its nihilistic alternate ending. The barely alive characters in Mascot are forsaken as they sit inside a monster’s gut, waiting to be digested. And in I’m Not Martin — the one Nightmare Hour entry that Stine had qualms about being adapted — a hospitalized boy’s irrational fear of mistaken identity and accidental amputation turns out to be not so irrational after all. This all comes across as meanspirited, yet this type of cruel coda is commonplace in children’s anthology books. The showrunners kept that tradition alive, so to speak. While The Haunting Hour doesn’t outright reject the concept of safe scares, it does disbelieve the notion that little ones are off limits in horror.

It would be easy (but wrong) to dismiss The Haunting Hour as puerile and kids-only entertainment. Just the reverse, a number of episodes go further with their core themes and content than ever asked for or expected. Abandonment (Funhouse), abuse (The Hole and Grandpa’s Glasses), death (Flight and Detention), depression (My Imaginary Friend) and grief (The Golem) all come up at one point or another, and this series creatively handles these tough topics — ones that other children’s media would much rather shy away from — without also speaking down to its intended audience. This occasional exploration of humanity’s sad and dark parts could be of concern for watchful parents and unsuspecting kiddos. However, as recommended by the content advisory shown at the beginning of every episode, youngsters are encouraged to watch with their family. There are teachable moments in those serious episodes that don’t boil down to simple clichés.

Television networks have always been apprehensive about anthology pitches; of all their worries, they reckon these series won’t find or retain an audience due to their unconventional storytelling structures. The Haunting Hour, though, definitely gained a cult following, and for four years, it was a nearly consistent collection of self-contained amusement and thrills. It doesn’t have the same  recognition or nostalgia attached to it as other similar shows for young folks, but The Haunting Hour remains a remarkable source of gateway horror.

The post “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour” – This Anthology Series Is Gateway Horror at Its Finest appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Over the course of the last 30 years, R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps has wreaked spine-chilling havoc on its adolescent audience, spreading its spookiness over 200 books, 74 episodes of television and two feature films. The green, goopy letters of the franchise’s recognizable moniker have dribbled an indelible mark on the gateway to horror fandom, infusing generation after generation of burgeoning fright seekers with a nostalgic love for haunted masks, cursed cameras and one particularly spiteful ventriloquist dummy.

And now, Goosebumps is back once more, repurposing and reimagining R.L. Stine’s indelible monstrosities for a new generation. Unlike any version of the series that’s come before, this new iteration of Goosebumps strips away its spookily silly, candy-colored reputation to find the fun and the fear beneath its pockmarked surface.

Veering away from the direct adaptation, anthology driven show of the late 90s, Goosebumps chooses the path of combining and reworking Stine’s seminal books into a new narrative, not all that dissimilar from the 2015 film. However, unlike the theatrical Goosebumps, the show drops the meta-text, slapstick comedy and overt absurdism in lieu of mystery, drama and suspense. While levity and witticism is alive and well in the show, the moments of relief are interspersed amongst the dark goings on with care and characterization, never undermining the show’s intent to playfully grip and unnerve.

Set in the small harbor-side town of Port Lawrence, the series follows five high schoolers as they attempt to wade through the murky lies that their parents and the town have propagated. At the core of the mystery is the horrific, fiery death of a boy named Harold Biddle, played by Ben Cockell. While his demise occurred three decades removed from the core cast’s high school years, Biddle’s penchant for worms, frightening masks and photography become alarmingly relevant to the teenagers as the foggy mist hovering over the truth of their families’ shared past slowly begins to clear.

The first portion of the show revolves around Halloween night, showcasing the various overlapping experiences of terror that the core characters have in and around a costume party held at the old Biddle house. It’s there that the group of five teenagers are bound together by the strange objects which pepper Harold Biddle’s former home: a camera, a mask, an old worm aquarium, a cuckoo clock and a forgotten journal. The mystery stems from their experiences, revealing a sinister underbelly to their parents’ inscrutable past.

Tonally the show is more in line with Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) than any of the series’ own self-titled offerings, focusing on interpersonal drama across multiple generations while telling a long form story of supernatural revenge. Developed by Nicholas Stoller and Rob Letterman, there was clearly an effort to age-up the property for a crowd that may have been familiar with the 2015 film as a younger audience. Letterman brings the banter, coming-of-age sensibilities and fun of the Goosebumps film he helmed while ensuring the stakes are raised, both emotionally and practically speaking. While the abominable snowman was an imposing sight in the original film, there was never any doubt the characters in its path would be spared— the same cannot always be said given the nature of the threats in this new version.

Each episode is infused with the essence of a classic Goosebumps book or ideology while tying in to the greater story at play. While this strategy does not always make for holistic narrative coherence, it’s an amusing mechanism that ensures the show flows with the lifeblood of R.L. Stine’s creations. Not to mention, other than Night of the Living Dummy, these are titles that went largely unexplored in the big-screen adaptations, fleeting references aside.

In the pilot, Say Cheese and Die!, an unearthed camera predicts certain doom for the star football player and his friends. In the follow up episode The Haunted Mask, a mask discovered in the same basement as the aforementioned camera affixes itself to a girl’s face and begins to corrupt her nature. Later there’s an episode titled Reader Beware, not pulling from a specific book, but manifesting the series’ famous tagline as a threat in and of itself. These elements run parallel to the core plot and admittedly tie in more cohesively as the show progresses, serving as proxies for their original stories as opposed to undeviating representations.

Some might complain that these fresh interpretations of classic Goosebumps lore are too far removed from their origins. The haunted mask, for example, is plain, white and nondescript, reminiscent of a blank faced acting muse. A near unrecognizable relative of its snarling, green-faced progenitor, the mask is hollow until someone puts it on. While it changes and evolves, eventually resembling more of what lifelong Stine aficionados know and love, the alteration is indicative of how the series handles its core property at large. Nostalgia and familiarity may well drive interest and viewership but the story being told is a new one.

The real strength of the show is its cast, playing their intertwining parts with strategic charisma and enigmatic intention that serves the unfolding puzzle of death and deceit quite well. Zack Morris is Isaiah, the popular football star and appropriately self-confident best friend of his lifelong neighbor Margot, played with sarcastic charm, unyielding empathy and vital intelligence by Isa Briones. Filling out the teenage group is Miles McKenna as the hilarious James grappling with being openly queer in a small, closed-minded town, Ana Yi Puig as the toughened and socially isolated Isabella and Will Price as the endearingly thoughtless, stunt-obsessed Lucas.

Justin Long stands out as Nathan Bratt, the new English teacher and inheritor of the old Biddle house. His bumbling, socially awkward high school educator quickly becomes something much more and Long brings both mirth and bravado to the key role in equal measure. Rachel Harris plays Nora, Lucas’s mother, with unease and unearthly knowing, while Rob Huebel brings a hapless, sympathetic eye to Colin, Margot’s father, harboring a secret of his own. The vast cast of players are all in sync, offering an ensemble of interesting and contrasting people to navigate Goosebumps’ labyrinthian trials.

In some ways a spiritual successor to Leigh Janiak’s own Stine adaptation of The Fear Street Trilogy with its tale of inherited, generational trauma, Goosebumps changes out its neon green for the drab hues of blue and gray, settling in the rusty, decaying boats, processing plants and rocky shores of a place haunted and corrupted by murder. While it doesn’t throw Stine’s catalogue of monsters at the screen in the frenzied fashion of the films, it succeeds in harnessing the souls of its chosen novels, transposing them to the grand arc it’s attempting to unfold.

A Cuckoo clock, worms and perhaps even a dummy make their home in Goosebumps, as they have for more than 30 years. The green, goopy letters still drip, even if the slime has turned to black ever encroaching ink, blotting its parchment like rot slowly creeping. As it has for generations before, it will make its mark on a new group of wary viewers, staining their imaginations with living dummies, masses of wriggling invertebrates and masks that wear their wearers. It’s Goosebumps, after all, and I don’t think there’s a reader or viewer of its many incarnations that won’t be in for its scares.

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The brand-new line features all your favorite literary monsters including Scarecrow, Haunted Mask, Mummy, Mud Monster, and of course, Slappy!

In addition, you can collect them all to build Curly!

Each 5″ figure also includes a trading card and display, reminiscent of the old-school Movie Maniacs. Watch for pre-order details soon.

[Related] Iconic ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ Dinner Table Scene Gets Immortalized in Plastic by Trick or Treat Studios! [Toy Fair]

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The two-minute trailer features callbacks to several classic Goosebumps tales, including “Welcome to Dead House,” “Say Cheese and Die!” and “The Cuckoo Clock of Doom,” and it also features an appearance from the iconic Slappy doll. Like the two live action movies we got in recent years, however, it looks like the series will not be directly adapting any of the books.

Watch the “Goosebumps” official trailer below!

Disney previews in the official press details, “The new series draws on elements from five of the most popular middle grade books including Say Cheese and Die!, The Haunted Mask, The Cuckoo Clock of Doom, Go Eat Worms! and Night of the Living Dummy.” 

From Disney Branded Television and Sony Pictures Television, the 10-part series will launch with a five-episode drop as part of Disney+’s “Hallowstream” and Hulu’s “Huluween” celebrations, with subsequent new episodes streaming weekly. The series’ first two episodes will also air on Freeform on Oct. 13th, as part of its “31 Nights of Halloween” programming. 

“R.L. Stine’s ‘Goosebumps’ franchise is a pop culture phenomenon that holds a special place in the hearts of people of all ages,” said Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television. “We are delighted to bring this spooky new series to audiences everywhere in a big way on Disney+ and Hulu, which we hope will not only captivate new audiences with its elevated thrills and chills, but also lifelong fans nostalgic for the stories that are a staple of their generation.”

Plunging viewers into a world of mystery and suspense, the new “Goosebumps” series follows a group of five high schoolers as they embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle — while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents’ past.

Published by Scholastic, “Goosebumps” is one of the bestselling book series of all time, with more than 400 million books in print in 32 languages.

“Goosebumps” stars Justin Long (“Barbarian”) and Rachael Harris (“Lucifer”), alongside newcomers Zack Morris (“EastEnders”), Isa Briones (“Star Trek: Picard”), Miles McKenna (“Guilty Party”), Ana Yi Puig (“Gossip Girl”) and Will Price (“The Equalizer”).

Nicholas Stoller (“The Muppets”) and Rob Letterman (“Pokémon Detective Pikachu”) developed the series and serve as executive producers, alongside Hilary Winston (“Community”), Neal H. Moritz (“Fast & Furious” franchise”), Scholastic Entertainment’s Iole Lucchese (“Clifford the Big Red Dog”), Pavun Shetty (“The Boys”), Conor Welch (“Platonic”), Scholastic Entertainment’s Caitlin Friedman (“Stillwater”), Erin O’Malley (“New Girl”) and Kevin Murphy (“Desperate Housewives”). James Eagan (“DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”) and Nick Adams (“BoJack Horseman”) serve as co-executive producers.

The post “Goosebumps”: Here’s the Full 2-Minute Trailer for the New R.L. Stine Horror Series appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“Goosebumps” will premiere on Disney+ on October 13, 2023!

Disney previews in the official press details, “The new series draws on elements from five of the most popular middle grade books including Say Cheese and Die!, The Haunted Mask, The Cuckoo Clock of Doom, Go Eat Worms! and Night of the Living Dummy.” 

We expect a full trailer soon. In the meantime, browse the image gallery below.

From Disney Branded Television and Sony Pictures Television, the 10-part series will launch with a five-episode drop as part of Disney+’s “Hallowstream” and Hulu’s “Huluween” celebrations, with subsequent new episodes streaming weekly. The series’ first two episodes will also air on Freeform on Oct. 13th, as part of its “31 Nights of Halloween” programming. 

“R.L. Stine’s ‘Goosebumps’ franchise is a pop culture phenomenon that holds a special place in the hearts of people of all ages,” said Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television. “We are delighted to bring this spooky new series to audiences everywhere in a big way on Disney+ and Hulu, which we hope will not only captivate new audiences with its elevated thrills and chills, but also lifelong fans nostalgic for the stories that are a staple of their generation.”

Plunging viewers into a world of mystery and suspense, the new “Goosebumps” series follows a group of five high schoolers as they embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle — while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents’ past.

Published by Scholastic, “Goosebumps” is one of the bestselling book series of all time, with more than 400 million books in print in 32 languages.

“Goosebumps” stars Justin Long (“Barbarian”) and Rachael Harris (“Lucifer”), alongside newcomers Zack Morris (“EastEnders”), Isa Briones (“Star Trek: Picard”), Miles McKenna (“Guilty Party”), Ana Yi Puig (“Gossip Girl”) and Will Price (“The Equalizer”).

Nicholas Stoller (“The Muppets”) and Rob Letterman (“Pokémon Detective Pikachu”) developed the series and serve as executive producers, alongside Hilary Winston (“Community”), Neal H. Moritz (“Fast & Furious” franchise”), Scholastic Entertainment’s Iole Lucchese (“Clifford the Big Red Dog”), Pavun Shetty (“The Boys”), Conor Welch (“Platonic”), Scholastic Entertainment’s Caitlin Friedman (“Stillwater”), Erin O’Malley (“New Girl”) and Kevin Murphy (“Desperate Housewives”). James Eagan (“DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”) and Nick Adams (“BoJack Horseman”) serve as co-executive producers.

The post “Goosebumps” Image Gallery – Preview Episodes Inspired by “Say Cheese and Die!” and “Night of the Living Dummy”! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“Goosebumps” will premiere on Disney+ on Friday the 13th of October!

While you wait, check out a short teaser trailer below. And DON’T BLINK.

The Wrap details the unique release strategy, ” The adaptation will launch October 13 on both Disney+ and Hulu with the first five episodes of the series running as part of Disney+’s “Hallowstream” and Hulu’s “Huluween” celebrations. Subsequent installments of the 10-episode series will release weekly. The first two episodes of “Goosebumps” will also air October 13 on Freeform during its “31 Nights of Halloween” programming.”

Justin Long, Rachael Harris, Ana Yi Puig, Miles McKenna, Will Price, Zack Morris and Isa Briones star in the live action series, which is set to be a teen horror-comedy.

“Plunging viewers into a world of mystery and suspense, the new “Goosebumps” series follows a group of five high schoolers as they embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle — while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents’ past.”

Disney teases, “The new television series draws on elements from five of the most popular middle grade books including Say Cheese and Die!, The Haunted Mask, The Cuckoo Clock of Doom, Go Eat Worms! and Night of the Living Dummy.”

Rob Letterman, who directed the 2015 Goosebumps movie, will be directing the first episode of the Disney+ series. He’s also on board to write and executive produce.

Nick Stoller will also write and executive produce the Goosebumps TV series.

Before the two movies, Stine’s Goosebumps books were first turned into a TV series back in the 1990s, a live action project that ran for four seasons between 1995 and 1998.

The post “Goosebumps” – New TV Series from Disney+ Premieres Friday the 13th! [Teaser] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The ultimate escape from authority, responsibility and school, summer break is as precious to kids as any holiday, birthday or celebratory excursion combined. It’s a time of imagination and procrastination, a time for lounging in the sun, riding bikes with friends and endless hours spent in front of whatever screen one might deem fit to watch.

And in that time of freedom and fun, what could be more terrifying than a library?

The Girl Who Cried Monster is one of the Goosebumps series’ earliest entries and remains one of its simplest, concerning a monster obsessed girl and her run-in with a real life creature of darkness who also happens to be the town’s librarian. Combining the mundane annoyances of everyday kid life with the outlandish monstrosities that might lurk on the periphery of suburban normality, the book is an entertaining page-turner that roots its scares in the threat of a summer lost to study— and a flesh-starved, shape-changing beast.

The story was adapted for the screen almost immediately, being the first produced and fourth aired episode of the long running television series. As with many of the original installments, the adaptation adheres closely to the page, streamlining the book’s narrative while preserving dialogue and general story points. It’s one of the few episodes that truly captured the book on screen and helped to establish a precedent for viewers that would go on to be ignored far more often than it was ever adhered to.

With impressive creature effects and a stylish atmosphere, The Girl Who Cried Monster went on to make a visual impression that was as noteworthy as the book’s own reputation. A Goosebumps classic if there ever was one, it places the monster-kid so many young horror aficionados can identify with in the driver’s seat and despite summer schoolwork, aloof parents and a bratty little brother, shows what the macabre obsessed youngster is truly made of. After all, the book makes a good, if not somewhat contradictory, point: anyone forcing a kid to read during summer break has to be a monster, right?

The Story

Lucy is obsessed with monsters. She daydreams about them all the time. Her parents yell at her to stop tormenting her little brother Randy with monster stories, but she just can’t help herself. That is, until the day she encounters a real monster: the town librarian. Known for her tall tales and monstrous stories, no one believes Lucy’s terrifying accusations. And if she’s not careful, Lucy might become the victim of the kind of spooky yarn she tended to specialize in. A warning to those that might make the mistake of trying to take down a real monster.

The Girl Who Cried Monster was published in May of 1993, landing as the eighth title in the run. A simple story about a monster-infatuated, over-curious girl who stumbles upon the truth that her town librarian and leader of the summer reading program is, in fact, a monster himself. It concerns the isolation of mistrust and the common lack of support in young convictions, standing as a favorite in the franchise and one of R.L. Stine’s most memorable works.

The Adaptation

Aligned from the start, both the book and episode open with a voice over monologue from Lucy Dark. Her words profess a love of monsters and an obsession with torturing her little brother Randy with creature laden stories before going on to inform that when she met a real monster, no one believed her. On screen and on the page Lucy regales Randy with a tale about the Timberland Falls Toe Biter, a chameleonic creature that feeds on children’s toes. The show excises a scene that follows where Lucy manages to frighten her neighbor too, a boy named Aaron, with a tall tale about a monster in a tree. Either way, it is clear that Lucy will concoct monster stories for anyone willing to listen.

In both versions Lucy is ushered to the library for her Reading Rangers meeting, a summer reading program that she has been begrudgingly forced into. Aside from shifting the book she was supposed to have been reading from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to Black Beauty, her sit down with the librarian Mr. Mortman plays out similarly in the show. The episode places more emphasis on Lucy’s monster leanings, as she remarks she wished the horse in the book had two heads, but in either case she leaves the library with Frankenstein.

The book’s description of Mr. Mortman speaks of a beady eyed, short, bald and round man who is always wet, leaving wet fingerprints on pages and small puddles on his desk. The show mentions the wetness but fails to show it, also forgoing an aluminum pan of turtles that sits beside his desk on the page. In both versions, Lucy leaves the library before remembering that she had left her rollerblades there, causing her to double back.

In the book the library is a ramshackle old house that was donated to the town and revamped. It’s a small, cramped, creaky place that feels rundown and haunted. In the show the library is a towering building, more akin to a city library, filled with darkness and empty space along with towering shelves of books. Once inside and facing the monster however, both provide an eerie vibe that feels all at once vast and still somehow isolating.

In both versions she discovers Mr. Mortman’s true form. In the book, Mortman hums to himself as he unscrews a jar of flies and transforms. His face is described as blowing up like a balloon while his bulbous black eyes bulge and extend away from his head on meaty antennae. Onscreen the eyes bulge out similarly in stop-motion animation and the creature cackles as it feasts on crickets instead of flies.

The middle portion of the book extends the back and forth between Lucy and Mr. Mortman. She heads home and attempts to tell her parents what happened but they ignore her, playfully debating how big the meatballs should be for supper instead. The following week Lucy stays after Reading Rangers and hides in the library, shutting the door loudly to make it sound as though she had left. Lucy witnesses the man change again, wincing as Mortman crunches on his small turtles. Lucy manages to escape with Mortman in pursuit, hurrying away before the monster has a chance to identify her.

The same series of events occur in the show. While small details alter from page to screen, like turtles being exchanged for tarantulas, the biggest change comes with Mr. Mortman’s realization of who it is he’s chasing after. “Lucy… I know you’re in there…” he whispers, creating a fairly disturbing chase sequence that is absent from the page. What gives her away is the flash from a small camera she had brought with her in an effort to obtain proof, something that occurs later in the book. He corners her in the stacks but she escapes, running home and calling Aaron to recount everything she had seen.

In the book, Mr. Mortman shows up promptly at Lucy’s front door immediately following her flight from the library. He’s there to return her backpack. He asks if Lucy had stayed late, admitting his belief that someone had hid in the library to play a prank on him, but she assures him of her innocence in the matter and he leaves.

Lucy decides that she needs physical, photographic evidence if she’s ever going to convince others of Mr. Mortman’s true identity. Despite having a more contentious relationship in the book than they seem to have on the screen, Lucy calls Aaron and offers him payment if he agrees to accompany her on her mission. Still, he gets tied up with an orthodontist appointment and bails out, sending Lucy to the library on her own the next day with her camera in hand.

Like the show, the flash from her camera gives away her presence in the closed library and a chase ensues. Unlike the show, Lucy escapes with the camera and without being identified by Mr. Mortman. She convinces her parents to take the family out to eat at the mall so that she can get the photo developed right away only to discover that the picture depicted no one at all. Mr. Mortman’s empty desk and chair was all that stared back at her from the small image. Lucy’s parents shift from angry to worried as Lucy’s mania intensifies.

Onscreen, Mr. Mortman also shows up at Lucy’s door with her abandoned backpack. However, this Mr. Mortman knows exactly who was in the library and although he doesn’t make any nasty moves, he does threaten her subtly with talk of their “next little chat.” Lucy convinces her parents to get the photos developed immediately following this scene, leading to the realization that the monster cannot be photographed. Mr. Mortman bumps into Lucy outside of the photo shop in the show, condensing several other encounters that appear on the page.

Lucy’s parents invite Mr. Mortman to dinner to thank him for the summer reading program as well as his kindness in returning Lucy’s backpack. Lucy is mortified, brandishing the empty photograph and exclaiming that Mortman’s absence from the image is proof that the man is not human. Still, her cries fall on deaf ears.

The book allows for several more Mr. Mortman interactions as Lucy enlists Aaron to help her follow Mr. Mortman to his home in an effort to obtain proof of his monstrousness once and for all. Standing on an upturned wheelbarrow to peer into his living room window, Lucy watches as he transforms before a large tank and starts dining on snails and exotic fish. Before she can show Aaron, the wheelbarrow topples and she falls, causing Mr. Mortman to finally spy Lucy in his full monster regalia.

He transforms back and shares a brief exchange with Lucy, but it’s clear each now knows the other’s secret. At their next Reading Rangers meeting, Mr. Mortman locks her in the library and transforms, attacking Lucy. She only escapes by throwing the card catalogue into chaos giving Mr. Mortman pause, the librarian overtaking the monster in a desperate need to keep the system in order. Hiding in the library as Lucy did before, Aaron witnesses the whole exchange. With Aaron’s testimony in tow, Lucy once again confronts her parents about the terrible truth regarding the town librarian. Their response: invite Mr. Mortman to dinner.

Simplifying this and condensing the sheer amount of times Lucy hides in the library to see Mr. Mortman’s monstrous transformation, the episode moves right from the scene at the one hour photo place to dinner. At this point, the book and the show again sync up.

Mr. Mortman enters the Dark family’s home and is cordial and polite. He eyes Lucy knowingly and makes several underhanded remarks before inquiring about the night’s menu. In response to the question of what is being served, Lucy’s father replies simply, “you are.” It’s then that Lucy’s parents sprout sharp fangs, a mouthful of them in the episode, and close in on Mr. Mortman. Onscreen, the Dark parents become lizard people, scaly and green, something not described in the book.

Both the book and the show conclude in the same way. The Darks devour Mr. Mortman, explaining to their delighted children that no monster had come to their town in over twenty years which is why Lucy’s parents found her claims so unbelievable. It was too dangerous to have another monster scaring the townsfolk, so the Darks had to take care of the problem. The show concludes with Aaron showing up in a monster mask and nearly being eaten by the Darks, while the book finishes with fledgling monsters Lucy and Randy again being scolded for telling monster stories before bed.

In both cases the status quo is restored, summer is back on track and the suburbs are safe from monsters once more. Well, in a manner of speaking.

Final Thoughts

The Girl Who Cried Monster is lean and mean, a concise and controlled story about one girl’s fascination with monsters, both real and imagined. Not only an appeal to every kid that’s ever loved the weird and the strange, but a branch to those that have an imagination and a drive to convince others to come along for the ride.

On the page, the story is one of R.L. Stine’s classics. Accompanied by Tim Jacobus’ art of a maniacal man hungrily clutching a fly as a terrified girl watches silently from a red-lit doorway, its simplicity and ever building sense of tension allows it to stand out amongst the stacks and stacks of books that bear the Goosebumps name. On the screen, the story is streamlined even further, narrowing the events down to only a few choice encounters with the bulging eyed beast and ensuring that every moment Lucy and Mr. Mortman share the screen is infused with danger.

Still, it’s the creature effects on display for Mr. Mortman’s transformation that truly make this an episode worth celebrating. It’s a monster that feels slimy and alive, dangerous and hungry, and serves to further enhance the legacy of the page by providing a disgusting face to the repugnant description. The episode may not have been able to contain the various twists and turns that Stine charted for his ravenous readers, but the effectiveness of the creature work more than makes up for any literary extractions.

While it may seem contradictory to advocate against a summer reading program in a book designed for kids to read, it’s that kind of self-awareness that has always made Goosebumps the perfect foil for any youngster Hellbent on avoiding their scholarly duties. It’s a series that understands, embraces and exaggerates the power of imagination and uses the very logic of the anti-reading, summer-bound adolescent to prove why a book can be an incredibly entertaining way to pass the school-free months.

After all, if there were monsters in there, what kid wouldn’t want to go to a library?

The post ‘The Girl Who Cried Monster’ – Revisiting the ‘Goosebumps’ Book and Its Standout TV Adaptation appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Matthew Therrien designed the film’s official poster, which you’ll find below.

Therrien writes over on Facebook this afternoon, “As a lifelong Stine fan, I can’t even begin to express what a dream project it was to be a part of this!”

A tale of teens battling the undead, Zombie Town is based on a 2012 book written by Stine.

Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase star in the comedy-horror movie.

In the film, “Amy (Madi Monroe) and Mike (Marlon Kazadi) uncover a centuries-old secret when they decide to watch an exclusive film reel. Before they know it, their town has been turned to the undead before their eyes. The duo must track down an infamous filmmaker (Dan Akroyd) and navigate a town of hungry zombies to break the curse before it’s too late.”

Peter Lepeniotis directed the film, which was recently shooting in Ontario.

“We are delighted to bring the pages of R.L. Stine’s Zombie Town to the screen and equally thrilled to be working with such an exceptional cast and crew on this production. A three-time Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award winner with book sales of over $500 million, R.L. Stine has a phenomenal track record of crafting stories that engage and entertain audiences,” John Gillespie, Trimuse Entertainment founder and executive producer, said in a statement.

Peter Lepeniotis, Michael Samonek, and Michael Schwartz wrote the screenplay.

Zombie Town was published in 2012. You can pick up a copy right here.

The post ‘Zombie Town’ – Here’s the Poster for New R.L. Stine Horror Movie Releasing This Week appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Slime Doesn’t Pay will release on September 26, 2023!

“In this family-friendly scare fest, Amy and her friend, Lissa, don’t know what to do about Arnie’s bullying behavior, and mean jokes and pranks. The little monster is ruining their lives!

“The girls decide it’s payback time. Total humiliation for Arnie. They find a recipe for blue slime on a YouTube channel and mix a big bucket to pour over Arnie at his birthday party.

“To their horror, the girls instantly discover that SLIME DOESN’T PAY! Before their eyes, Arnie’s whole body starts to change. The slime turns him into a real monster.

“Now Amy and Lissa have two frightening dilemmas: Can they save their town from the raging Arnie Monster? And is there any way to turn the monster back into Arnie?”

You can pre-order your copy of the upcoming horror book today.

What else is going on in the world of R.L. Stine? A brand new Goosebumps spinoff series launches in September, for starters, and Stine’s comic series Stuff of Nightmares also returns.

And don’t forget the family-friendly horror movie Zombie Town, which releases in theaters on September 1. The film is based on Stine’s same-titled horror book from 2012.

The Stine business is booming, we’re happy to report!

The post ‘Slime Doesn’t Pay!’ – New Middle Grade Novel from R.L. Stine Unleashes a Monster in September appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase star in the film, which looks to feature a major role from Aykroyd and likely a minor one from Chase. Watch the official Zombie Town trailer below.

In the film, “Amy (Madi Monroe) and Mike (Marlon Kazadi) uncover a centuries-old secret when they decide to watch an exclusive film reel. Before they know it, their town has been turned to the undead before their eyes. The duo must track down an infamous filmmaker (Dan Akroyd) and navigate a town of hungry zombies to break the curse before it’s too late.”

Peter Lepeniotis directed the film, which was recently shooting in Ontario.

“We are delighted to bring the pages of R.L. Stine’s Zombie Town to the screen and equally thrilled to be working with such an exceptional cast and crew on this production. A three-time Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award winner with book sales of over $500 million, R.L. Stine has a phenomenal track record of crafting stories that engage and entertain audiences,” John Gillespie, Trimuse Entertainment founder and executive producer, said in a statement.

Peter Lepeniotis, Michael Samonek, and Michael Schwartz wrote the screenplay.

Zombie Town was published in 2012. You can pick up a copy right here.

The post ‘Zombie Town’ Trailer – R.L. Stine Movie Starring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase Coming to Theaters in September appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase lead the cast of the “mystery teen romancer based on author R.L. Stine’s book of the same name,” and the film has been rated PG-13 this week.

Coming soon from Viva Pictures Distribution, Zombie Town is rated PG-13 for…

“Some language and bloody images.”

Expect a trailer and release date soon. Stay tuned.

“In Stine’s kid’s book, a quiet town is upended when 12-year-old Mike and his friend Karen watch a horror movie called Zombie Town and unexpectedly see the title characters leap off the screen and chase them through the theater.”

Henry Czerny, Marlon Kazadi and Madi Monroe will also star.

Peter Lepeniotis is directing the film, which was recently shooting in Ontario.

“We are delighted to bring the pages of R.L. Stine’s Zombie Town to the screen and equally thrilled to be working with such an exceptional cast and crew on this production. A three-time Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award winner with book sales of over $500 million, R.L. Stine has a phenomenal track record of crafting stories that engage and entertain audiences,” John Gillespie, Trimuse Entertainment founder and executive producer, said in a statement.

Zombie Town was published in 2012. You can pick up a copy right here.

The post ‘Zombie Town’ – R.L. Stine Movie Starring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase Rated PG-13 for “Bloody Images” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The series adaptation aired on Monday, November 16, 1998 (runtime: 22 minutes x 2).

Ever since Jaws (1975) hit the silver screen, peak summertime terror has been synonymous with crowded beaches and abnormally hungry sharks. Screens big and small would go on to explore and exploit the toothy gray horrors of the unfathomable depths in the years that followed and it was only a matter of time before one such bloodthirsty beast would find its way into Goosebumps’ ever creeping lagoon.

By the time Deep Trouble hit shelves in May of 1994, Goosebumps had spent a summer at Camp Nightmare, visited the werewolves of Fever Swamp and rode the Death Slide to its terrible termination at Horrorland. It seemed only natural that the man-hungry hammerhead which adorned the cover of the book would join the ranks of the series’ iconic summer adventures and villains, providing a new nightmare to keep kids awake at night so they might muster the energy to shakily turn to the next page.

As one of the series’ more frightening and fantastical entries— ultimately having far more to do with mermaids than sharks despite what Tim Jacobus’ striking cover art might have you believe— Deep Trouble felt ripe for visualization when the television show came about. Still, it took until the series’ conclusion in 1998 for the episode to come to fruition, airing as the program’s final entry. Of course, even then the show was not as promised. Despite the title, the two part finale turned out to be an adaptation of the book’s sequel Deep Trouble II, a story also generally lacking in the shark department.

What ended up on screen was a major departure from both the original book and its sequel, significantly altering several of the characters, locations and dramatic situations. While the two books reflect familial bonds, emotional stakes and an often treacherous multi-generational hunger for adventure, the show opts to forgo pathos for genre zaniness, leaning into the over-the-top and otherworldly in a way that pays homage to the production’s B-grade movie roots.

In the end, the extended episode served as a microcosm for the show as a whole and an oddly fitting finale for the series. The show was never going to be capable of fully realizing the imaginations on the page, but that was hardly the point. The series was a supplement. For better or for worse, it existed to provide an entertaining lens by which to reimagine and explore the world of Goosebumps. As a shark who devours countless unsuspecting vacationers, regurgitation was never the goal.

The Story

Billy Deep and his little sister Sheena are back for another summer on the Cassandra, their marine biologist uncle’s huge floating lab. Billy’s a year older and a year wiser, fresh from having discovered a mermaid that he can never tell anyone about and ready to make a new discovery, one that will bring him the fame and fortune he knows he deserves. What he doesn’t know is that this year, the fish are getting bigger. Stronger. Hungrier. And, if he’s not careful, the discovery that he bites into this summer might be a bit more than he can chew. In fact, this bite might just swallow him whole.

Deep Trouble II was released in August of 1997 as the fifty eighth title in the Goosebumps series. A follow-up to the nineteenth book in the run, the story picks up one year after the events of the first and sends its three heroes back into the depths on a harrowing adventure that throws all of their lives into danger. Quick and compelling, with iconic dangers and imagery, Deep Trouble II ranks with the series’ best sequels and is a worthy title to serve as one of the original series’ sixty two book run’s concluding entries.

The Adaptation

While the screen opens with Sheena, Billy’s sister, relaxing on a small boat fishing as a shark fin slowly approaches, the page finds Billy swimming in the open ocean, exploring a coral reef as an octopus poises to attack. Sheena’s terror turns to annoyance when she discovers her brother Billy controlling the electronic shark’s fin with an oversized remote control onscreen and Billy’s blind determination to fend off his attacker reveals itself as a tickle fight on the page. That is, the octopus is none other than Sheena, exaggerated by Billy’s overactive imagination, allowing both the page and the screen to align on the relationship between the two siblings, despite the differences in presentation.

In the first book, the reader learns that Billy and Sheena Deep spend summers with their marine biologist uncle (affectionately referred to as Dr. D.) on his enormous research vessel at sea. It’s an exciting venture that they look forward to and, as a result, they have a great relationship with their uncle. Onscreen, Sheena and Billy complain about being dumped with their uncle, branding him “weird”. Gone is the large boat at sea with elaborate equipment. In its place is a beach house planted miles from the nearest town with no radio or TV. “Even the fish are bored,” the kids remark.

In this way, the base dynamic in the show is completely different from the narrative of both novels. The inherent sense of excitement and adventure is absent and in its place is adolescent yearning, a drive for purpose in an otherwise blasé environment. This is triggered in the show when Billy finds a gigantic shark tooth partially concealed in sand on the beach.

In the book, the faux octopus incident gives way to the only shark sighting that Deep Trouble II has to offer. In an effort to scare her, Billy grabs a pillow and positions it like a fin in the water. Still, when Sheena swims away screaming, it becomes quickly apparent that it’s in reaction to a real, oversized shark barreling toward them and not Billy’s ill-advised hijinks. Claimed to be as big as a whale, Billy only just makes it aboard their ship the Cassandra as the shark slams into its side, nearly tipping the vessel. Dr. D. surfaces in response but disregards their claims of a massive shark as childish overreaction.

Onscreen the giant shark tooth is the closest the viewer gets to seeing such an encounter visualized. The kids carry the tooth to their uncle’s lab and find themselves immersed in a mad scientist’s playground of glowing green vials, liquids and tanks. In their carelessness, Billy and Sheena accidentally break a vial over a large tank. That’s when their uncle and his assistant Ritter enter the lab, forcing the kids into hiding.

After uncle Harold (Dr. D. on the page) and Ritter argue about what happened to their missing research assistant Luis and whether or not they should shut down their mysterious project, the two make their exit. The kids move to escape but find themselves trapped as a blowfish in the tank where the green liquid was spilled has grown to abnormal size, shooting out razor sharp quills and forcing Billy and Sheena into a closet. Uncle Harold finds them moments later, forbidding them to go to the beach in light of the giant tooth.

On the page Dr. D. brings the kids to his research lab freely and shows them a giant fish, one he cannot identify. Thinking outside the box, Billy grabs a book about small fish and discovers that it’s a minnow of ludicrous size. Fascinated and distracted, Dr. D. allows Billy to take a vial of the plankton he’s studying for the boy’s goldfish. Falling victim to another of his sister’s pranks, Billy screams as he discovers a severed head in his goldfish bowl. The head is a doll’s head. After setting it straight, Billy feeds his pet and sets out to snorkel while plotting revenge on Sheena. It’s then, out in the open ocean, that he and Sheena encounter a giant, pink jellyfish.

Compared to the ocean set adventures on the page, it’s difficult for the episode to appear as anything but pedestrian as the next scene finds Billy and Sheena boorishly playing Go Fish. Having been kicked out of the house by their uncle’s maid, they wander to the forbidden beach and find a man stumbling out of the water, murmuring incoherently. Uncle Harry takes the kids out on his boat to investigate the waters, landing on the nearest island. Ritter abandons them there, sacrificing them to protect the experiment. All the while a heavy breathing POV shot watches through the brush, as it has done from the episode’s start, concluding part one.

On the page the huge, slimy jellyfish engulfs Sheena, forcing Billy to attempt to yank at its thin, veiny vail before pushing his way inside to retrieve her. As the thing squeezes and rubs their flesh raw, another jellyfish appears and slaps into it, freeing them. Back at the boat, they encounter a giant, grotesque snail and enormous goldfish, the product of feeding the plankton to Billy’s pets. After dealing with the oversized fish, the Deep family finally meet Dr. Ritter and his assistants, scientists who had boarded their boat during all the commotion.

All too quickly, the Deeps realize that Dr. Ritter is foe not friend, as once he discovers their knowledge of oversized aquatic life, he takes the family hostage. He explains that he has been injecting plankton with growth hormones in an attempt to make bigger fish to cure world hunger. With too much knowledge of his work, he plans on disposing of the family on his vessel far out to sea. But, before he can force them overboard, giant shadows descend on Dr. Ritter’s boat: seagulls which attack Ritter and his assistants, allowing the Deeps to escape in a life raft.

The second part of the show is where the program’s monster movie and classic sci-fi roots really shine, allowing its lack of production value to become a strength rather than a hindrance. In the book, it’s Uncle Harold that developed the new strain of plankton, not Ritter, and instead of doubling down on his experiment, he had decided to end it. The group explores the island and discovers building sized lizards, crabs, turtles and snakes. The special effects are akin to what one might’ve seen in The Food of the Gods (1976) and provides a fun, pulpy retro sensibility that makes for silly entertainment. Sheena even encounters a giant, practically constructed ant that feels right out of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989).

The episode progresses underground, as the family is captured by a race of mutated fish people that feels like a cross between Dagon (2001) and Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970). Bathed in stark blue light, the cave setting and impressive make-up for the fish-people permutations adds a sense of outlandish fantasy that had been sorely lacking from the set up and while it is nothing like what occurs in the book, it is a welcome direction to take the story.

The page goes in a far more harrowing direction. Adrift at sea in a tiny raft, the Deep family huddles together, fearful, cold and wet, as rain pours, hunger swells and hope dies. When they finally land on an island, it’s small and deserted, offering only coconuts and a few trees for shade. Forced up trees by a giant crab, they watch as their raft is lost to the tide. After a few hours of defeat they see their raft once more, the rope stuck around an oversized dolphin. The three manage to get to the raft and climb back in, only to have the dolphin pull them away from the island and back to sea once more. When the dolphin halts, a boat sits in front of them, obscured by fog.

On the screen, one of the fish people is revealed to be Luis, the missing research assistant. He helps Sheena get to Billy and her uncle, where they convince the fish people that Ritter was the one behind the experiments all along. Later, the former fish-men and Luis leave uncle Harry and the kids, cured of their mutations. Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location, uncle Harry’s former maid calls out for people to stop at a sideshow attraction. The half-man, half-fish, Ritter stands helplessly in a tank, his face twisted into that of an underwater dweller’s as his sad eyes cry out for help. “That looks totally fake!” one kid remarks, passing Ritter by without a second glance.

The book concludes with the Deep family finding their way back to the Cassandra, where Dr. Ritter is waiting. He reveals that when people eat the plankton, they turn into a fish. He forces Billy to choose and drink a vial of plankton, but nothing happens. Enraged and unwilling to turn himself in, Dr. Ritter downs a vial and becomes a fish, disappearing beneath the waves. Billy reveals that he had swapped a vial out for iced tea earlier when he wanted to get revenge on Sheena, thinking that drinking the vial would gross her out. Sheena laughs, saying that they think alike, having also switched one out earlier that day. Although when her eyes bulge after joining Billy in a drink, she can’t help but question if her memory had failed her.

As with all great Goosebumps tales, shock and comeuppance rule out. They may begin and end in dramatically different ways, but, in principle, they are perfectly aligned.

Final Thoughts

Deep Trouble leaned on the image of a shark to evoke a certain expectation in the reader, playing more on their lack of understanding regarding the unknown than their certainty when it came to certain scary tropes. After all, the unknown has the potential to be as frightening as it is compelling. What lies beneath the ocean’s waves is anybody’s guess. The page engages and plays with that sense of the unknown. The screen pulls the results of that hubris to the surface and revels in the ludicrous mayhem that results. Neither truly delivers on the promise of that hammerhead, but both provide insight as to why the idea of it is so unnerving to begin with— beyond the obvious.

Both stories conclude with Ritter getting his comeuppance, but perhaps one in a more disturbing fashion than the other. While the book is an ocean trotting adventure epic, complete with thundering storms and boat chases, the episode pushes further into the fantastical elements that both Deep Trouble and Deep Trouble II are playing with. Combined together, the differences and discrepancies serve to create a tapestry of complimentary storytelling that expand and enhance both the page and the screen.

As a kid watching these shows, these differences could feel like an affront. A fundamental misunderstanding of the material and a betrayal of the source. But in hindsight, considering the physical and budgetary constraints that go into making such a program, it seems to me a miracle that any of it exists at all. Beyond that, if director William Fruet and screenwriters Jessica Scott and Mike Wollaeger could sneak in some references to H.P. Lovecraft and 70’s sci-fi in the process, the effort begins to feel more like a gift to burgeoning horror fans rather than a slight to those young readers’ favorite spine-chilling tomes.

In the end, Deep Trouble was the Goosebumps series’ swan song and its wordy counterpart Deep Trouble II was four entries shy of being the same for the original run of books. While neither may be considered top-tier efforts, both embody a certain playful energy, a dedication to the world of fantasy and horror alike that ran as strong at the end as it did at the start. It may not be the series’ Jaws, but how many kid’s books can boast a The Food of the Gods or a Dagon? Regardless, aquatic horror was alive and well in the Goosebumps collective, ensuring a scare for every conceivable summer activity, in or out of the water.

The post ‘Deep Trouble’ – Revisiting the ‘Goosebumps’ Aquatic Horror Books and Their TV Adaptation appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

From BOOM! Studios, Stuff of Nightmares: Red Murder will be unleashed in September.

In the new terror tale, “Comic creator Alex Oxaca has been out of the spotlight for decades, and he’ll wish he’d remained in obscurity soon enough. A real ax murderer, cosplaying as the titular hatchet-wielding killer in his early 2000’s smash hit series, Red Murder, starts chopping down equally real victims at a horror convention!”

Adam Gorham (The Blue Flame) is handling the art, while Stine pens the story.

“The works of R.L. Stine and illustrations of Goosebumps cover artist Tim Jacobus formed pillars of my pop culture DNA while growing up in 1990’s Canada. Their novels were staples of any school book fair or library and coveted by many fifth graders, myself especially,” Adam Gorham tells Fangoria. “The Goosebumps television show (filmed in Canada) was appointment viewing for me, and I have fond memories of drawing any spooky thing I could imagine while watching that program. If you told me then that nearly 30 years later, I would be working with the legendary author on a comic book of our own… actually, that is exactly the kind of opportunity I’d have hoped for as a kid, which makes this project all the more exciting.”

Stuff of Nightmares: Red Murder #1 will be available on September 27.

Head over to Fangoria to learn more.

The post ‘Stuff of Nightmares: Red Murder’ – Next Tale in R.L. Stine Comic Series Heads to a Horror Convention appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

One of the many reasons why Goosebumps so effortlessly endures is that the series has always concerned itself with the universal truths and experiences of childhood. From Halloween masks to amusement parks to the untold terrors of piano lessons, R.L. Stine embraced those experiences and preoccupations which so surround the world of his youthful readership.

Given such proclivities, it only made sense that approximately one year after the first Goosebumps book Welcome to Dead House hit the shelves, like so many kid-friendly franchises often do, Goosebumps went to camp. And while this summertime adolescent escape traded in all of the staples familiar to its ilk, like canoe excursions, woodsy hikes, campfire songs and crabby counselors one generation removed, this particular camp was appropriately twisted by shady intentions and ever darkening goings-on.

An early favorite in Goosebumps canon, the book was quickly adapted for the screen, airing as the fifth and sixth episodes of the long running show. Hitting the small screen mere weeks after the series premiered, the episode was about as faithful to the page as the show ever got, adhering closely to the narrative and iconography that made the book so chillingly fun and effective.

As with the greatest tales the series has to offer, Welcome to Camp Nightmare ushers its adolescent passengers off to adventure carting all of their luggage, snacks and neuroses along for the ride. Whether it be Tim Jacobus’ eerie cover of an illuminated tent and shadowy creature or Mr. Stine’s uncanny ability to mine the ways in which adults might underestimate their young charges, the entry fits the mold of its chosen subgenre while squarely aligning with the Goosebumps formula. The story stands as one of the best examples of that which provides the series its immense staying power, both on the page and the screen.

The Story

Billy is on his way to Camp Nightmoon. He wants to be excited, but he’s a worrier. Of course, it doesn’t help that the second his group gets off the bus, they’re attacked by furry creatures with sharp nails and teeth. Or that kids start to get hurt and disappear once they finally arrive at camp. Billy writes letters to his parents but never receives a response and there’s definitely something going on at the ominous “Forbidden Bunk”. Camp Nightmoon is becoming Camp Nightmare and Billy’s running out of time (and campers) to stop it.

Welcome to Camp Nightmare was released in July of 1993, landing as the ninth book in the Goosebumps series. Lining stands in the heat of the summer, its story about a sleep away camp with untrustworthy counselors, snake infested cabins and woodland beasts prowling campgrounds in the cool night air was the perfect reading material for kids who were camp bound themselves or wishing they could be. A seminal work in R.L. Stine’s vast collection, Welcome to Camp Nightmare is frightening and fun right up until its surprising conclusion.

The Adaptation

On both the page and the screen, Billy begins his journey to Camp Nightmoon on a bus. The first four chapters are condensed to one breezy scene in the show, wherein the bus stops abruptly and the driver carelessly tosses out the kids and their stuff before abandoning them in the wilderness. Throughout this sequence, a POV shot moves swiftly through the woods, culminating in a growling, roaring, unseen threat that is frightened away when Uncle Al, the camp director, fires a gun exerting a burst of flame. He tells the frightened campers that the creature was Sabre, a thing that won’t bother them if they don’t bother it, before informing them of the mile hike to camp.

The book spends this time introducing and fleshing out the characters. Billy meets Mike, chubby and meek, and Jay, a boisterous clown. He also meets Dawn and Dori who are on their way to the girls camp. Instead of Sabre, they’re attacked by a gang of small creatures that resemble wolves or wildcats. Quickly moving, the things are covered in spotty red fur. Equipped with long, silvery nails, they snap their jaws violently, revealing two rows of long, dagger like teeth. As in the show, Uncle Al appears and fires a gun to frighten them off. With no talk of Sabre, Uncle Al boards the kids onto a second bus and takes them to camp.

The hike in the show flows a bit better than this second bus ride and provides a bit of character time that was missing from the opening. It’s here that Billy meets Dawn and they discuss their parents’ occupations; Billy’s are scientists who travel a great deal, something discussed on the bus in the book. It’s also on this hike where Uncle Al lays out the camp rules (something that doesn’t happen for another chapter in the book): No sneaking out, no going to the girls’ camp, lights out at 9, write home to parents everyday and stay clear of the Forbidden Bunk. They actually pass the dilapidated Forbidden Bunk which sits mere feet away from their home cabin in the show, further enticing the campers to explore its secrets.

On the page, Billy moves into his cabin along with Mike and Jay as well as a boy named Colin. This same scene occurs in the show after the hike. In both versions they encounter snakes in the bunk. In the book, Jay pushes Mike forward, sensing his fear, and Mike trips, falling into the snakes and getting bit. In the show, Billy is distracted by a message about Sabre written on the wall, only to be startled when Mike gets bitten by the snake. The remainder of the scene plays out the same: they capture the snakes in a sheet, throw them into the woods and meet up with their counselor Larry. Having hurried off to find the camp nurse, Larry inquires about Mike only to laugh in the kids’ faces at the thought of the camp having a nurse at all.

Both versions continue to follow the same trajectory, finding the campers at a fire later that night. This is where Uncle Al lays out the camp rules on the page, mirroring what was said on the hike. In this version, the Forbidden Bunk is not near the other cabins. Its isolation provides a sense of danger and less forgiving peril that the episode lacks, especially with talk of bears roaming at night. On the screen, Billy tends to Mike and his wounded hand, causing Uncle Al to reprimand Billy for interrupting the campfire songs. Still, moments later Uncle Al commends Billy for looking out for his friend. Al then appears to tend to Mike’s snake bite, showing empathy that is not present on the page.

In the book, Jay insists on sneaking into the Forbidden Bunk. Larry overhears and warns them about Sabre for the first time in the text. As cryptically discussed as it is in the show, Sabre is said to be a creature that will tear you to shreds and rip out your heart if it finds you.

The next morning Mike is inexplicably missing in the television adaptation. In the book Mike remains while the state of his hand worsens. The kids in the bunk play a game called Scratch Ball, a sport mirroring baseball. Larry belts Colin with the ball in a rage, knocking Colin out cold. The same thing happens in the show, this time in front of Uncle Al who writes it off as an accident. In the book, Mike leaves with Colin when he’s carted away for aid. Colin eventually returns, Mike does not.

In both versions, Billy is convinced that something is wrong at camp but no one believes him. Both the show and the book transition into what’s referred to as “Survival Night” on screen or “Tent Night” on the page. Regardless, it means the kids will be sleeping outside. Seeing the event as an opportunity to sneak into the Forbidden Bunk, Jay and a boy named Roger creep off into the night. Colin and Billy stay behind, Collin because he’s not well and Billy because he’s not interested in breaking the rules.

In the show, Billy awakens to animal roars in the night. He leaves his tent to investigate and discovers Jay. He’s terrified and claims that Sabre tore Roger to pieces. In the book, Billy and Colin sneak back to their bunk because it’s too uncomfortable in the tent. Once inside, they hear the strange noises and terrified screams heard earlier on screen. In the show, the boys retrieve Colin and hurry back to their bunk, slamming the door. It bursts open almost immediately, concluding the first episode of the two part special. The second part opens as Larry enters the cabin, scolding them for leaving their tent and refusing to believe their stories, despite further POV camera work expressly revealing that Sabre is indeed roaming the grounds.

In the book, the kids wait up all night but never see or hear anything. The next day no one believes their story and they soon discover that there is no record of Roger being at camp. Scared and confused, Billy watches the other kids have fun, envious of their state of mind. That’s when Dawn sneaks up and grabs him from behind. She escaped the girls camp with her friend Dori and swam over. Similar things are happening on her side and she proposes an escape. They agree to meet back up at a coordinated time and Billy hurries off to tell the others, stopping after spotting a payphone which turns out to be a prop. That’s when Uncle Al corners him.

While Billy does eventually connect with Dawn in the show, it happens later in the story onscreen. Instead of the rendezvous in the woods, Billy immediately finds the payphone prop and encounters Uncle Al. The scenes play out similarly. Al accuses him of being homesick, albeit with more of an attitude in the television episode than on the page, and informs him that campers are not allowed to call home. Al recommends writing a letter instead. On the page, Al informs Billy of an upcoming canoe trip. However, the trip is at odds with a hike that Al has planned with Billy’s bunkmates, which itself conflicts with an impromptu tennis tournament Billy’s supposed to compete in. Confused, Billy breaks away from Uncle Al and heads to the office to mail his letter. Instead of providing comfort, the trip only causes him more stress as he finds a mailbag filled with unsent camper correspondence.

The next several chapters follow Billy as he further attempts to explain his grievances to Larry who obviously doesn’t believe or care. He meets new bunkmates who have now replaced Jay and Colin after they did not return from their hike. Larry takes them on an evening canoe trip and falls into the raging stream. Billy dives in after him, getting pulled by the current and losing sight of the canoe. He pulls Larry’s unconscious body from the water and revives him, hiking back to camp and once again encountering Uncle Al. Instead of being grateful, Al is furious about his missing canoe and unconcerned with the boys who are missing along with it.

The television version condenses much of this while keeping the story beats mostly intact. After the encounter with Uncle Al at the faux payphone, Billy heads to the water for a canoe trip, this time with Jay and Colin. Uninterested in appropriately fitting them for life jackets, Larry rushes the boys out on the water. Jay and Colin fall out of the vessel within seconds, disappearing beneath the shallow waves. Larry hurries off, muttering that he was never there and leaving Billy alone. Billy attempts to help but is terrorized by Sabre, director Ron Oliver making smart use of a dolly zoom on Billy as he’s confronted.

The camera work and editing in the third act of this story really speaks to Oliver’s horror roots. Following the Hitchcock homage, Billy prepares for battle with some tight close ups. His shoes lace up and a baseball bat slaps his hand, evoking Sam Raimi’s kinetic preparation montages. It helps too that so much revolves around derelict cabins in the woods. Billy’s distracted when he encounters a letter blowing in the wind and follows it to the Forbidden Bunk. Inside he finds their unsent mail, some from years ago. Dawn’s there too, in this version without her friend. The encounter mirrors the one that occurred in the woods in the book earlier on. He agrees to meet up with her after dark and exits to find the campers congregated around Uncle Al.

In the book, Billy wakes up the morning following his canoe excursion to a special hike planned by Uncle Al. Plotting his escape, Billy stops when Uncle Al points a rifle at him. Al hands rifles to all of the kids assembled and informs them that two girls have gone missing from the other camp and if spotted, the kids should aim carefully and ensure they do not escape. Billy protests, refusing to kill anyone and Al reveals that the weapons are loaded with tranquilizers, not bullets. The exchange gets heated and Billy refuses Uncle Al’s demands, raising the rifle at Al and pulling the trigger.

In the show, Billy emerges from the Forbidden Cabin and Al accosts him. Al demands to know where Billy’s been and commands him to get in line. Al hands out crossbows instead of rifles in the television version, otherwise explaining the same scenario to the campers as he did on the page. As in the book, Billy fights back and fires his crossbow at Al.

Both conclude in almost the exact same way. Nothing happens when Billy pulls the trigger, instead Al laughs and shouts that Billy passed. He invites everyone out and slowly all the missing campers emerge from the woods, including Dawn (and on the page Dori) as well as Billy’s parents. He’s told he’s been in a government testing facility, that his parents wanted to take him on a dangerous expedition and he needed to pass some tests. When to follow orders, bravery and when not to follow orders, chief among them. The biggest difference here is that the screen spends more time on Sabre, revealing the creature to be an animatronic controlled by a counselor.

The story concludes with the destination they’ll be traveling to revealed as a planet called Earth. Both versions claim it’s a very far away locale with unpredictable inhabitants, although in the televised version the planet is clearly visible in the sky above them, suggesting a lack of forethought in design. Still, the twist is silly and strange, reminiscent of the kind of Twilight Zone mentality R.L. Stine’s work often adopts while staying true to the spooky otherworldliness that Goosebumps embodies so well.

Final Thoughts

For over thirty years Goosebumps has elicited shrieks, shocks and scares from kids of all ages, forging a legacy of nostalgic spookiness the likes of which is rarely seen in genre fiction intended for a younger crowd. It’s a legacy comprised of Tim Jacobus’ essential artwork, R.L. Stine’s penchant for horror storytelling and, of course, the series’ adherence to crafting believable peer characters in all too relatable situations for its young readers to engage with.

Welcome to Camp Nightmare epitomizes this series strength, pitting Billy, a world weary pre-teen, against a summer camp filled with fun activities and disastrous dangers at every turn. It’s a story with multiple facets of fear, be it monsters lurking in the woods or apathy reigning from those professing to protect, and it remains so until its fittingly strange conclusion. The television version maintains the tone and thrust of the story, altering the sequence of events and removing some narrative beats, resulting in a, at times, more fluid retelling even if it does lose some of the book’s flair for intensity and character work.

The Goosebumps books would go on to tackle many facets of juvenile life, traversing haunted schools, ghost pets and even those creepy lawn gnomes you sometimes see in your neighbor’s garden. What might sound like a bit of stretch or a leap in the average suspension of disbelief was just another day in the world of Goosebumps. That’s the thing R.L. Stine has always understood about his audience: a kid won’t raise their eyebrows at a camp set on an alien world so long as a suspicious adult is running it. To them, that tracks, and I suspect it always will.

The post ‘Welcome to Camp Nightmare’ – Revisiting the 9th ‘Goosebumps’ Book and Its TV Adaptation appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Unfortunately, we’ve learned this week that Stine’s “Just Beyond” will be one of many Disney+ original projects that are soon being deleted from the streaming service entirely.

As The Hollywood Reporter explains, “Disney is following Warner Bros. Discovery and removing under-performing titles from its streaming services in a bid to write off nearly $2 billion from its bottom line. In all, there are more than 30 shows that will be removed starting next week from the platforms in this first round of reductions. The titles will vanish starting May 26.”

The long list of titles being removed from Disney+ includes…

• America the Beautiful
• Among the Stars
• Artemis Fowl
• Be Our Chef
  
• Best In Dough
  
• Best In Snow
  
• The Big Fib
• Big Shot
• Black Beauty
• Cheaper By the Dozen (2022)
• Clouds
• Diary of a Future President
  
• Disney Fairy Tale Weddings
  
• Dollface
  
• Earth To Ned
  
• Everything’s Trash
• Fairy Tale Weddings
  
• Foodtastic
• Harmonious Live
  
• Howard
  
• It’s a Dog’s Life With Bill Farmer
• Just Beyond
  
• Little Demon
  
• Love In The Time Of Corona
  
• Maggie
  
• Magic Camp
  
• The Making Of Willow
• The Mighty Ducks
• More Than Robots
  
• The Mysterious Benedict Society
  
• The One And Only Ivan
• Own the Room
• Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays
• Pick of the Litter
  
• Pistol
  
• The Premise
• The Princess
  
• The Quest
• Rogue Trip
• Rosaline
• Shop Class
• Stargirl
  
• Stuntman
• Super/Natural
  
• Timmy Failure
• Turner & Hooch
• Weird But True
  
• Willow
  
• Wolfgang
  
• The World According To Jeff Goldblum
  
• Y: The Last Man

These cost-saving measures will effectively wipe much of this content off the map completely, as shows like “Just Beyond” and “Willow” aren’t currently available on physical media. As THR notes, it’s possible that some of the titles on the list will get a second chance at life through being licensed out to other streamers; it’s also possible we never see some of them again.

It would seem the streaming bubble has officially burst, with more casualties expected.

“Just Beyond” hailed from writer/showrunner Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and 20th Century Fox Television. Stine served as co-executive producer, with Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) directing two episodes. Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Lexi Underwood (The First Lady) star.

“I grew up watching Twilight Zone reruns and the original Amazing Stories with my parents,” Grahame-Smith said in a statement back in 2021. “I’ve always wanted to make a genre anthology series that families could enjoy together, and do it in a way that delivered for kids and adults alike. R.L. Stine has been a part of millions of childhoods, and Disney+ has already proven itself as a place that knows how to make high-quality shows for the whole family. I couldn’t be more excited to be working with both of them.”

“Back in the day, we had a Goosebumps HorrorLand attraction at Walt Disney World,” said author R.L. Stine in the same press release. “It was one of the thrills of my life. Now I’m thrilled to be back with Disney for the TV series based on my graphic novels. Writing Just Beyond for BOOM! Studios has been a joy from the beginning, and I’m so happy to have the wonderful screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith bring the series to life on Disney+. How lucky can I be?”

The post R.L. Stine Horror Series “Just Beyond” Is Being Deleted from Disney+ This Month appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Titled “Scariest. Book. Ever.” (click-bait isn’t reserved only for websites, it seems), Goosebumps: House of Shivers #1 will launch on September 19, 2023, BD has learned.

“A brand new Goosebumps series is coming―prepare to be scared like never before!”

“From the delightfully twisted mind of R.L. Stine comes a fresh new vision for the fan-favorite brand. This new series will feature an ALL NEW line-up of incredible villains, with iconic monsters as you’ve never seen them before, whose antics are destined to make them every bit as beloved as Slappy. This exciting new Goosebumps series will have the same humor and terrifying tone that millions of readers love, but will be bigger, bolder, funnier, and scarier!”

It looks like Goosebumps: House of Shivers #2 will follow on March 5, 2024, and that book is titled “Goblin Monday.” In the new line’s second book, “Mario Galagos is joining his best friends Todd and Jewel on their annual holiday visit to snowy Vermont. Everything looks picture perfect at first. But then Mario finds a small statue of a strange, ugly creature in the garden and brings it inside. Little does he know the stone creature is actually a real, live goblin. By bringing it inside, Mario has just started a war with all of its hideous goblin friends!”

The post Scariest Goosebumps Ever? R.L. Stine Launching New Series ‘Goosebumps: House of Shivers’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.