[Our month long celebration of all things Goosebumps continues! But it’s not really a party until you invite some friends over, right? This week we invited a few of our fellow pop culture blogging colleagues over for a glass of Ghoul-Aid and asked them to share with us their favorite Goosebumps book or TV episode. Joining us is Jay Ryan (Sexy Armpit, Purple Stuff Podcast), M.E. Strange (Culturally Significant!) and artists/podcasters Cole Robertson & Michael James Anderson (Scary Movie Ice Cream Night).]
“What’s your favorite book or episode from R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series?”
ATTACK OF THE MUTANT (BOOK #25)
COLE ROBERTS: I’ll never forget walking into a mall bookstore with my dad, having to look around the kids/teen reading section to keep myself occupied while he scoured the bookshelf on the other side of the store. It was there I saw a book with vivid color, beautiful art and a sweet embossed, slime logo and a title that simply read, “Welcome To Dead House”. I wasn’t much of a reader, but thanks to our friend R.L. Stine I was hooked (and reading)! My favorite book of all was “Attack Of The Mutant.” The cover was bright and orange with this incredible looking super villain on it running toward you with a back drop of purple and pink washed skies. Seriously, this art was the best.
The book itself was about a boy who loved comic books, (which was all I read growing up before Goosebumps came about) so I could really relate to this kid. At first it seemed strange to be reading a book about a kid who reads comics but hey, that was all part of the strange web that Mr. Stine could weave and I got wrapped up in it. The story quickly turns horrific when we find out that Skipper (the main character in the book) had walked through a dimensional wall that scanned his body, turning him into ink! So now the Mutant could actually harm him because they were of the same “type” (I guess), and you know what? That’s pretty scary.
I also want to give a nod to the TV episode based off this book as I think it did a great job bringing what I had read to life. You also can’t go wrong with a little guest appearance from Adam West, can you?
A SHOCKER ON SHOCK STREET
JAY RYAN: “THAT’S AN OUTRAGE!” seems to be a common response after I reveal to a fellow geek that I’ve never read a Goosebumps book. For a guy like me, who’s obsessed with horror movies and all the fun and spooky stuff that comes with being a Halloweenaholic, I guess it’s quite a surprise to hear that I’ve never read one R.L Stine book. I certainly wanted to read them, especially after their covers sucked me in like a VHS box cover at the video store, but I just never got around to it.
Admiring the book covers became a hobby of mine every time I visited the book store in the mall. ‘Til this day, the covers are wonderful, colorful, and classic. Several of the most memorable Goosebumps covers were done by artist Tim Jacobus, a fellow Jersey guy who was awesome enough to let me interview him on my YouTube show. His book, It Came From New Jersey, is one I actually read due to the fact that it was very short and I have an affinity for the subject matter. For casual fans, this is one of the books that I suggest seeking out because it gives some cool insight into Jacobus’ creative process during the era when Goosebumps was hugely popular.
[That said], I would like to mention one of my favorite Goosebumps TV episodes. While there are some standout episodes and specials from the series, I have an affinity for the premiere episode from Season 3, “A Shocker on Shock Street.” Here’s my quick pitch: Two kids get trapped in a diabolical amusement park that’s based off a horror movie franchise. Ding, ding, ding, you can ring the bell because that’s a knockout! The premise of the show is directly in my realm, horror movies AND amusement parks? Scattered throughout the episode, there’s a ton of cool masks, references to other Goosebumps episodes, and even a couple of bespectacled amusement park animatronic experts who could double as girls from a Robert Palmer video. It sounds like it can’t get any better, right? Wrong! The episode also manages to fuse in a Twilight Zone-esque twist providing a quick shot of sci-fi. I won’t give any more away if you haven’t seen it, but I say put it on your watch list…and beware!
WELCOME TO CAMP NIGHTMARE
MICHAEL JAMES ANDERSON: My favorite episode of Goosebumps is “Welcome to Camp Nightmare.” There was so much to love about this episode, from the creepy summer camp vibe to the nasty camp counselors. When the children start disappearing one by one, you automatically get the 80’s slasher movie vibe. Plus, being set in a summer camp really gives it the Friday the 13th feel. The rumor and looming threat of a monstrous beast in the woods also played to my love for creature features. Then, once you actually see the beast, the animatronic monster really reminded me of watching the making-of the werewolf in American Werwolf in London…it just combined so many good horror references for me. I also love how the ending of this, and most, Goosebumps episodes had that Twilight Zone feel to them.
MONSTER BLOOD
M.E. STRANGE: “It’s a *sigh* monster blood drive!”
I feel that everyone’s favorite Goosebumps book will always be “The Haunted Mask,” but I never followed the pack and, in a desperate bid to be different, that’s why I fall back to my love of “Monster Blood.” The plot is a “paint by Goosebumps” tale featuring a young boy spending the Summer with a weird relative while running afoul the supernatural with his masculine named female friend and beloved pet. The supernatural threat is of course the titular ectoplasm that grows at an alarming rate and seeks to consume all in its path (also, it glows-in-the-dark).
The story may be ordinary enough but it features one of the most “what the f@#k?” endings ever (and that’s coming from a work penned by R.L. Stine). What really drew me to “Monster Blood” in my youth was a love of green slime and the alluring cover. I know, being pulled in by the promise of a Goosebumps cover, shocking. Still, “Monster Blood” represents my adoration of the safely spooky series that helped define our childhood. “Monster Blood II” on the other hand…eh…
