| Goosebumps | |
| Author: | R. L. Stine |
| Cover Artist: | Tim Jacobus Mark Nagata Craig White Brandon Dorman[1] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Horror fiction, children's literature |
| Publisher: | Scholastic Corporation |
| Pub Date: | Original series July 1992 – December 1997 |
| Media Type: | Print (hardback & paperback) Audiobook E-book |
| Number Of Books: | 240[2] |
| List Books: | List of Goosebumps books |
| Website: | https://kids.scholastic.com/kid/books/goosebumps/ |
Goosebumps is a series of children's horror novels written by American author R. L. Stine. The protagonists in these stories are teens or pre-teens who find themselves in frightening circumstances, often involving the supernatural, the paranormal or the occult. Between 1992 and 1997, sixty-two books were published under the Goosebumps umbrella title. R. L. Stine also wrote various spin-off series, including, Goosebumps Series 2000, Give Yourself Goosebumps, Tales to Give You Goosebumps, Goosebumps Triple Header, Goosebumps HorrorLand, Goosebumps Most Wanted and Goosebumps SlappyWorld.[3] Additionally, there was a series called Goosebumps Gold that was never released.
Goosebumps has spawned a pair of television series, a video games series, a comic series and merchandise, as well as a pair of feature films, which star Jack Black as a fictionalized version of Stine.
The series was originally published in English by Scholastic Press in the United States and Scholastic Hippo in the United Kingdom. Spanning various genres, including horror, comedy, fantasy, adventure, supernatural fiction, thriller and mystery, the world of Goosebumps explores a multitude of themes.
Since the release of its first novel, Welcome to Dead House, in July 1992, the books have achieved immense popularity, garnered positive reviews, and achieved commercial success worldwide. They have captivated a diverse audience, including children and older readers, and have sold over 400 million copies globally in 35 languages as of October 2022,[4] becoming the second-best-selling book series in history (behind Harry Potter). At one point, the series held the distinction of being the best-selling book series of all time, selling over 4 million books a month during its prime.[5] Individual books in the series have been listed in several bestseller lists, including the New York Times Best Seller list for children.
The Goosebumps series falls under many genres but mainly horror and thriller, although Stine characterizes the series as 'scary books that are also funny'. Each book features different child characters[6] and settings. The primary protagonists are middle class and can be either male or female. In Goosebumps stories, the central characters are often placed in remote or isolated locations, diverging from common societal conventions. This can range anywhere from comfortable suburban areas to boarding schools, foreign villages or campsites.[7] Books typically feature characters who either recently moved to a new neighborhood or are sent to stay with relatives.The books in the Goosebumps series feature similar plot structures with children being involved in scary situations. At his peak, Stine was known to complete these stories extremely quickly, some of which were written in only six days.[8] The books are mostly written in first person narrative, often concluding with twist endings. They contain surreal horror, with characters encountering the strange and supernatural.
The author has plot devices he follows throughout his Goosebumps books. Stine says he does not have any death in his stories, and the children in his novels are never put into situations that would be considered too serious.[9] He attributed the success of his books to their absence of drugs, depravity and violence.[10]
All Goosebumps books are written at a reading level ranging from 3rd to 7th grade.[11] [12]
According to the documentary Tales from the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television, R.L. Stine said that he remembered reading the popular/infamous Tales from the Crypt comic books when he was young and credited as one of his inspirations. Books and characters in the series were inspired by books and films. For example, the character Slappy the Dummy was inspired by the literary classic The Adventures of Pinocchio.[13] Some of Stine's ideas for the books also came from real life; Stine got the idea for the book The Haunted Mask after his son, Matt, had a Halloween mask he had trouble getting off.[14] Stine also uses his childhood fears to help him write his books. The author said, "Luckily, I have a great memory. As I write a story, I can remember what it feels like to be afraid and panicky".[15] Stine states he often thinks of a title to a novel first, then lets the title lead him to a story.[16]
Two common themes in the series are children triumphing over evil and children facing horrid or frightening situations and using their own wit and imagination to escape them.[17] Stine does not attempt to incorporate moral lessons into his novels, and says his books are "strictly reading motivation".[18]
Recurring characters who appear in multiple books and media.
| Character | Television series | Films | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goosebumps | Goosebumps | Goosebumps | |||
| 1995-1998 | 2023-present | 2015 | 2018 | ||
| R. L. Stine | Himself | Jack Black | |||
| Slappy the Dummy | Ron Stefaniuk | Jeny Cassady, Victor Dolhai, Jamie Swettenham | Avery Lee Jones | ||
| Cathal J. Dodd | Chris Geere | Jack Black | Mick Wingert | ||
| Will Blake The Werewolf of Fever Swamp | Michael Barry | John Bernecker | |||
| Prince Khor-Ru | Peter Jarvis | Brian Gabriel | Ben Bladon | ||
| Count Nightwing | Earl Pastko | Rory Healy | Joseph N. Hardin | ||
| Scarecrow | Stuntman | John Herndon | Alex T. Hill | ||
| Pumpkin Heads | Christian Laurin Stuart Clow | Nick Stanner | Stuntman | ||
| Chip & Hap | Yvan Labelle Jordan Prentice | colspan="2" | |||
| Carly Beth Caldwell The Haunted Mask | Kathryn Long | Clare Halstead | |||
| The Lord High Executioner | Robert Collins | Drew Lamkins | |||
| Hannah Fairchild The Ghost Next Door | Nicole Dicker | Odeya Rush | |||
| Brent Green | Darcy Weir | Jack Black | |||
| The Abominable Snowman | Stuntman | ||||
See main article: Goosebumps (original series).
Following the success of Stine's young adult horror novels, the co-founder of Parachute Press (the company that developed the series),[20] Joan Waricha, persuaded him to write scary books for younger children.[21] Stine says the name for the book series came to him after he saw a TV station's ad in TV Guide that stated "It's goosebumps week on Channel 11".[22] He originally signed a six-book deal with the publisher Scholastic,[23] but went on to write 62 books in the original series, the first book being Welcome to Dead House, released in July 1992. The series was originally aimed at girls, but both boys and girls enjoyed the series equally with half of Stine's fan mail being sent from boys.[9] The cover illustrations for this series was done primarily by Tim Jacobus.[24] Thirty-two of the books from the original series were later re-released with new artwork under the Classic Goosebumps rename.[25]
The books in the Tales to Give You Goosebumps and Goosebumps Triple Header series were written as short story anthologies, featuring a collection of stories in each book. From 1994 to 1997, six Tales to Give You Goosebumps books were published. Two Goosebumps Triple Header books were released from 1997 to 1998, beginning with Three Shocking Tales of Terror: Book 1.[26]
Fifty Give Yourself Goosebumps books were published from 1995 to 2000, starting with Escape from the Carnival of Horrors. The books in this series were written as gamebooks, featuring multiple endings. The books in this series were ghostwritten by several authors, including Kathryn Lance and Stine's sister-in-law Megan Stine.[27] [28] Many of the cover illustrations for this series were done by Mark Nagata.[29]
Due to declining Goosebumps sales and increasing competition (primarily from another series from Scholastic, Animorphs), Scholastic and R. L. Stine decided to create Goosebumps Series 2000. From 1998 to 2000, 25 books in the series were published, beginning with Cry of the Cat. The books in this series were written in a similar format and featured similar content to the original series, but Stine classified them as being "much scarier." The covers in this series were illustrated by Tim Jacobus.
The books in the Goosebumps Gold series appeared on illustrator Tim Jacobus's website[30] and marketing sites but were never released. In this series, Stine intended to write a sequel to The Haunted Mask II (The Haunted Mask Lives!), and a sequel to Welcome to Dead House (Happy Holidays from Dead House). It was one of the two-book series by Stine that was planned to be released in 2000 (the other was The Nightmare Room).[31]
The series was renewed in 2008 following the release of the first book in the Goosebumps HorrorLand series, Revenge of the Living Dummy, that was published on April 1, 2008.[32] Before the 2008 release of Revenge of the Living Dummy, there had not been a Goosebumps book published in almost 10 years.[33] Stine decided to start writing Goosebumps books again after receiving mail asking him to write new books in the series.[34] Nineteen Goosebumps HorrorLand books were published,[35] and books in the series mainly featured two stories. The series continued in 2012 with new stories featuring some of the series' most memorable villains, including Slappy the Dummy, the Lawn Gnomes and others. The first book of the spin-off series Goosebumps Most Wanted, Planet of the Lawn Gnomes, was released in October 2012.[36]
See also: List of best-selling books. Following the release of the first novel in the series, the books quickly became popular, selling a million copies a month soon after they first appeared,[6] and four million copies a month by the mid-1990s.[37] Individual Goosebumps books appeared in the New York Times Best Seller list for children[38] and the USA Today bestseller list.[39] [40] In 2001, Publishers Weekly listed 46 books in the series in its list of bestselling children's paperback books of all time.[41] Goosebumps was a bestseller in many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.
In 1996, the book series accounted for almost 15% of Scholastic's annual revenue. Following the decline of Goosebumps sales next year, Scholastic's sales had dropped 40%.[42] The decline in Goosebumps book sales had made front-page news of most newspaper business sections, which Patrick Jones stated "demonstrates the impact and importance of R. L. Stine. One writer, it seems, influences the fate of an entire company".
As of 2008, the Goosebumps series maintains an 82% brand awareness among children 7–12.[43] It is listed as the number two bestselling children's book series of all time[44] and as Scholastic's bestselling children's book series of all time. By 2014, according to Scholastic, there were 350 million copies of Goosebumps books sold in 32 languages,[45] including Chinese, Czech, Spanish, and Hebrew. As of 2008, the book series sells about two million copies annually.[21]
Three books from the Goosebumps series have won the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Book: Deep Trouble in 1995 (the award category's first year),[46] the book Tales to Give You Goosebumps in 1996,[47] and Deep Trouble II in 1998.[48] In 2000, the series was ranked as the number two children's books by the National Education Association, as chosen by children.[49] In 2003 Goosebumps was listed at number 188 on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's 200 "best-loved novels."[50]
Upon the release of the first book, Welcome to Dead House, Goosebumps received critical acclaim with many critics and readers praising the series for its dark nature, villains, likable protagonists and for being much more mature compared to other children's book series at the time. Slate's Katy Waldman classified a classic Goosebumps story as "funny, icky, and just a bit menacing".[51] Following the release of the first Goosebumps HorrorLand book, Publishers Weekly stated in a starred review that the new Goosebumps series was "deliciously chilling".[52] Two reviewers of the Goosebumps books did not feel that the books were high quality literature. U.S. News & World Reports Marc Silver thought the series was "quite tame". He called the Goosebumps books "subliterature", stating the plotting in the books was careless and that characters in the stories rarely grew.[53] Roderick McGillis, from the academic journal Bookbird, described the books as camp, writing the books "are so artificial, so formulaic, so predictable, so repetitive". McGillis also felt that the content of the Goosebumps series is "thin in the extreme".[54]
Stine's books have a reputation for getting children excited about reading, which the writer is very proud of.[16] James Carter, writing in Talking Books: Children's Authors Talk About the Craft, Creativity and Process of Writing, stated "regarding Point Horrors and Goosebumps, I feel that anything that children read avidly is a good thing". Librarian and writer Patrick Jones commented that "[t]he real horror is a culture where kids, especially boys, don't read—and Stine has done his best to stop that turn of the screw from happening in his lifetime".
Goosebumps was listed 15th in the list of most frequently challenged books during 1990–1999[55] and 94th in the list of top banned/challenged books during 2000–2009[56] by the American Library Association (ALA). According to the ALA, a challenge is an attempt by a person or group to remove or restrict materials from a library or school curriculum.[57] The series was challenged for being too frightening for young people and depicting occult or demonic themes.[58] By 1997, the ALA was informed of 46 challenges, over 75% of which occurred in school libraries. The rest of the challenges were held in public libraries or the location of the challenges were unknown. The same year, a hearing by the Anoka-Hennepin School District to ban the books was broadcast by C-SPAN.[59]