(courtesy photo)
In July of 1992, Robert Lawrence “R.L.” Stein published “Welcome To Dead House.” From then on, children were never able to sleep soundly again.
But “Welcome To Dead House” was only the beginning of the Goosebumps explosion. From that book spawned dozens and dozens of bone-chilling sequels, alternate series and eventually a television series on Nickelodeon.
Taking the idea of scary stories to the next level, the “Goosebumps” series consisted of chapter books meant to shock, surprise and thrill its childhood audience. The stories covered all sorts of ghoulish topics, from possessed dolls to haunted theme parks to an ominous camera that cursed its subjects.
The wide scope of topics ensured that everyone had a story to spook them. Whether their fear was monsters, aliens or mummies, readers could find their greatest terrors in the pages of “Goosebumps.”
One of the most memorable additions to the Goosebumps series was the creation of the “Give Yourself Goosebumps” series. With these, readers could decide how their scary stories would end through a system of page turning.
This sort of reread value appealed to 20-year-old geography major Jacqui Fenwick, who said she spent her childhood reading the “Give Yourself Goosebumps” series.
“My favorite type of Goosebumps were the ones where you could choose your own adventure,” Fenwick said. “The good thing was that I could read it over and over again because I could have a different ending any time.”
The “Goosebumps” legacy didn’t stop with books, however. In 1995, Fox News picked up the Goosebumps television show, which aired for four seasons. The show would bring Goosebumps classics to life, reenacting them in live-action.
Although the show was fairly satisfying to the younger viewers, it was not as effective as the books, students said.
Alexa West, an 18-year-old freshman dance major, said she still thought it was trumped by its Nickelodeon competitor, “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”
“When the Goosebumps show came on, I was always a little disappointed,” West said. “I always imagined the situations much scarier when I read the books. ‘Are You Afraid Of The Dark?’ was always good though.”
Still, “Goosebumps” was a creepy memory for many CU students.
Colleen Ryan, an 18-year-old freshman open-option major, said it brought back traumatic times from her childhood.
“I never wanted to read ‘Goosebumps,’ but my brothers would always force me to listen to them read it,” Ryan said. “I would never be able to sleep after that.”
Whether it was on TV or in the pages of a book, R.L. Stein created a legacy of terror for children in the ‘90s. With Halloween lurking, it may be time to revisit those novels that go bump in the night.
Contact CU Independent Writer Matt Glassett at Matthew.glassett@colorado.edu.
