As far as introductions to the world of literary horror go, there is no better example than the now-iconic franchise of Goosebumps. These books were a staple of my childhood, helped me discover my love of reading in general, and sparked feelings of comfort and nostalgia whenever I picked one up.
I still have all of the original Goosebumps books on my shelf, waiting to be picked up when I want a serotonin boost and a reminder of times when the scariest thing I had to worry about was telling my parents why I stayed up until 2 a.m. reading spooky stories. And make no mistake, I do pick up a Goosebumps book every so often.
With that said, there’s no denying that these books are written for a young audience – they’re just the right level of spooky, but also humorous and easy to read. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you start reading Goosebumps to your five-year-old as bedtime stories. Not unless you want to be awake all night trying to convince them that household cleaning supplies definitely aren’t trying to kill them.
There are a lot of Goosebumps books, with the latest collection “Goosebumps Most Wanted” being published in 2016, but the originals (released between 1992 and 1997) are by far the best. They’ve been reprinted time and again, each has a corresponding episode in the original TV series and served as the inspiration for major plot points in 2023s Disney Plus’ slightly more adult-oriented rendition of the show. But which books are the best?
I’ve scoured my collection and picked my top 10, which was an incredibly difficult task. I can’t rank them, because they’re all beloved tales, but here they are in no particular order.
Welcome to Dead House
Welcome to Dead House was the first book in the Goosebumps series and was released in 1992. It follows the basic plot of any young adult horror movie – a family moves into a new house in Dark Falls, only to find out things are not all as they seem. After a yellow gas leak years ago, the residents of Dark Falls were turned into the living dead.
This one’s a classic, not just because it’s the first, but also because the story is so familiar to any horror fan.
Night of the Living Dummy
I’m willing to bet that when you think of Goosebumps, the first thing that comes to mind is Slappy the ventriloquist dummy with an evil personality. He made his first appearance in 1993 when the first Night of the Living Dummy book was published, and has since gone on to pretty much be the face of the entire franchise.
This book, and its direct sequels (there are two of them) were the basis for perhaps the biggest plot point in the 2023 TV series, with Slappy being the main antagonist in series one.
It Came From Beneath the Sink
It Came From Beneath the Sink is pretty much the inspiration for this entire list and, without a shadow of a doubt, the most well-worn title in my entire Goosebumps collection. This one was the first Goosebumps title I read and it spurred me to collect the entire set.
It Came From Beneath the Sink is about a sponge that, not surprisingly, lives under the sink. Except it’s not really a sponge, it’s a mythical creature called a Grool which is closely related to another mythical creature, the Lanx, which is essentially just a potato with fangs. In the end, the Grool is defeated with cuddles and a lullaby. I mean come on, this one’s a classic.
Say Cheese and Die!
The plot of Say Cheese and Die!, published in 1992, was one which was revisited at the very beginning of the 2023 Disney series, with Isaiah getting gravely injured during a Football game after his photo is taken using an evil, future-telling camera.
That’s pretty much the premise of this book – if your photo is taken with this malevolent camera, it will show you a terrible future and you’ll become gravely injured or die in the way depicted in the photo.
The Girl Who Cried Monster
We’ve all heard the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf – a boy lies about seeing a wolf so many times that when a wolf finally does appear, nobody believes him. Well, The Girl Who Cried Monster is essentially just a spooky retelling of the classic tale, to a point.
There’s a really strange twist in The Girl Who Cried Monster which I won’t spoil, but if you’re itching for some nostalgia, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Go Eat Worms!
Another title referenced pretty obviously in the 2023 Goosebumps series, Go Eat Worms! is the story of Todd, the worm fanatic. He has a worm farm in his basement and likes to creep out his sister using his wriggly friends.
However, after discovering that he won’t have the only worm-themed entry at the science fair, Todd cuts a worm in half, and worms, including the recently sliced one, all turn to look at him with revenge in mind.
After an encounter with a very angry, and very large, ‘mother worm’, Todd decides that he’d like to try something else. He starts pinning butterflies, which seems like an odd choice considering, as you can probably guess, it doesn’t end particularly well for Todd.
The Haunted Mask
A haunted mask created by a shopkeeper who hated his own appearance which, when placed on the face, is designed to permanently adhere to the host. Sadly, even though the mask was made of human flesh and designed to be beautiful, it doesn’t remain that way when worn.
The Haunted Mask is another title that inspired a plot line in the 2023 series, with Isabella finding the mask and putting it on. At first, she becomes more confident, but then she starts lashing out after the mask begins talking to her. Spooky.
Please Don’t Feed the Vampire!
Please Don’t Feed the Vampires! is different from any other Goosebumps book on this list because it is a choose-your-own-adventure story with 20 different endings, 16 of which are considered ‘bad endings’, decided by choices you make while reading.
It all begins with Vampire in a Can. It’s a novelty item, right? Wrong. If you decide to open it, you become a vampire. If you discard it and Fifi gets her little paws on it, she becomes a vampire poodle. This one is fun and every time, it results in a new story.
Fifi, of Don’t Feed the Vampires! fame, was something of a secondary antagonist in the 2023 series, with Mr. Bratt owning a pet French Poodle who dies in a car accident, only to be revived as a vampire by Slappy and later killed again by Mr. Bratt.
Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes
We’ve all had that neighbor at some point, the one who fills their garden with all sorts of ornaments and trinkets. Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes is about the Burton family, the father of which brings home two new Gnomes to accompany his existing plastic flamingos and other miscellaneous lawn ornaments.
Except these aren’t just any Gnomes. Hap and Chip come alive at night, destroy the fruits and vegetables being grown by the neighbors, and eventually lure the children into a horde of 600 Gnomes after telling them a sob story about kidnapping and enslavement. This one is just the right combination of goofy and spooky.
Chicken Chicken
One of the girls in the neighborhood, Vanessa, is feared because of her fully black attire, black makeup, and the rumors that she puts spells on people. A couple of the other local kids, Crystal and Cole, decide to poke fun at her despite the rumors and it doesn’t end well for them.
Sadly, Vanessa really does know how to cast spells, although apparently only ones that turn people into farm animals. When Cole and Crystal publicly humiliate her, Vanessa mutters “chicken, chicken”, causing them to start sprouting feathers while their mouths turn into beaks. They do try to apologize, and things go well for a moment or two, before they burp and Vanessa decides to turn them into pigs instead.
