Spooktastic Collab: Revisiting Goosebumps As An Adult
Hello everyone! As a part of the Spooktastic themed posts I’m sharing throughout the month of October I decided to ask my friend Justine to collaborate with me on this post! Nothing screams spooky, than the classic children’s horror series Goosebumps during Halloween. Join us as we revisit one of childhood favorite TV adaptation series and share our thoughts with you.
Background
This live-action series based on R.L. Stine’s award-winning book series places average kids in a weird alternate reality, where they find themselves facing such situations as haunted amusement parks, possessed Halloween masks and other bizarre and frightening scenarios.
Episodes Viewed
Haunted Mask: Carly Beth becomes fatally attached to a Halloween mask she uses to get revenge on classmates.
The Girl Who Cried Monster: Lucy is obsessed with monster stories and loves to terrorize her little brother with them, but when she comes across a real live monster no-one believes her.
Cuckoo Clock of Doom: A boy turns back the hands of an antique clock and winds up travelling back in time with little chance of returning to the present.
Our Initial Thoughts
Cuckoo Clock of Doom
- More of a thriller vibe than horror? Reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode.
- (Rachel)The time travel aspect gives off a Sci-fi theme, but it’s not really scary at all. You are left with more questions than answers, but I guess the magic of the clock is the allure.
- (Rachel) Fun fact I was terrified of cuckoo clocks as a very young child, lol.
- Has a “be careful what you wish for” moral.
- The annoying little sister helps you to empathize with the main character.
- (Justine) The beginning has an episode cliffhanger right off the bat that mirrors the ones at the end of chapters in the books. The blood and monster jump-scare are the product of Michael’s younger sister, Tara, armed with a ketchup bottle.
The Girl Who Cried Monster
- “Boy Who Cried Wolf”-lying leads to mistrust
- Being a child you rely on parents and other adult figures to be kept safe. Not being taken seriously when you believe you are in danger adds to feelings of fear and helplessness.
- The library is portrayed in a gloomy and creepy kind of way.
- Special FX are impressive for a 90’s kid show.
- Most memorable episode for Justine because of how unnerving it was.
- Tarantula eating scene was truly disturbing .
- Ending is one of my (Justine’s) favorites of any Goosebumps story.
- (Justine) The Girl Who Cried Monster was the most memorial episode for me, probably because it was the one I found to be the most unnerving. The library is portrayed in a gloomy and creepy kind of way, which I love but can’t help but wonder if it painted libraries in a negative light for some kids?
Haunted Mask
- (Rachel) The acting was my favorite in this one. Was such a convincing performance for the actress that plays Carly Beth. She really pulls in the viewers.
- The attention to detail with the masks added to the horror elements
- Especially when she starts to wear the mask and slowly loses herself in the process- a bit unnerving.
- Even if the special effects aren’t the greatest, they almost help with making the floating masks in the graveyard scene creepier with how jarring the movements are.
- The Haunted Mask book was a favorite to many kids and the show did it justice in terms of quality.
- (Justine) To me, the Haunted Mask is one of the greatest books of the series and so it was no surprise that the show gave it the justice it deserved. Like nearly all other Goosebumps protagonists, you were rooting for Carly Beth. You wanted her to get payback at her tormentors, Chuck and Steve (Am I the only one sad she butchered her duck costume, though?) The mask design is utterly wicked and I still own my replica version from 3rd grade Halloween.
Reflections
Rachel: Goosebumps was my first exposure to horror novels as a kid and when I discovered the books I devoured them by reading the entire series. Even though I was a bit of a scaredy-cat as a kid I loved spooky stories and Goosebumps offered tales of kids my age going through terrifying experiences. I couldn’t wait to see what adventures of what lurked in the shadows (or sometimes even out in the open) in each book. As a kid I enjoyed the show and how it stuck to its original source material. It made me branch out into different book/TV genres and it still translates into the types of the horror genre media I like to watch today.
When watching the show I was struck with a hard dose of nostalgia. Even though it was cheesy now as an adult it made me reminisce about the time growing up in the 90s. The special effects were outdated, but at the time were pretty groundbreaking in that era. I also admired the storytelling of the aspects. Each episode had a simple plot but threw a supernatural or even sci-fi twist at its viewers. It was a lot of fun to watch and most of all I loved the detail put into the special effects makeup! It was so cool. Watching these episodes made me realize the big impact Goosebumps has had in my life and how much I still love the series to this day.
Justine: The Goosebumps series was what catapulted me into chapter books and cemented my love and enthusiasm for reading. Both the books and TV show helped grow my love and appreciation for the horror genre as a whole.
Admittedly I had only seen a handful of episodes from the first season of the show due to moving to a new place where we no longer had cable and Fox rarely came in clear with the TV antennae. Incidentally, the episodes we chose to watch for this piece were ones that stood out the most in my memory. I remember kids being unable to watch the show because it gave them nightmares. To me, the series was just fun and never too scary. Watching now as an adult I now have an additional love for how cheesy it really is. As cliché as it sounds, it exudes 90’s nostalgia in terms of style and feeling. The theme music is truly what comes to mind whenever I think of the franchise in general. Goosebumps is a permanent fixture of my childhood and I loved being able to revisit the experience again decades later.
A big thank you goes out to Justine for joining me on this collaboration! It was so much fun! Did you watch Goosebumps as a kid? Have you read the books? Let us know your favorite books or episodes in the series in the comment section below.
