Goosebumps
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 An illustration of R. L. Stine with some of his creations. This illustration was the cover of Stine's autobiography, It Came from Ohio!. | |
| Author | R. L. Stine |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Tim Jacobus Craig White Steve Scott Brandon Dorman |
| Country | Canada United States |
| Language | English French |
| Genre | Horror, thriller |
| Publisher | Scholastic Publishing |
| Published | 1992 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) Audiobook |
| No. of books | 156 (List of books) |
Goosebumps is a series of children's horror fiction novels created and authored by R. L. Stine and published by Scholastic Publishing.[1][2]
Characters
Some of the most well-known characters of the books include:
- Cuddles the Hamster, from Monster Blood II
- Slappy the Dummy, from Night of the Living Dummy
- Lizzy and Luke Morris One Day at Horrorland
- The Abominable Snowman, from The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena
- Amaz-O the Magician, from Bad Hare Day
- The Haunted Mask, from The Haunted Mask
While the mascot for the series, Curly, has no appearance in any of the books, he has been illustrated in various Goosebumps memorabilia, along with being featured on the cover of five of the Tales to Give You Goosebumps anthologies.
Hallmarks
Conventions
The primary protagonists of a Goosebumps story is often situated in a remote location or somehow isolated from typical societal conventions. This can range anywhere from comfortable suburban areas to boarding schools, foreign villages, campsites, unfamiliar relatives' homes or oversea areas. Books frequently feature characters who either recently moved to a new neighborhood (Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, It Came From Beneath the Sink) or are on vacation with friends or relatives (the Monster Blood books, How to Kill a Monster, The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb). The books in the Goosebumps series usually feature semi-homogenous plot structures with normal kids being, frequently indirectly, involved in scary situations; chapters end in cliffhangers, and after the central conflict has either been or appears to have been resolved, there is often a twist ending. Following the conclusion of every Goosebumps book, Stine includes a one to three chapter preview of the next book in the series.
Twist endings
Many books feature a twist in the end, similar to the format of television shows like The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone, such as Night of the Living Dummy, where the protagonists spent most of the narrative fighting a murderous dummy, only to be confronted with a second creature at the end. Another book in the series, The Girl Who Cried Monster, which was based on the fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf, also has a twist at the end; the main character's parents transform into monsters, then eat the villain. Welcome to Dead House ends with a sadistic real estate agent, thought to be dead, turning up on the last page, seen in the distance by the main character. A Shocker on Shock Street ends with the two main characters revealed to be robots, and in Attack of the Jack O'Lanterns it is revealed that two kids are aliens. One of the best-known twists is My Hairiest Adventure, in which the main characters turn out to be dogs (as the result of a failed science experiment).
Book series
Sixty-two books were published under the Goosebumps umbrella title from 1992 to 1997, the first being Welcome to Dead House, and the last being Monster Blood IV. Various spin-off series were written by Stine, including: Goosebumps Series 2000 (published from 1998 to 2000), Goosebumps Gold (which was never released), Give Yourself Goosebumps (1995 to 2000) and Goosebumps HorrorLand (2008 to present). By 2008, the series had sold more than 300 million copies worldwide.[3]
There were several hardcover omnibus editions produced, each one of which had 3 stories and a gimmick. Ie: One featured a built-in battery-operated booklight, and another one screamed when you opened the front cover.
The cover illustrations for the Goosebumps, Goosebumps 2000 and Goosebumps Gold were done by artist Tim Jacobus. The covers for the later Give Yourself Goosebumps series (#25 onwards and all Special Editions) were done by Craig White. Goosebumps HorrorLand's cover illustrations are created by Steve Scott and Brandon Dorman.
Other media
Film
Columbia Pictures has acquired rights from Scholastic Corporation and 20th Century Fox to create a Goosebumps film. As of August 2008, writing duo Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander are in negotiations to write.[4] Neal Moritz and his Sony-based Original Film shingle is producing as is Scholastic Entertainment's Deborah Forte, who also produced the television series.[5][6] It has been reported that the movie will have a brand new story and will not be based on any of the books in the series. It is now reported that the movie is put on hold to make a Rotten School movie. R. L. Stine himself has helped create the movies "Mostly Ghostly" and "The Haunting Hour Volume One: Don't Think About It"
Television
A popular television series was made based on the Goosebumps books and the spin-offs. Produced by Protocol Entertainment in Canada, and internationally distributed by Saban International outside of North America, it ran for four seasons on YTV and from 1995 to 1998 on Fox Kids in the United States. Goosebumps is now shown on Cartoon Network every October since 2007.
Screams in the Night
A single book was released written by R.L. Stine based on the stage play by Rupert Holmes. The book is called Screams In The Night, and features a range of existing Goosebumps villains such as Slappy and Monster Blood, as well as new villains created exclusively for the show. The book is illustrated by Tim Jacobus, who also illustrated the original Goosebumps series, Goosebumps Series 2000 and Goosebumps Gold.
Music
The grindcore band Dr. Acula titles some of their songs, such as Piano Lessons can be Murder, Night of the Living Dummy, and Let's Get Invisible, after the book titles.
Video games
Two Goosebumps video games have been created for the PC, both by DreamWorks Interactive:[7] A 1996 game entitled "Goosebumps: Escape from HorrorLand" (starring Jeff Goldblum as a vampire), a sequel to the book One Day at HorrorLand, and "Attack of the Mutant", which was based on the book Attack of the Mutant but was a re-interpretation rather than a sequel.
Scholastic released a new Goosebumps video game in October 2008 titled Goosebumps HorrorLand based on the series of the same name.[5][8]
Merchandise
The series inspired three board games produced by Milton Bradley, "Terror in the Graveyard", "A Night in Terror Tower" and "Escape from HorrorLand".
There have also been various novelty items, such as a keyring, and even Goosebumps boxer shorts (Underwear) produced - usually as a boxed promotional item with the books.
References
- ^ [1] Official Website
- ^ Saillant, Catherine (1995-10-30). "Popularity of Scary Stories Pleases Some, Perturbs Others". LA Times. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ Neary, Lynn (2008-10-31). "Goosebumps And Guffaws In Stine's 'HorrorLand'". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ HollywoodReporter.com - 'Goosebumps' for two scribes
- ^ a b ComingSoon.net - Columbia Pictures Acquires Goosebumps Rights
- ^ Variety.com - Stine Gives Columbia 'Goosebumps'
- ^ Scholastic Technical Support - Goosebumps
- ^ Variety.com - Stines Gives Columbia 'Goosebumps'
