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Writers’ Picks: Our Favorite “Goosebumps” Books

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When I think of my childhood, I think of going to the library every Saturday with my dad and checking out 2-3 Goosebumps books, inhaling them alll over the weekend and then doing it all again the next Saturday. It wasn’t long before I had finished the series that had so far been released and then moved on to Fear Street.

When I was a kid, there were Goosebumps books still coming out, then came the choose your own adventure style, then the television show. Goosebumps is synonymous with a child of the 90s and I’m not the only fan here at iHorror. I took the liberty of getting my fellow writers together to find out what their favorite books in the series where.

Whether you read this with the nostalgia of your 10-year-old self or you’re looking for present ideas for your kid/niece/nephew/grandkid/neighbor/secretly yourself or what have you, hopefully you will find this list helpful.

Goosebumps

Image courtesy of the Goosebumps Wikia

Say Cheese and Die! was published in 1992 and was the 4th book in the original series. It follows a young boy named Greg and his friends who discover a mysterious camera. As they take pictures, weird occurrences begin to happen causing harm to the people around him. Could the camera be haunted? It was followed up with a second book later on called Say Cheese and Die – Again! and also had a TV episode starring Ryan Gosling.

I love Say Cheese and Die! because it’s always been one that stuck out to me just like the rest of the classics. Plus there’s so many legends surfacing around camera’s taking souls as well as the phrase “a picture says 1000s words.” Well, what if that picture shows foresees your untimely death? I just love that idea behind this and it will always be a favorite of mine!

-Tori Danielle

Goosebumps

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

One Day at Horrorland has always been the one story and episode of the TV series that really stuck with me as a child. The idea of a theme park dedicated entirely to horror was so much fun to read about, and terrible accidents aside, I would have loved to be able to experience something of the like. One Day at Horrorland will always be my favorite goosebumps story, and served as the beginning to my love for the horror genre.”

-Justin Eckert

Goosebumps

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

I’ve always been sucker for werewolves, so The Werewolf of Fever Swamp was always my favorite Goosebumps book. The story is simple enough – a kid moves to a new house that happens to be right next to a swamp, and he soon suspects that there is a werewolf in said swamp. It has all of the trappings of the typical Goosebumps books – the childlike innocence, the red herrings, the cliffhanger chapters – but it also has a werewolf! It also helps that the Fever Swamp Wolf was easily the coolest monster that found its way into the Goosebumps movie. Like many of R.L Stine’s books, it also ends with a Shyamalanian twist that, read through adult eyes, is pretty pandering, but to a kid, it was jaw dropping. One of those “no way!” moments from my adolescence.

-James Jay Edwards

Goosebumps

Image courtesy of JBowmanCantSleep

Alongside The Haunted Mask, and One Day at Horrorland, one of the Goosebumps books I adore the most is one that it seems a lot of people have forgotten: The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight. If memory serves correctly, The Scarecrow was the 20th book in the initial Goosebumps series the dark and ominous paperback cover of a menacing looking scarecrow in a corn field was enough to catch my attention. The story itself is something that I can envision as an actual horror movie, which makes it that much more amazeballs. There’s just something so terrifying about a scarecrow coming to life that is beyond unsettling. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Tales from the Crypt, and the Children of the Corn series have touched on it, and for a children’s series of books like Goosebumps making a successfully scary enough story out of it, is a feat not a whole lot of authors have under their belt. Plus it makes me hungry for chocolate chip pancakes.

-Patti Pauley

Goosebumps

Image courtesy of Overdue Review

Growing up, the Goosebumps book that terrified me the most was The Haunted Mask (book 11 in the original series). It follows easily bullied and scaredy-cat Carly Beth that just once wants to scare the kids that are mean to her. She stumbles upon a Halloween shop and goes for the most grotesque mask in the she can find. After putting it on, she realizes she can’t get it off but begins to like the power of fear the mask instills.

This one was scary as a book but was kicked up a notch when the show made a two part episode about it. I could relate to being bullied and wanting to stand up for myself. You felt the fear build in Carly Beth as she realized she couldn’t take it off and saw the change in her behavior once the mask started to take over. The second Haunted Mask book didn’t pack the same punch that this one did. It was a perfect story of finding out what truly matters.

-D.D. Crowley

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Childhood Memories Collide in New Horror Film ‘Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble’

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It looks like ITN Studious and Jagged Edge Productions are going the Avengers: Infinity War route with their upcoming film Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. From the deranged mind of Rhys Frake-Waterfield (Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey) comes this belligerent mash up of beloved childhood icons.

According to an article out of Variety today, Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will consist of Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, Tinkerbell, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Tigger, Piglet, The Mad Hatter, and Sleeping Beauty. All of these iconic figured will be warped into nightmarish versions of their former selves. Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble is set to be released upon the world sometime in 2025.

Poohniverse

Actor-producer Scott Chambers (Malevolent) had the following to say about Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. “As horror fans, we would love an Avengers that is all villains. It’d have Freddy Krueger, Jason, ‘Halloween,’ ‘Scream,’ all of those. Obviously that will never happen, but we can make it happen in our own little way, and that’s where this film has been born.”

Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will be a part of The Twisted Childhood Universe. Just like the MCU, each character will first get a standalone film. After introductions are made, they will be reunited in an Avengers style film. Although they will be killing off the survivors from the previous films, they won’t be working together.

Chambers describes this as an “epic sequences of monster vs. monster.” And I don’t know what more fans could ask of the studio. This fantastical idea is a huge risk but Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble sounds amazing.

That’s all the information we have at this time. Check back here for more updates on Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. If you haven’t already, check out the trailer for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 below.

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Blumhouse’s ‘The Wolf Man’ Reboot Kicks Off Production with Leigh Whannell at the Helm

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Blumhouse Productions has officially commenced filming its reboot of the Universal Monsters legend, “Wolf Man”. Under the direction of Leigh Whannell, known for his acclaimed work on “The Invisible Man” (2020), the project promises to breathe new life into the iconic tale. The film is slated for a theatrical release on October 25th, marking a new chapter in the storied franchise.

Wolf Man

The journey of a “Wolf Man” reboot began in 2020 when actor Ryan Gosling presented a fresh take on the classic story to Universal. This concept quickly evolved into a screenplay crafted by the talented duo Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who are known for their work on “Orange Is the New Black,” alongside contributions from Whannell and Corbett Tuck. The narrative is set in contemporary times, drawing inspiration from the atmospheric tension of Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Nightcrawler,” albeit with a distinct supernatural twist.

The film has seen its share of directorial and casting shifts, with Whannell initially signing on to direct in 2020, only to step away and then return to the project after Ryan Gosling and director Derek Cianfrance exited. The lead roles have been filled by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, both of whom bring significant talent to the screen. Abbott portrays a man whose family faces the terror of a lethal predator, with Garner likely playing his wife, sharing in the familial peril. The storyline also hints at a daughter named Ginger, adding a layer of depth to the family’s harrowing experience.

Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott

This reboot represents a collaboration between Blumhouse and Motel Movies, with Jason Blum producing. Ryan Gosling remains involved as an executive producer, alongside Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Whannell himself. The announcement of the film’s production start was made by Jason Blum, who shared an exciting glimpse of Whannell on set, signaling the beginning of what is hoped to be a memorable addition to the horror genre.

As the “Wolf Man” reboot moves forward, fans and newcomers alike are eager to see how this modern interpretation will pay homage to its roots while offering a fresh and thrilling experience. With a talented cast and crew at the helm, the film is poised to reintroduce the timeless tale of transformation and terror to a new generation.

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‘Immaculate’ Stars Reveal Which Horror Villains They Would “F, Marry, Kill”

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Sydney Sweeney is just coming off the success of her rom-com Anyone But You, but she’s ditching the love story for a horror story in her latest film Immaculate.

Sweeney is taking Hollywood by storm, portraying everything from a love-lusting teenager in Euphoria to an accidental superhero in Madame Web. Although the latter got a lot of hate among theater-goers, Immaculate is getting the polar opposite.

The film was screened at SXSW this past week and was well-received. It also gained a reputation for being extremely gory. Derek Smith of Slant says the, “final act contains some of the most twisted, gory violence this particular subgenre of horror has seen in years…”

Thankfully curious horror movie fans won’t have to wait long to see for themselves what Smith is talking about as Immaculate will hit theaters across the United States on March, 22.

Bloody Disgusting says that the movie’s distributor NEON, in a bit of marketing smarts, had stars Sydney Sweeney and Simona Tabasco play a game of “F, Marry, Kill” in which all their choices had to be horror movie villains.

It’s an interesting question, and you might be surprised at their answers. So colorful are their responses that YouTube slapped an age-restricted rating on the video.

Immaculate is a religious horror movie that NEON says stars Sweeney, “as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.”

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