Want to hear a story?
There something lurking in the dark, and R. L. Stine is going to find it. Adults don’t always see the world the same as children and they can sometimes miss the horror surrounding them. With haunted clocks, possessed masks, and evil ventriloquist dummies, the world can be a scary space…and even a sponge under the sink could be deadly! Keep your eyes open, and don’t be afraid of the dark!
Goosebumps—Season 1 is a children/young adult horror TV series. The Canadian made series is an adaptation of R.L. Stine’s anthology novels which began being produced in July 1992.
I was too old for both the Goosebumps books and the Goosebumps series. I was pretty aware of the show as a lover of horror, but it was far too mundane to interest me at any lengths. As a fan of anthology (and the fact they are rather short), I decided to watch Goosebumps—Season 1…and probably would have loved them as a kid until about nine or ten.
Sometimes the creator being the spokesman isn’t being the best idea
The series painfully undercuts itself. As an adult sitting a kid down in front of Goosebumps, you know that most likely no one is going to die, there will be no massive jumps, rather non-threatening “bad guys”, and very bland “dark material” not to anger any Christian groups. This leaves you with some very basic ghost stories that are rather easy to predict and rarely take any surprise turns.
The series picks and chooses what books to turn into episodes. All the books are adaptations, but they also jump all around Stine’s writing since they are anthologies. You get an adaptation of Goosebumps #11 followed by Goosebumps #28 followed by Goosebumps #9. Night of the Living Dummy II gets adapted along with its sequels but Night of the Living Dummy never gets adapted…this is added to additional mixing by streaming apps that now carry the series which seem to run the episodes in almost any order they want.
…this camera shows a future where a movie I was in won a Best Picture Oscar…and then it was taken away!?!?!
Largely, the series is made-up of Canadian character actors and often their accents are a giveaway to the filming location of the show (though kids of course won’t notice, but some might notice an occasional strange pronunciation of a word or so). Most of the child actors are child actors and aren’t always the most convincing when it comes to showing fear (which is one of the tougher things to get across to viewers especially when there is often comedic tones to the stories). The exception to the “no-name” child actors of the season would be Ryan Gosling who appears as the main character in Season 1.15 “Say Cheese and Die” (along with Scott Speedman)…though Gosling hadn’t honed his skills at the time.
Goosebumps is worth checking out as a fan of horror in that it is interesting to see the ways the series tries to dodge the harder aspects of horror like death, murder, and killings. It has to remain kid friendly and as an adult it feels like lots of wasted opportunities when you forget this. I feel the window for the show is pretty small in that I remember watching “real” horror films around ten or eleven years old with other shows more horrific than Goosebumps mixed in along the path. It is still a pretty good intro-to-horror series that would be a good litmus test to see how a kid handles horror…before throwing them in the deep end by showing them something like The Shining.
Goosebumps—Season 1 Complete Episode Guide:
“The Haunted Mask—Part 1”
1.1 The Haunted Mask—Part 1 Airdate: 10/27/95
Adapts Goosebumps #11: The Haunted Mask. Carly Beth Caldwell (Kathryn Long) hates Halloween and everyone knows it. Each year all of her classmates set out to scare her. When she takes a mask from a strange new store in town, she finally might have her revenge.
“The Haunted Mask—Part 2”
1.2 The Haunted Mask—Part 2 Airdate: 10/27/95
Adapts Goosebumps #11: The Haunted Mask. Carly Beth finds that mask is starting to warp her persona and that it cannot be removed. Time is running out for Carly Beth and if she doesn’t find a way to remove the mask, it could be part of her forever.
“The Cuckoo Clock of Doom”
1.3 The Cuckoo Clock of Doom Airdate: 11/03/95
Adapts Goosebumps #28: The Cuckoo Clock of Doom. Michael (John White) finds his sister Tara (Kristen Bone) is ruining his life. When Michael tries to frame Tara with his father’s new cuckoo clock, Michael finds himself travelling back in time.
“The Girl Who Cried Monster”
1.4 The Girl Who Cried Monster Airdate: 11/10/95
Adapts Goosebumps #8: The Girl Who Cried Monster. Lucy Dark (Deborah Scorsone) likes to make stories up about monsters…but when she sees a real monster, no one will believe her.
“Welcome to Camp Nightmare—Part 1”
1.5 Welcome to Camp Nightmare—Part 1 Airdate: 11/17/95
Adapts Goosebumps #9: Welcome to Camp Nightmare. Things seem off at Camp Nightmoon. Billy Harlan (Kaj-Erik Eriksen) finds that the camp leader Uncle Al (Chris Benson) and the counselors don’t seem to have the campers’ best interest in mind. When a camper called Mike (David Roemmele) disappears, Billy worries that something sinister is happening at the camp.
“Welcome to Camp Nightmare—Part 2”
1.6 Welcome to Camp Nightmare—Part 2 Airdate: 11/24/95
Adapts Goosebumps #9: Welcome to Camp Nightmare. A trip to the Forbidden Bunk has Sabre searching the camp for campers. As campers begin to disappear under horrible situations, Billy seeks answers and teams with a girl named Dawn (Sarah Emily Mitchell) from the girls’ camp to find answers.
“Phantom of the Auditorium”
1.7 Phantom of the Auditorium Airdate: 12/01/95
Adapts Goosebumps #24: Phantom of the Auditorium. The prize role in The Phantom is Esmeralda and the role has gone to Brooke Rogers (Jessica Moyes), but rumors that the theater is cursed leaves Brooke fearing that she could be the next victim.
“Piano Lessons Can be Murder”
1.8 Piano Lessons Can be Murder Airdate: 12/08/95
Adapts Goosebumps #13: Piano Lessons Can be Murder. Jerry Hawkins (Ben Cook) has moved into a new house where he’s discovered a piano…which may be haunted by the house’s old inhabitant. Going to the music school of Dr. Shreek (Aron Tager), Jerry learns the real monster might be in the school.
“Return of the Mummy”
1.9 Return of the Mummy Airdate: 12/22/95
Adapts Goosebumps #23: Return of the Mummy. Gabe (Daniel DeSanto) is visiting his uncle Ben (Elias Zarou) and his niece Sari (Annick Obonsawin) as they explore an unexplored Egyptian tomb…but Prince Khor-Ru might not be as dead as expected.
“Night of the Living Dummy II”
1.10 Night of the Living Dummy II Airdate: 01/12/96
Adapts Goosebumps #31: Night of the Living Dummy II. When Amy Kramer (Maggie Castle) wants a new dummy, Slappy could be the solution. Unfortunately, Amy finds Slappy has a mind of his own…and Amy is going to pay.
“My Hairiest Adventure”
1.11 My Hairiest Adventure Airdate: 01/19/96
Adapts Goosebumps #26: My Hairiest Adventure. Larry Boyd (Aaron Bartkiw) suffers from bad allergies but when Larry and his friend find an old bottle of insta-tan, Larry discovers he could have a new hairy problem.
“Stay Out of the Basement—Part 1”
1.12 Stay Out of the Basement—Part 1 Airdate: 01/26/96
Adapts Goosebumps #2: Stay Out of the Basement. Margaret Brewer (Beki Lantos) and her brother Casey (Blake McGrath) find their unemployed botanist father Dr. Brewer (Judah Katz) seems to be spending more and more time in their basement…with strange experiments.
“Stay Out of the Basement—Part 2”
1.13 Stay Out of the Basement—Part 2 Airdate: 01/26/96
Adapts Goosebumps #2: Stay Out of the Basement. Margaret and Casey worry that their father is not only doing illegal experiments but is a mad scientists. With the possibility that he attacked another scientist in the basement, Casey and Margaret realize they have to act fast before they are his next victim!
“It Came from Beneath the Sink”
1.14 It Came from Beneath the Sink Airdate: 02/02/96
Adapts Goosebumps #30: It Came from Beneath the Sink! Kat Merton (Katharine Isabelle) moves into a new house and discovers a strange sponge under the sink…and suddenly things start to go wrong.
“Say Cheese and Die”
1.15 Say Cheese and Die Airdate: 02/09/96
Adapts Goosebumps #4: Say Cheese and Die! The discovery of a strange camera in an abandoned building has Greg Banks (Ryan Gosling) discovering that the camera manages to take pictures of the future…but Greg discovers that he has to stop the pictures from happening.
“A Night in Terror Tower—Part 1”
1.16 A Night in Terror Tower—Part 1 Airdate: 02/25/96
Adapts Goosebumps #27: A Night in Terror Tower. A trip to England leads to a strange mystery for Eddie (Corey Sevier) and his sister Sue (Kathryn Short). Separated from their tour group in the torture chamber of the Tower, they discover that the tour might have gotten a bit too real for their liking.
“A Night in Terror Tower—Part 2”
1.17 A Night in Terror Tower—Part 2 Airdate: 02/25/96
Adapts Goosebumps #27: A Night in Terror Tower. Eddie and Sue are forgetting who they are. Going back to their hotel, they are starting to lose the memories of their parents…but the Tower threatens to take even more! When Eddie and Sue learn the truth, their plans for the future might change.
“The Werewolf of Fever Swamp—Part 1”
1.18 The Werewolf of Fever Swamp—Part 1 Airdate: 05/17/96
Adapts Goosebumps #14: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp. Grady Tucker (Brendan Fletcher) and his family are moving to Fever Swamp for his parents’ research project…and Grady is about to find out that Fever Swamp has a bad reputation. When Grady finds a dog he names Vandal, he must prove that Vandal isn’t responsible for the danger in the swamp.
“The Werewolf of Fever Swamp—Part 1”
1.18 The Werewolf of Fever Swamp—Part 2 Airdate: 05/17/96
Adapts Goosebumps #14: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp. Grady is out to prove a werewolf is responsible for killing the animals around the swamp…and when the werewolf strikes his home, Vandal could be killed.
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