Goosebumps

Boy do I remember it well. Every Friday when I got home from school I would watch the newest horror story from the mind of R.L. Stine. And even though all I have left are old episodes on video tapes I still find it awfully clever. My favorite will always be the one with Slappy the evil ventriloquist's dummy. Slappy was always the scariest one to watch when I was a kid, after watching that I would get the willies and find it impossible to go to sleep. Other stories that would haunt my mind would be the Terror Tower, Fever Swamp, the haunted mask and welcome to dead house. For anyone who needs a good laugh or a good scare, R.L. Stine's Goosebumps is just the ticket.

In October 2007, Cartoon Network began airing episodes of the show Goosebumps. After looking it up on Wikipedia, I found that it was a Canadian show from the 1990's. I thought, "Old foreign show, may check it out." I hadn't read the books when I was little, so I didn't know what to expect. The first episode, "The Haunted Mask" aired, and I was instantly hooked.

Every episode was like a mix of a Twilight zone episodes and M. Night Shymalan film. Creepy atmosphere, and a twist ending. After watching this show, I asked my little brother to bring home as many of the books from the elementary school library as he could. As soon as I find the episodes on DVD, you can bet I'll buy them.

I used to watch this show a few years ago on FoxFamily (now ABCfamily) along with Eerie Indiana. Goosebumps wasn't intensely scary, just mysterious and suspenseful - it sure kept MY attention. Anyway, I guess you can only catch it on DVDs these days, as I do not believe it airs anywhere on television. All of the episodes are unique and, for the most part, have intriguing plots and endings.

So, in general, if you're looking for scarily satisfying shows to watch as a family, then Goosebumps is perfect. There are also movies that came out that are based on the old Goosebumps books we all loved to read. Good luck, and I hope you have as much fun watching the shows as I did!

Back in the nineties, during the Pre-Potter era. My generation was being delighted by the works of R.L. Stine and his magnificent book series "Goosebumps." Between 1992 and 1995 I myself read some great ones like "Monster Blood," and it's two sequels, "Say Cheese and Die," "Ghost Bead," "Deep Trouble," and the greatest one of them all "The Haunted Mask." So obviously in 1995 when FOX Kids premiered this show I watched it. And Loved it! The show's adaptation wasn't very accurate but it was still entertaining and faithful to the novels. This was a great show, not scary but neither were the books. It's just a nice entertaining show from an entertaining series.

Just started watching these on Netflix after watching the movie with my two daughters. The TV show has some surprisingly strong moments and my 10 year-old finds it too scary. My 8 year-old, however, loves it.

The stories are basically Twilight Zone episodes, with more ghosts and monsters. The biggest let-down is the acting. These kids all seem plucked from school drama classes rather than stage school and it really affects the execution and flow of the story. We've only watched a few episodes so far, but I noticed it particularly in Welcome To Camp Nightmare. There's a genuine escalation of weirdness, but Billy's reactions are so dull that it loses impact.

Anyway, the premise of "beginning, middle and twist" is nicely done in each episode and that's what makes these stories enjoyable to watch.