Goosebumps
Series, 1995, The mid '90s, Set in A different scare each week
Goosebumps is #14 of 22 in release order and #14 of 22 in chronological order in the Fox Kids Classics.
The story
Anything can turn spooky in this horror anthology series based on the best-selling books by master of kid horror, R.L. Stine. In every episode, see what happens when regular kids find themselves in scary situations, and how they work to confront and overcome their fears.
Goosebumps recap
Goosebumps (1995) adapts R. L. Stine's horror books for children as a live-action anthology, with new kids caught in a new nightmare in each story. Fox Kids premiered it on October 27, 1995, and it ran four seasons and 74 episodes until November 16, 1998; Scholastic and Protocol Entertainment produced it, with Deborah Forte developing the books for television. Most episodes adapt a single book, often as two-parters: 43 of the original 62 novels were used, along with stories from Tales to Give You Goosebumps and Goosebumps Series 2000, plus an original three-part story, "Chillogy." The first episode, "The Haunted Mask," has Carly Beth Caldwell take a Halloween mask from a new store against the owner's warning, only for it to change her personality and bond to her face, and "Haunted Mask II" brings it back. The ventriloquist dummy Slappy terrorizes families in "Night of the Living Dummy II" and "Night of the Living Dummy III." The series was filmed mostly in Toronto, Markham and rural Ontario, using real houses and historic properties as sets, which gives it a suburban look that could pass for anywhere in America. In Canada it aired on YTV, and it later ran on Fox Family, Cartoon Network and The Hub.
Goosebumps ending explained
Goosebumps ends with "Deep Trouble," a two-parter first aired November 16, 1998, in which Billy and Sheena Deep, visiting their uncle Dr. Deep in the Caribbean, find that his assistant Jacob Ritter plans to use Deep's formula to mutate fish; the mutants are cured, and Ritter is turned into a fish man himself. As an anthology, the series has no closing story. The franchise returned with the films Goosebumps (2015), starring Jack Black, and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018), and with a new Goosebumps series on Disney+ in 2023.
Where to watch Goosebumps
Goosebumps is streaming on Netflix, Fawesome, and Tubi in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Life with Louie, before Big Bad Beetleborgs.
- Chronological order: after Life with Louie, before Big Bad Beetleborgs.
Cast
- Scott Wickware as Haunted Mask
- R.L. Stine as R.L. Stine
- Kathryn Short as Sabrina
- Cody Jones as Danny Anderson
- Hamille Rustia as Allison Rogers
- Beki Lantos as Kareen Hawlings
- Kathryn Long as Carly Beth
- Brenda Bazinet as Kate Caldwell
- Amos Crawley as Chuck Greene
- Ben Cook as Josh Benson
- Colin Fox as Tall Thin Man
- Jason Hopley as Toxic Creepy
Created by R.L. Stine.