A creepy man carrying around a suitcase with the name R.L. Stine marches towards a hill. Pages fly out of his suitcase to fly across the village and affect all that it passes…
Another week another creepy stroll down memory lane to Forgotten Childhood… oh yeah, and that’s actually R.L. Stine in the clip!
What is it?
Based on the popular books by R.L. Stine, Goosebumps aired in the mid-1990s as a live-action adaptation of the horror series for tweens and teens alike. 43 of the original books are adapted in this childhood classic bringing to life some bizarrely regularly occurring unusual events – and nobody feels really shocked about them really. In each episode, the young character or characters (usually teens) at the center of the madness must figure out how to survive the frightening and often dangerous situations they’re forced into.
Why you should watch it?
From the weird, spooky and just plain weird, Goosebumps had it all really; Curses, mysticism, and paranormal activity are the norm here, and the ever-changing plot makes content difficult to predict. Each story, usually involving a tween aimed to scare viewers and keep them in suspense at every junction. We learned that tweens can terrorize and play mean jokes and that dummies can be horrific! And while I will always hold a softer spot for the books stemming from my book addiction from an early age (I’m comfortable with my demons) there were some genuinely creepy moments in this series… Read on to find out some particularly creepy ones!
Must Watch:
#1 Say Cheese and Die
Okay, so taking into consideration that the budget for this show only allows for so much there is still a lot of this book crammed into a 30 minute episode – plus who can say no to an adorable Ryan Gosling as our main character Greg? The premise for this episode is that after breaking and entering, Greg comes across a camera and takes it from Coffman’s spooky and begins to have a bit of fun, that is until he realizes that the pictures are not what he shot and instead portray horrible predictions involving whoever or whatever is in them.And then the photos become more than just pictures and everything they show begins to happen! Can this camera predict the future? Or does it actually cause bad things to happen? The only one who knows the truth is Spidey, the strange, dark man that seems to be stalking poor Greg…
#2 The Haunted Mask
No introduction needed here… Our man R.L. Stine’s got us covered! Take it away Stiney!
#3 Piano Lessons can be Murder
For some reason this has always scared the crap out of me…it’s all in the music!
Combining Are You Afraid of the Dark? with Dr. Shreek, or ‘Vink’, making an appearance means this episode definitely makes the list. The music is amazingly chosen with many disembodied hands reminiscent of the source material. There’s even a slight creepy factor with the ghost lady in this episode and Mr. Toggle’s portrayal was excellent. The scene with the ghost lady’s first introduction is one that has stuck with me to this day! Interestingly enough, the kid that plays Jerry was also in ‘A Shocker on Shock Street’… Though I’m sure they’re unrelated!
#4 Phantom of the Auditorium
I just love the opening scene in this episode! There’s a dark feeling to this episode with dark and haunting music to boot! The local school is putting on a play about the Phantom of the Opera,and it just wouldn’t be the same without the local resident Phantom. Okay, so the acting is not the best (in fairness this is true for a good chunk of the series), but what makes up for it is the visuals and the general ambiance. The reveal at the end, while not really a big surprise, is still done pretty well.
#5 Welcome to Dead House
Teenagers Amanda and Josh move to a run-down industrial town where a dark secret about the local chemical factory is concealed by the creepy neighbors.
This is another pretty dark episode with dark lighting and more dark music, atmosphere and suspense. In comparison to other episodes this one seems to take itself seriously with a little less cheese. Oh, and did I mention zombies??
Well, that’s it for another Forgotten Childhood. If you must go back down memory lane remember – Viewer beware you’re in for a scare!
