GOOSEBUMPS/ULTIMATE GOOSEBUMPS

GOOSEBUMPS/

ULTIMATE GOOSEBUMPS

(FOX, Canal Famille, YTV, NHK, October 27, 1995-November 16, 1998)

Protocol Entertainment, R.L. Stine Productions, Scholastic Productions

MAIN CAST:

As an anthology series, there was no set cast of characters.

            Reader beware, you’re in for a scare!

R.L. Stine surrounded by his creations.

After the success of his young adult horror novels, Parachute Press persuaded R.L. Stine to write a series of scary books for a younger audience. Stine conceived of an anthology series that focused on a rotating cast of characters in various locations; typically with young children using their wits to deal with horrific situations. Stine used pop culture, real life influences and memories of his own childhood fears to devise stories that blended humor and horror; typically by coming up with a title first. After seeing an ad in the TV Guide with the slogan “It’s goosebumps week on Channel 11,” Stine found the title for his series: Goosebumps.

The very first Goosebumps.

            Initially, Stine signed a six-book deal with series publisher Scholastic, the first of which was Welcome to Dead House in July of 1992. The series was produced specifically for girls, but boys ended up becoming fans as well. Stine ended up penning 62 books for Scholastic in the original series. Each book was distinctive through brightly colored slime around the borders, the simulated embossed goosebumps in the title, and by the striking cover art from Tim Jacobus. Although fans loved the books, critics had a less-warm reaction to them and many came under fire for being “too scary” or for the themes employed such as the supernatural.

Stine's wall o' Goosebumps stuff.

As demand began to grow, so too did the franchise. In 1994 Tales to Give You Goosebumps and Goosebumps Triple Header featured collections of short stories while 1995 saw the debut of Give Yourself Goosebumps; a choose-your-own-adventure-type book ghostwritten by several authors. A merchandising blitz followed, including t-shirts, puzzles, board games and more. By 1996, Goosebumps accounted for 15% of Scholastic’s annual sales.

Fear can age you.

Despite the growing popularity and the series’ inclusion on several best-seller lists, expanding beyond the printed format proved a challenge as licensors were hesitant to try and market something without a recurring character or stable story. Scholastic attempted to rectify this by giving the series a logo in the form of its “G”, dubbed the “G-splat” from designer Sharon Lisman, and by creating a skeleton mascot named Curly who had hair and glasses like Stine’s. 

Who's the dummy?

Goosebumps’ big breakthrough came when Margaret Loesch, head of the Fox Kids programming block, bought her son a copy of Say Cheese and Die! His reaction to the book prompted Loesch to enter into a deal with Scholastic to bring Goosebumps to FOX. Developed by Deborah Forte, the live-action series largely adapted stories from the original Goosebumps series with a few coming from the later Tales anthologies and Goosebumps 2000, as well as a couple of stories original to the show. Sometimes elements of the stories were modified, with Stine’s approval, to make them work better within the format and the time allotted and to keep those familiar with the books guessing. Like the books, the show featured a rotating cast of characters and locations excluding any sequels. The series was written by Dan Angel, Billy Brown, Rick Drew, Charles Lazer, Neal Shusterman, Ron Oliver, Scott Peters, Jeffrey Cohen, Bruce Edwards, Jose Rivera, Sean Kelly, Jessica Scott, Mike Wollaeger, Peter Mitchell, Michael Short and Andrea Raffaghello.

Goosebumps debuted on October 27, 1995 on FOX and originally aired on Friday afternoons, replacing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in the timeslot, before moving to its permanent home on Saturdays for the next two seasons. It became a hit; taking the #1 spot in its first week and maintaining a steady momentum for most of its run. Those ratings quickly translated into sales as the books saw a major increase in demand. Along with its run on Fox Kids, the series aired on YTV and Canal Famille in Canada, where it was principally filmed. The series was also broadcast around the world, although some countries’ censorship rules led to many episodes being banned or shown at night. 

The Haunted Mask comes to life.

While the episode structure was virtually the same throughout the entire series’ run, the thing that changed the most was the series’ intro. The original opening featured a man, supposedly R.L. Stine, looking over a town from a hilltop when his briefcase opened and manuscript pages came spilling out. One page became a shadowy G-splat that flew over a town before winding up at a house whose doorway opened to a montage of scenes before the title. For the second season, the G-splat was sped up and the montage was cut out. Each intro played over a hip-hop inspired theme by Jack Lenz.

For the third season, the show was renamed Ultimate Goosebumps to showcase the new content it would present to viewers and distinguish those episodes from the reruns airing on weekdays. It also had its theme music altered slightly. The intro began the same way, but special effects were added to show the hill covered in slime and lightning striking from the briefcase when it opened. After the G-splat escaped, “Stine” turned into a colony of bats before it cut right into a new montage of scenes and segments from the original intro. Season 4 used the same intro, but “Ultimate” was removed from the title. The only consistent part was that the intro ended with a voice saying a modified version of the books’ tagline: “Viewer beware, you’re in for a scare.” Before the V-Chip and television ratings systems came into effect in 1996, each episode began with the warning that the show was rated “GB-7, because it may be too spooky for kids under seven.” After, the GB-7 became the standard TV-Y7 rating.

The third season also saw Goosebumps become part of the “No Yell Motel” programming block in 1998, which featured interstitials starring puppets working inside a creepy motel. It was accompanied by the new Steven Spielberg cartoon, Toonsylvania, and the sequel series Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension. Despite the series’ continued success, Fox Kids moved it to Monday afternoons for its final season to clear the way for Saban Entertainment original programming as Saban had merged with Fox Kids in 1996 and took over its programming. Unfortunately, the series languished there and was ultimately cancelled after the season ended. After its run, the series was moved to Fox Family Channel for the next two years. Cartoon Network aired reruns in October between 2007 and 2009 and The Hub aired the series from 2011-2014 until it became Discovery Family.

Make sure your fathers are properly fed and watered.

Scholastic republished 18 of the adapted books as Goosebumps Presents between 1996 and 1998. The only differences from their original printings were the altered title and the inclusion of photos from their respective episodes. However, by 1997, sales of the books had begun to slump due to increased competition from other publishers looking to capitalize on Goosebumps’ success. Scholastic’s total sales took the biggest hit, dropping 40% and making front page news. In response, Scholastic and Stine created Goosebumps 2000, which was meant to be scarier than the original while not changing much else stylistically. After its conclusion in 2000, Stine intended to release a new series called Goosebumps Gold, but it ultimately ended up being cancelled even though some cover art was already rendered. In 2008, Stine began publishing a new series called Goosebumps HorrorLand, which featured an overreaching plot set in HorrorLand from the original series and crossing over various characters from the books. When that series concluded in 2012, Stine launched Goosebumps Most Wanted which featured new stories with the series’ classic villains.

Step right up for the scariest theme park ever!

Ten episodes were released independently on VHS between 1996 and 1998 in the United States and the United Kingdom, with three of them being re-released together on two volumes. In 2004, 20^th Century Fox began releasing the series to DVD in individual volumes. Initially, each release contained one episode but later began to include two. In 2008, twelve of the episodes were re-released as double-feature sets. To coincide with the release of the new HorroLand series, new DVD sets were released featuring between three and four episodes and replaced the recycled book art from prior releases with all-new cover art. In 2013 and 2014, the complete series has been released as both individual seasons and a full collection by Revelation Films in the United Kingdom and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand. The entire series was also made available on streaming services iTunes and Netflix.

In 1998, Fox Family Films attempted to make a Goosebumps movie produced by Tim Burton that would have a grander scope than the series, but the plans fell apart. In 2008, Columbia Pictures acquired the film rights and featured series developer Forte as a producer, along with Neal H. Moritz. The film was finally released on October 16, 2015 starring Jack Black as a fictionalized version of Stine and Odeya Rush as his daughter, Hannah. The film dealt with the fact that all the monsters from Stine’s books were locked away within the books until they were accidentally released by Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette), leading to Stine, Hannah and Zach having to recapture them all.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“The Haunted Mask, Part 1” (10/27/95) – Carly-Beth Cadwell buys a Halloween mask and ignores the storekeeper’s warnings about wearing it more than three times.

“The Haunted Mask, Part 2” (10/27/95) – Carly-Beth tries to find a spell to get the mask off of her face.

“The Cuckoo Clock of Doom” (11/3/95) – After vandalizing his father’s cuckoo clock, Michael Webster finds he’s regressing backward in time and growing younger.

“The Girl Who Cried Monster” (11/10/95) – Lucy Dark discovers that the librarian is a monster, but no one will believe her.

“Welcome to Camp Nightmare, Part 1” (11/17/95) – A strange creature lurks around the camp as Billy’s friends begin disappearing.

“Welcome to Camp Nightmare, Part 2” (11/24/95) – Billy plans to get revenge on his counselors for the missing campers.

“The Phantom of the Auditorium” (12/1/95) – Brooke Rogers and Zeke Matthews believe a real-life phantom is sabotaging their school’s production of Phantom of the Opera.

“Piano Lessons Can Be Murder” (12/8/95) – Jerry Hawkins’ piano teachers like to steal the hands of their students.

“Return of the Mummy” (12/22/95) – Gabe and his cousin end up trapped in the pyramid of an Egyptian queen.

“Night of the Living Dummy II” (1/12/96) – Amy Kramer brings her ventriloquist dummy Slappy to life.

“My Hairiest Adventure” (1/19/96) – As Larry Boyd’s friends disappear his neighborhood becomes flooded with stray dogs…and he begins growing extra hair.

“Stay Out of the Basement, Part 1” (1/26/96) – Margaret and Casey investigate their father’s lab when he starts acting strangely and find a main claiming to be him in the closet.

“Stay Out of the Basement, Part 2” (1/26/96) – Margaret and Casey discover their dad is actually half-man and half-plant.

“It Came From Beneath the Sink” (2/2/96) – The sponge Kat found under the sink in her new home turns out to be a bad luck monster.

“Say Cheese and Die!” (2/9/96) – Three friends find a camera that predicts the future—a bad future.

“A Night in Terror Tower, Part 1” (2/25/96) – Sue and Eddie get separated from their tour group in an English castle and end up chased by an executioner.

“A Night in Terror Tower, Part 2” (2/25/96) – Sue and Eddie are shunted back in time where they learn they’re really the prince and princess who were wanted dead by an evil king.

“The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, Part 1” (5/17/96) – Grady Tucker’s family suspects his new dog is a werewolf.

“The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, Part 2” (5/17/96) – Grady tries to prove the werewolf isn’t his dog.

Season 2:

“Be Careful What You Wish For...” (8/10/96) – Samantha Byrd receives an amulet for helping an old fortune teller that grants wishes, but causes misfortune for everyone around her.

“Attack of the Mutant, Part 1” (9/7/96) – Skipper Matthews discovers his favorite comic book character is real.

“Attack of the Mutant, Part 2” (9/7/96) – Skipper begins to lose his grip on reality, and his best friend is hiding a secret.

“Bad Hare Day” (9/14/96) – Tim Swanson steals his favorite magician’s stuff and is unable to control the magic inside.

“The Headless Ghost” (9/21/96) – Duane Comack and Stephanie Alpert are trapped in a seaside haunted house.

“Go Eat Worms” (9/28/96) – After Todd Barstow pranks his sister with his worms, he begins finding worms everywhere.

“You Can’t Scare Me!” (10/5/96) – Two pranksters attempt to scare the fearless Courtney.

“Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes” (10/12/96) – Joe and Mindy discover their dad’s lawn gnomes are alive.

“Ghost Beach” (10/19/96) – Siblings visit relatives at a haunted beachside house.

“Attack of the Jack O’ Lanterns” (10/26/96) – Two pumpkin-headed creatures force a group of kids to trick-or-treat forever.

“The Haunted Mask II, Part 1” (10/29/96) – Steve Boswell buys an old man mask and rapidly ages, while the original mask seeks revenge on Carly-Beth.

“The Haunted Mask II, Part 2” (10/29/96) – Carly-Beth tries to defeat the haunted mask and save Steve in the process.

“Let’s Get Invisible!” (11/2/96) – Max and Noah think the mirror they found just turns them invisible, but it also invites their reflections to take their place.

“The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight” (11/9/96) – An elderly couple is haunted by demonic scarecrows.

“Monster Blood” (11/16/96) – Evan Ross and Andy play with novelty slime monster blood, which devours everything it touches and grows.

“More Monster Blood” (11/16/96) – Evan heads back home and discovers he didn’t destroy all of the monster blood.

“Vampire Breath” (11/26/96) – Freddy and Cara free an elderly, fangless vampire.

“How to Kill a Monster” (5/1/97) – Gretchen and Clark discover a monster locked in their grandparents’ house.

“Calling All Creeps!” (6/15/97) – A prank leads Ricky Beamer to discover the school bullies are actually aliens.

“Welcome to the Dead House, Part 1” (6/29/97) – The Benson family moves into a house where the previous occupants died from a chemical accident.

“Welcome to the Dead House, Part 2” (6/29/97) – The accident turns the Benson’s neighbors into zombies.

“Don’t Wake Mummy” (7/12/97) – A family inherits a cursed sarcophagus.

“The Blob That Ate Everyone” (7/19/97) – The old typewriter that Zack types a story on brings the story to life.

“Night of the Living Dummy III, Part 1” (7/20/97) – Slappy returns to life with a new family to terrorize.

“Night of the Living Dummy III, Part 2” (7/20/97) – Slappy partners with another dummy to turn his new family into wood.

Season 3:

“A Shocker on Shock Street” (9/6/97) – Erin Wright and Marty end up trapped in an amusement park.

“My Best Friend is Invisible” (9/8/97) – The ghost of a lonely boy follows Sammy Jacobs home.

“The House of No Return” (9/13/97) – Chris Wakely is tasked with spending an hour in a haunted house in order to join a club.

“Don’t Go to Sleep” (9/20/97) – Sleeping in the attic ends up sending Matt Amsterdam to alternate worlds.

“Click” (9/27/97) – Seth Gold’s new remote control controls everything…including his life.

“An Old Story” (10/4/97) – Tom and John are turned into old men by their Aunt Dahlia’s cookies.

“The Barking Ghost” (10/11/97) – Cooper Holmes and Fergie switch their bodies with ghost dogs.

“One Day at HorrorLand, Part 1” (10/25/97) – The Morris family are trapped in a theme park run by real monsters.

“One Day at HorrorLand, Part 2” (11/1/97) – The Morrises are forced to compete in a gameshow.

“The Haunted House Game” (11/8/97) – The board game two friends play comes to life.

“The Perfect School, Part 1” (11/15/97) – Brian O’Connor is sent to an all-boys boarding school where a well-adjusted clone will replace him in his life.

“The Perfect School, Part 2” (11/15/97) – Brian tries to fight back against his clone and learns his best friend is an agent for the school.

“Werewolf Skin, Part 1” (11/22/97) – Alex Blackwell discovers a secret about the werewolves in the park where his relatives live.

“Werewolf Skin, Part 2” (11/22/97) – Alex learns more about how his relatives turn themselves into werewolves.

“Awesome Ants” (2/7/98) – An ant farm comes complete with pellets to make the ants giants.

“Bride of the Living Dummy” (2/14/98) – Slappy returns to life and finds love with an equally evil doll.

“Strained Peas” (2/21/98) – Nicholas’ baby sister intends to become an only child.

“Say Cheese and Die…Again!” (2/28/98) – Greg Banks retrieves the evil camera in order to prove to his teacher that it’s real and accidentally takes Shari’s picture.

“Chillogy Part 1: Squeal of Fortune”  (4/25/98) – A girl is sucked into toy town Karlsville where she cheats the residents and ends up a pig-like humanoid.

“Chillogy Part 2: Strike Three…You’re Doomed” (5/2/98) – A boy ends up in Karlsville and ends up part of a twisted baseball game.

“Chillogy Part 3: Escape from Karlsville” (5/9/98) – Matthew and Jessica go to Karlsville in order to save Matthew’s brother Todd from being a prize in a contest.

“Teacher’s Pet” (5/16/98) – While on a field trip in the woods, two kids find out why their teacher likes snakes a lot.

Season 4:

“How I Got My Shrunken Head, Part 1” (9/14/98) – Mark Rowe is sent a shrunken head by his aunt that possess dark powers.

“How I Got My Shrunken Head, Part 2” (9/14/98) – Seeking his aunt leads Mark to encounter her assistants who want his shrunken head for themselves.

“The Ghost Next Door, Part 1” (9/28/98) – Hannah Fairchild suspects her neighbor is a ghost, but learns she in fact is.

“The Ghost Next Door, Part 2” (9/28/98) – Hannah must save her neighbor from the dark figure.

“Cry of the Cat, Part 1” (10/31/98) – Allison gets scratched by a cat and begins acting like one.

“Cry of the Cat, Part 2” (10/31/98) – Allison learns more about the cat that scratched her after she’s hospitalized from an accident.

“Deep Trouble, Part 1” (11/16/98) – Billy and Sheena Deep’s vacations are interrupted when they learn of a plan to turn fish into mutants.

“Deep Trouble, Part 2” (11/16/98) – Billy and Sheena attempt to stop the mad scientist from unleashing his virus.


Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2018.