Goosebumps has scared generations of young fans since first rolling out in July 1992. Since then, the original series has run its course with more than 60 volumes while a wave of popular spinoffs keep the blood flowing for new generations. In spite of frequent challenges to school boards, the books have found a home within most schools. They’ve also inspired graphic novels, a television series, and now a feature film. With today being Halloween, we can think of no better time to turn our attention to the 16 Best Goosebumps Books of All Time. See if you agree!
[NOTE: We couldn’t possibly read all the spinoffs in time for this list prep, but since the originals are still fresh in our minds, this list will pertain to the 16 best from that category. Sorry, fans of HorrorLand, Grafix, etc.).]
16. Welcome to Dead House, Book 1
Amanda and Josh Benson move into a new house in Dark Falls, where the residents are all zombies who have died while living in the same house and are preparing to make the Benson family one of them, as they need blood to survive. Amanda and Josh realize their weakness is sunlight and shine it at them and their spirits rest.
15. The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, Book 5
Gabe Hassad is spending Christmas vacation in Egypt with his parents. He is invited to explore a tomb by his Uncle Ben, an excursion on which he gets lost, and encounters some of its ancient residents.
14. Don’t Go to Sleep, Book 54
Despite his mother’s admonitions, Matt Amsterdam spends the night in the empty guest room of his house — and ends up waking up in a new world…and on the run from a police force bent on stopping those who warp reality.
13. Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns, Book 48
To get payback on two bad kids, Tabitha and Lee, who always ruin her Halloween, Drew Brockman and her friend, Walker, recruit the help of twins, Shane and Shana, to scare Tabitha and Lee, but instead of the twins, two pumpkin-headed monsters appear and force Drew, Walker, Lee, and Tabitha to trick-or-treat all night so they can be fattened up for eating.
12. Calling All Creeps, Book 50
After getting kicked off the school newspaper club, Ricky Beamer pulls a prank on newspaper head Tasha McClain by putting a message for “all creeps” to call Tasha after midnight in the next issue of the school paper. However, Tasha catches wise and puts Ricky’s name in the message instead, leading to Ricky being stalked by lizard creatures (posing as the school’s bullies) who need Ricky to plant transformation seeds to enslave all of humanity.
11. Beware, the Snowman, Book 51
Following her mother’s death, Jaclyn and her aunt Greta move to an Arctic town called Sherpia, where everyone lives in fear of a snow monster living in the mountains, but when Jaclyn goes searching for it, she finds that the snow monster knows about her missing father and her dead mother’s secret hobbies.
10. The Curse of Camp Cold Lake, Book 56
Sarah Maas hates her summer at Camp Cold Lake due to the apathetic campers and the myriad of safety rules, so she pretends to drown herself to win friends. Unfortunately, the plan backfires when Sarah has a near-death experience and meets a ghost girl named Della who will stop at nothing to make Sarah her friend in the afterlife — even if it means taking Sarah’s in the mortal world.
9. The Haunted School, Book 59
During a dance at his new school, Tommy Frazer and his new best friend, Ben, get inside an elevator in search of banner paper and find themselves in a black-and-white world where most of the school’s missing class of 1947 now resides thanks to an evil photographer’s magic camera while the rest of them have descended into madness and started a cult bent on ridding the world of color.
8. Night of the Living Dummy, Book 7
Lindy Powell finds a ventriloquist dummy in the trash and keeps it, prompting her bratty twin sister to get one as well. However, when destructive pranks begin happening, the siblings begin to wonder if their dummies have anything to do with it.
7. Welcome to Camp Nightmare, Book 9
Billy Harlan’s stay at Camp Nightmoon turns to horror when word of a monster lurking in the woods crops up, followed by a series of events leaving campers injured and missing.
6. The Haunted Mask, Book 11
Sick of being the butt of everyone’s practical jokes and appalled that her mother made her a lame duck costume for Halloween, Carly Beth Caldwell decides to buy a mask from a strange costume shop, but the more Carly Beth wears the mask she bought, the more her personality gets warped and the harder it is for the mask to come off her face.
5. The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, Book 14
Grady Tucker and his sixteen-year-old sister Emily have moved to a rural area in Florida near a swamp notorious for werewolf sightings. When a strange dog becomes Grady’s new pet, the entire town suspects the dog of being the werewolf that’s terrorizing the swamp.
4. The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, Book 20
While visiting their grandparents’ home on the farm, Jodie and Mark discover that the farm is haunted by demonic scarecrows brought to life by a farmhand’s black magic.
3. A Night in Terror Tower, Book 27
Siblings Eddie and Sue are vacationing in London, England, when they become lost in a medieval torture chamber known as Terror Tower and on the run from a hooded executioner — and things get weirder when they begin losing their money and their memories.
2. Say Cheese and Die!, Book 4
One summer day, Greg Banks and his best friends, Shari, Michael and Doug (nicknamed Bird), decide to investigate the Coffman House, an abandoned house said to be haunted by a mad scientist, “Spidey”. Greg goes and steals a camera, but when terrible things start happening to the people in the pictures, Greg suspects that there is something very wrong with it.
1. The Headless Ghost, Book 37
Pranksters Duane Comack and his partner-in-crime Stephanie Alpert love to visit Hill House, a place said to be haunted by a ghost of a young boy who was decapitated by an evil sea captain. One night, they decide to go to the house after it closes to find the boy’s head, but actually end up encountering the ghost, as well as a few other restless spirits.
Aric Mitchell's work appears regularly here at 4tests.com and across the web for sites, such as The Inquisitr and Life'd. A former high school teacher, his passion for education has only intensified since leaving the classroom. At 4tests, he hopes to continue passing along words of encouragement and study tips to ensure you leave school ready to face an ever-changing world.
Goosebumps has scared generations of young fans since first rolling out in July 1992. Since then, the original series has run its course with more than 60 volumes while a wave of popular spinoffs keep the blood flowing for new generations. In spite of frequent challenges to school boards, the books have found a home within most schools. They’ve also inspired graphic novels, a television series, and now a feature film. With today being Halloween, we can think of no better time to turn our attention to the 16 Best Goosebumps Books of All Time. See if you agree!
