#cctinsleybaxter

in no particular order:

1) Give Yourself Goosebumps: Scream of the Evil Genie

from the series that was like Goosebumps choose your own adventure. i had a beaten-up copy of this with a sparkly cover and i read it as much as a “normal” Goosebumps book. i associate it with a strong smelling perfume although i’m not sure why, may need to re-read it and find out. i remember my favorite storyline was the one where “you” wish to become famous

2) Attack of the Jack-o’-Lanterns

such a classic, really i just loved the monster design in this one + the alien twist. my opinion of it has soured since childhood because the “blogger beware” entry on it pointed out some lame moments including a racist character description :/ still including it because of the costume that’s “the night sky” aka wearing all black and carrying a squirt gun. genius!

3) Werewolf Skin + The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

including these together because as a fan of werewolves, i loved both of them! out of the two i suspect Werewolf Skin holds up more, the imagery of someone in an abandoned house putting on a wolf’s skin used to creep me out so bad. as a kid, me and my siblings pulled a werewolf prank on our new neighbor (sorry for being monsters) and the idea was heavily inspired by these books. both titles would also go on my top 5 Goosebumps tv show episodes

4) The Curse of Camp Cold Lake

i used to get nightmares just from the cover alone, but if i remember correctly the story itself was good too. the main character faces some bullying that anyone who doesn’t “fit in” to a group activity will probably relate to, i know i did. summer camp horror never gets old and this was the Goosebumps summer camp book that i enjoyed the most (my least favorite was Camp Jelly Jam because i hated the dude on the cover)

5) Stay Out of the Basement

it was soo hard to choose a fifth one out of all my honorable mentions but i think the “parent horror” in this one worked really well. love the scene where the dad gives them “green stuff” for dinner and the kids throw it out when he leaves the room- obviously it was some kind of evil plant food, but it worked on another level if you were a kid who didn’t like vegetables. the image of the plant-dad being cut in two with an axe will never leave me