R.L. Stine Gives Readers A Halloween Scare

[Published in the BU Scout on November 2, 2009]

Goosebumps. Choose Your Own Scare. The Haunted Mask. Horrorland. Done nostalgically wallowing in the creepiest, spookiest corners of your childhood? R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series permeated every literate grade-schooler’s life at a certain point. It was hard to avoid the frenzy: there seemed to be a new book out every week, a television series, movies, toys, fruit snacks, games and underwear…

Yeah, I’m pretty sure I had the Goosebumps underwear.

But anyway, it was pretty hard not to be drawn to these easy-to-read books with the cool covers where kids (just like me!) got into some pretty weird situations (Go Eat Worms!). I stumbled upon an old favorite…Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns.

Now I have to say, it isn’t the creepiest of Stine’s books like Night of the Living Dummy, the title is not as clever as Say Cheese and Die! And the cover isn’t nearly as impressive as a staircase dripping with Monster Blood, but hey; it is still a genuine Goosebumps book.

After establishing the main character as a mischievous and tough twelve-year-old girl - Drew, we find out that Halloween is her favorite holiday. But it was ruined two years ago by a couple of big fat jerks, Tabby and Lee. (These two pranksters faked a break-in and a strange hostage situation where Drew was forced to do pushups!) So this year, Drew has a plan to get even – thus begins the good ol’ fashioned revenge tale: Goosebumps-style!

The blood-dripping chapter numbers of the book flew by as I read the book at a record pace. Almost every chapter ends in a mini-cliffhanger where someone gets scared because a big gruesome monster is biting its razor sharp fangs into Drew’s flesh…only then does she realize that it is a Halloween mask. If you get frightened at all at the end of these chapters; it’s okay. Just turn the page and the benign phenomenon will be explained instantly.

Back to the story: Drew somehow convinces Tabby and Lee to go trick-or-treating - which is strange since they seem to be mortal enemies. You see, Tabby is a little stuck-up *#&@ and dresses like a princess every year, and Drew is a bit of a tomboy. Oh, and Drew also has a tendency to growl at people… I counted seven “Grrrrr’s” throughout this 113-page turner. She’s got a bit of a complex and is described as small and elf-like, which lends itself to her deep resentment of almost everyone. This is Drew’s last chance for revenge, and last time to trick-or-treat because apparently you have to stop the moment you hit the teenage years.

While tick-or-treating, the gang meets up with what they assume are their twin friends, Shane and Shana. They got these real great pumpkin head masks, with real flames in the jack-o’-lanterns! Tabby and Lee are real scared once it becomes clear that these pumpkinheads want them to keep trick-or-treating…forever!

I don’t want to SPOIL the ending for you, but the pumpkin heads really were their friends the whole time: they just happen to be shape shifting aliens who have been abducting, killing and eating fat adults in their town for the past few years. Oh, and if you are wondering if that little jack-o’-lanterned dog (the one on the cover) appears in the book, don’t bother looking. He is nowhere to be found…the only disappointing moment of reading the book.