Goosebumps

[Anonymous No.16688855]

This shit was dark for a kids book

[Anonymous No.16688901]

>>16688855
>dark for a kids book

[Anonymous No.16688963]

>>16688901
Sorry, should have specified for a Goosebumps book.

The part that fucked me up the most wasn't Hannah turning out to be dead the entire time, but was the one who's responsible for killing herself and her entire family

[Anonymous No.16689048]

After reading a bunch of his books for the last year I can’t help but wonder if Stine’s shotgun approach to writing sort of has him stumble on a few really good books instead of him actually being a good writer. For instance, out of the 100+ books he has written I feel like only the Haunted Mask and Welcome to Dead House really stuck out.

The Haunted Mask potentially coming off deeper than it intended to be with its subject matter, but still to great effect, and the way the mask gets stuck on and transforms an innocent young girl into a creepy little creature being scary in its own respect.

Welcome to Dead House being genuinely nightmarish at times with the scenario it thrusts on kids, and while it is decently written and genuinely tense and scary, I wonder if it’s one of his better books simply because it missed the mark of being strictly for kids.

Like I said, I don’t know if he has genuine talent, or is more of a testament to just grinding through the work and putting out a ton of content to hit the mark two or three times.

[Anonymous No.16689092]

>>16689048
Oh, and maybe one of the Night of the Living Dummy books, though he used the whole “parents don’t believe the kids” angle so many times that it got very stale very quick. Still, I believe the second book had some pretty good pacing and at the end when the doll came alive and started abusing the girls and their dog it was a pretty tense and unsettling moment.

[Anonymous No.16689112]

>>16689048
Virtually all writers (and artists for that matter) do a shotgun approach to creating. Most of them just don't spew out 50+ books in their lifetime regardless of quality and settle with only a few decent ones.

[Anonymous No.16689134]

>>16689112
So perhaps his tenacity is to admired over the quality of his work, though again, he did manage to stumble on a good one here and there though eventually the books just became a collection of tropes and plots he likes that he would mishmash together.

Of course, he tried to mix things up a bit with his horrorland series but a shared universe of books really didn’t suit his writing style.

[Anonymous No.16689141]

>>16689048
I agree. While I do like some of the ideas Ghost Next Door presented, they just weren't executed well, or really explored in depth, like her family disappearing one by one for no reason, or time passing differently for her.

I think a better explanation for why she doesn't remember the fire is that she subconsciously blocked it out of her own mind, not only because of the trauma of being burnt to death, but maybe because in that moment, she realized that she was the one responsible for the fire

With her family disappearing, that could also be explained as her family already passed on, and that the family that we see is her own hallucinations, again out of extreme guilt.

Finally, for her experiencing time differently, maybe have it turn out that she's been in some sort of loop for the past five years that makes her memories reset after a few weeks to the night after the fire

[Anonymous No.16689166]

>>16689134
His tenacity is certainly to be admired. I essentially chalk him up to the likes of Tom Clancy, but for children. He found his niche and stuck to it, and along the way had some moments of genuinely admirable talent.
He is what he is.

[Anonymous No.16689203]

What did RL Stine mean by this?

[Anonymous No.16689206]

>>16689141
Makes you wonder if he planned for some of this, or as adults reading children’s books we attribute meaning to the events that are happening. I imagine it’s probably a bit of both.
>>16689166
Right, and his success is definitely nothing to scoff at. Even at his worst it still feels like he’s trying to deliver something genuine none the less. I think he really liked the idea of writing the Twilight Zone for kids and that kept him going... well, that and the ridiculous amounts of money he was making at the peak of his popularity.

I don’t think there was really a phenomenon like goosebumps till Harry Potter, then after that it seems that kids/young adult literature has sort of fallen to the wayside.

[Anonymous No.16689218]

>>16689203
something on the dangers of off the rails hedonism

[Anonymous No.16689523]

I’m collecting shit from the series now, from the books to any merchandise. And I can confirm, there are some dark moments. Some standouts include;

Stay Out Of The Basement: Girl slits her father’s wrist.

Say Cheese And Die; Multiple injuries, and the main character murders someone (indirectly).

Curse Of The Mummy’s Tomb: Antagonist had kidnapped people and killed them, mummifying their corpses.

Night Of The Living Dummy: Dig gets nearly choked to death.

The Girl Who Cried Monster: Antagonist eats live turtles.

Welcome To Camp Nightmare: Bleeding snake bite, attempted murder.

Piano Lessons Can Be Murder: Kidnapping and murder.

Monster Blood II: Protagonist breaks a hamster’s jaw.

Deep Trouble: Put in cage to drown.

Abominable Snowman Of Pasadena: Protagonist left to die in the Antarctic.

Ghost Camp: Impalement and burning

Curse Of Camp Cold Lake: Accidental suicide.

Who’s Your Mummy?: Cannibalism.

Most Wanted; The Haunted Mask: Face ripped off.

[Anonymous No.16690435]

I want Ghost Next Door to be rewritten by someone else to get rid of the dumb "Phantom Danny" shit

[Anonymous No.16690466]

>>16688963
Did you forget to put out your camp fires as a kid?

[Anonymous No.16690620]

>>16690466
I never went camping as a kid

[Anonymous No.16691213]

>>16689523
Haunted Mask is probably his best work for sure. It’s sequel is “okay” and I like how it shifts the view to her bully, but it becomes a lot more shlock. Stine tends to write almost all of his male characters as that radical 90’s kid.

Also, I’d put Welcome to Dead House on your list of wants. It was the first in the goosebumps lineup and is a really solid read, though I think it accidentally veers out of children’s horror once or twice and just becomes a straight up horror novel.

[Anonymous No.16691266]

>Dark for a kids book
Anyone read this one? It wasnt particularly dark but I thought it was just some horror adventure with a dash of puppy love type story but the ending fucked me up as a kid

[Anonymous No.16691278]

>>16691213
>List of wants

I have 75% of the books, including the original 62. I definitely know about that

About the Haunted Mask, yes, the OG is classic, but I was always more creeped out by the second one

[Anonymous No.16692153]

>Let me into your childrens' subconscious, goy!

"horror" an anti-art genre that memes the concept of manipulating emotions with crude exposition to induce "fear" as being especially entertaining.
It's designed to manipulate emotion at any cost to brainwash its users with a false morality.
It overstimulates with extreme elements that distract the user from a rational interpretation and thereby drives in its propaganda payload.

That's why it's targeted at women and children/youths, the softest minds. Though of course there are plenty of men locked in childlike states induced by consumption of this poison who also consume it.
They're stupid enough to excuse the disgusting lack of artistry with words like "that's how it's supposed to be, it's part of the fun!", when of course their undeveloped (for children) or retarded (for women/manchildren) minds don't have any concept of purpose and are easily manipulated to serve purpose contrary to their own interests in exchange for meaningless stimulation.

>WHOAAAA HEHEHE BLOOD AND GUTS AND PAIN AND DANGER ME SO SCARED THIS IS BIG BOY STUFF I'M JUST A LIL BOY MAYBE IF I FINISH THE STORY I WILL LEAR HOW TO AVOID ALL THIS SUPERSPOOKYSCARY STUFF TELL ME JEWISH AUTHOR HOW DO I BE A GOOD BOY AND AVOID IT?????
this is a caricature of the basic psychological function of the user that allows the author to manipulate their morality with more efficiency that other entertainment formats

[Anonymous No.16692324]

>>16692153
this is pasta, right?

[Anonymous No.16692461]

>>16688963
>>16688855
Ghost next door is peak RL Stine.

Pic related is also a good scary read for kids. It’s an actual book though unlike Goosebumps which is just Danielle Steele for adolescents.

[Anonymous No.16692472]

>>16689203
I think it’s a shame that Choose Your Own Adventures are the only narratives to popularize 2nd Person Perspective

[Anonymous No.16692785]

>>16688855
>Stine

[Anonymous No.16692913]

>>16689203
Kino

[Anonymous No.16692934]

>>16692153

[Anonymous No.16693744]

>>16688855
I really like these old book covers. So much nostalgia

[Anonymous No.16694305]

>>16688855
The Japanese cover is fucking metal

[Anonymous No.16694547]

>>16689523
>>16694305
Holy shit wtf

[Anonymous No.16694935]

>>16689523
are you on the spectrum?

[Anonymous No.16695904]

>>16694547
Yeah, I vastly prefer the Japanese cover. It's a lot spookier

[Anonymous No.16696432]

>>16692153
Terror is a reactionary genre.

[Anonymous No.16696535]

Maybe off topic but what would you say is the most grimdark children's book?

[Anonymous No.16697955]

>>16692153
b-based

[Anonymous No.16697961]

>>16696432
t. Nick Land worshipping accfaggot

[Anonymous No.16699075]

Bu