Disney just announced the five Goosebumps novels that the upcoming television show will use as inspiration.
The upcoming Disney+ series will be taking a similar approach to the Goosebumps films led by Jack Black, meaning that some form of vague evil escapes into the world and it's up to the show's protagonists to set everything right as opposed to an anthology-type structure.
In early September, Disney officially unveiled some fresh new photos of the series and even gave fans a premiere date: Friday the 13th of October. Now, all of a sudden, Goosebumps is much closer than many fans expected.
Thanks to a press release straight from Disney, it was revealed that the series will "[draw] on elements from five of the most popular [Goosebumps] books."
But which ones?
The Five Books Goosebumps Will Draw From
1.) Say Cheese and Die! - Goosebumps Book #4
Say Cheese and Die! centers around Greg and his friends, who discover a strange camera. The pictures it takes are unsettling—in fact, the camera seems to have a talent for precognition, offering glimpses into some deadly outcomes.
This story was the fourth Goosebumps book to be released, and it first hit shelves worldwide in November 1992.
While Say Cheese and Die! was adapted into an episode of the old Goosebumps television series' first season, it never made its way into the more recent Jack Black-led Sony Pictures films.
2.) Night of the Living Dummy - Goosebumps Book #7
The seventh book of the Goosebumps series arrived in May 1993 and under the title The Night of the Living Dummy.
The original story followed a girl named Lindy, who found a ventriloquist dummy and named him Slappy. Everything went great until her sister got a dummy of her own named Mr. Woods.
One thing led to another, and plenty of bickering played out between the two sisters. Little did they know that events would soon spiral into chaos as a spell was read aloud that brings the dummies to life.
If Slappy looks familiar, he probably should—he embodies the most iconic imagery that Goosebumps has ever offered the world. Understandably, he's now shown up in every adaptation of the series.
3.) The Haunted Mask - Goosebumps Books #11
Carly Beth ends up getting the best Halloween mask there ever was—it easily scared her brother and friends. The only problem? She can't take it off.
The Haunted Mask is another Goosebumps tale that many might have casually seen around over the years. It also tends to be one of fans' favorite novels in the series ever since it released in September 1993.
While the infamous mask showed up in the old television series, it never did get the focus in the recent films. So, it's about time it got back into the spotlight.
4.) Go Eat Worms! - Goosebumps Book #21
Go Eat Worms! follows Todd, a worm fanatic, who loves to play pranks on those close to him by torturing them with surprise appearances from the creepy crawlers; in their hair, down their backs, in their food—just to name a few of his methods.
One day, something strange happens, and the worms seem to turn against Todd. Not only that, but they start appearing everywhere he goes, and in everything around him.
Ironically enough, the twenty-first Goosebumps story, which was published in July 1994, is actually one of author R. L. Stine's least favorite stories in the series.
5.) The Cuckoo Clock of Doom - Goosebumps Book #28
The twenty-eighth book in the series, first released in February 1995, focuses on a 12-year-old named Michael who ends up getting in over his head when trying to get his sister in trouble by breaking an antique cuckoo clock his father recently purchased.
Instead of getting his sister in trouble, he accidentally ends up causing time to reverse, slowly leading him back through the years—perhaps even leading to his un-birth.
Unlike Go Eat Worms!, The Cuckoo Clock of Doom is one of R. L. Stine's favorite Goosebumps books.
Should Goosebumps Viewers Be Excited?
Many fans can't help but wish that this new reboot was an anthology. That way, the handful of Goosebumps tales chosen could get each have their stories told in full.
Hopefully, at the very least, it's more focused in its approach than the recent films. It certainly feels like it could be, given the small, narrow list of books Disney listed.
Perhaps instead of the chaotic/every-book-is-free type of threat that Jack Black faced, this new show will see various stories played out in full—but simply starring the show's cast instead of a different set of characters every time. That, or the leading characters have to seek out where these stories are playing out.
Goosebumps's first five episodes arrive on Disney+ on October 13, with the next five airing the subsequent weeks.
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