Last week, we released the 43rd episode of the Scholastic Reads podcast, “25 Years of Goosebumps.” In this episode, I served as guest host with Suzanne McCabe. I got to talk with Goosebumps author R.L. Stine about the series, its 25th anniversary, and more.
Being a huge fan of goosebumps growing up, I took this opportunityvery seriously. I soon realized that I hadn’t read a book that gave me goosebumps in over 10 years (at least). A week before the recording, to prepare, I checked out 15 books from the school library.
You are reading: What reading level are the goosebumps books
Reviewing that many books was optimistic on my part. in the end, I could only read eight. however, I learned a lot from those eight books! this is what i read:
- #1 welcome to the dead house
- #2 stay out of the cellar
- #3 monster blood
- #4 say cheese and die !
- #5 the curse of the mummy’s tomb
- #6 let’s become invisible
- #7 the night of the living doll
- # 11 the haunted mask
Now, here’s what I learned looking back as an adult reader (spoilers ahead):
no one dies
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With the exception of the family dog in welcome to dead house, no one actually dies in a book that gives you goosebumps. (They can be trapped in a parallel dimension or trapped as a plant, sure! but not *dead* dead).
still fun, but in a different way
I definitely discovered kids jokes while reading. but there were other lines that made me laugh as an adult, mainly when kids were too dramatic about little things. In Welcome to Dead House, for example, when the main character realizes that he will never eat breakfast in his childhood kitchen again, he refers to the thought as morbid. Now, I’m sure as a pre-teen he would have thought the exact same thing if he was in the same situation, but seeing him described as morbid was hilarious.
bullies are still scary
On the podcast, stine mentioned that he loves writing bullies and I can see why. they are scary even for adults! I don’t remember being bullied too much growing up. but when one character hit another (can’t remember if this happened with monster blood or say cheese and die!), I gasped and was shocked.
Adults can’t help you
Adults can’t help youComing out of the basement, a father turns into a plant and tells his children and wife not to worry. In Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, parents leave their son alone in a hotel room in Egypt and fly back to the United States. it’s only a few hours until the boy’s uncle shows up, but still! and in welcome home dead, the parents are captured.
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In books that give you goosebumps, adults can’t save you, not even your own parents. as a child, that’s terrifying. As an adult, I stopped to think: would I believe my children (to clarify: I don’t have children) if they came to me with stories of monsters, demonic dolls and mummies? At 32, I’m officially part of the problem.
slappy the dummy was second banana in his debut
slappy the dummy is by far the most popular character in the goosebumps series. but do you remember the night of the living doll? Mr. wood is the main villain! this shocked me; didn’t even remember mr. wood from when I read the book as a child! (Another thing I noted while reading this book: “Never read ancient spells out loud.” Good advice.)
they are fast and consistent
All of these books are between 130 and 135 pages. They are written at a 3-7 grade level. The chapters are a few pages each, and most, if not all, end on a cliffhanger. it was easy for me to devour the books as a child and as an adult.
On the podcast, stine joked (?) that the only thing readers could “learn” from the “Goosebumps” series was learning to enjoy reading. Even if that’s true, I think it’s still a worthwhile achievement, and something every parent looks forward to when their child reads a book!
for more information on r.l. listen to episode 43 of scholastic reads wherever you get your podcasts.
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