R.L. Stine – Goosebumps Haunted Library (1996)

Review by Justin Tate

Remember 1996? Let me help. “Macarena” is Billboard’s #1 song the past fourteen weeks, Space Jam is box office gold and Nanook, the Siberian husky Beanie Baby, is born. Meanwhile, Goosebumps is everywhere. The TV series is in its second season and the books are only halfway through an eventual 62-title run. If you’re reading each book as it comes out, you just finished The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena and are eagerly awaiting How I Got My Shrunken Head. You are unaware, of course, that future classics like Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns and Calling All Creeps are already in the pipeline.

One day your mom buys a specially marked bag of Doritos. You find inside a teeny tiny Goosebumps book, individually wrapped so it doesn’t get covered in orange dust. You read the short story, love it, and discover that TWO more teeny stories can be obtained if you submit enough UPC codes. To sweeten the deal, the promotion includes a cardboard “library” for “shelving” your books.

Ring any bells?

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R.L. Stine – Goodnight Kiss + Goodnight Kiss 2 + “The Vampire Club” (1992-1997)

Review by Justin Tate

Mom didn’t censor me from Fear Street books, but she did ban this one due to its sultry cover. In consequence, I’ve been eager to read it since I was 8. At long last the day has finally come! Take that, Ma.

The restful beach babe with dripping vampire bites is, of course, far more alluring than the PG content within. Still, it’s a vampire novel, so of course sexuality plays a role. The premise involves two attractive teen “eternal ones” who are running low on “nectar” and need a refill. They decide to make it a competition and each picks out a victim for the other to seduce and drain. Enter a group of unsuspecting Shadyside teens on vacation and you have yet another horror encounter for youthful Ohioans.

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