Tommy Lee Wallace's Halloween III: Season Of The Witch has influenced several horror creations since it released in 1982. One of the more unexpected ones happens to be a children's book written by R. L. Stine in 1993 titled The Haunted Mask, the eleventh story in his Goosebumps series. Each installment features a unique story that may include creatures, death, blobs that eat people, and haunted houses as well as towers, tombs, and carnivals. While each tale may be influenced by a specific horror movie, The Haunted Mask is undeniably pays homage to and is inspired by Halloween 3.
R. L. Stine is often regarded as the Stephen King of children's literature and his nearly forty years of success are proof of that. His Goosebumps series became so popular that it spawned an entire franchise that includes a television series, two movies, and several spin-offs. There may even be a third installment in the movie series in the future. The Haunted Mask was adapted for television in 1996 as a special rather than an ordinary episode. It has had incredible success for its story about a young girl named Carly Beth who wants nothing more than to scare her peers that continuously torment her for being afraid of everything. After she takes a Halloween mask, it isn't long before it possesses her and adheres to her face. This premise may be familiar, as it is similar to Tommy Lee Wallace's Halloween 3.
The only standalone movie in John Carpenter's Halloween franchise does not feature Michael Myers. Instead, it focuses on the Silver Shamrock Novelties company and the three masks they are marketing to children. By the climax of the movie, it is revealed that these Halloween masks are able to cause brain damage, and kill the wearer instantly. While no one dies as a result of R. L. Stine's masks, the similarities between its appearance as well as its ability to possess those who wear it are quite remarkable, especially given Halloween 3's macabre decision to target children and Goosebumps being largely marketed toward children, much like the Silver Shamrock masks themselves.
The Goosebumps books are marketed towards a young audience while the Halloween franchise is not. With this in mind, it's likely that Stine chose not to include the horrifying elements of children dying as well as having insects and snakes crawl out of them in his book for the sake of his audience. The Haunted Mask's book cover features what seems to be a witch mask. In Halloween 3, one of the three Silver Shamrock masks is a witch. The other two masks are a jack-o'-lantern and a skull.
Stine's original depiction of the witch mask resembles Silver Shamrock's almost to the exact detail. It is important to note that the TV version of the mask has a demonic appearance, with sharp fangs for teeth and incredibly pronounced browbones. Given this, Stine pays homage to Halloween 3 through the book's original artwork rather than the TV adaptation of the story. As The Haunted Mask became one of his most popular tales, a sequel was released in 1995. The Haunted Mask II's book cover shares an even more striking resemblance to the witch's mask in Wallace's movie.
As the years have progressed, the connections between R. L. Stine's stories and classic creature features, slashers, and paranormal horror continue to be uncovered. His homage to Wallace's movie joins the ranks of iconic horror creators who have influenced his various stories, such as The Blob movie and The Blob That Ate Everyone book in his Goosebumps series. Nearly every Goosebumps books has taken inspiration from another work of horror. In the case of The Haunted Mask, Tommy Lee Wallace's Silver Shamrock Novelties and witch's mask of Halloween III: Season Of The Witch were utilized to craft Carly Beth's rather horrifying Halloween night.