R.L. Stine has crafted many entertaining books in his career, but his most popular and successful work has to be the Goosebumps series. The children’s horror series began in 1992 with the book Welcome to Dead House, and Stine is still continuing to write new Goosebumps books almost thirty years later.
In 1995, just a few days before Halloween, the first episode of the Goosebumps TV series would air on Fox Kids. Just like the books, the Goosebumps TV show was also incredibly popular. Like any successful TV series, Goosebumps has its good and bad episodes, but some stand out more than others.
Updated on December 26th, 2020 by Christopher Fiduccia: A lot of Goosebumps episodes might not be as scary to today’s audiences as they were in the ‘90s, but certain episodes continue to be remembered by fans of the series. Not every episode on this list will necessarily be horrifying, but some just stand out because of how strange the stories are. Now is as good a time as any to revisit the classic series to see which episodes really were the best of the best.
"Scarecrow Walks At Midnight"
“The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight” may not make it into the top 10 episodes of Goosebumps, but it surely deserves a spot in the top 15. This episode focuses on a brother and sister who go live with their grandparents for the summer. It’s something of a yearly tradition, with their grandma and grandpa doing fun activities with them like making chocolate chip cookies and telling scary stories.
This year, however, Jodie and Mark notice that their grandparents are acting weird, and things get even scarier once they realize the scarecrows come to life at night. This episode was one of the better adaptations of R.L. Stine’s books and the scarecrow prosthetics made it stand out even more.
"Say Cheese & Die"
Goosebumps season 1 had a lot of memorable episodes, and “Say Cheese & Die” is one of them. “Say Cheese & Die,” like the title would suggest, is about a magic camera. In the episode, a group of kids accidentally steal the camera from a man nicknamed Spider. When a picture is taken with the camera, it spits out an image of something that will happen in the future.
A few of the pictures predict someone falling off a flight of stairs, a car crash, and even a girl’s disappearance. The idea of the episode is interesting, but seeing Ryan Gosling in one of his very first roles is also a fun reason to watch “Say Cheese & Die.”
"The Ghost Next Door"
Goosebumps has several episodes that involve ghosts, but “The Ghost Next Door” is unique. “The Ghost Next Door” is a two-part episode that centers on a young girl named Hannah. The first half sees her being suspicious of a neighbor boy as she thinks he’s a ghost.
The second episode deals with her realizing that she is actually the ghost and her struggling to come to terms with the fact that she’s dead. Combine the creepy character of the shadow monster and the twist that Hannah is actually a ghost makes “The Ghost Next Door” one of the best episodes in the series.
"Revenge Of The Lawn Gnomes"
The “Night of the Living Dummy” episodes are certainly scary due to having a ventriloquist dummy come to life, and “Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes” is scary for a similar reason. In this episode, two neighbors compete to have the best garden in the neighborhood, but Mr. Burton’s son is accused of destroying Major McCall’s garden overnight. It turns out it was actually lawn gnomes that came to life.
Since Goosebumps used mainly practical effects, the gnomes were brought to life by making the actors’ costumes look like porcelain. Seeing giant gnomes move around in the dead of night is sure to make anybody’s skin crawl.
"Night Of The Living Dummy II"
Slappy is often considered the face of the Goosebumps book series, TV show, and movies- and for good reason. Slappy’s first appearance might not be able to surpass “Night of the Living Dummy III” or “Bride of the Living Dummy,” but “Night of the Living Dummy II” was still one of the stand-out episodes of the series.
This was the first episode that really showed off Slappy’s powers, and the creative team behind the show did a phenomenal job of creating a terrifying prop for the show. The TV show’s version of Slappy is still terrifying today, and the episode even ends with Dennis coming to life, making the episode that much scarier.
"Bride Of The Living Dummy"
Slappy is arguably R.L. Stine’s most popular character. The Living Dummy has gotten a number of books and TV episodes but was also the star of two feature-length films. Slappy’s last appearance in the TV show came in Season 3 with the episode “Bride of The Living Dummy.”
This was one of the few episodes that were based on a book from Goosebumps Series 2000. It was fun to see Slappy in a ventriloquist act, but the episode also included the dummy Mary-Ellen, who was just as frightening as Slappy. “Bride Of The Living Dummy” is one of the best episodes of Goosebumps, even if it comes at the bottom of our list.
"The Haunted Mask II"
After the series was kicked off with “The Haunted Mask” for the series opener, “The Haunted Mask II” was released the following season. The two-part episode sees the return of Carly Beth (Kathryn Long) but also sees the return of the character Steve (this time played by John White).
In the episode, Steve wants a Halloween mask that is as scary as Carly Beth’s. The episode delivers the promise of a monstrous new mask while delivering a story that is nearly as scary as the first. It also helped that the episode was basically a continuation of the first since the haunted mask that Carly Beth wore makes a return.
"A Night In Terror Tower"
Another book that was adapted for a two-part episode was “A Night In Terror Tower.” The episode followed Sue (Kathryn Short) and Eddie (Corey Sevier), two siblings who travel to London with their parents for a business trip. The episode sees the characters travel back in time to the Middle Ages while being chased and eventually caught by a menacing man in black.
The episode not only manages to pack a punch when it comes to the twist ending but manages to stay close to the source material as well. It was also a plus seeing the return of Short, who previously played Sabrina Mason in “The Haunted Mask.”
"Welcome To Dead House"
Welcome to Dead House was the first-ever Goosebumps book released by R.L. Stine, but the TV episode didn’t premiere until Season 2. Welcome to Dead House is one of the most well-known titles in the Goosebumps book series, and the TV episode just so happens to be one of the best episodes of the show as well.
In the episode, a family moves to Dark Falls, which is inhabited by the undead that were affected by chemical fallout. Needless to say, “Welcome to Dead House” isn’t your average tale about flesh-eating humans.
"The House Of No Return"
“The House of No Return” is one of the Goosebumps episodes that isn’t based on one of the original Goosebumps books, but rather a short story within the book Tales to Give You Goosebumps. The episode features a group of kids who call themselves Danger Incorporated, who lock a new kid inside of a haunted house to see if he is brave enough to join their club.
Chris experiences several supernatural occurrences inside the house, but the spookiest thing he saw were two ghosts slowly walking down an old staircase. There are several movies and TV shows about haunted houses, but this episode of Goosebumps is good enough to even give adults goosebumps!
"The Werewolf Of Fever Swamp"
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is another one of the most recognizable Goosebumps books that was made into a two-part special. The episode came in the first season and featured the Tucker family, who moved to the Florida Swamps.
The episode has a lot of creepy elements like the old hermit, spiders, and of course, a werewolf that nobody believes in except Grady. As a rule of thumb, if an episode started off with an introduction from R.L. Stine, you knew you were in for a good scare, and “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” didn’t disappoint.
"One Day At Horrorland"
“One Day at Horrorland” was another two-parter. It sees the Morris family discover an amusement park called Horrorland. The park is filled with what the family thinks are actors in monster costumes, but the creatures turn out to be real monsters who host a game show.
The episode has a fun setting, quirky jokes, and a twist ending that some fans consider to be better than the book itself. It's everything the Goosebumps show should have been, at its frightening best.
"The Haunted Mask"
The Haunted Mask is the eleventh book in the Goosebumps series, but it was chosen to start the TV series in 1995. The episode and book tell a good old-fashioned revenge story about a girl named Carly Beth who is tired of being scared by the other kids at school.
The Haunted Mask is one of the most recognized symbols from the Goosebumps franchise, and it’s not hard to see why. The mask in the 2015 Goosebumps movie was different, but the mask from the TV series was truly scary. Also, who can forget the scene where all of the masks in the Halloween shop come alive and start to float towards Carly Beth?
"Stay Out Of The Basement"
Two of the most memorable things about the 1996 Goosebumps episode “Stay Out of the Basement” were the special effects and the set design. The story is straight from R.L. Stine’s book, but the TV show nailed bringing this story to life.
The episode features a brother and sister who discover that their dad is actually a plant-based clone of their real father. Eventually, the kids do go into the basement to rescue their father, but not before seeing green ooze come from their fake father’s arm and seeing the horrors that are growing downstairs.
"Night Of The Living Dummy III"
“Night of the Living Dummy III” is arguably the best episode of Goosebumps that was ever made. Slappy returns to the series with a new family to terrorize after a puppeteer brings him home. The episode not only features Slappy but a plethora of other dummies and puppets that Slappy brings to life.
The episode surely gave children nightmares back when it was airing on TV, thanks to the combination of the super-scary Slappy prop and the chilling voice of Cathal J. Dodd. Fans even got to see Hayden Christensen before he was Anakin Skywalker and a dummy version of R.L. Stine himself!