The Monumental Greatness that Is Goosebumps

This October marks not only the annual event for mass candy consumption known as Halloween but also the theatrical release of the long awaited Goosebumps. Starring Jack Black as the fictional version of Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine, Goosebumps tells the tale of what would happen if the famous author’s scary creations were real and accidentally released to wreak spooky havoc on the suburbs of America. We shiver in anticipation to see this nostalgic series brought to life on the big screen. Bookmans Flagstaff is geeking out so hard about the Goosebumps movie that we insisted on throwing party to celebrate this momentous event. More about that later. First let’s discuss what makes this beloved children’s series so monumental.

If you grew up in the 90s, chances are you read a Goosebumps novel or two or a ton. Whether it was The Haunted Mask or Say Cheese and Die or one of the other 60 novellas released between 1992 and 1997, everyone has a fave Goosebumps book. More than likely, these books introduced you to the horror genre. But the Goosebumps franchise doesn’t stop at children’s fiction. Stine’s creation inspired a popular TV show, countless merchandise endeavors and sold out hipster wear at Urban Outfitters. Everyone has affection for these classic tales.

The overwhelming success of these books can be contributed to one individual, Mr. Robert Lawrence Stine. After the success of the Fear Street novels and numerous joke and humor books geared toward kids, Stine embarked on a deal with Scholastic and released the first book in the Goosebumps series, Welcome to Dead House, in July of 1992. Following the success of Dead House, Stine and Scholastic went on to release 62 Goosebumps books over the course of 5 years, releasing on average a book a month. That’s a lot of monsters, friends! Stine is considered the Stephen King of children’s fiction. Like King, Stine, the series and, more than likely, Slappy the Dummy are household names.

Goosebumps hits theaters on October 16. To celebrate this spooktacular event Bookmans Flagstaff hosts a Goosebumps Get Down. At this once-in-a-lifetime event, you can hang with us, make a haunted mask, take home some slime, enjoy our personal favorite episodes from the TV series and win tickets to see the movie in theaters on opening day. Join us from 4 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 10 in the Bookmans Cafe. Not in the Flagstaff area? No worries! Check out The Goosebumps Gala at Bookmans Phoenix on Halloween.

We are huge fans of Stine, not only because we love his books but also because we know from meeting him at Tucson Festival of Books that Stine is just about the nicest person ever. As proof and for your viewing pleasure, take a look at this picture of the awe-inspiring Rebecca, web editor and social media guru for Bookmans, meeting the one and only Stine. So cool!

And so spooky! Who’s that over Stine’s shoulder?!