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Goosebumps #61
I Live in Your Basement!
"Don't do this! Watch out for that!" Marco's mom thinks the whole world is a danger zone. She won't even let Marco play softball.But Marco just wants to have fun. So he sneaks off to a game. And that's when it happens. He gets hit in the head with a baseball bat.Now things are getting really fuzzy. Really scary. Because when Marco gets home he gets the strangest call. From someone who says he lives in Marco's basement...
128 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
54 people are currently reading
3017 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,679 books18.6k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
September 8, 2021
Suffering from concussion after a softball accident, Marco starts to see visions of a boy called Keith who claims to live in he’s basement.
It’s one of the oddest books in the series, there’s a real suspense as the reader starts to wonder if what Marco is seeing is true.
The unreliable narration adds to the playful grossness of the story.
The odd ball twist ending might not be the most memorable, but works for this entry in the series.
It’s one of the oddest books in the series, there’s a real suspense as the reader starts to wonder if what Marco is seeing is true.
The unreliable narration adds to the playful grossness of the story.
The odd ball twist ending might not be the most memorable, but works for this entry in the series.
October 26, 2018
#61 "Talk about a MONSTER nightmare!"
Marco has a very overprotective mother. She thinks the whole world is out to get them and won't even let her son play on the softball team. So Marco decides to sneak out to a game. When he gets hit in the head with a softball bat he starts feeling really funny. And strange things start to happen. Like the strange phone calls that are coming from someone who says they live down in his basement!
Marco has a very overprotective mother. She thinks the whole world is out to get them and won't even let her son play on the softball team. So Marco decides to sneak out to a game. When he gets hit in the head with a softball bat he starts feeling really funny. And strange things start to happen. Like the strange phone calls that are coming from someone who says they live down in his basement!
August 29, 2020
RILETTURA, DA ADULTO, DEI "PICCOLI BRIVIDI" N.4
Questo mi è proprio piaciuto!
Molto, molto divertente. Tra body horror quasi gore d'ispirazione fulciana (corpi che si rigirano vomitando fluidi, organi e sangue) e incubi a scatole cinesi.
Lo stratagemma del risveglio dal brutto sogno è super cliché e ripetuto almeno 3-4 volte ma il finale, delizioso, giustifica la presenza di questo stilema ripetitivo e ne rende un piccolo racconto horror vincente. è nelle ultime pagine, d'altronde, si capisce perché la madre sciroccata del protagonista è apprensiva da pagina 1 ai limiti della psicopatia.
Molto carina poi l'idea che il "rovesciare tutto" avvenga, alla fine, anche nella testa del protagonista (questo, tra l'altro, anticipato con un geniale colpo narrativo nelle prime pagine del libro: il tema scolastico con traccia "Scrivi dal punto di vista di qualcun altro).
Questo mi è proprio piaciuto!
Molto, molto divertente. Tra body horror quasi gore d'ispirazione fulciana (corpi che si rigirano vomitando fluidi, organi e sangue) e incubi a scatole cinesi.
Lo stratagemma del risveglio dal brutto sogno è super cliché e ripetuto almeno 3-4 volte ma il finale, delizioso, giustifica la presenza di questo stilema ripetitivo e ne rende un piccolo racconto horror vincente. è nelle ultime pagine, d'altronde, si capisce perché la madre sciroccata del protagonista è apprensiva da pagina 1 ai limiti della psicopatia.
Molto carina poi l'idea che il "rovesciare tutto" avvenga, alla fine, anche nella testa del protagonista (questo, tra l'altro, anticipato con un geniale colpo narrativo nelle prime pagine del libro: il tema scolastico con traccia "Scrivi dal punto di vista di qualcun altro).
September 7, 2020
Wow, that plot went absolutely nowhere.
December 31, 2021
I spent a month re-reading all 62 original Goosebumps books to see if they still hold up today, you can check out my 3.5 hour vlog here: https://youtu.be/2C73xc1FS5o
You can also check out my entire ranking of the original Goosebumps books where I review them from worst to best here: https://youtu.be/lBfaxCOwAnA
You can also check out my entire ranking of the original Goosebumps books where I review them from worst to best here: https://youtu.be/lBfaxCOwAnA
May 17, 2018
I didn’t know David Lynch ghostwrote a Goosebumps book.
June 9, 2020
For starters: I LOVE this book. I could write several long winded, pretentious essays on the various themes presented in this book: how (possible) brain damage in children is related to real and perceived loss of autonomy, how lack of control in one's life makes even small incidents seem catastrophic, comparisons to creatures found in Lovecraftian works, or even comparisons to the body horror found both in Lovecraft and Hellraiser and how various characters respond to said body horror in a more Lovecraftian or Hellraiser manner. There is so much to unpack in this relatively short book, that a mere review could not do it justice. So I will refrain from digging into the meat, and simply present you with why you should read it:
1. There's no plot, and it is terrifying. The book presents an endless spiral of ever increasing horror as the main character has reality wrested away from him again and again by a semi-malevolent being who desires utter control over him.
2. Body horror, so much of it. This is pushing the boundaries of "child friendly" gore. Organs are pulled or ejected from bodies in endless, sickening streams, and someone even turns inside out. The characters are not necessarily suffering, which is the only reason I think this can actually qualify as "child friendly." If what occurs in this book was accompanied by a line that suggested agony, then bam! Diet Hellraiser. (For people not wanting their children to be traumatized, this might count as a reason to NOT read it...or at least to wait until they're older.)
3. Read the ending CAREFULLY. If you pay attention, it adds much more depth to the story then you may initially believe. Wording is important.
Last things I want to note:
It may be that being an adult is what allowed me to love this book as much as I do, as I don't remember liking it as a kid. I think exposure to more adult horror (particularly the aforementioned Lovecraft, with the use of dreams as a method of communication with other planes of existence and/or entities that can induce madness) gave me a new perspective from which to judge this book, so I may be biased towards this book BECAUSE of how much I love those other things.
Another quick note: my comparison to Hellraiser has more to do with certain allusions in the book to the body horror being seen as good or pleasant by certain characters.
In conclusion:
If the above points sound interesting, then you honestly can't go wrong, particularly if you enjoy body horror and unreality in your Goosebumps books. Highly recommended!
1. There's no plot, and it is terrifying. The book presents an endless spiral of ever increasing horror as the main character has reality wrested away from him again and again by a semi-malevolent being who desires utter control over him.
2. Body horror, so much of it. This is pushing the boundaries of "child friendly" gore. Organs are pulled or ejected from bodies in endless, sickening streams, and someone even turns inside out. The characters are not necessarily suffering, which is the only reason I think this can actually qualify as "child friendly." If what occurs in this book was accompanied by a line that suggested agony, then bam! Diet Hellraiser. (For people not wanting their children to be traumatized, this might count as a reason to NOT read it...or at least to wait until they're older.)
3. Read the ending CAREFULLY. If you pay attention, it adds much more depth to the story then you may initially believe. Wording is important.
Last things I want to note:
It may be that being an adult is what allowed me to love this book as much as I do, as I don't remember liking it as a kid. I think exposure to more adult horror (particularly the aforementioned Lovecraft, with the use of dreams as a method of communication with other planes of existence and/or entities that can induce madness) gave me a new perspective from which to judge this book, so I may be biased towards this book BECAUSE of how much I love those other things.
Another quick note: my comparison to Hellraiser has more to do with certain allusions in the book to the body horror being seen as good or pleasant by certain characters.
In conclusion:
If the above points sound interesting, then you honestly can't go wrong, particularly if you enjoy body horror and unreality in your Goosebumps books. Highly recommended!
September 6, 2020
This book was absolutely crazy. I had a hard time following the narrative. You think you know what's real and what's a dream and then it changes...several times. After the third "twist", I was annoyed and didn't care about what was the truth anymore.
The ending itself was absolutely awful and felt like a cheap cop-out. The only reason this gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because I was enjoying the book before it lost its damn mind and couldn't decide on a surprise ending.
The ending itself was absolutely awful and felt like a cheap cop-out. The only reason this gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because I was enjoying the book before it lost its damn mind and couldn't decide on a surprise ending.
January 2, 2024
Excellent story with disturbing imagery and one of the most frightening villains in Goosebumps. Though the book is phenomenal, there are a few bumps here and there but the story itself is just a chef’s kiss.
October 28, 2015
The part at the end of the book had a sudden twist! It surprised me as I didn't see that coming!
December 16, 2022
All goosebumps books are scary and no doubt written very well. I have always wondered how the writer got all these ideas of terrifying people. It's where my mind never gets. I never get these types of thoughts, and can never imagine anything like it and that’s why I love these books.
This book like every other goosebump gives you goosebumps. This gives you one difference though, you will be utterly confused until the end, for you can’t figure out what is going on. I read the complete book and am still confused as to what it really is. Who was actually hut?
It’s a perfect book to make you terrified of your own reality. It will confuse you and you will start looking into your own memories if you remember everything about yourself. Because When I read this book, I was not sure how someone could actually forget their memories but people do, and it's terrifying.
It felt like the stories are written in a twisted manner but are actually showing the real-life problems, the horror of them, the fears people face, the problems. Like in this one I felt the fear of losing my memories.
I love how this book is written.
This book like every other goosebump gives you goosebumps. This gives you one difference though, you will be utterly confused until the end, for you can’t figure out what is going on. I read the complete book and am still confused as to what it really is. Who was actually hut?
It’s a perfect book to make you terrified of your own reality. It will confuse you and you will start looking into your own memories if you remember everything about yourself. Because When I read this book, I was not sure how someone could actually forget their memories but people do, and it's terrifying.
It felt like the stories are written in a twisted manner but are actually showing the real-life problems, the horror of them, the fears people face, the problems. Like in this one I felt the fear of losing my memories.
I love how this book is written.
October 6, 2025
9.5/10
One of the greatest Goosebumps books ever written.
The main premise of this book is being unsure whether you are dreaming or not, which I really liked. This books psychological horror elements and gory moments were absolutely incredible. The only reason this is 9.5/10 is because I thought the ending was slightly underwhelming, but nonetheless, this book is absolutely amazing and terrifying, I could not recommend it more.
One of the greatest Goosebumps books ever written.
The main premise of this book is being unsure whether you are dreaming or not, which I really liked. This books psychological horror elements and gory moments were absolutely incredible. The only reason this is 9.5/10 is because I thought the ending was slightly underwhelming, but nonetheless, this book is absolutely amazing and terrifying, I could not recommend it more.
April 7, 2024
This book was frustrating. If I had read this as a child, it probably would’ve been my first introduction to an unreliable narrator. I didn’t know what was real and what was fake. I had a suspicion about the ending though.
October 17, 2025
"My name is Chris and I live in your car..."
This book is awesome! I read it again one last time before selling my near mint copy to a collector. I had the most trippy experience, I have to tell you about it.
My name is Trent and the guy buying the book was named Chris. He was a bit late coming to pick up the book. It wasn't a big deal, I'd just drive to the gym later. He forgot he had to stop at an ATM beforehand. $90. I gave him a bit of a deal because he was a local and it was the last book he needed. Figured it would be nice to help him out.
When the guy arrived he had the cash in his hand already. But we talked for a bit. He asked where I got the book, and I told him it was from a flea market on Osborne maybe 10 years ago. We talked some more, then I traded the book, in its clear plastic cover, for the crisp bills. Then we wished each other a good evening. I was glad to help him out, and to have the extra cash.
I grabbed my gym bag and headed to the garage. When I opened the car door I gasped in shock. The guy, Chris, was sitting in the driver's seat. He grinned and said "Can I show you something creepy?" Then he opened his mouth wide... I choked out a "what?!" but was lost for words. His mouth kept opening wider and wider, unnaturally wide. I slammed the door, screamed, and ran back to the house.
Then I woke up! I had fallen asleep in the car, still buckled into the driver's seat. It was a long day at work and I was going to go to the gym early. I guess I got to the car, which was parked on the road in front of the house, but I got a little too comfy. I noticed I had packed the book "I Live in Your Basement". I still owned it. No one had bought it off my ebay yet, maybe I should reduce the price. I picked it up from the passenger seat and decided to read a bit to help wake up before going to the gym. I still had time.
Well, I ended up reading the whole thing. That's right, I read the entire book in one sitting! At times I looked up from the book. It was drizzling, but still a beautiful October day. The orange and yellow leaves had not yet all fallen off the tree branches. I saw neighbors walking dogs, a girl delivering flyers on a wagon, the squirrels hopping around on the grass... The book had such interesting twists, and it was so fun and trippy to read! The protagonist has to do a writing assignment, from the perspective of a different character. how meta, clever! The sky got darker and darker as I read, until I had to start the car and turn on the driver cabin light. I couldn't believe how gory and gross some parts of the book were. But not in a violent way, just in a really trippy way.
When I finished I laughed to myself at having read the whole thing. That's not something people usually do. I had never done so, at least. It was really refreshing. At that point it had gotten too late, so I decided to just turn off the car and forget the gym. Now I'm at home in my room typing up this review. I posted it and went to bed.
~~~
Chris drove to the gym in the rain, the windows obscured by the raindrops, periodically wiped away. "What a weird dream!" he said to himself, then laughed. "No, I mean what a weird book!" Finally his Goosebumps book collection was complete. Some kind of 90s childhood nostalgia psychological gold star.
He was almost at the gym when he realized he actually had no idea where he was. He had typed the wrong address into Google Maps and was in an unfamiliar neighborhood. He adjusted the map and realized he was still 15 minutes away. He couldn't stop thinking about the book and how out of sorts he felt. No wonder he went the wrong way.
At the gym parking lot he pulled out his phone and typed up a review. What a weird story...
This book is awesome! I read it again one last time before selling my near mint copy to a collector. I had the most trippy experience, I have to tell you about it.
My name is Trent and the guy buying the book was named Chris. He was a bit late coming to pick up the book. It wasn't a big deal, I'd just drive to the gym later. He forgot he had to stop at an ATM beforehand. $90. I gave him a bit of a deal because he was a local and it was the last book he needed. Figured it would be nice to help him out.
When the guy arrived he had the cash in his hand already. But we talked for a bit. He asked where I got the book, and I told him it was from a flea market on Osborne maybe 10 years ago. We talked some more, then I traded the book, in its clear plastic cover, for the crisp bills. Then we wished each other a good evening. I was glad to help him out, and to have the extra cash.
I grabbed my gym bag and headed to the garage. When I opened the car door I gasped in shock. The guy, Chris, was sitting in the driver's seat. He grinned and said "Can I show you something creepy?" Then he opened his mouth wide... I choked out a "what?!" but was lost for words. His mouth kept opening wider and wider, unnaturally wide. I slammed the door, screamed, and ran back to the house.
Then I woke up! I had fallen asleep in the car, still buckled into the driver's seat. It was a long day at work and I was going to go to the gym early. I guess I got to the car, which was parked on the road in front of the house, but I got a little too comfy. I noticed I had packed the book "I Live in Your Basement". I still owned it. No one had bought it off my ebay yet, maybe I should reduce the price. I picked it up from the passenger seat and decided to read a bit to help wake up before going to the gym. I still had time.
Well, I ended up reading the whole thing. That's right, I read the entire book in one sitting! At times I looked up from the book. It was drizzling, but still a beautiful October day. The orange and yellow leaves had not yet all fallen off the tree branches. I saw neighbors walking dogs, a girl delivering flyers on a wagon, the squirrels hopping around on the grass... The book had such interesting twists, and it was so fun and trippy to read! The protagonist has to do a writing assignment, from the perspective of a different character. how meta, clever! The sky got darker and darker as I read, until I had to start the car and turn on the driver cabin light. I couldn't believe how gory and gross some parts of the book were. But not in a violent way, just in a really trippy way.
When I finished I laughed to myself at having read the whole thing. That's not something people usually do. I had never done so, at least. It was really refreshing. At that point it had gotten too late, so I decided to just turn off the car and forget the gym. Now I'm at home in my room typing up this review. I posted it and went to bed.
~~~
Chris drove to the gym in the rain, the windows obscured by the raindrops, periodically wiped away. "What a weird dream!" he said to himself, then laughed. "No, I mean what a weird book!" Finally his Goosebumps book collection was complete. Some kind of 90s childhood nostalgia psychological gold star.
He was almost at the gym when he realized he actually had no idea where he was. He had typed the wrong address into Google Maps and was in an unfamiliar neighborhood. He adjusted the map and realized he was still 15 minutes away. He couldn't stop thinking about the book and how out of sorts he felt. No wonder he went the wrong way.
At the gym parking lot he pulled out his phone and typed up a review. What a weird story...
February 23, 2021
Have you seen any freaky dream and tried to wake up, & felt that you are still in your dream?
I LIVE IN YOUR BASEMENT, 61st book from the Goosebumps series by R L Stine.
Marco hit by a baseball bat, finds himself undergoing strange events, one after the other and cannot recognise weather what is happening with him is for real or just a dream. His mother is really worried about his hallucinations and weird conditions but he is determined to prove her wrong, & show her what he claims is truth.
He says that Keith, a boy lives in their basement . No one initially believes him and only he is able to see Keith. Is Keith real? Or is it just the hallucination of Marco? Or is it something else? As always this book is also one of the freaky stories from the many from goosebumps series. Get ready to get goosebumps, if you are light hearted person and scared of the supernatural 😉👍
The stories in Goosebumps series ,has lots of scope but even then the story is not strong enough. It needed some improvements to make the plot much more stronger.
"The ground tilled up.
But I still didn't feel anything.
Then the pain exploded in my head.
Exploded..Exploded...Exploded.
Everything flashed bright red.
So bright , I had to shut my eyes."
#iliveinyourbasement #goosebumps #series #book61 #story #horror #monster #thriller #childrensbook #rlstine #review #book #bookreview #readerssnapshot
I LIVE IN YOUR BASEMENT, 61st book from the Goosebumps series by R L Stine.
Marco hit by a baseball bat, finds himself undergoing strange events, one after the other and cannot recognise weather what is happening with him is for real or just a dream. His mother is really worried about his hallucinations and weird conditions but he is determined to prove her wrong, & show her what he claims is truth.
He says that Keith, a boy lives in their basement . No one initially believes him and only he is able to see Keith. Is Keith real? Or is it just the hallucination of Marco? Or is it something else? As always this book is also one of the freaky stories from the many from goosebumps series. Get ready to get goosebumps, if you are light hearted person and scared of the supernatural 😉👍
The stories in Goosebumps series ,has lots of scope but even then the story is not strong enough. It needed some improvements to make the plot much more stronger.
"The ground tilled up.
But I still didn't feel anything.
Then the pain exploded in my head.
Exploded..Exploded...Exploded.
Everything flashed bright red.
So bright , I had to shut my eyes."
#iliveinyourbasement #goosebumps #series #book61 #story #horror #monster #thriller #childrensbook #rlstine #review #book #bookreview #readerssnapshot
May 14, 2021
*Yawn* Oh sorry, I just woke up from a nap. Anyway, let's get this review out of the way, shall we?
So this book had a lot going for it right away, personally. I love the whole psychological horror aspect of the story. Starts off fairly strong, it begins to get pretty creepy around the middle of the book, I'm thinking to myself the whole time, 'Man, I don't remember this G.B. book being this good..." and then, some a little after the halfway point, Marco, our main character, keeps "waking up" after having weird and creepy things happen to him. The first couple of times was like, "okay..." and then it just keeps happening... and happening, discrediting EVERYTHING that's happened in the book previously, and after waking up multiple times, sometimes with reality being changed a little each time, I just stopped caring about the story. I completely lost interest. Nothing really made sense by the last 30 or so pages of the book. And then of course we have the ending. It was really weak. Didn't even really feel like an ending; more like, R.L. Stine just decided to stop writing after realizing how much of a mess the story had become.
I loved the idea, as I mentioned, started out strong, some creepy psychological horror stuff here, but it was all VERY poorly executed, resulting in one of the most jumbled, cluttered stories of all of Goosebumps, with a weak ending to match.
I give this one a 2 / 5 stars. The only reason I'm not giving it a 1 is because the first half of the story was actually decent.
*Yawn*
Well, that sure was a good nap... I feel so refreshed... although, I was having this weird, creepy dream, where I was writing a review for this book called... nahh, nevermind. You wouldn't believe me anyway. A book like that doesn't exist.
So this book had a lot going for it right away, personally. I love the whole psychological horror aspect of the story. Starts off fairly strong, it begins to get pretty creepy around the middle of the book, I'm thinking to myself the whole time, 'Man, I don't remember this G.B. book being this good..." and then, some a little after the halfway point, Marco, our main character, keeps "waking up" after having weird and creepy things happen to him. The first couple of times was like, "okay..." and then it just keeps happening... and happening, discrediting EVERYTHING that's happened in the book previously, and after waking up multiple times, sometimes with reality being changed a little each time, I just stopped caring about the story. I completely lost interest. Nothing really made sense by the last 30 or so pages of the book. And then of course we have the ending. It was really weak. Didn't even really feel like an ending; more like, R.L. Stine just decided to stop writing after realizing how much of a mess the story had become.
I loved the idea, as I mentioned, started out strong, some creepy psychological horror stuff here, but it was all VERY poorly executed, resulting in one of the most jumbled, cluttered stories of all of Goosebumps, with a weak ending to match.
I give this one a 2 / 5 stars. The only reason I'm not giving it a 1 is because the first half of the story was actually decent.
*Yawn*
Well, that sure was a good nap... I feel so refreshed... although, I was having this weird, creepy dream, where I was writing a review for this book called... nahh, nevermind. You wouldn't believe me anyway. A book like that doesn't exist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2014
Reader beware you're in for a scare!
I'm gonna read like it's 1994! I was 6 when I first started these books, borrowed 'Night Of The Living Dummy' from one of my friends and I was hooked from there. I read them all through the 90's and loved them. I only stopped when the 'Goosebumps 2000' series came out but I'm not sure if that's because they were rubbish or I was just getting older and had started to lose interest.
If I only started reading the Goosebumps books as an adult, I don't think I would have thought much of them but because they still give me this nostalgic, fuzzy feeling. I just can't hate them. The plot to this one, was all over the place. Was it a dream? Was Marco the mean one, was Keith? Seriously, who calls a monster Keith? None of it made any sense. Stine must have really started to run out of ideas by the time he got to number 61!
I'm gonna read like it's 1994! I was 6 when I first started these books, borrowed 'Night Of The Living Dummy' from one of my friends and I was hooked from there. I read them all through the 90's and loved them. I only stopped when the 'Goosebumps 2000' series came out but I'm not sure if that's because they were rubbish or I was just getting older and had started to lose interest.
If I only started reading the Goosebumps books as an adult, I don't think I would have thought much of them but because they still give me this nostalgic, fuzzy feeling. I just can't hate them. The plot to this one, was all over the place. Was it a dream? Was Marco the mean one, was Keith? Seriously, who calls a monster Keith? None of it made any sense. Stine must have really started to run out of ideas by the time he got to number 61!
November 4, 2015
I Live in Your Basements was good until it very rapidly wasn't. Marco gets hit in the head with a baseball bat, blacks out, and his life hasn't been the same since. Everything is just a bit off, and it's actually super chilling to read about this poor kid who is trying to figure out why some of his memories are gone and why his doctor wants to take out his brain... but the unnerving unknowing quickly turns absurd as Stine plays out the "and it was just a dream" scenarios rather quickly, each one sillier than the last. Alas... at least the first half was good?
October 20, 2015
Of all the Goosebumps books, this has some of the most gruesome imagery. It almost seems out of place for how tame the others are, but it's very well done.
As always, you have to keep in mind that this is a book written for children. It's not a literary masterpiece. There are some issues with words and setences being repeated, as well as almost too many fakeouts, but its a great story with some great themes.
As always, you have to keep in mind that this is a book written for children. It's not a literary masterpiece. There are some issues with words and setences being repeated, as well as almost too many fakeouts, but its a great story with some great themes.
September 12, 2020
This story was surprisingly horrific for a Goosebumps book. It felt like David Lynch made a guest appearance in the series. But it was in a lot of ways better than the average Goosebumps.
December 3, 2024
RL Stine wrote I Live in Your Basement while in his David Lynch era. That’s my theory at least. I mean it with both the pros and the cons that come with the comparison. On one hand, the book was delightfully weird at times and it kept me guessing. On the other hand… I’m still a bit confused about how it all fits together. There’s a twist at the end that “explains” all of the random idiosyncrasies of the book, but I don’t think it was successful. It relies really heavily on a pretty wild concept in order to work. I often use the term half-baked when criticizing these books, and I usually mean it in the negative. I don’t want to use that here. Maybe a more abt metaphor would be wine that needed some more to age. This book had the right ingredients, but it needed some more time for gestation. I also appreciate a book that takes big swings and misses over a book that plays it safe and succeeds. I Live in Your Basement was messy but ambitious, and I like that about it. Even with its faults, it managed to be interesting.
Score: 3.5
For my snark-filled, spoiler-laced, deep-dive review; check out my blog:
Blog Review I Instagram I BlueSky
Score: 3.5
For my snark-filled, spoiler-laced, deep-dive review; check out my blog:
Blog Review I Instagram I BlueSky
January 12, 2018
Qualcosa raspa nel seminterrato
Bella stoccata da parte di Stine, soprattutto considerando la tappa numero sessantuno che la serie di Piccoli Brividi tocca proprio con questo volumetto.
Emissioni degli organi interni per via orale - Fulci docet - e ribaltamento di prospettiva fulminante sono i due ingredienti principali per una storia inquietante e dagli atipici tratti weird.
Bella stoccata da parte di Stine, soprattutto considerando la tappa numero sessantuno che la serie di Piccoli Brividi tocca proprio con questo volumetto.
Emissioni degli organi interni per via orale - Fulci docet - e ribaltamento di prospettiva fulminante sono i due ingredienti principali per una storia inquietante e dagli atipici tratti weird.
July 8, 2018
This book was good for what it was. At first I was a bit concern that it was going to be his mother that was the monster in the basement but it turned out that she was just an over protective mother. But jeez can you get any more overprotective!
So Marko gets hit upside his head with a bat and get knocked unconscious. The book is a series of dreams where Marko is pretty much Haunted by a kid named Keith who says that he lives in the basement and is going to force Marko to take care of him his whole life. Of course anytime Marko tries to show Keith to his mother or any other person he miraculously disappears.
It was a bit confusing because in one dream he doesn't have any siblings, then a next one he has a sister, the next one his mother is a monster. It was hard to keep up with.
I would actually not recommend this to anyone under 13...lol... its a bit scary.
So Marko gets hit upside his head with a bat and get knocked unconscious. The book is a series of dreams where Marko is pretty much Haunted by a kid named Keith who says that he lives in the basement and is going to force Marko to take care of him his whole life. Of course anytime Marko tries to show Keith to his mother or any other person he miraculously disappears.
It was a bit confusing because in one dream he doesn't have any siblings, then a next one he has a sister, the next one his mother is a monster. It was hard to keep up with.
I would actually not recommend this to anyone under 13...lol... its a bit scary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2023
I will say that I liked the constant vibes of an unreliable narrator. This is one of the first times I truly questioned what was real and what may or may not be happening in a Goosebumps book. But this is book #61 in the original series and this twist at the end is tired and done to death at this point it feels?
Read
October 20, 2022appreciating how fast anushka and i finished this book
March 4, 2023
Read the series when I was a kid.
Loved them so much! They are the perfect type of scary to read when your young.
Then I ReRead the whole series to my son.
And he loved them as much as I did.
Loved them so much! They are the perfect type of scary to read when your young.
Then I ReRead the whole series to my son.
And he loved them as much as I did.
May 18, 2024
Pretty much every new chapter "I woke up from the dream" 🙄 some goosbumps are ok, this one is just repetitive garbage
April 29, 2022
Just wild!
Would love to see this adapted by David Lynch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEUlW...
Would love to see this adapted by David Lynch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEUlW...
November 30, 2020
I Live in Your Basement
PLOT: CRAAAAACK! And he’s OUT (after a clunk on the head with a baseball bat). When Marco comes to he’s missing a few key details about the events in his life that took place afterward. Could it have anything to do with a caller on the other end of the phone that calls himself Keith that lives in his basement and wants him to take care of him the rest of his life? Or could it be all a great big hallucination caused by the bump on the head that’s causing him to wake up to a different set of events day after day?
My Thoughts: I still don’t think I have a grip on this one. VERY CONFUSING! We’re left wondering what’s what in this jumbled plotline. I wasn’t sure half the time if the events going on were hallucinations or dreams or where reality started and stopped. Then we get the repetitive twist of this is the monster’s reality. Sighing. Maybe it was clever the first couple of books this reveal was used but by the umpteenth book, it just feels WORN OUT. And this is when you know it’s time to retire your memories of a series and put it to bed with the good memories intact. This was just as much a nightmare to read as it was for Marco to dream the events in it. And then why does the monster want the boy to take care of him for the rest of his life? This one was just OFF!!! Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. While I wasn’t crazy about this one, what did feel familiar to me was the mother. OMG! I was thinking how does R.L. Stein know my mother. “Don’t leave the windows open at night. People will look inside the blinds.” “Don’t sit on the porch. Someone might walk up on you.” “Stop eating all that ranch dressing. It’ll give you high blood pressure.” It goes ON and ON and ON. I thought my mother was the only one that did this.
Rating: 4
PLOT: CRAAAAACK! And he’s OUT (after a clunk on the head with a baseball bat). When Marco comes to he’s missing a few key details about the events in his life that took place afterward. Could it have anything to do with a caller on the other end of the phone that calls himself Keith that lives in his basement and wants him to take care of him the rest of his life? Or could it be all a great big hallucination caused by the bump on the head that’s causing him to wake up to a different set of events day after day?
My Thoughts: I still don’t think I have a grip on this one. VERY CONFUSING! We’re left wondering what’s what in this jumbled plotline. I wasn’t sure half the time if the events going on were hallucinations or dreams or where reality started and stopped. Then we get the repetitive twist of this is the monster’s reality. Sighing. Maybe it was clever the first couple of books this reveal was used but by the umpteenth book, it just feels WORN OUT. And this is when you know it’s time to retire your memories of a series and put it to bed with the good memories intact. This was just as much a nightmare to read as it was for Marco to dream the events in it. And then why does the monster want the boy to take care of him for the rest of his life? This one was just OFF!!! Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. While I wasn’t crazy about this one, what did feel familiar to me was the mother. OMG! I was thinking how does R.L. Stein know my mother. “Don’t leave the windows open at night. People will look inside the blinds.” “Don’t sit on the porch. Someone might walk up on you.” “Stop eating all that ranch dressing. It’ll give you high blood pressure.” It goes ON and ON and ON. I thought my mother was the only one that did this.
Rating: 4
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