The Horror at Chiller House

Goosebumps HorrorLand #19

by R.L. Stine

Take a little Horror home with you! Jonathan Chiller has called the kids from books #13-18 back to HorrorLand to collect payment. The only way for the kids to get back home is for them to win at a HorrorLand-style scavenger hunt. They each must find a red chest. Inside, the miniature Horror will act as a portal to send them back home. They'll be competing against Murder the Clown, Chef Belcher, Mondo the Magical, and three other unsavory characters from the previous six books. Little do they know that all six adversaries are actually Chiller in disguise. And Chiller will lie and cheat his way to victory.

Genres: Horror, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook

163 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2015

About the author

Robert 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...

Reviews

[رزی - Woman, Life, Liberty · Rating 5 out of 5]

امروز بازخوانی مجموعه پارک وحشت تموم شد. بسی لذت بردم^^

[clumsyplankton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually really good I enjoyed reading this and my sister absolutely loved hearing it and thought this was lots of fun

[Gavin Hetherington]

I read all 25 Goosebumps HorrorLand and Hall of Horrors books in one movie-length vlog on YouTube, check it out: https://youtu.be/DsKCfCAAt7g

[Calvin Ramelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book. I read most of the books that led up ti this, and I was so happy to see all of my favourite characters return. Probably one of the best Goosebumps books I've read so far. This has become my go to book whenever I need a dose of goosebumps. Awesome story and I loved how R.L. Stine made a couple of books leading up to it.

[Nai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember when we were little and RL Stine's books were the scariest thing alive?

This story is an excellent trip down memory lane, I remember being in 5th grade and having a RL Stine book club! Stine is truly the master of Children's "Horror" 5/5 stars from me!

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alike to my Panic Park review, I’m gonna do a spoiler review for this book. It’s not a milestone read or anything but it’s certainly one of the most crucial HorrorLand stories—the arc 2 finale. This will also be better organized. And I’ve gotta say—I kinda loved this one! It wasn’t the best HorrorLand book and by no means perfect but it’s still a quick and fun wrap up story.

Positives:

• Jonathan Chiller
From his weird backstory and unique personality, I loved this dude. He was everywhere in the book (a lot of time in disguise) and it was really nice to see his mentally broken personality shine through. He’s really just a sad kid who never quite grew up, and wanted to make his father proud… and sucks at doing so. And the whole friends thing with the costumes is really depressing to see (and a little relatable for me since I don’t have many or any real life friends outside of family) and it made me fall in love with his character. Yeah, prayers to Jonathan ig.

• Execution
Now, whilst I still love and prefer Panic Park as a finale in most regards, one thing this book did better was executing a finale. There’s less characters and each got a relatively good amount of spotlight, the villain had backstory and made some sense, there were greater reveals, and there wasn’t much filler. This just handled the final idea better than Panic Park and was overall better thought out. It even brought up Jessica’s ability to throw her voice, which I thought Stine forgot about by then. That’s nice.

The big upsides out of the way, I really enjoyed the character usage (like I said), the opening segment in 1960, the reveals and twists with the Helpers and stuff, and the book generally being a borderline blast (as I like to call books that almost make me love them).

Negatives:

• Logic Jumps
I think the reveal of Jonathan playing these six characters is, whilst a shocking twist that makes a TON of sense, is weird. You’re telling me no one could tell he was Chef Belcher? And especially Madame Doom? Does this mean he’s trans? Personality disorder? WTF? I love it, but I don’t know how he traveled from place to place so fast, and sounded convincingly female and wasn’t recognized when he just wore a chef hat and apron. It’s dumb.

That’s pretty much my only giant issue with the book. I can’t think of anything else to dunk on… maybe enjoyability taking a toll half way through with the bland scares in Werewolf Woods and the beach segments? Sure. And, of course, the book isn’t gonna knock your socks off. So even without these issues, I’m not gonna give it a ten-out-of-ten.

Rating:
Overall, I give it an 8.5/10. I highly enjoyed this one. It’s a good finale and handled stuff well, and built up this sad but intriguing villain. But there’s logic jumps. Yeah. Also, thought Bim was gonna cameo for a second when Meg grabbed an alien toy. Heart-dropping terror if Bim showed up and said “It’s Bimming Time” and weirdoed all over the Halloween.

[Tarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah! The epic ending of the Horrorland series. Discover the mastermind behind all the dangerous games... but not before one more big (life-threatening) game. A scavenger hunt to be exact. Which turns south when you're being targeted by hunters -- who are shooting arrows at you. Yikes!

Also loved the 1960 intro, which adds historical definition to the story. Do that more often, Mr. Stine, please.

Goosebumps Scary Level for Kids: 3/5
(Especially the running-for-your-lives bit, due to being shot at.)

[ENRIQUE D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it was really good and that Chiller is lonely and he made costumes his friends. The kids did find out how to go back home.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The HorrorLand series is at its best when, on top of the normal story, we get a bit of history and background of the villain. Goosebumps books don't have the most depth and characters aren't built completely. But when they are, I find it very interesting.

And we get a bit of that here. The book begins with Jonathan Chiller's childhood, with a severe father who doesn't believe his son can be anything more than a weak boy who plays with toys. When he tries to hunt with his father, it is a disaster. And that is what pushes Chiller to become the monster he is.

Chiller brings all of the children back to HorrorLand to play a game. They must each elicit the help of different HorrorLand characters to help them find a Horror figurine that will take them home. But it is all a ruse. Instead, he just wants to hunt the children. It's a pretty frightening premise.

Overall, the book has some nice scares and some very cool twists. Combined with the backstory of Chiller and this is one of the better HorrorLand stories and a great way to close out the series.

1. Revenge of the Living Dummy
2. Escape from HorrorLand
3. Who’s Your Mummy
4. The Horror at Chiller House
5. When the Ghost Dog Howls
6. Say Cheese and Die Screaming
7. Creep from the Deep
8. Slappy New Year
9. Weirdo Halloween
10. Dr. Maniac vs. Robby Schwartz
11. My Friends Call Me Monster
12. The Wizard of Ooze
13. Help! We Have Strange Powers
14. Heads You Lose
15. The Streets of Panic Park
16. Monster Blood for Breakfast
17. The Scream of the Haunted Mask
18. Welcome to Camp Slither
19. Little Shop of Hamsters

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a good book! I think this book was a good wrap up to the Horrorland series. I think he made it so that you couldnt put it down.
What another good horrorland story by one of the great, RL stine!
Wonderful.
I only reccomend it to the people that read 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18
ya, so READ THE SERIES

[Sumanth · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is an awesome book but if u have to read this u will have to read at least 4 to 5 other editions of goosebumps horror land books because this is the last edition and all the edition children come here according to their story and adventure u wont understand anything. First we have to read the other books.

[Ryan Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chiller invited 6 kid to pay back their price that they have to pay.So chiller set up a game that if they find a red chest with a little horror it bring them home.But their will be hunter that using REAL bow to kill them.But they found out there no horror in the chest chiller is trying to kill them.

[UK Goosebumps · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this books because it had some violence and childhood trauma to our main character Mr chiller. The story really built up around what happened when he was a child and there was a solid reason as to why he was doing what he was doing rather than a random reason that had never been mentioned. Altogether a solid book to round up the horrorland series!!

[Patcharaporn Siangjen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book was very interesting and fun. It started of with a backstory of the bad guy in the book so that will make me know what the bad guy is like. There are a lot of twists in the book that I was not expecting to happen which really makes the book entertaining.

[Manan Manwani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.............vervy suspenceful story!..........A must read

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good closing to the Horrorland series! Now it's time for Halls of Horrors! Oh the attachments to the characters!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A troubled child now an evil master mind. Can you beat Chiller at his own game

[Harrison Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

So freaky

[Brian Edmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was unsure of how this story would hold up given it is written for elementary readers, but I still really enjoyed indulging in some nostalgia, but also getting caught in the twists and turns that don’t seem to stop. A group of kids, all of whom have had a previous experience with some of Chiller’s merchandise, are transported to Chiller’s gift shop in Horrorland. The reader, at this point, has learned that Chiller grew up in an unhealthy living situation and was extremely isolated as a child, the closest he came to breaking away from the isolation was when he went hunting with his dad, but was humiliated and injured himself. Now with these kids, he is trying to prove to himself and his father that he can be a true hunter. The kids believe that the Helpers they have been directed to will show them the way to chests that contain dolls that will take them home; all the while they will be hunted, so they must hurry. After scrambling and finding two empty chests, they run into Madame Doom who reveals that all the Helpers are actually hunters. The kids are brought back to Chiller’s shop by some guards where a final realization and confrontation occurs. Chiller was acting as all the Helpers/Hunters so he was alone the whole time. The kids take the costumes and impersonate his “friends” and in doing so, drive him crazy, so much so that he tosses the dolls at them so they would stop torturing him. There are a ton of little teases, red herrings, and twists in this story that really make it feel very fleshed out for a 140 page book. I really appreciate the depth Chiller is given and although you never really feel bad because he is literally on the verge of killing kids, you know that what he is doing was due to his twisted childhood, that he isn’t entirely to blame for his condition. I really enjoyed going through Horrorland and finding all the Horrorland jokes that really make the park feel used and tangible. It isn’t just a setting, but somewhere that you could really go and picture in your mind, I think that’s part of the reason why I latched onto this story so much. I’d say one of my favorite parts of the story is also the Helpers and how unique and genuine they all feel. Not necessarily genuine as in wholesome, but in an authentic way, which in itself is so ingenious because they are all acted out by the same person. Its perfect that they all feel so individual because it highlights Chiller’s madness and loneliness, he has had so much time to create his friends in his mind, that they take on a persona entirely separate from Chiller himself. In terms of critiques, I could say that the writing style is simple, or that character development was extremely lacking, but I think that would be ignorant of the scope of the story. The characters were brought back from previous Horrorland installments, meaning in depths looks at the character would be reserved for those stories. With this in mind, the cast is larger than normal with only 140 pages to work with and a target audience all under 10, so I can’t fault it much there at all. If anything, I think the attempt to get the chests in the gift shop with the toy-distraction maybe could’ve been taken out since it didn’t really add much to the story except for one more small twist. Regardless, I loved going back and rereading a nostalgic story and loved even more that it held up even in college.

[Georgiana-Laura Gheorghe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for “The Horror at Chiller House” by R. L. Stine:

It’s the nineteenth book from the “Goosebumps HorrorLand” series written by the bestseller author and master of horror and comedy, R. L. Stine. The story follows the children who were brought back at Chiller House and their cleverness, wits and courage which will allow them to survive Mr. Chiller’s dangerous game.
Mr. Stine attracts his readers through his simple style and the mix of horror and comedy. The readers will find cleverness, bravery, suspense and many things which will give them goose bumps at every page they read. I would like to point that the character Jonathan Chiller may represent the portrait of a person who had an unhappy childhood because of his tough, possessive and over-protective parents. He displays a remarkable talent while playing the roles of several different characters from HorrorLand. He would have been a perfect actor in a one-man show if his parents would have encouraged him to develop his talent instead of forcing him to do the things they like and keeping him isolated from the world.
While reading the book the readers will have a frightful and comical experience which will put their imagination to work.
Along with Chris Grabenstein, James Patterson, Beatrice Masini, Sir Steve Stevenson, J. K. Rowling, Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian, Mr. Stine is the author who will forever be in his readers’ hearts and who revolutionized literature through his unique style and the world which he created.
I recommend this book to readers 12+.

[Haniyhe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the saddest story I've read by R. L. Stine. All the main villain (Jantaan) wanted was a few friends. It shows how much the behavior of families affects the personalities of their children... He was a really smart person, maybe if his mother hadn't treated him like this from the beginning, he would never have started this game... The book really got me involved and so did my emotions. Even though R. L. Stine himself says that the message of these books is just to run away, but this book had a much deeper message: let your children live, they need it. They're just kids. To be honest, the book made me sadder than the horror of the book. Maybe if those 6 kids had actually become friends with him instead of all this... it would have even prevented these things from happening to others in the future, although the way he found friends wasn't the best. But overall, I gave it a low score because I don't like stories like this that have a many characters in them and I prefer to follow the story of one character.

[Brent Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book and good wrap up to the second arch of the horrorland series. I enjoyed that we got some backstory to Jonathan Chiller and why he brought the kids to horrorland again. It’s honestly kind of sad that Chiller was neglected as a child and ostracized from society because of his parents and their insane parental choices. Forcing a kid to have stay at home and not interact with the world around them or talk to anyone else but his imaginary friends is a really interesting concept that hasn’t really been explored in Goosebumps before. Overall the story was fun and fast paced. Definitely a fun read

[Angelica Obregon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short break from all the thrillers and emotional roller coaster of books. 🎢📖

Goosebumps has been my guilty pleasure. It’s short, fast-paced, and an utterly entertaining read. 😄🧟‍♂️ But of course, I am no longer the target audience for these types of books, so logic is out of the question. 🧠❌

Goosebumps HorrorLand #19 is quite a fun read. It started good, but as you move along, it becomes pretty clear this is made for kids — and that’s totally fine. It still delivers on nostalgic fun. 🕸️🎃

But again, a fun read. Sometimes, that’s all you need.

📖 “You may leave Chiller House… but Chiller House will never leave you.”

Rating: 3 ⭐️

[Leander · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Goosebumps series book ever written.

Why?

Just because of a few pages that dealt with Chiller's childhood, it's trauma, and how it made him who he is.
One of the few rare times, when Stine moves on from creating Cardboard Characters.

5/5 stars. Would definitely recommend.

And, also, do read to know who Madame Doom, Murder The Clown, Chef Belch etc really are. And why they are so.

[House of Goosebumps · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.75/10

This book was an extremely fun read, and the Horrorland atmosphere was amazing. The plot was actually really complex and it had many shocking twists and turns. I just didn’t like the ending, it felt extremely anticlimactic. I also liked the first part of the book set in 1960, it was surprisingly sad.

I highly recommend this one but I also would recommend reading books 13-18 before reading this one.

[Sandra Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s time to pay back Jonathan Chiller for the horrors these kids took home in the previous books. In order to leave Chiller House, they must play a game in the park. The dangerous part of the game was that Chiller would be hunting the kids with a crossbow. Oh snap!

The kids go from one horror to another in this scary fun tale! A good read!

[Daze]

Throwback to a beloved childhood author. Kids being offered things in a curiosity shop that go haywire and "curse" them. I see why I enjoyed these books--filled with various monster creatures personalities and kids being terrorized. The pacing is just right even though I can predict most of what is going to happen. I still feel a slight thrill of suspense.

[Sanyam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story all together is AWESOME. I was bored reading Goosebumps in between, but this book was a really good re-fresher. Plus as it was the last book of horrorland, I also feel bad seeing the series end. If you're a Goosebumps fan, you should definitely go for this. 5 stars from me

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 19 in the HorrorLand series, and it was so much spooky fun! When several kids are brought back to the Chiller House in HorrorLand, they find out they must play a game to survive and get to go back home. No Spoilers! I highly recommend this book!

[AnneLaure Gilard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty decent book

It really wasn't scary or exiting. It seemed more of a adventure book than a horror book.
It wasn't scary.