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Give Yourself Goosebumps #22
Return to the Carnival of Horrors
Readers are placed in the character of a young person who has returned to the fateful Carnival of Horrors, where visitors must escape such terrors as the Roller Ghoster before midnight, in a story with more than twenty possible endings. Original.
174 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1997
43 people are currently reading
849 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,683 books18.7k 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 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 17, 2025
I just finished Return Of The Carnival Of Horrors,the sequel to Escape From The Carnival Of Horrors.The story begins with your aunt and uncle telling you they have tickets to a carnival nearby.Your cousin and Patty from the first book goes with you.Your a little reluctant to go,because of the last traumatic experience.You are trying to get past this though and end up going to the carnival.I forgot what happens to your aunt and uncle.Im assuming they are coming back to get you.It dosn't take long for you,Patty and your cousin to pop up on screens all around the carnival for people to find you.These people in question are Big Al's like ghost slaves or something.Your goal is to get out of this carnival before midnight.Your first choice is either look for a way out on the rides or the midway,which is arcade games and different things like that.I chose to go on the rides first.Some of the rides make time go forward and backwards.One of the rides is called The Roller Ghoster,which is this ride with ghosts on it.One of those ghosts throw a decapitated head at you to try to get you to go a certain way.You get to choose if you trust your cousin and friends decisions,as well as the ghosts decisions.It took me a while ro realize one story line can just about lead you to all of them.I know this should be a good thing,but I prefer these books to be split up.I had to use the Goosebumps Wiki for a map.There is also other rides like this saw ride thing,and this T-rex thing.If it seems like I already forgot about the names of these, it's because I did.If you go go to the midway,this leads you to games and other characters that can help you.It turns out if you beat all of Big Al's games,you get to go home and all of his ghost slaves get to be released.The games are some kind of hand-eye coronation game,There is a maze and a game that is shaped like the letter Q where you land on certain things.This wasn't explored enough.I didn't like this book incase you haven't guessed by now.I liked the ghost head throwing and the Elves ending and also the Way out ending.I also appreciated how to defeat Big Al,other then that the rest of this book was pretty forgettable or just bad.Speaking of bad,the hot dog ending has to be the worst things I have ever read.I give Return To The Carnival Of Horrors a two out of five stars.
February 10, 2023
This was honestly quite good! The plot was cool and the development quite engaging.
Some of the decisions were odd and not so logical, but other than that, this was a pretty cool interactive book.
Some of the decisions were odd and not so logical, but other than that, this was a pretty cool interactive book.
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December 8, 2025Return to the Carnival of Horrors (Updated)
“Good Endings”
This first ending is the ending I originally got when reading the book for the first time so I’ll start with it. I was pretty happy about getting it right off the bat and said that the *trick* was to do the opposite thing of what your brain tells you to do.
You wake up after having another bad dream about the Carnival of Horrors. You sigh you escaped the carnival and are in your room. But it turns out you aren’t in your room. It’s ok tho. Your just in your bedroom at your aunt and uncle’s farm. Your visiting them and Patty is with you. You also have a cousin there named Floyd (that’s younger). When you go down to breakfast your aunt tells you she has a surprise for you today. They’re taking you all to a carnival.
You try to get out of it by saying you have a whooping cough but they don’t buy it. Patty tells you it won’t be *that* carnival. It’ll be fun! So that evening you find yourself on the way there. At first your dazzled by the carnival’s sights but then it doesn’t take you long to realize it is *that* carnival. You have to get out of there quick. Should you go to the rides or the midway? We choose the rides (122) and head toward them, but all of a sudden Big Al’s face pops up on many jumbo screens, stares straight at us and says there’s no use trying to escape. They are going to get us!
You try to tell them to just keep moving to blend in with the crowd but they’re frozen. Now you see why. You, Patti, and Floyd are now on the jumbo screens and the oddly dressed Victorian people are moving away from you. You see the choo-choo you took before and hop on, but soon discover that it’s the “Right Away” choo-choo and time is speeding up. Big Al’s face appears and he reminds you that you have until midnight -which is quickly approaching- to pick the right ride. There’s a bridge approaching to you jump into the water or wait until you get to dry land? You decide to wait to get to dry land (131).
As the shoreline approaches, you make a jump for it. Floyd thinks you should take the Log Zoon. Patty thinks you should take the Roller Ghoster. You take the Roller Ghoster (14). The ride looks flimsy. It’s tiny. There are only three seats across. You start to change your mind. Patty tells you to just get in. So, you do (86). The weird thing about this roller coaster is it has a steering wheel. Patty says she wants to drive but the operator says it’s too late. The rest of the cars are coming. There’s a split up ahead. Your friends tell you to go to the left. You turn around and see that there are a bunch of ghosts in the car and want you to go to the right. You decide to listen to the ghosts (76).
You know that this branch veers toward the Hall of the Mountain King. The castle with its towers is the only thing that rises higher than the Roller Ghoster tracks. That means it’s the one place where you might be able to jump off the rickety coaster. You don’t say anything tho for fear the ghost will try to stop you. Dead Man’s Curve is coming up and there’s no way the coaster can jump it. You wait till the Roller Ghoster is level with the top of the castle walls. Then you jam the wheel to the right, against the curve. With a loud squealing of wheels, the cars almost come to a stop. Your heart pounds. You yell eveyone out and then you leap. You land on top of the castle wall and pull Floyd up. You only have a half an hour left (less than).
Do you search the castle or go back to the rides? You decide to search the castle (125). You see a window at the top of the tower and climb up, but on the way up your harassed by flying imps. Still, you make it inside the window. (They’re not allowed in). It’s 11:46. Big Al’s office is at the top of the castle. Luckily, Big Al isn’t inside. His desk is covered with screens, buttons, and dials. You read the labels aloud. “‘Ride Controls. Game Controls. Space/Time Door Controls.’” Floyd fools around with the buttons and a door opens. You hear footsteps. Floyd says give him some more seconds but there’s no time. Do you wait or go through the door? You wait (91), As the door starts to open, Floyd yells “NOW” and you go through. You find yourself in Big Al’s office a month later. You see on his calendar where he was planning to take the carnival to Floyd’s hometown. You get Floyd to send the carnival to Antarctica. You scream from another nightmare and then find out your safe back on the farm. You go down to breakfast and wait for your aunt to tell you there’s a surprise but she says no. It’s just going to be a regular ordinary day.
“Another Good Ending”
You wake up after having another bad dream about the Carnival of Horrors. You sigh you escaped the carnival and are in your room. But it turns out you aren’t in your room. It’s ok tho. Your just in your bedroom at your aunt and uncle’s farm. You’re visiting them and Patty is with you. You also have a cousin there named Floyd (that’s younger). When you go down to breakfast your aunt tells you she has a surprise for you today. They’re taking you all to a carnival.
You try to get out of it by saying you have a whooping cough but they don’t buy it. Patty tells you it won’t be *that* carnival. It’ll be fun! So that evening you find yourself on the way there. At first your dazzled by the carnival’s sights but then it doesn’t take you long to realize it is *that* carnival. You have to get out of there quick. Should you go to the rides or the midway? We choose to try to sneak out the midway (59). You peer at the people around you. They all wear strange clothes, as if they were from another time. They are from different times! you realize. You shudder as you notice their deathly pale faces. Their dark eyes are blank. They look … dead. Oh, no! You recognize these people from your last visit to the carnival. They’re the ghostly inhabitants of the Carnival of Horrors. Big Al blocks your path and declares “WELCOME BACK!”
Big Al reminds you of the rules. You have until midnight to win three games. If you win, you’ll stay there for eternity! You start to play (54). You come to game that says BEAT THE MAZE BY FINDING THE MESSAGE. The man behind the counter tells you the shortest message is the quickest. Is it route 1 or 2. You choose route 2 (22). The message reads ANY YEAR IS A NUMBER. You start to move on to the next game, but Floyd tells you (you) should go back and get your prize. When you go back the booth and the man are gone and there’s a new booth in its place.
Behind the counter stands a fat, bald man selling hot dogs. You ask him about your prize. The hot-dog man glances around. Then he swings up part of his counter on a hinge. It makes an opening large enough for you to squeeze through. He tells you Charlie the Letter-Go Operator is back there. You look through the opening but it’s pitch black. Do you claim your prize from Charlie or decide not to go into the dark tent. You decide not to go into the tent (82). You take a soda instead but Floyd says he never heard of Ghoulie-Cola.
There’s a road race game that a old woman plays, loses, and gives swept up in a blue tornado. The man running the game-who looks like a frog- promises it won’t happen to you. Patty thinks you should play it. Floyd says don’t. It’s too hard, this time you listen to Floyd (89). You come to a booth that says YOU BET YOUR LIFE! NOTHING VENTURED! NOTHING GAINED! DOUBLE YOUR MONEY! DOUBLE YOUR FUN! The man says all you have to do is answer the question ARE 1997 DOLLAR BILLS WORTH MORE THAN 1902 DOLLAR BILLS? Floyd tells you to go for it. You can beat this guy.
Your cousin says he collects coins. Money from 1902 is worth a lot more than modern money. He says he has all these books about money at home. Old paper money is very rare. And anything rare is more valuable. Do you think he’s right or wrong? You think he’s wrong (13). You remember the answer from the maze and answer 1,997-dollar bills are worth more than 1,902, You win and get an old instant camera as a prize. You snap a picture and its your friends screaming up in terror.
Floyd says they’re trying to psych you out but it reminds you of a GB story called “Say Cheese and Die”. Should you ask for advice from the carnival people, try the rides, or have you already won three games? We decide to ask the carnival people (114). You try to talk to a man in a cowboy hat but he thinks its 1872 and August. They run into another man Earnie who says he’s been trapped there for 50 years. He tells them some of the carnival folks believe that if someone escapes twice they’ll all be free. You say you’ll try and he says he and the others will do whatever they can to help. You decide to trust him (70).
Ernie says they can give them hints, warn them away from the really dangerous games. Some of them are rigged. Total fakes. Others are so hard to play you may die trying. Losing some of the games means disaster. They can’t tell them too much tho because they don’t want Big Al to get suspicious. Ernie sees Big Al coming and shoos you away. There are two games One that says LUCKY DAY and another that says HAND EYE CHALLENGE. You look at Ernie and he stares at the Hand Eye Challenge and his right eye closes. You decide not to trust him (27). You walk toward Lucky Day. When you look back Ernie has vanished.
Big Al introduces you to Horrible Harry who looks like a cross between a gorilla and a troll. When you turn around Big Al is gone. It all has to do if your birthday is even or odd. If your birthday is odd you win (90). You win a large, talking robot. You ask it for the time. A series of numbers appear on its body that don’t make sense. It turns out to be the time you have left. Parry wants to go straight to Big Al and challenge him. Your cousin wants to tap into the robot’s brain to find a way out. You decide to go to Big Al to battle him (60).
You get a boy to help you in exchange for a picture. Luckily you have a camera A girl snaps the picture. You and Floyd aren’t in it! Instead, it shows the boy in the cap shaking hands with a grinning Big Al. Patty has a horrified look on her face. Letters gleam on the signboard robot with the words: FINAL SCORE: Beside Big Al, the score reads: 53507 Beside Patty, it reads: 34
Before you can figure out what the picture means, a loud, hearty voice calls you. “I understand you want to play a little game,” the voice booms. Yikes! It’s Big Al! He picks the game Super Fiend and says that according to the ticket (that Igor the robot produces) he can pick the game. The end of the ticket is so sharp it cuts you and your cousin’s game hand so Patty has to play. Patty doesn’t play well and Big Al says if she can turn the score around he’ll let everyone go. You have an idea (47).
You turn the robot upside down and it says *he* loses and the picture shows Big Al standing on his head. You show it to him. He lets out a scream! The Carnival of Horrors whirls around you like a top gone out of control. The midway fades away, as if its millions of lights are blinking out. Big Al seems to be shrinking as he spins. Carnival ghosts swirl around you. They all look happy. Even in the storm of noise around you, you can hear voices cry out: “Free … at last we’re all free!”
Everything disappears in a blur as you whiz faster and faster. Then you land with a thump — right at someone’s feet. You glance around. You, Patty, and Floyd have plopped down at the dusty entrance of a plain, ordinary, rather shabby carnival. The Carnival of Horrors is gone — forever,
“Another Good Ending”
You wake up after having another bad dream about the Carnival of Horrors. You sigh you escaped the carnival and are in your room. But it turns out you aren’t in your room. It’s ok tho. Your just in your bedroom at your aunt and uncle’s farm. You’re visiting them and Patty is with you. You also have a cousin there named Floyd (that’s younger). When you go down to breakfast your aunt tells you she has a surprise for you today. They’re taking you all to a carnival.
You try to get out of it by saying you have a whooping cough but they don’t buy it. Patty tells you it won’t be *that* carnival. It’ll be fun! So that evening you find yourself on the way there. At first your dazzled by the carnival’s sights but then it doesn’t take you long to realize it is *that* carnival. You have to get out of there quick. Should you go to the rides or the midway? We choose to try to sneak out the midway (59). You peer at the people around you. They all wear strange clothes, as if they were from another time. They are from different times! you realize. You shudder as you notice their deathly pale faces. Their dark eyes are blank. They look … dead. Oh, no! You recognize these people from your last visit to the carnival. They’re the ghostly inhabitants of the Carnival of Horrors. Big Al blocks your path and declares “WELCOME BACK!”
Big Al reminds you of the rules. You have until midnight to win three games. If you win, you’ll stay there for eternity! This time you decide to ask someone for advice (114). You run into Ernie who offers you his help if you’ll help free him and the rest of the ghost and decide to trust him (70), Ernie believes that if you escape twice you can free the others. He and the others will help you by giving you hints of which games to play. Big Al comes up and tells you to stop wasting time and play a game. You see two. Ernie nods in the direction of the Hand Eye Challenge but you don’t trust him and go for the Press Your Luck type game (Lucky Day) (27). Your birthday comes up unlucky. It’s an even number. Horrible Harry says its your unlucky day because he has to escort you out. He gives you free tickets and pushes you behind a curtain that leads to the parking lot
Rating: 7 I liked all the good endings. Not any interesting enough bad ones for this plot.
“Good Endings”
This first ending is the ending I originally got when reading the book for the first time so I’ll start with it. I was pretty happy about getting it right off the bat and said that the *trick* was to do the opposite thing of what your brain tells you to do.
You wake up after having another bad dream about the Carnival of Horrors. You sigh you escaped the carnival and are in your room. But it turns out you aren’t in your room. It’s ok tho. Your just in your bedroom at your aunt and uncle’s farm. Your visiting them and Patty is with you. You also have a cousin there named Floyd (that’s younger). When you go down to breakfast your aunt tells you she has a surprise for you today. They’re taking you all to a carnival.
You try to get out of it by saying you have a whooping cough but they don’t buy it. Patty tells you it won’t be *that* carnival. It’ll be fun! So that evening you find yourself on the way there. At first your dazzled by the carnival’s sights but then it doesn’t take you long to realize it is *that* carnival. You have to get out of there quick. Should you go to the rides or the midway? We choose the rides (122) and head toward them, but all of a sudden Big Al’s face pops up on many jumbo screens, stares straight at us and says there’s no use trying to escape. They are going to get us!
You try to tell them to just keep moving to blend in with the crowd but they’re frozen. Now you see why. You, Patti, and Floyd are now on the jumbo screens and the oddly dressed Victorian people are moving away from you. You see the choo-choo you took before and hop on, but soon discover that it’s the “Right Away” choo-choo and time is speeding up. Big Al’s face appears and he reminds you that you have until midnight -which is quickly approaching- to pick the right ride. There’s a bridge approaching to you jump into the water or wait until you get to dry land? You decide to wait to get to dry land (131).
As the shoreline approaches, you make a jump for it. Floyd thinks you should take the Log Zoon. Patty thinks you should take the Roller Ghoster. You take the Roller Ghoster (14). The ride looks flimsy. It’s tiny. There are only three seats across. You start to change your mind. Patty tells you to just get in. So, you do (86). The weird thing about this roller coaster is it has a steering wheel. Patty says she wants to drive but the operator says it’s too late. The rest of the cars are coming. There’s a split up ahead. Your friends tell you to go to the left. You turn around and see that there are a bunch of ghosts in the car and want you to go to the right. You decide to listen to the ghosts (76).
You know that this branch veers toward the Hall of the Mountain King. The castle with its towers is the only thing that rises higher than the Roller Ghoster tracks. That means it’s the one place where you might be able to jump off the rickety coaster. You don’t say anything tho for fear the ghost will try to stop you. Dead Man’s Curve is coming up and there’s no way the coaster can jump it. You wait till the Roller Ghoster is level with the top of the castle walls. Then you jam the wheel to the right, against the curve. With a loud squealing of wheels, the cars almost come to a stop. Your heart pounds. You yell eveyone out and then you leap. You land on top of the castle wall and pull Floyd up. You only have a half an hour left (less than).
Do you search the castle or go back to the rides? You decide to search the castle (125). You see a window at the top of the tower and climb up, but on the way up your harassed by flying imps. Still, you make it inside the window. (They’re not allowed in). It’s 11:46. Big Al’s office is at the top of the castle. Luckily, Big Al isn’t inside. His desk is covered with screens, buttons, and dials. You read the labels aloud. “‘Ride Controls. Game Controls. Space/Time Door Controls.’” Floyd fools around with the buttons and a door opens. You hear footsteps. Floyd says give him some more seconds but there’s no time. Do you wait or go through the door? You wait (91), As the door starts to open, Floyd yells “NOW” and you go through. You find yourself in Big Al’s office a month later. You see on his calendar where he was planning to take the carnival to Floyd’s hometown. You get Floyd to send the carnival to Antarctica. You scream from another nightmare and then find out your safe back on the farm. You go down to breakfast and wait for your aunt to tell you there’s a surprise but she says no. It’s just going to be a regular ordinary day.
“Another Good Ending”
You wake up after having another bad dream about the Carnival of Horrors. You sigh you escaped the carnival and are in your room. But it turns out you aren’t in your room. It’s ok tho. Your just in your bedroom at your aunt and uncle’s farm. You’re visiting them and Patty is with you. You also have a cousin there named Floyd (that’s younger). When you go down to breakfast your aunt tells you she has a surprise for you today. They’re taking you all to a carnival.
You try to get out of it by saying you have a whooping cough but they don’t buy it. Patty tells you it won’t be *that* carnival. It’ll be fun! So that evening you find yourself on the way there. At first your dazzled by the carnival’s sights but then it doesn’t take you long to realize it is *that* carnival. You have to get out of there quick. Should you go to the rides or the midway? We choose to try to sneak out the midway (59). You peer at the people around you. They all wear strange clothes, as if they were from another time. They are from different times! you realize. You shudder as you notice their deathly pale faces. Their dark eyes are blank. They look … dead. Oh, no! You recognize these people from your last visit to the carnival. They’re the ghostly inhabitants of the Carnival of Horrors. Big Al blocks your path and declares “WELCOME BACK!”
Big Al reminds you of the rules. You have until midnight to win three games. If you win, you’ll stay there for eternity! You start to play (54). You come to game that says BEAT THE MAZE BY FINDING THE MESSAGE. The man behind the counter tells you the shortest message is the quickest. Is it route 1 or 2. You choose route 2 (22). The message reads ANY YEAR IS A NUMBER. You start to move on to the next game, but Floyd tells you (you) should go back and get your prize. When you go back the booth and the man are gone and there’s a new booth in its place.
Behind the counter stands a fat, bald man selling hot dogs. You ask him about your prize. The hot-dog man glances around. Then he swings up part of his counter on a hinge. It makes an opening large enough for you to squeeze through. He tells you Charlie the Letter-Go Operator is back there. You look through the opening but it’s pitch black. Do you claim your prize from Charlie or decide not to go into the dark tent. You decide not to go into the tent (82). You take a soda instead but Floyd says he never heard of Ghoulie-Cola.
There’s a road race game that a old woman plays, loses, and gives swept up in a blue tornado. The man running the game-who looks like a frog- promises it won’t happen to you. Patty thinks you should play it. Floyd says don’t. It’s too hard, this time you listen to Floyd (89). You come to a booth that says YOU BET YOUR LIFE! NOTHING VENTURED! NOTHING GAINED! DOUBLE YOUR MONEY! DOUBLE YOUR FUN! The man says all you have to do is answer the question ARE 1997 DOLLAR BILLS WORTH MORE THAN 1902 DOLLAR BILLS? Floyd tells you to go for it. You can beat this guy.
Your cousin says he collects coins. Money from 1902 is worth a lot more than modern money. He says he has all these books about money at home. Old paper money is very rare. And anything rare is more valuable. Do you think he’s right or wrong? You think he’s wrong (13). You remember the answer from the maze and answer 1,997-dollar bills are worth more than 1,902, You win and get an old instant camera as a prize. You snap a picture and its your friends screaming up in terror.
Floyd says they’re trying to psych you out but it reminds you of a GB story called “Say Cheese and Die”. Should you ask for advice from the carnival people, try the rides, or have you already won three games? We decide to ask the carnival people (114). You try to talk to a man in a cowboy hat but he thinks its 1872 and August. They run into another man Earnie who says he’s been trapped there for 50 years. He tells them some of the carnival folks believe that if someone escapes twice they’ll all be free. You say you’ll try and he says he and the others will do whatever they can to help. You decide to trust him (70).
Ernie says they can give them hints, warn them away from the really dangerous games. Some of them are rigged. Total fakes. Others are so hard to play you may die trying. Losing some of the games means disaster. They can’t tell them too much tho because they don’t want Big Al to get suspicious. Ernie sees Big Al coming and shoos you away. There are two games One that says LUCKY DAY and another that says HAND EYE CHALLENGE. You look at Ernie and he stares at the Hand Eye Challenge and his right eye closes. You decide not to trust him (27). You walk toward Lucky Day. When you look back Ernie has vanished.
Big Al introduces you to Horrible Harry who looks like a cross between a gorilla and a troll. When you turn around Big Al is gone. It all has to do if your birthday is even or odd. If your birthday is odd you win (90). You win a large, talking robot. You ask it for the time. A series of numbers appear on its body that don’t make sense. It turns out to be the time you have left. Parry wants to go straight to Big Al and challenge him. Your cousin wants to tap into the robot’s brain to find a way out. You decide to go to Big Al to battle him (60).
You get a boy to help you in exchange for a picture. Luckily you have a camera A girl snaps the picture. You and Floyd aren’t in it! Instead, it shows the boy in the cap shaking hands with a grinning Big Al. Patty has a horrified look on her face. Letters gleam on the signboard robot with the words: FINAL SCORE: Beside Big Al, the score reads: 53507 Beside Patty, it reads: 34
Before you can figure out what the picture means, a loud, hearty voice calls you. “I understand you want to play a little game,” the voice booms. Yikes! It’s Big Al! He picks the game Super Fiend and says that according to the ticket (that Igor the robot produces) he can pick the game. The end of the ticket is so sharp it cuts you and your cousin’s game hand so Patty has to play. Patty doesn’t play well and Big Al says if she can turn the score around he’ll let everyone go. You have an idea (47).
You turn the robot upside down and it says *he* loses and the picture shows Big Al standing on his head. You show it to him. He lets out a scream! The Carnival of Horrors whirls around you like a top gone out of control. The midway fades away, as if its millions of lights are blinking out. Big Al seems to be shrinking as he spins. Carnival ghosts swirl around you. They all look happy. Even in the storm of noise around you, you can hear voices cry out: “Free … at last we’re all free!”
Everything disappears in a blur as you whiz faster and faster. Then you land with a thump — right at someone’s feet. You glance around. You, Patty, and Floyd have plopped down at the dusty entrance of a plain, ordinary, rather shabby carnival. The Carnival of Horrors is gone — forever,
“Another Good Ending”
You wake up after having another bad dream about the Carnival of Horrors. You sigh you escaped the carnival and are in your room. But it turns out you aren’t in your room. It’s ok tho. Your just in your bedroom at your aunt and uncle’s farm. You’re visiting them and Patty is with you. You also have a cousin there named Floyd (that’s younger). When you go down to breakfast your aunt tells you she has a surprise for you today. They’re taking you all to a carnival.
You try to get out of it by saying you have a whooping cough but they don’t buy it. Patty tells you it won’t be *that* carnival. It’ll be fun! So that evening you find yourself on the way there. At first your dazzled by the carnival’s sights but then it doesn’t take you long to realize it is *that* carnival. You have to get out of there quick. Should you go to the rides or the midway? We choose to try to sneak out the midway (59). You peer at the people around you. They all wear strange clothes, as if they were from another time. They are from different times! you realize. You shudder as you notice their deathly pale faces. Their dark eyes are blank. They look … dead. Oh, no! You recognize these people from your last visit to the carnival. They’re the ghostly inhabitants of the Carnival of Horrors. Big Al blocks your path and declares “WELCOME BACK!”
Big Al reminds you of the rules. You have until midnight to win three games. If you win, you’ll stay there for eternity! This time you decide to ask someone for advice (114). You run into Ernie who offers you his help if you’ll help free him and the rest of the ghost and decide to trust him (70), Ernie believes that if you escape twice you can free the others. He and the others will help you by giving you hints of which games to play. Big Al comes up and tells you to stop wasting time and play a game. You see two. Ernie nods in the direction of the Hand Eye Challenge but you don’t trust him and go for the Press Your Luck type game (Lucky Day) (27). Your birthday comes up unlucky. It’s an even number. Horrible Harry says its your unlucky day because he has to escort you out. He gives you free tickets and pushes you behind a curtain that leads to the parking lot
Rating: 7 I liked all the good endings. Not any interesting enough bad ones for this plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2024
This book is the only sequel to a Give Yourself Goosebumps story. Whilst there have been sequels in the series, there has only been one sequel to a GYG instead of books from another series. So does this one outdo the original? Shockingly, I believe it knocks it out of the park. Not only is this one of my all-time favorite cover arts, it is now a top 3 worthy Give Yourself Goosebumps book. Why? Well, this one is very similar to the first book. It’s the same carnival, with some of the same characters and similar rides. Only this version of the story not only excellently creates what sounds like a difficult idea, an actual sequel to a game book, but also improves upon the first books main issue, that being the fact that the original story felt like it didn’t understand what it was trying to be yet. The earlier GyGs have this issue but fully solved it by the time Dr. Eeek rolled around. The original story is was more complicated and less grounded to one idea than others, making it hard to love. This one is at the point in the series where the writers found their footing for each story. It’s the first story—but with better writing and a more simple, digestible, and enjoyable execution. That’s the biggest thing about this book that I love. Now for the other stuff. The book was well thought out and had multiple great endings and unexpected twists, one major one that leads to the greatest happy ending ever even involved a familiar cursed Goosebumps object, as well as just good foreshadowing and subtle moments that make you realize that this book was written by someone who knew what they were doing (like scenes hinted at earlier, reveals hinted at for a while, etc). Pretty much every ending was great and some just as horrific as the cannon ending from the first story. Both storylines felt like they belonged and were equally great. This was also probably the most fun Give Yourself Goosebumps book I have ever read too, which I was not expecting at all. And to top it all off—the Roller Ghoster (which was even referenced in the HorrorLand 2008 game) was the best segment of this entire story, only being beaten by the final showdown with Big Al. Now the only negatives I can say about this don’t affect the score too much. The first of those is how dang complex the pathing was in this book. So many choices all the time lol. And my other negative is the horribly explained game called Q Quest. The writer thought they were slick with making it ‘impossible’ when it was in fact beatable in a multiple ways. It’s strange since you can many symbols from it but the books says you get a certain one without explaining how that’s even possible to get an entirely different one than you actually got. It’s just stupid, but it’s just two pages so idgaf. 10/10, rounded of course. This is my personal favorite GyG, not sure how it ranks next to Camp Run-for-your-life though. Al beat ya, baby! That’s my favorite quote from this story.
February 20, 2022
This book is nowhere close to its predecessor Escape from the Carnival of Horrors which is my all-time favorite Goosebumps. There was barely any originality. And while the 1st book was genuinely scary with a creepy atmosphere and filled with a sense of urgency to get out of the Carnival before midnight, this book does not check any of those boxes. Not only that, I got out of the carnival after only having died THRICE! I was sorely disappointed at having escaped so quickly and reread the whole book several times again to make sure I got to all the endings and read every page. Some books shouldn't have any sequels.
September 23, 2025
This one was more enjoyable than the first with a better overall plot but the ending was meh or I just didn't choose wisely.
Return to the Carnival of Horrors follows you back on your aunt and uncle's farm. You are having nightmares of the carnival still and now your nightmare is about to come true when your aunt and uncle take you to the new carnival in town. I thought it was cool how time was represented in this story.
Return to the Carnival of Horrors follows you back on your aunt and uncle's farm. You are having nightmares of the carnival still and now your nightmare is about to come true when your aunt and uncle take you to the new carnival in town. I thought it was cool how time was represented in this story.
August 10, 2021
I remember reading Escape from the Carnival of Horrors and when this one mentioned Hall of the Mountain King I just wanted to read that one instead.
May 23, 2019
Loved these choose the ending books when I was younger. Didn't really enjoy the storyline completely but loved getting to choose the scares. Went through the book 3 times and didn't make it out any of the times.
November 10, 2023
Def 3.5. I read this for a challenge I'm doing. I haven't read a choose your own adventure in a gazillion years. They are so fun !!!
February 2, 2025
Basically just a better version of Escape from the Carnival of Horrors. 9.5/10
August 28, 2025
This had a fun atmosphere.
February 1, 2026
Non me vai moito, mellor cao outro pero e que non da medo e paréceme un libro moi tonto. Haber que o escritor sería boon e todo eso e as pelis 10/10 pero...
May 28, 2021
The Carnival of Horror was already a fun scenario in goosebumps lore as well as Horrorland. Give Yourself Goosebumps ( Goosebumps Version of Choose your own adventure) multiplies the fun. Just like any CYOA style book , I enjoyed reading and dying through all the fun and entertaining endings until I found the correct path.
October 23, 2016
Return to the Carnival of Horrors is a sequel to the first choose-your-own adventure book in the Goosebumps series titled
Escape from the Carnival of Horrors
. I was a big fan of the first book when I was a kid but I wasn't a big fan of this one. Mainly because it was boring.
Sure, like several of the choose-your-own adventure books from Goosebumps that I've read so far, there are some inconsistencies across timelines but many of the stakes that were in the first book are not here. Okay, for example, in one of the games you can play at the Carnival of Horrors is that you get sucked into a video game. Not too interesting to me.
As for some other things I didn't like, what the Carnival of Horrors is is different from this book as compared to the last one! We learn in this book that the people at the moving carnival are all people who have been trapped there as ghosts and must continue to occupy the carnival. Well, that's a night plot detail, I suppose, but there was nothing of that in the first book.
Eh, whatever.
Sure, like several of the choose-your-own adventure books from Goosebumps that I've read so far, there are some inconsistencies across timelines but many of the stakes that were in the first book are not here. Okay, for example, in one of the games you can play at the Carnival of Horrors is that you get sucked into a video game. Not too interesting to me.
As for some other things I didn't like, what the Carnival of Horrors is is different from this book as compared to the last one! We learn in this book that the people at the moving carnival are all people who have been trapped there as ghosts and must continue to occupy the carnival. Well, that's a night plot detail, I suppose, but there was nothing of that in the first book.
Eh, whatever.
August 27, 2012
well this version was a sequel to the books 'the carnival of horros' not that i've read it.it was ok but a little better than the book 'welcome to the ghost house' seriously there was nothing scary about that book.
August 2, 2013
It was really good I died though I think.
March 5, 2012
#Goosebumps...... Old Memories :) :)
July 27, 2012
I loved this book. Since it was a choose youre adventure well I died from squid strangleing me LOL
September 12, 2015
Choose your own adventure books are so much fun. I make sure to dedicate a lot of time so I can come to every single conclusion possible.
July 13, 2016
This was my absolute favorite Goosebumps book as a kid. I remember checking it out multiples times to reread and learn every possible ending. Lots of fun!
January 24, 2016
A great mystery/horror series geared at kids. Not too scary but enough to give you Goosebumps!
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