I’ll be upfront, I’m not the biggest fan of this series. But this book impressed me. This is my second favorite of the Tales To Give You Goosebumps series which revolve around each having 10 short stories each. This one has a Halloween theme (and really doesn’t stick to it, some stories don’t belong in here but we will roll with it). With these stories I look at main criteria such as ability to display horror, tell a cohesive story, and originality. I think this book is close to out of the box as this series got. There’s just one book I think is better than this one. I’ll rate the individual stories now out of 5 stars.
Pumpkin Juice (4/5⭐️)
- I genuinely laughed and had a ball with this story. For those that don’t know, Stine would use this story to make a floundering mess in Series 2000 called Full Moon Fever, this is definitely the superior story. A couple of boys find a recipe for a fun sounding Halloween concoction that turns Halloween Night upside down. Just a silly story but it was entertaining. The twist at the end was also hilarious and fun so I have no problems with this one other than the story lacked logic.
Attack Of The Tattoo (5/5⭐️) (BEST STORY)
- While not my favorite of this book, it is abjectly the best written and easily one of the most creative stories in the entire Tales series. Remember those stick on tattoos you would get as a kid? This story makes a creepy, skin-crawling tale centered around that. It had a likable protagonist and a very funny twist that worked very well. Left things open ended, but in this story it worked amazingly.
The Wish (4/5⭐️)
- This story admittedly could’ve been better than it actually was. Very reminiscent to Be Careful What You Wish For instead done with a Halloween flare. A boy is tormented by his brother on Halloween Night and they reluctantly visit this eerie woman’s house where the boy receives a rock. He disregards the instructions and makes a wish he wishes he can take back. The twist at the end was fun, but out of all of the stories in this collection, this one did feel slightly underwhelming. I can see it being a divisive story though, because it is rather boring and we did see this happen in an OG62 book. I just feel this is a better product than that.
An Old Story (5/5⭐️)
- WARNING: THIS STORY WILL MAKE YOU FEEL A CERTAIN TYPE OF WAY. This easily is the most misplaced story inside of here or at least one of them considering it has little to do with Halloween than any of the stories. And I’d even say it’s so out there, it feels out of place being in Goosebumps. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This story replicates notes similar to child trafficking, and other super serious things. But it’s done to the absolute extreme extent and trust me, it is bonkers. Two boys are being babysat by an aunt they never met and let’s just say the aunt has plans with them… to introduce them to her friends that are 6x their age. The little things in this story are legitimately disturbing, and when the ending comes, it makes it even more disturbing when you think about it. I’d declare this easily as the most memorable story out of the entire series, for better or for worse. Has a TV episode with mild changes, and that stands in its own right as well.
The Scarecrow (4/5⭐️)
- I didn’t know what to expect with this one. Three kids find a scarecrow near the bus stop as it’s approaching Halloween and the Scarecrow presents gifts to each one based on their personalities. The main character notices her friends start falling ill as the temptation to take from the Scarecrow builds in the story. And the ending, well, that’s the problem. The ending ruined this story for me. Felt like a little waste of time, but I can’t knock it was taking this direction the whole time. This one feels like the best written out of the bunch, but it didn’t quite knock my socks off. Still above average though.
Awesome Ants (4/5⭐️)
- This story is also out of place inside of this book. Which is only one of my main issues. This story is a big adventure but unlike books like Go Eat Worms!, Awesome Ants is actually riveting to read through. This one is more action oriented. The twist is alright, I think the TV episode is more iconic in the ending though.
Please Don’t Feed The Bears (3/5⭐️) (WORST STORY)
- Yes, a 3/5⭐️ is the worst story. This story is playing off of a few existing Goosebumps stories. One is One Day At Horrorland, and the other is The Haunted Mask. The setting is reminiscent to One Day At Horrorland as it takes place in some demented Care Bear nightmare of an amusement park, and this girl is upset that her family went there so close to Halloween all because her little sister wanted to go. Now, it does get very bizarre for the character, who is rather unlikable. And the twist ending is something you can find in Trick Or Trap, Monster On The Ice, and The Haunted Mask. But it works, because she’s unlikable. It easily is the dumbest story though.
The Goblin’s Glare (4/5⭐️)
- There’s a story called Why I Hate Jack Frost that emulated this in Book #6 that I find superior. But this story is the blueprint to that story, and the classic that is I Live In Your Basement! (Book #61 in the OG62). This story was super creepy and creative. A boy draws this insanely scary goblin to hang on his front porch for Halloween, but something feels a bit too real about the painting. Reality starts to blur and the ending is something straight outta the Twilight Zone. For it being the first story of its kind in Goosebumps, I applaud it. And I think it’s the most objectively scary story in this book. Had a fun time. (Also, my personal favorite in this book).
Bats About Bats (4/5⭐️)
- This story actually surprised me because I thought I would hate it. A goth-esque girl is invited to a slumber party by these other girls who simply want to find out if she’s a vampire. Since the girl has a weird and unique obsession about bats. What happens though is slightly predictable but with an unpredictable angle to it. This one felt like a creepy sleepover tale that Goosebumps hardly ever ventures down. It feels unique in that regard so I dig it.
The Spacesuit Snatcher (3/5⭐️)
- This was slightly disappointing to end on if I’m being honest. The story just wasn’t a home run for me but it was passable. Around Halloween, a thrifty girl stumbles across a yard sale where she finds a space suit that potentially can link her to aliens she is obsessed with trying to meet. For Halloween, she may or may not entertain wearing the suit and what happens is to be expected. This one gets a pass for its out of the box thought, the plot layout seems fresh for Goosebumps and I’m surprised hasn’t been used to make full-length books by Stine himself. Not the worst, but it barely scrapes by in the okay department for me.
Wow. This book doesn’t really cement faith in this series for me, as Tales is in my permanent bottom 3 as of now. But I think this one will be a revisit every Halloween for years to come. For once, I actually liked majority of these. My actual score is a 4.8/5 and I did give it a generous amount of bonus points for being overall solid. 2 stories genuinely impressed me and I did take away a couple of other ones I think of all of the time. I actually would recommend this one, it doesn’t use the Holiday for cliches other than trick or treating here and there. And it has genuinely scary stories minus a few funnier ones. But even the funnier ones are still enjoyable. Try this one out!