Goosebumps is a series of children's horror novels written by American author R. L. Stine.

The protagonists in these stories are teens or pre-teens who find themselves in frightening circumstances, often involving the supernatural, the paranormal or the occult.

Spanning various genres, including horror, comedy, fantasy, adventure, supernatural fiction, thriller and mystery, the world of Goosebumps explores a multitude of themes.

They have captivated a diverse audience, including children and older readers, and have sold over 400 million copies globally in 35 languages as of October 2022,[3] becoming the second-best-selling book series in history (behind Harry Potter).

[8] In Goosebumps stories, the central characters are often placed in remote or isolated locations, diverging from common societal conventions.

[8] The books in the Goosebumps series feature similar plot structures[10] with children being involved in scary situations.

[16] All Goosebumps books are written at a reading level ranging from 3rd to 7th grade[17][18] (8-12 years old, in the US education system).

Stine said that he remembered reading the popular/infamous Tales from the Crypt comic books when he was young and credited as one of his inspirations.

[23] Stine does not attempt to incorporate moral lessons into his novels, and says his books are "strictly reading motivation".

Following the success of Stine's young adult horror novels, the co-founder of Parachute Press (the company that developed the series),[26] Joan Waricha, persuaded him to write scary books for younger children.

[31] The books in the Goosebumps Gold series appeared on illustrator Tim Jacobus's website[42] and marketing sites but were never released.

The first book of the spin-off series Goosebumps Most Wanted, Planet of the Lawn Gnomes, was released in October 2012.

[56] The decline in Goosebumps book sales had made front-page news of most newspaper business sections, which Patrick Jones stated "demonstrates the impact and importance of R. L. Stine.

[60] By 2014, according to Scholastic, there were 350 million copies of Goosebumps books sold in 32 languages,[61] including Chinese, Czech, Spanish, and Hebrew.

[65] In 2003, Goosebumps was listed at number 188 on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's 200 "best-loved novels".

[66] Upon the release of the first book, Welcome to Dead House, Goosebumps received critical acclaim with many critics and readers praising the series for its dark nature, villains, likable protagonists and for being much more mature compared to other children's book series at the time.

Slate's Katy Waldman classified a classic Goosebumps story as "funny, icky, and just a bit menacing".

[22] James Carter, writing in Talking Books: Children's Authors Talk About the Craft, Creativity and Process of Writing, stated "regarding Point Horrors and Goosebumps, I feel that anything that children read avidly is a good thing".

[71] Librarian and writer Patrick Jones commented that "[t]he real horror is a culture where kids, especially boys, don't read—and Stine has done his best to stop that turn of the screw from happening in his lifetime".

According to the ALA, a challenge is an attempt by a person or group to remove or restrict materials from a library or school curriculum.

In the 1990s, a Goosebumps TV series was produced in Canada by Protocol Entertainment in association with Scholastic Productions.

[81] The TV anthology series ran for four seasons from 1995 to 1998,[60] premiering on the Fox Kids Network on October 27, 1995.

[82] The series mainly featured plots based on the Goosebumps books, among them The Haunted Mask and Cuckoo Clock of Doom.

[84] Margaret Loesch, formerly the CEO of Fox Kids, offered Scholastic a TV deal after her son responded positively to the Goosebumps book Say Cheese and Die!

[36] On April 28, 2020, it was announced that a new Goosebumps live action TV series was in the works by Scholastic Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television Studios and Neal H. Moritz's production company Original Film.

[87] A film adaptation of Goosebumps[88][89][90][91] was released on October 16, 2015,[92] directed by Rob Letterman[93] written by Darren Lemke[94] and duo Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski[95][96] with Neal H. Moritz and Deborah Forte, the latter of whom developed the TV series, producing the film[91] and stars Jack Black as a fictionalized version of R. L. Stine "whose scary characters literally leap off the page, forcing him to hide from his own creepy creations" with Dylan Minnette as Zach Cooper,[97] and Odeya Rush was cast as R. L. Stine's fictional daughter, Hannah.

[110] Goosebumps: Night of Scares, a mobile game based on the film and the book series was released for iOS and Android devices on October 15 of the same year.

[119] An attraction based on the series, the Goosebumps HorrorLand Fright Show and FunHouse, opened in October 1997 at Disney-MGM Studios's New York Street.

[123] The books One Day at HorrorLand and A Night in Terror Tower were adapted into two separate board games in 1996.

In 2003, the two sides reached an agreement, with Scholastic receiving the Goosebumps trademark and all other rights to the series for US$9.65 million.