Gattsy on Goosebumps

These days, everybody loves "gaming"; who among us hasn't spent at least one evening with a big bag of Doritos playing the latest "Call the Duty: Mario Boys" video game?? However, did you know that video games used to come in board format? They were called board games, and families used to play them while they waited for father to come home from the acid mill. Sam and I investigate the Goosebumps franchise's answer to this quirky trend as we sit down with a few bottles of happy sauce and play 'Shrieks and Spiders'.

Ah, the American mid-west; historic home of rolling fields of corn and historic laws concerning who can and can't legally marry. But this idyllic slice of American Pie harbors a bitter aftertaste. For generations, the humble scarecrow has watched over these crops without complaint; what happens when our scarecrows say: "No More"?

The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight is the twentieth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1994.

Ahoy, mateys! It's Captain Gattsy here on the SS Goosebumps, here to tell ye about the nautical tale of Billy Deep and the mermaid he loved. Get ready to walk the plank (your podcast app of choice) and plunge into the deep blue (pre-teen horror), but don't forget to secure (leave) your pirate gold (a rating on Apple Podcasts). Yo ho ho! Etc.

Deep Trouble is the nineteenth book in the Goosebumps book series, and the first book in the Deep Trouble saga. It was first published in 1994. It was later followed-up by the fifty-eighth book, Deep Trouble II, and the second book in the Goosebumps HorrorLand series, Creep from the Deep.

Sequels are tricky; for every 'Empire Strikes Back' or 'Godfather Part II' there is also a 'Speed 2: Cruise Control', which didn't even bring back Keanu Reeves from the original and was reportedly based entirely on a recurring nightmare the director had involving a cruise ship crashing entire an island. Monster Blood II doesn't feature a cruise ship or Keanu Reeves, so how will it fare? Let's find out.

Monster Blood II is the eighteenth book in the original Goosebumps book series, and the second book in the Monster Blood saga. It is the first sequel in the original series, and was first published in 1994.

Ah, the noble bee; drinker of nectar, maker of honey, stinger of rosy-cheeks. We admire bees. Some of us even love them, as a man loves a woman. But only from a far! For we know, in our heart of hearts, the bee is beautiful but she is also vengeful. Gary Lutz, perpetual loser in life's great gamble, is about to discover this universal truth the hard way...

Why I'm Afraid of Bees is the seventeenth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1994.

Ah, the amusement park. How many glorious summers did I spend at Wanrer Brother's Movie World, riding the Superman Escape and sharing a urinal with a man in a Bugs Bunny Costume. But this theme park features something much scarier than drunken teenagers on Schoolies and fifteen dollar hotdogs...

One Day at HorrorLand is the sixteenth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published 1994. It received its first sequel as the thirteenth Goosebumps Series 2000 book, Return to HorrorLand.

The book has received several adaptations, and has inspired many other pieces of Goosebumps media, including three video games and a book series.

You Can't Scare Me! --ah, the hubris of youth. One day you're cock of the walk, striding through life without fear, the next your 27 years old and fear lurks around every corner; fear of your next heating bill, fear of the federal government, fear of your partner looking through the special "research" folder on my computer. Fear doesn't always come from mud monsters; sometimes it comes from looking in the mirror and realizing you've wasted the best years of your life reading books for children. Anyway, enjoy!

You Can't Scare Me! is the fifteenth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1994.

It's pre-Teen Wolf! Whose howling at the moon around Grady's house? It can't be his Mother; she hasn't made those sounds in years.

The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is the fourteenth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1993.

Many hands make light work, as the old proverb goes. Whoever first coined the phrase probably wasn't thinking about decapitated hands playing a piano, but it applies just as well.

Piano Lessons Can Be Murder is the thirteenth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1993.

A mysterious old woman offering me three wishes? I don't see how this could backfire dramatically, and therefore there is no reason at all to be precise in my wording when I expresses my wishes. Easy street, here we come!

Be Careful What You Wish For… is the twelfth book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1993.