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Goosebumps (1995 TV series)

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Goosebumps
Intertitle for the first and second seasons of the Goosebumps TV series
GenreScience fiction
Horror
Adventure
Fantasy
Suspense
Created byR. L. Stine
Developed byDeborah Forte
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes74 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerDeborah Forte
ProducersProtocol Entertainment
Scholastic Productions
Gajdecki Visual Effects (Special Effects)
Running time20 minutes
Original release
NetworkYTV (Canada)
Fox Kids (US)
NHK (Japan)
Release27 October 1995 (1995-10-27) –
16 November 1998 (1998-11-16)
Related
Tales from the Crypt
Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Goosebumps is a Canadian children's horror fantasy anthology television series based on R. L. Stine's Goosebumps books. It was one of the two popular television horror anthology children's series in the 1990s (the other being Are You Afraid of the Dark?).

It was filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Bellevue, Washington.

Hallmarks

Networks

Goosebumps originally began airing on YTV (in English) and Canal Famille (in French) in Canada and on Fox Kids in the United States starting in 1995 and ending in 1998, with reruns on Fox Family lasting until 2000. Every October from 2007 to 2009, Cartoon Network aired the episodes. On 6 September 2011, The Hub started airing re-runs of the series.

From "GB-7" to "TV-Y7"

When Goosebumps was first broadcast on Fox Kids, an episode of Goosebumps would begin with a warning "Goosebumps is rated GB-7, because it may be too spooky for children under seven." Similar ratings were used on other Fox Kids shows. However, when the V-chip and the U.S. television ratings system took effect in 1996, the GB-7 rating was discontinued and given the TV-Y7 rating for scenes and plot elements considered too scary and/or gross for children under seven. On Cartoon Network, the show was rated TV-PG for scary/disturbing content. The show is now rerated back to TV-Y7 for fantasy violence (FV) on The Hub.

Opening sequences

The opening sequence starts with a man dressed in black carrying his briefcase up a hill. The name engraved on the briefcase reveals the mysterious man to be Goosebumps' author, R. L. Stine. A strong wind blows, opening Stine's case, and his papers fly out, one of which turns into a "G" seen on the Goosebumps logo, only it was black shadow, and glides through an unnamed town. The "G" passes by a woman on a billboard, making her unhappy, and passes by a dog on a porch, which makes its eyes glow a gold color (this is referenced to in the episode "My Hairiest Adventure" and was also used to represent the show in its UK airings on Fox Kids). The "G" then creeps past a tree, down a sidewalk, and into the front door of a house and begins showing a quick montage of clips from several episodes with an announcer growling, "Viewer, beware, you're in for a scare!", remade from the tagline, "Reader, beware, you're in for a scare!" used in the Goosebumps book series.

In season two, the opening was shortened, speeding up the Goosebumps "G" gliding through town and removing the quick episode montage in the doorway.

In season three, the show was renamed "Ultimate Goosebumps" and the opening underwent a few changes. A green slime and a lightning effect were added when the man in black walks up the hill with his briefcase and his papers fly out. However, instead of a paper turning into a G-shaped shadow and being blown through town, the man in black turns into bats which fly at the screen. The quick episode montage was added back but clips from different episodes were used. There are some episodes that don't include the "Ultimate Goosebumps" name, so the short season two opening was used.

In season four, the show removed the "Ultimate" from its name but retained the season three opening sequence. In some markets, this opening was also used in reruns of the first two seasons.

The opening music was composed by Jack Lenz.

Reception

CBBC censorship

Goosebumps was originally broadcast in the UK as a part of BBC's children's program lineup on CBBC from 1997 to 2001. Because of the UK's stringent censorship (particularly over content that is considered too "gross" or scary to be shown to young or sensitive viewers), many of the early Goosebumps episodes were either banned (such as the Night of the Living Dummy II, Night of the Living Dummy III, Bride of the Living Dummy, and The Haunted Mask) or aired with heavy cuts made, particularly to the twist endings. In addition, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is the only Goosebumps episode to receive a 12 rating by the BBFC. The episodes, despite being edited for content, also aired at 6:00pm.

Unlike CBBC, the cable channel Jetix (in the UK and Ireland) has aired Goosebumps episodes with little to no edits (although the A Shocker on Shock Street episode was edited to remove Marty getting electrocuted into submission when it is revealed that Erin and Marty are robot children programmed to test out the Shock Street park).

Home Media

VHS releases

United Kingdom

Release name
Release date
Classifaction
Publisher
Format
Language Subtitles Notes
REF
The Haunted Mask 3 March 1997 PG CBS Fox PAL English None
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp 23 February 1998 12 CBS Fox PAL English None
Night of the Living Dummy III 1 October 1999 PG CBS Fox PAL English None
Welcome to Camp Nightmare 1 October 1999 PG CBS Fox PAL English None
A Night in Terror Tower 1 October 1999 PG CBS Fox PAL English None
Stay Out of the Basement 1 October 1999 PG CBS Fox PAL English None
The Haunted Mask II 1 October 1999 PG CBS Fox PAL English None
One Day at HorrorLand 11 October 1999 PG CBS Fox PAL English None
Return of the Mummy Unknown PG CBS Fox PAL English None
Welcome to Dead House Unknown PG CBS Fox PAL English None

United States

Release name
Release date
Classifaction
Publisher
Format
Language Subtitles Notes
REF
The Haunted Mask 12 March 1996 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None
Stay Out of the Basement 3 September 1996 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None
A Night in Terror Tower 3 September 1996 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp 25 March 1997 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None
The Haunted Mask II 29 July 1997 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None
Welcome to Dead House 23 September 1997 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None
Night of the Living Dummy III 13 January 1998 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None
The Haunted Mask
A Night in Terror Tower
Stay Out of the Basement
19 May 1998 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None VHS Pack
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp
The Haunted Mask II
Welcome to Dead House
19 May 1998 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None VHS Pack
Bride of the Living Dummy
An Old Story
15 September 1998 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None 2 Episode on 1 VHS
One Day at HorrorLand 15 September 1998 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None Part 1 & 2
Werewolf Skin 15 September 1998 N/A 20th Century Fox NTSC English None Part 1 & 2

DVD releases

Beginning in 2004, 20th Century Fox began releasing the series on DVD in individual volumes, initially containing one episode per disc but later changed to two episodes per disc. Later releases included either two discs or multiple episodes on one disc.

Original releases

(With two episodes per disc, except for Chillogy):

Release name UK release date
(region 2)
Australian release date
(region 4)
North American release date
(region 1)
Notes
The Haunted Mask II - - 7 September 2004
Night of the Living Dummy III - - 7 September 2004
Welcome to Dead House - - 7 September 2004
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp - - 7 September 2004
Cry of the Cat - - 12 April 2005
Deep Trouble - - 12 April 2005
How I Got My Shrunken Head - - 12 April 2005
Chillogy - - 6 September 2005 Contains all three episodes
The Ghost Next Door - - 6 September 2005
Scary House - - 6 September 2005 Contains The Haunted House Game and The House of No Return
A Shocker on Shock Street - - 5 September 2006 Also contains Click
Perfect School - - 5 September 2006
My Best Friend Is Invisible - - 5 September 2006 Also contains An Old Story
It Came from Beneath the Sink! - - 11 September 2007 Also contains Strained Peas
Night of the Living Dummy - - 11 September 2007 Contains Night of the Living Dummy II and Bride of the Living Dummy
Say Cheese and Die! - - 11 September 2007 Also contains Say Cheese and Die – Again!

Double features

On 16 September 2008, twelve of the above 16 discs were re-released in new double-feature sets, containing the same episodes as before.

Release name UK release date
(region 2)
Australian release date
(region 4)
North American release date
(region 1)
Notes
Night of the Living Dummy/
How I Got My Shrunken Head
- - 16 September 2008
Scary House/
Chillogy
16 September 2008
Perfect School/
My Best Friend Is Invisible
16 September 2008
It Came from Beneath the Sink/
Deep Trouble
16 September 2008
Ghost Next Door/
Shocker on Shock Street
16 September 2008
Cry of the Cat/
Say Cheese and Die
16 September 2008

Revival releases

Starting in 2008, new DVD sets were released to corrospond with the Goosebumps HorrorLand revival books. Unlike the original releases, these sets include three to four 22-minute episodes, rather than two. They also feature new cover art, as opposed to previous releases which used the cover art for the corresponding series book.

Release name UK release date
(region 2)
Australian release date
(region 4)
North American release date
(region 1)
Notes
A Night in Terror Tower 16 September 2008 Also contains Stay Out of the Basement
Monster Blood 16 September 2008 Also contains More Monster Blood, How to Kill a Monster and The Girl Who Cried Monster
One Day at HorrorLand 16 September 2008 Also contains Welcome To Camp Nightmare
Return of the Mummy 31 March 2009[1] Also contains Don't Wake Mummy & You Can't Scare Me!
The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight 31 March 2009[1] Also contains Don't Go To Sleep! & Calling All Creeps
The Headless Ghost 8 September 2009[2] Also contains Teacher's Pet & Awesome Ants
Attack of the Jack O'Lanterns 8 September 2009[2] Also contains Vampire Breath & Let's Get Invisible!
The Blob That Ate Everyone 7 September 2010:[3] Also contains Piano Lessons Can Be Murder & My Hairiest Adventure
Go Eat Worms! 7 September 2010:[3] Also contains Bad Hare Day & Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes
Ghost Beach 13 September 2011[4] Also contains The Barking Ghost & Be Careful What You Wish For...
Attack of the Mutant 13 September 2011[4] Also contains Phantom of the Auditorium

On 11 September 2012, six of the above revival releases will be re-released in new 2-DVD Spookpacks.

Release name UK release date
(region 2)
Australian release date
(region 4)
North American release date
(region 1)
Notes
The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight/
A Night in Terror Tower
11 September 2012[5]
The Headless Ghost/
Ghost Beach
11 September 2012[5]
One Day at HorrorLand/
Go Eat Worms
11 September 2012[5]

These DVDs were only released in Region 1 by U.S. import.

Season sets

On 26 November 2012, Revelation Films has started to release season sets of the series in the United Kingdom (DVD region 2).

Release name Release date Notes
Season One 26 November 2012
Season Two 25 March 2013
Seasons Three & Four 19 August 2013
The Complete Series 28 October 2013

Goosebumps Presents

The books in the original Goosebumps series that were made into episodes of the Goosebumps television series were subsequently re-released in a series called Goosebumps Presents. The main difference between the books in this series and their original publications is that the Goosebumps Presents editions contained photos from the corresponding episodes. 18 books were released from 1996 to 1998.

# Title Original published date Pages ISBN
01The Girl Who Cried MonsterFebruary 1996570-590-74586-7
Telling so many tall-tale monster stories that she is disgusting her friends and family, Lucy Dark doesn't know what to do when she discovers a "real" monster in the summer reading program librarian.
02The Cuckoo Clock of DoomMay 1996560-590-74587-5
Deciding to get even with his bratty little sister, who always gets him in trouble, Michael Webster fiddles with their father's antique clock, planning to blame Tara, and accidentally sets time backwards.
03Welcome to Camp NightmareJuly 1996680-590-74588-3
Billy Harlan enjoys the days of baseball, archery, and swimming at Camp Nightmoon until a series of strange accidents plague his fellow campers, and Billy begins to suspect that he will be next.
04Return of the MummySeptember 1996640-590-74589-1
Full-color photographs from the television show illustrate the Egyptian adventure of Gabe and his cousin Sari, who find themselves trapped in a mummy's tomb while the mummy is somewhere outside.
05Night of the Living Dummy IINovember 1996560-590-74590-5
Slappy, the demonic ventriloquist dummy, comes to the home of aspiring young ventriloquist Amy and proves to her that he can walk, talk, and make plenty of trouble all by himself.
06My Hairiest AdventureDecember 1996640-590-82519-4
Larry and his friends slap on some tanning lotion found in the garage, believing that they will get great tans (despite being expired), but Larry begins to sprout hair, his friends start to vanish one by one (with their parents denying that they ever existed), and dogs chasing Larry more so than usual.
07The Headless GhostDecember 1996640-590-93954-8
Deciding to go ghost hunting in Hill House, a seaside house said to be haunted, two friends encounter a strange boy who may be the ghost of a boy who was beheaded by a deranged sea captain.
08Be Careful What You Wish forJanuary 1997590-590-93955-6
Sick of being bullied and being a total klutz, Samantha is granted three wishes after helping a strange lady in black find her way home, but Samantha discovers that the wishes granted to her have a nasty way of backfiring.
09Go Eat Worms!February 1997560-590-93959-9
Todd's worm obsession turns sticky (and slimy) when his test subjects begin stalking him.
10Bad Hare DayMarch 1997570-590-93960-2
Tim Swanson loves Amaz-O the magician so much that he steals a bag of the performer's tricks, and soon Tim's life is taken over by a talking rabbit with an evil mind and shameless scruples.
11Let's Get Invisible!April 1997580-590-93968-8
Discovering a strange, magic mirror that enables them to become invisible, Max and his friends are delighted until it becomes increasingly difficult for them to become visible again.
12Attack of the MutantMay 1997630-590-93969-6
Skipper Matthews adores comic books, especially those featuring the evil supervillain Masked Mutant, until he is drawn into a terrifying adventure and must save the world from the sinister schemes of the Masked Mutant himself.
13Ghost BeachJune 1997590-590-29994-8
Exploring a cave by the beach, Jerry and his sister Terri ignore the warnings of local kids Sam and Louisa that the cave is haunted until they find out that the ghosts on the beach are closer than they think.
14You Can't Scare Me!July 1997600-590-30663-4
Eddie and his friends set out to scare show-off Courtney – but the town's legendary mud monsters (mud-covered zombies of the town's drowned settlers) have plans of their own to make Eddie and his friends scream.
15Monster BloodAugust 1997600-590-30547-6
Evan and Andy find themselves in a sticky situation when they find a can of "Monster Blood" in an empty room of Evan's aunt's house – and the slime begins to grow to frightening proportions.
16Attack of the Jack-o'-LanternsOctober 1997580-590-37511-3
Drew Brockman notices that an evil transformation seems to have come over her friends Shane and Shana after they dress up like monsters with pumpkin heads for Halloween.
17Calling All Creeps!December 1997640-590-39058-9
Nerdy Ricky Beamer's plan to get back at the girl who kicked him off the school newspaper turns into a plot to enslave humanity when a group of reptilian aliens begin calling Ricky after hours.
18Revenge of the Lawn GnomesFebruary 1998640-590-46441-8
Pink flamingos, plastic deer--Joe Burton's dad loves lawn ornaments and doesn't want to lose to his militant neighbor in the annual lawn contest. But when he brings home two little front yard gnomes with red stocking caps and shiny eyes, the terror begins.

International Broadcasters

References