New Year, New Scares: Goosebumps Kicks Off 2025 with Thrills, Chills and a Vanishing Act

Scholastic Reads

In July 1992, Scholastic published the first Goosebumps book by R.L. Stine for young readers nationwide. Never before had a book series attempted to be just scary enough for children and very quickly one thing became clear, kids loved it. In the three decades since its debut, Goosebumps has become one of the best-selling children's book series of all time.

With over 400 million books in print, two feature films, video games, consumer products, multiple television adaptations, and more in store for 2025, Goosebumps continues to be one of the most notable cultural phenomena of the past century.

This January 10th, 2025 marked the release of the second season of the thrilling live-action Disney+ anthology series Goosebumps: The Vanishing, and this coming March will see the release of R.L. Stine’s newest book in his House of Shivers series, Say My Name, Say My Name.

In today’s episode, guest-host Billy DiMichele is joined by the master of horror himself, R.L. Stine, to talk all things funny and scary, while later in the program, we get to hear from Jayden Bartels, one of the stars of Disney+’s newly released Goosebumps: The Vanishing.

→ Resources

About R.L. Stine: Learn more about the author and his many books.

About Goosebumps: Learn more about the thrilling Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine.

About Goosebumps: The Vanishing: Learn more about the newest installment of the live-action Goosebumps television series, executive produced by Scholastic Entertainment, and now available to stream in full on Disney+ and Hulu.

Spooky stories for Halloween: Suzanne McCabe interviews R.L. Stine about what it is about spine-chilling books that’s so compelling for young readers, in this spooky-season-themed 2019 Scholastic Reads episode.

25 Years of Goosebumps: R.L. Stine visits Scholastic Reads to talk about the 25th anniversary of the Goosebumps series in this 2017 Scholastic Reads episode.

→ Highlights

R.L. Stine, author, Goosebumps

“No one expects this kind of thing. To get so lucky, to have a big bestselling series that lasts. No one plans on it. We had no idea. It all happens, Harry Potter or Hunger Games, Twilight, etc. because of kids. Kids telling kids.”

“I LOVE the middle-grade audience.”

“I think horror is funny. [It] makes me laugh.”

“I’m a huge believer that television shows really encourage reading. Back in the 90s, when the original Goosebumps series went on FOX kids, we gained a million readers a month.
So, I’ve always been a big believer that television can encourage reading.”

Jayden Bartels, actor, Goosebumps: The Vanishing

“I think it’s so interesting how [R.L. Stine] found a way to scare children without giving them nightmares.”

“I think it was a big thing for this show, taking the monsters, we all know and love and grew up on, and bringing in new characters and new stories to life.”

“We can bring in a new perspective that the younger generation can relate to. And I think that the characters in the show are so multifaceted and so deep and layered.”

→ Special Thanks

Producers: Maxine Osa, Anne Sparkman, Allyson Barkan

Sound Engineer: S. Shin

Music Composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

→ Coming Soon

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