Hello horror fans - and welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube, Top 5 Scary Videos
- the place where we dust off the old bookshelf and gasp in awe at just how many books R.L
Stine managed to churn out.
What’s going on guys - it’s me again, your frightful host Jack Finch - as today
we dive into the macabre, the weird - and terrifyingly wonderful world of - for many
of us - the first brush of horror to ever cross our paths - R.L Stine’s Goosebumps
- and the 5 Scariest Books in the entire franchise.
Roll the clip.
Little tidbit fact for you all - as I’ve just found out - I was born on the same day
as R.L Stine - which, pretty much makes me an advocate for all things horror, if you
didn’t know.
Born in 1943, Robert Lawrence Stine has spawned hundreds - literally hundreds - of horror
fiction novels - best known for his Goosebumps series which have inspired young horror enthusiasts
the world over.
The main reason?
Well - you all know it - the fantastically vivid cover art.
Nothing is more iconic with young horror fans than the likes of these.
Before we jump into that, though - you know the drill by now - make sure to hit that thumbs
up button if you’re a fan of this video or just Top 5 Scary in general - and be sure
to share this video with your nearest and dearest cosmic companions.
Kicking off at Number 5 - The Curse of Camp Cold Lake
As the blurb goes - camp is supposed to be fun, but Sarah hates Camp Cold Lake.
The lake is gross and slimy - and she’s having a little trouble with her bunkmates.
They hate her.
So Sarah comes up with a plan.
She’ll pretend to drown - then everyone will feel sorry for her.
But things don’t go exactly the way Sarah planned.
Because down by the cold, dark lake someone is watching her.
Stalking her.
Someone with pale blue eyes.
And a see-through body.
Released in June 1997 - The Curse of Camp Cold Lake was the 56th book in the original
Goosebumps series - and was perhaps on the more maudlin side of the usual R.L Stine tone.
And also featured that very human fear of being ostracized by your peers, as Sarah is
by the girls at camp.
A modern equivalent would be Mean Girls - just with terrifying lake spirits, the fear of
drowning - and uh - venomous snakes.
Next up at Number 4 - I Live In Your Basement
This is one Goosebumps title where the cover doesn’t truly portray how utterly messed
up this book is - and it’s kind of testament that you probably couldn’t get away with
writing this stuff without being accused of being a Demonic Satanist in this day and age.
Seriously, it’s messed up.
Released in November 1997 - I Live In Your Basement is the 61st book in the original
Goosebumps series - and features a kid named Marco with an annoyingly overprotective mom,
that doesn’t let him enjoy what most kids do - running around in the dirt and playing
softball, but after Marco sneaks out to play a game with his friends, her fears are justified
when he gets hit in the head with a baseball bat.
And - then - well, that’s when things get weird, and Marco starts receiving phone calls
from a creepy kid called Keith who just so happens to live in the basement of Marco’s
house.
Yeah - this book features kids screaming in pain as they puke their guts out, strangers
in basements - and characters who turn their skin inside out.
That’s messed up, Robert.
Coming in at Number 3 - Cuckoo Clock of Doom.
Weird, creepy clocks, time travel, bratty sisters - the impending fear of undeath - this
book is like an episode straight from The Twilight Zone.
While it may not seem like the most outwardly scary book, there’s no monsters or villains
or things that go bump in the night - but this books real horror comes in the form of
some very intellectual themes, the consequences of one's actions - and the fact that you should
always be careful what you wish for.
Released in February 1995 - the 28th book in the original series features Michael Webster,
who hates his little sister Tara because she ruins everything and never gets in trouble
for it.
Well - when an antique cuckoo clock shows up in the family home, Michael figures he’ll
get back at Tara and frame her for messing with the clock - but when he does - he accidently
starts moving backwards through time - and ultimately, ends up wiping his sister from
existence.
Yeah, there’s no happy ending.
It’s pretty bleak.
Creeping in at Number 2 - Night Of The Living Dummy II.
Mannequins, ventriloquist dummies - nothing creeps me out more than the fear of the uncanny.
Things that look like humans, but aren’t - and should never be.
As the blurb goes: Amy’s ventriloquist dummy, Dennis, keeps losing his head - for real.
So Amy begs her family for a new dummy.
That’s when her dad finds Slappy in a local pawnshop.
Slappy’s kind of ugly, but Amy’s having fun practicing her new routine.
Then terrible things start happening.
Horrible, nasty things.
Just like what happened the first time.
Because there’s something odd about Slappy.
Something not quite right.
Something evil.
The reason that the second part of this book and not the first one makes this list, is
because - although the first is good - the second part just turns up that overwhelming
dread of everyone - including your family, turning against you.
Also - it’s got a surprisingly horrifying ending - just don’t trust any kind of doll
or dummy, okay?
And finally - at our Number 1 spot - Welcome to Dead House.
And of course - it just has to be the first ever Goosebumps book written in the terrifying
R.L Stine series - the moment where all the creepiness first spilled out of the page - Welcome
to Dead House.
The first ever book in the series - released in July 1992 - is a tale where the Benson
family move to the sleepy town of Dark Falls.
The house they move into unfortunately turns out to be the place where the townsfolk let
new families move into before they … well - before they trap them and drink all of their
blood.
Turns out, the whole town is infested with blood drinking ritualistic zombie-cannibals,
who need to feast of a freshly killed family once a year to sustain their undead immortality.
While being the terrifying benchmark for all Goosebumps tales that followed - it also features
one of the series most graphically horrific scenes - where one of the Benson kids melts
a creature's face right off of its skull - and it’s about as intense as Goosebump comes.
Ah - the nostalgia.
Well - unfortunately folks, that’s all we’ve got time for in today's video.
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As always - it’s been an absolute pleasure to make this video - I hope you’ve enjoyed
it - I’ve been your host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5 Scary Videos - and until
next time, take it easy.