Hall of Horrors: Why I Quit Zombie School

Great news for fans of R.L. Stine! Book #4 of his new series, Hall of Horrors, is out.

Why I Quit Zombie School
Matt was never a superstar in school, but he's definitely the most energetic and quick-witted student here. But what's up with the others? His suspicions are finally confirmed when Franny, his new friend, asks, "How long have you been dead?" To his horror, Matt realizes his parents have unknowingly enrolled him in a zombie school. When Matt overhears the zombie plans to march and claim the whole city for the undead, he has to make a frightening choice: protect himself and continue his charade, or reveal his aliveness and try to save the unsuspecting alive people in the town. 

Want to read more? We have Chapter 1 for you to read right here!

Here are the other books in the new series so far:
Book 1: Claws
Mickey and Amanda are put in charge of their vacationing neighbors' cat, Bella. But Bella escapes from the house and disappears. Amanda has an idea to replace the cat with a look-alike from the local pet store, Cat Heaven. They find a cat that looks exactly like Bella, but the clerk won't sell it to them, so they decide to steal it. Big mistake! These cats are more than they seem to be.

Book 2: Night of the Giant Everything
When 11-year-old Steven Sweeney is tricked into drinking a strange mixture of chemicals by his classmates, things begin to get strange. Either his toothbrush is growing, or he is shrinking! Will he be able to make it through the day and return to his original size?

Book 3: The Five Masks of Dr. Screem
It's Halloween and Monica Anderson is out Trick-or-Treating with her younger brother. They knock on the door of an old, creepy house and are met by a strange woman who pleads for their help. Every year she must battle for the control of five sacred masks with the evil Dr. Screem. These artifacts have the power to manipulate the world around them. Monica doesn't want to help at first but then Screem bursts in and steals the masks. This sets her and her brother off on a Halloween mission that will change their lives forever!

What do you think of R.L. Stine's new Hall of Horrors series? Let us know in the Comments!

Goosebumps Questions? Ask R.L. Stine

Have you read all the Goosebumps books, watched all the TV shows, and wondered infinitely what goes on in the mind of Goosebumps creator, R.L. Stine? Well, here’s your chance to find out!

R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps HorrorLand and the new Hall of Horrors book series, is ready to answer your burning questions. Submit your questions in the Comments below and we’ll choose 10 of the most creative and terrifyingly ghoulish questions to pass on to R.L. Stine.

Check back here on October 26 to read the answers and see if your question was chosen.

— Amabel, Scholastic Media

Time To GET GOOSEBUMPS!

What comes to mind when you think of October? Fall foliage? Pumpkins? Halloween? Know what comes to mind for us? GOOSEBUMPS! This October, the STACKS is gearing up for all things Goosebumps and you won’t want to miss it. The master of fright himself, Goosebumps author, R.L. Stine, will be stopping by for a special STACKS Q&A with readers. You can submit a question to R.L. Stine, read a sneak peek of the new Hall of Horrors book and even enter the Stacks Blast Sweepstakes for a chance to win a bevy of Goosebumps prizes! Be sure to check the STACKS every week for new ways to GET GOOSEBUMPS this October!

If you happen to live in the Washington, DC, Tampa, Dallas, Los Angeles, or Chicago area, the GET GOOSEBUMPS Mall Tour will be stopping by with some frightfully fantastic fun! Drop by to make your very own Goosebumps prank video to share with friends, win Goosebumps swag and more!

Get Goosebumps Mall Tour 2011 Dates:
October 1 – St. Charles Towne Center Mall / Waldorf, MD
October 8– Tyrone Square Mall / St. Petersburg, FL
October 15 – Irving Mall / Irving, TX October 22 – Brea Mall / Brea, CA
October 29 – Orland Square / Orland Park, IL

Don’t forget to check back here next week to submit your questions R.L. Stine!

—Amabel, Scholastic Media

R.L. Stine's NEW Hall of Horrors Series

If you love scary books, then you probably know all about Robert Lawrence Stine (a.k.a. R.L. Stine), the author of the Goosebumps and HorrorLand series. You have probably even watched the videos and chatted with people about them on the Message Board.

But have you read Stine's NEWEST series, Hall of Horrors? In this video, the master of horror himself tells you all about it.

Here are the books in the new series so far:

• Book 1: Claws
  Mickey and Amanda are put in charge of their vacationing neighbors' cat, Bella. But Bella escapes from the house and disappears. Amanda has an idea to replace the cat with a look-alike from the local pet store Cat Heaven. They find a cat that looks exactly like Bella, but the clerk won't sell it to them, so they decide to steal it. Big mistake! These cats are more than they seem to be.
• Book 2: Night of the Giant Everything
  When 11-year-old Steven Sweeney is tricked into drinking a strange mixture of chemicals by his classmates, things begin to get strange. Either his toothbrush is growing, or he is shrinking! Will he be able to make it through the day and return to his original size?

Are you a fan of R.L. Stine's books? Let us know in the Comments!

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Goosebumps Free iTunes Download

Today at Scholastic is the third annual Shriek Week Goosebumps Event! For the past three years on the Friday before Halloween, Scholastic hosts the event to get everyone frightfully prepared for the Halloween weekend. This year's event will feature a Garlic Crusher Faceoff on Wii, which will put our vampire vanquishing skills to the test. Hey, you never know when a vampire will come for you so it's best to be prepared, right? The winner of the competition will win a Wii, the Goosebumps video game and a glow in the dark accessory pack!

Get Goosebumps Mall Tour

The Get Goosebumps Mall Tour has been traveling around the country all month helping fans of all ages Get Goosebumps!

The most popular activity on the Tour has been the customized prank video that fans can make to send to all their friends and family. If you were at the mall at one of these events, you surely couldn't miss it.

Goosebumps Go Eat Worms! DVD and Recipe

A Worm-tastic Treat! In celebration of Goosebumps Shriek Week as well as the recently released Go Eat Worms! DVD, try making this terrifyingly squirmy treat to serve up at your next family meal!

 

 

 

New Goosebumps Game: Tombstone Challenge

You may have noticed a new game on THE STACKS called the Get Goosebumps Tombstone Challenge, and you may be wondering why a "Tombstone Challenge?" Well, you know how in the book Goosebumps HorrorLand: Revenge of the Living Dummy when Mr. Molloy tells the legend of the Mind Stealer doll and it sends chills down Britney's spine? Then when Britney takes a closer look at the doll, she hears it say something leaving her terrified only to find out on the next page that it was Ethan playing a prank to scare her? Just like in the Goosebumps books, we wanted to create a prank game that Goosebumps fans can use to give their friends Goosebumps anytime they want. And who better to pull the prank than the ultimate Goosebumps prankster himself, Slappy the Living Dummy!

How to Draw Goosebumps

It's the last week of October leading up to Halloween and we're celebrating all things Goosebumps here on the STACKS by TAKING OVER the blog! Be sure to check Ink Splot 26 every day this week for your daily dose of Goosebumps!

Goosebumps books are such page-turners and one of the things that makes them so much fun are the monsters, ghouls and villains that R.L. Stine creates to terrorize his characters—and his readers. Now we can learn how to draw the Goosebumps ghouls with a new book that provides step-by-step instructions for our favorite Goosebumps villains. All the fan favorites such as Slappy, the Haunted Mask, Werewolf of Fever Swamp and the Horror are included, plus many others. 

Did you know that the basic foundation of all drawings are basic shapes like circles and squares? Very true! And the book teaches you that you need to think of these shapes in 3D to make drawings look realistic. You start out with these basic shapes and work on adding details and refining to create the character drawings. OK, sounds simple enough. I like to think I'm pretty talented. I mean I'm no Picasso but hey, who is, right? Check out my rendition of Slappy. . . 
Who's your favorite Goosebumps ghoul? Tell us in the Comments.

—Amabel, Scholastic Media Staffer

Get Goosebumps Mall Tour 2010

October is just around the corner, and you know what that means. . . it's time for some thrills and chills! And what better way to scare up some thrills than with Goosebumps! The Get Goosebumps Mall Tour is traveling around the country the whole month of October to offer fans some spooktacular fun! Best of all – it's free!

If you live in the touring cities (see below), take a breather from the schoolwork and stop by your local mall to star in and send your very own Goosebumps prank video to all your friends and family!

R. L. Stine Volcano Writing Prompt

You know I love writing scary stories. But I don't like it when the scary stories happen to ME!

In April, my wife Jane and I went to London for a short vacation that turned out to be longer than we planned. Yes, the Iceland volcano erupted, the airports all closed, and we were stranded in London for days. And, of course, in my mind I began imagining story plots:

• What if the volcano spewed its ashes for a year or two? What would people do—just forget their homes and start new lives in a new place?
• What if a kid goes away to camp, there's a huge blast of black air from a volcano—he is stranded in another dimension, and cannot find his home or see his family ever again?

You can see how my mind works. From real to fantasy. But it would make a great story, don't you think? Write what you think happens next in the Comments.

— R. L. Stine, Goosebumps Author

R.L. Stine vs. Iceland Volcano

You know I love writing scary stories. But I don't like it when the scary stories happen to ME!

My wife Jane and I went to London for a short vacation that turned out to be longer than we planned. Yes, the Iceland volcano erupted, the airports all closed, and we were stranded in London for days. Not a bad place to be stranded. But the idea of not being able to go home when we wanted was very scary.

So, now I'm finally home and getting excited about the Summer Challenge Ultimate Author Showdown Webcast. Having faced down a spewing volcano, I'm ready to face down the other contestants. I'm ready to face the unexpected and unpredictable. Bring it on!

WHEN: Friday, April 30th at 1:00pm (ET)/10:00am (PT)
Your teacher can sign up in advance at www.scholastic.com/summer

WHERE: Scholastic Summer Challenge Website

WHO:

• Christopher Paul Curtis, author of Elijah of Buxton, Bud Not Buddy, and The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
• Gordon Korman, author of The 39 Clues: One False Note, Swindle, and Zoobreak
• Lisa Yee, author of Millicent Min, Girl Genius, and Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time
• and me, R.L. Stine
  

I'll be there. Will you?

— R. L. Stine, Goosebumps Author