THE FIVE: Best Books for Halloween

 

Leave the Lights On For These Books!

Halloween is upon us, and you know what that means! Well, besides free candy and dressing up in costumes, the next best way to celebrate this holiday is by reading a great scary book. Here are some books that will get you jumping out of your seat and sleeping with the nightlight on:

5. School Spirits by Michael O. Tunnell
Set in the 1950s, School Spirits is about a boy who moves to a new town when his father takes another job. Life is hard enough when you have to make new friends at a new school, but it gets even tougher when you're visited by a ghost and asked to solve the mystery behind the murder.

 

4. The House on Hackman's Hill by Joan Lowery Nixon
Even the name of this book sounds scary! Get ready to be frightened when Jeff and Debbie are trapped in an old mansion with an evil ancient spirit. The $10,000 reward to find the missing mummy in the mansion sure sounded like a good idea at the time . . .

3. Monster by Christopher Pike (Young Adult)
Though I read this book about 12 years ago, I still remember being terrified. But who wouldn't be after reading a story about monsters taking over a town?! (Warning: May be too scary for anyone under the age of 12.)

2. Dracula by Bram Stoker (Young Adult)
Dracula is one of the original, true classic horror stories and was the start a fascination with vampire and the legends.

Written in the 19th century, this masterwork tells the tale of Count Dracula, a tragic, night-dwelling force who feeds upon the blood of the living. Though this book might be too mature for some young readers, you should definitely read this classic novel during your adult years. Until then, Twilight might be a good place to start.

1. The New Year's Party (Fear Street Series) by R. L. Stine (Young Adult)
How can you have a list of Halloween books without including anything by one of the most popular horror novelists of all time?

R. L. Stine's Fear Street series date back to the 1990s, but it still continues to scare the dickens out of me! The New Year's Party is a thrilling page-turner that you won't want to put down! Basic premise: a practical joke + death + revenge = SUSPENSE!

But keep in mind that the Fear Street series is for teen readers. If you're not into all the high school stuff yet, then R. L. Stine also has a new Goosebumps HorrorLand series about a freaky amusement park with no clear exit. Ordinary kids are being summoned to HorrorLand — but why? You'll just have to read the series to find out...Book 5 (Dr. Maniac vs. Robby Schwartz) is out this month!

What are YOUR favorite scary books?

— Carly M., STACKS Staffer

Goosebumps HorrorLand -- Take a tour of the Park

The release of the Goosebumps HorrorLand Video Game is getting eerily close! Until then, here’s another inside look at the game.

This week is your chance to check out what’s beyond the entrance gate of HorrorLand – five different park areas each with its own rides, attractions, and, of course, spooky twists. To help guide you through this blog post (and the actual Video Game!) download this EXCLUSIVE map (PDF | 3 MB) of HorrorLand. It’s not available anywhere else . . . so consider yourself one lucky Splotter!

Deciding how the park areas were going to look and feel was not an easy task. Each area transformed from an idea, to a sketch, to a color concept, to an actual park area in the video game with its own theme, color scheme, and overall vibe.

Goosebumps HorrorLand -- Meet the Horrors!

It's Monday! This means another inside look at Goosebumps HorrorLand!

It's no easy task to keep HorrorLand open and running — that's why the green-skinned workers called Horrors are busy collecting tickets, operating rides, and more. The Goosebumps HorrorLand Video Game  will be available soon, but until then here's a look at the creatures that staff the park and keep things running smoothly . . . well, sort of. 

Goosebumps HorrorLand has been in development for the past year and I've gotten to know the Horrors pretty well (although I'm not sure I would call them my friends). The Horrors — with their green skin, big hands, and long tails — are generally lazy and put forth only enough effort to keep their jobs. They have a wry sense of humor and don't care about the safety of the park's visitors. At first blush, they appear to be people in costumes, but sometimes it seems they really are monsters.

After looking at some Goosebumps book covers, reading R. L. Stine's descriptions of the Horrors, and drawing inspiration from movie monsters, Scholastic Interactive set out to bring the Horrors to life for the video game.

Making of the Horrors

Using 3D drawing programs and Photoshop, the team crafted the Horrors of HorrorLand over the course of two weeks, paying very close attention to details. Ambiguity plays an important part in the game, and this was key to implement in the design of the Horrors, who were purposefully designed to keep players wondering whether they were truly monsters or just workers in costume. On one hand, it looks as though the Horrors are wearing costumes that don't fit well and are too tight. However, it also looks as though it could just be layers of monster skin. After the basic look of the Horror was finalized, the team went about creating the various themed Horrors that staff the park and worked on animating them.

As mentioned in last week's blog entry, the boss of the group is a magician Horror named Horrifico. I think the name says it all; he's a pretty scary guy with his glowing eyes, bad temper and skullhead cane.

Horrifico

In addition to Horrifico, there are a bunch of other Horrors working — well, they are supposed to be working — throughout the park. Check out this glamor shot of the Pirate, Cleopatra, Worker, and Vampire Horrors. You never see the Horrors together in the game, so it was really cool when the game developers sent this over to us! I think I just got an idea for my Halloween costume . . . Hmm . . .

Strike a pose!

The Pirate Horror is definitely my favorite! You can find him in Fever Swamp. In the initial concepts for the Pirate Horror, it was up for debate whether or not the Horror should have a missing leg. Ultimately, thinking that a missing leg would be just too horrifying, the team decided that the Pirate Horror would have a peg leg but his real leg would be tucked up behind him!

Pirate Horror — Initial Concepts

Final Pirate Horror                   Pirate Horror — Side View

Visit the official game site and scroll through the "Meet the Horrors" section to see the cast of Horrors that made the final cut! Which Horror do you like the best?

Also, make sure to come back next Monday to find out cool stuff about the five different HorrorLand park areas. And, because I'm looking out for you Splotters, you'll also be able to download an EXCLUSIVE (that's right, you can't get this anywhere else!) map of HorrorLand!

— Robin, Scholastic Interactive Staffer

Using 3D drawing programs and Photoshop, the team crafted the Horrors of HorrorLand over the course of two weeks, paying very close attention to details. Ambiguity plays an important part in the game, and this was key to implement in the design of the Horrors, who were purposefully designed to keep players wondering whether they were truly monsters or just workers in costume. On one hand, it looks as though the Horrors are wearing costumes that don't fit well and are too tight. However, it also looks as though it could just be layers of monster skin. After the basic look of the Horror was finalized, the team went about creating the various themed Horrors that staff the park and worked on animating them.

As mentioned in last week's blog entry, the boss of the group is a magician Horror named Horrifico. I think the name says it all; he's a pretty scary guy with his glowing eyes, bad temper and skullhead cane.

Horrifico

In addition to Horrifico, there are a bunch of other Horrors working — well, they are supposed to be working — throughout the park. Check out this glamor shot of the Pirate, Cleopatra, Worker, and Vampire Horrors. You never see the Horrors together in the game, so it was really cool when the game developers sent this over to us! I think I just got an idea for my Halloween costume . . . Hmm . . .

Strike a pose!

The Pirate Horror is definitely my favorite! You can find him in Fever Swamp. In the initial concepts for the Pirate Horror, it was up for debate whether or not the Horror should have a missing leg. Ultimately, thinking that a missing leg would be just too horrifying, the team decided that the Pirate Horror would have a peg leg but his real leg would be tucked up behind him!

Pirate Horror — Initial Concepts

Final Pirate Horror                   Pirate Horror — Side View

Visit the official game site and scroll through the "Meet the Horrors" section to see the cast of Horrors that made the final cut! Which Horror do you like the best?

Also, make sure to come back next Monday to find out cool stuff about the five different HorrorLand park areas. And, because I'm looking out for you Splotters, you'll also be able to download an EXCLUSIVE (that's right, you can't get this anywhere else!) map of HorrorLand!

— Robin, Scholastic Interactive Staffer

Goosebumps HorrorLand – The Video Game!

October is finally here and things are starting to get scary — and exciting! For over a year, we at Scholastic Interactive have been working on the Goosebumps HorrorLand Video Game, and in a few short weeks, it will be released. But before it gets into the hands of gamers, we wanted to provide dedicated Splotters with exclusive insight into the game.

When the game producers conceived of the game, they decided that the story behind this HorrorLand amusement park should center around its reopening by a group of Horrors, led by a Horror magician named Horrifico. Horrors, as some of you may know from the Goosebumps books, are the green monsters with curled horns that staff HorrorLand (more on them in next week’s blog entry). The Horrors want to build a brand new HorrorLand — bigger and scarier than the original. Without the limitations of human management, the Horrors can create a park that would scare kids again and again (no humans would ever let that happen!). Most importantly, the Horrors want a park that invites kids in but never lets them out. In an effort to attract kids to the park, the Horrors will invite thousands of kids to the park — and this is where the game begins . . . with YOUR invitation to the Grand Opening of HorrorLand!

Like any theme park, HorrorLand is filled with rides and games — all with Goosebumps twists! One game is the Batting Cage, which is like home-run derby, but instead of hitting baseballs you swing at flying bats, the squealing kind! Get it — “Batting” Cage. (Click on the image on the left for a closer look!)

There are rides too, like Calamity Canyon, a rickety roller coaster through an abandoned mine. (Check it out, on the right.) The ride is falling apart and you literally ride for your life, ducking from falling beams and dodging boulders on the track. There are 30 games in HorrorLand — all with cool names like Bumper Carnage, Garlic Crusher, Swamp Stomp, Brain Drain, and Mummy Run. It was fun helping the game producers come up with names. Before the team decided on Calamity Canyon, other name possibilities were Rickety Railroad and Screamer Steamer. I think the best name won out of that bunch!

HorrorLand is a big park with five uniquely themed areas: Carnival of Screams, Vampire Village, Fever Swamp, Mad Labs, and Terror Tombs. You need Frights to unlock these park areas and you can earn them by playing the games.

Beyond the rides and games, what’s really neat about the video game is that it puts you in the driver’s seat of your own Goosebumps adventure with a unique story that unfolds as you play through the game. As you make your way through the park, you’ll meet a little girl named Gigi who has been trapped in the park by the Horrors. Gigi will help you find the pieces of your HorrorLand ticket – the key to escaping the park. She’s eager to leave the park too, and as you play, you’ll find out why.

Be sure to check back next Monday to find out more about the Horrors, including some images that you won't see anywhere else (even in the game)! In the meantime, you can visit the official game site to quench your curiosity.

— Amabel, Scholastic Interactive Staffer