Goosebumps: Here's what to know of Disney's revival of the classic horror series
Disney+ is about to get even scarier this Halloween with a brand new series based on the beloved Goosebumps books. Here’s what to know before it premieres!
Created by R.L. Stine in 1992, Goosebumps has been thrilling young readers for three decades. Each novel may be themed for younger audiences but still packing in scares as teens face horrors from mummies to living dummies, monsters, aliens and more. With 235 books spread among various series, the franchise is one of the most successful in publishing history.
From 1995 to 1998, Fox ran a TV show adapting the books. A 2015 movie starred Jack Black as Stine who had to stop his literary creations from coming to life. It spawned a 2018 sequel, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.
Now, Disney+ is reviving the franchise in a 10-episode series that mixes the original books with an overall story arc. The show was created by executive producers Nicholas Stoller and Rob Letterman. Hilary Winston, Neal H. Moritz, Iole Lucchese, Conor Welch, Caitlin Friedman, Erin O’Malley, and Kevin Murphy also take on EP duties.
What is Goosebumps about?
According to Disney, the series partly adapts aspects of the first five Goosebump books: “Say Cheese and Die!,” “The Haunted Mask,” “The Cuckoo Clock of Doom,” “Go Eat Worms!” and “Night of the Living Dummy.”
However, there’s an overall arc of five teenagers investigating the vanishing of a student decades earlier and soon linking it to secrets their parents are hiding. Thus, the show keeps to the classic Goosebumps flavor while adding more mystery.
“Plunging viewers into a world of mystery and suspense, the new “Goosebumps” series follows a group of five high schoolers as they embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle — while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents’ past.”
Who stars in Goosebumps?
The cast is mostly a pack of younger actors, with the show being their first big credit.
- Justin Long as Nathan
- Rachael Harris as Nora
- Zack Morris as Isaiah
- Isa Briones as Margo
- Miles McKenna as James
- Ana Yi Puig as Isabella
- Will Price as Jeff
- Rob Huebel as Colin
When does Goosebumps premiere?
Fittingly, the show has the perfect release date: Friday October 13th. Yep, Friday the 13th at Halloween time, what better date for this scary show?
The series will be released on Disney+ as well as the first two episodes shown on Freeform/Hulu and looks to be a great way to scare up some thrills this Halloween.
Goosebumps premieres Friday October 13 on Disney+ and Freeform.