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Ghosts of Fear Street #6
Eye of the Fortuneteller
Who's afraid of the ghosts of Fear Street? Not Kelsey Moore. She's lived on Fear Street all her life, and she's not afraid of anything.
Until she meets Madame Valda -- a strange old woman who says she can see into the future. She tells Kelsey that only fools are fearless. Kelsey just laughs.
But she isn't laughing when she climbs into bed -- and finds it full of disgusting sand crabs. Or when she goes for a swim -- and finds the ocean swarming with giant jellyfish! All of Kelsey's worst fears are coming to life!
Has Madame Valda doomed Kelsey to live in fear forever?
Until she meets Madame Valda -- a strange old woman who says she can see into the future. She tells Kelsey that only fools are fearless. Kelsey just laughs.
But she isn't laughing when she climbs into bed -- and finds it full of disgusting sand crabs. Or when she goes for a swim -- and finds the ocean swarming with giant jellyfish! All of Kelsey's worst fears are coming to life!
Has Madame Valda doomed Kelsey to live in fear forever?
144 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1996
3 people are currently reading
608 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,679 books18.6k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 10, 2020
It says on the book's home page that this was co written. Maybe the second name is the sketch artist instead of a co author. Nevertheless it doesn't feel like a Goosebumps classic.
Too many uselessly emphasized short dramatic sentences that are where they shouldn't be. At one point I was curious of how the story would be stretched, but beyond that I had little desire to read. There are icky bits, but not ghoulish bits. This could have been written by anyone.
Drew and Kelsey might have been inspired from real kids, but they aren't real even on paper. I really missed the banter and playfulness from the first third of the story. Not all Goosebumps story must be alike but this one offers nothing much. One star.
Too many uselessly emphasized short dramatic sentences that are where they shouldn't be. At one point I was curious of how the story would be stretched, but beyond that I had little desire to read. There are icky bits, but not ghoulish bits. This could have been written by anyone.
Drew and Kelsey might have been inspired from real kids, but they aren't real even on paper. I really missed the banter and playfulness from the first third of the story. Not all Goosebumps story must be alike but this one offers nothing much. One star.
December 5, 2023
One of the better GoFS books I've read so far.
February 1, 2013
A nice story with mystery elements and a good moral (The true curse is nothing supernatural. It is the fear that we succumb to.) Recommendable for kool kids.
November 23, 2024
This book was fun, spooky and had some gross scenes. It’s about a girl that gets curse by a Gypsy and must face her worse fears. It is one of the better ones in the Ghost of Fear Street series and was an enjoyable read.
December 21, 2010
My first LibraryThing review ever! Thanks, Adriane!
I remember in elementary school when we had weekly trips to the library, we'd always look at the shelf that held all of R.L. Stine's classics. The Goosebumps series --gosh, they caused a ruckus! We little first graders would all be standing in a lopsided line, waiting for the librarian to check our books out for us, and while the long wait, we'd glance by the "horror" bookshelf. I don't think they were much too popular, so they were located on a bottom shelf; however, at three-and-a-half feet standing, they were right at eye level for us. Perfect.
"You know what the scariest thing ever is?" one boy taunted me. "Reading one of these books. They will haunt you forever."
"So?" I said. The covers looked pretty scary, but being a book freak even then, I found it hard to believe that a book could actually scare you.
"In the dark," he continued. "These books are scary if you read them in the dark."
I was not impressed. First of all, everyone knew that you couldn't read a book in the dark unless it had glow-in-the-dark text. Second of all, the dark never really had adverse affects on me as a child, so to me, reading the book in the dark would have been the same as reading one on the sun.
Nevertheless, the fact that the horror novels could supposedly haunt me forever was not a very appealing idea. I never picked up one of the books, and never had thought about it, until I was given the opportunity to review Eye of the Fortuneteller by R.L. Stine. It isn't Goosebumps, but it comes pretty darn close...
Blurb: Who's afraid of the ghosts of Fear Street?
Not Kelsey Moore. She's lived on Fear Street all her life, and she's not afraid of anything.
Until she meets Madame Valda --a strange old woman who says she can see into the future. She tells Kelsey that only fools are fearless. Kelsey just laughs.
But she isn't laughing when she climbs into bed -- and finds it full of disgusting sand crabs. Or when she goes for a swim --and finds the ocean swarming with giant jellyfish! All of Kelsey's worst fears are coming to life!
Has Madame Valda doomed Kelsey to live in fear forever?
The only plausible way this book can be considered a horror novel takes me back to first grade, when even all the boys were afraid to read R.L. Stine. The only plausible way this book would eternally terrify a person, is if they were six years old.
The plot is simple:
1. Kelsey and her cousin, Drew encounter a creepy gypsy.
2. Kelsey and her cousin, Drew anger the creepy gypsy.
3. Kelsey and her cousin, Drew are cursed by the creepy gypsy; they get lost and chased by a rabid dog.
4. Kelsey has hallucinations about the only things in the world she is afraid of: sand crabs.
5. Kelsey has hallucinations about the only OTHER things in the world she is afraid of: horseflies and jellyfish.
That's really the "scary" element of the story; but for someone like me who cannot imagine a sand crab being scary, it was hard to associate.
Being a children's novel, it did end happily (Kelsey's curse is lifted by some gypsies who aren't quite as evil as the first one she encountered), but I totally saw it coming. Children's stories never end tragically, but that factor probably also made the story less horrific too.
Eye of the Fortuneteller was a quick, I-should-be-doing-something-productive-but-instead-I-am-entertaining-myself read. I read it in about twenty minutes, as the there are only 105 pages and the font size is about 16.
I enjoyed taking a break from the really dramatic genre that makes you think too much (we're studying Dickens in class right now...ugh), but having already graduated from elementary school, this book wasn't really for me.
Radical Rating: 6 hearts- Would recommend to people. ♥♥♥♥♥♥
I remember in elementary school when we had weekly trips to the library, we'd always look at the shelf that held all of R.L. Stine's classics. The Goosebumps series --gosh, they caused a ruckus! We little first graders would all be standing in a lopsided line, waiting for the librarian to check our books out for us, and while the long wait, we'd glance by the "horror" bookshelf. I don't think they were much too popular, so they were located on a bottom shelf; however, at three-and-a-half feet standing, they were right at eye level for us. Perfect.
"You know what the scariest thing ever is?" one boy taunted me. "Reading one of these books. They will haunt you forever."
"So?" I said. The covers looked pretty scary, but being a book freak even then, I found it hard to believe that a book could actually scare you.
"In the dark," he continued. "These books are scary if you read them in the dark."
I was not impressed. First of all, everyone knew that you couldn't read a book in the dark unless it had glow-in-the-dark text. Second of all, the dark never really had adverse affects on me as a child, so to me, reading the book in the dark would have been the same as reading one on the sun.
Nevertheless, the fact that the horror novels could supposedly haunt me forever was not a very appealing idea. I never picked up one of the books, and never had thought about it, until I was given the opportunity to review Eye of the Fortuneteller by R.L. Stine. It isn't Goosebumps, but it comes pretty darn close...
Blurb: Who's afraid of the ghosts of Fear Street?
Not Kelsey Moore. She's lived on Fear Street all her life, and she's not afraid of anything.
Until she meets Madame Valda --a strange old woman who says she can see into the future. She tells Kelsey that only fools are fearless. Kelsey just laughs.
But she isn't laughing when she climbs into bed -- and finds it full of disgusting sand crabs. Or when she goes for a swim --and finds the ocean swarming with giant jellyfish! All of Kelsey's worst fears are coming to life!
Has Madame Valda doomed Kelsey to live in fear forever?
The only plausible way this book can be considered a horror novel takes me back to first grade, when even all the boys were afraid to read R.L. Stine. The only plausible way this book would eternally terrify a person, is if they were six years old.
The plot is simple:
1. Kelsey and her cousin, Drew encounter a creepy gypsy.
2. Kelsey and her cousin, Drew anger the creepy gypsy.
3. Kelsey and her cousin, Drew are cursed by the creepy gypsy; they get lost and chased by a rabid dog.
4. Kelsey has hallucinations about the only things in the world she is afraid of: sand crabs.
5. Kelsey has hallucinations about the only OTHER things in the world she is afraid of: horseflies and jellyfish.
That's really the "scary" element of the story; but for someone like me who cannot imagine a sand crab being scary, it was hard to associate.
Being a children's novel, it did end happily (Kelsey's curse is lifted by some gypsies who aren't quite as evil as the first one she encountered), but I totally saw it coming. Children's stories never end tragically, but that factor probably also made the story less horrific too.
Eye of the Fortuneteller was a quick, I-should-be-doing-something-productive-but-instead-I-am-entertaining-myself read. I read it in about twenty minutes, as the there are only 105 pages and the font size is about 16.
I enjoyed taking a break from the really dramatic genre that makes you think too much (we're studying Dickens in class right now...ugh), but having already graduated from elementary school, this book wasn't really for me.
Radical Rating: 6 hearts- Would recommend to people. ♥♥♥♥♥♥
March 31, 2013
One of the best books ever! Great to make kids enjoy reading!
I remember telling this story to my mom and brother and they were fascinated (probably Because of how much I'd loved the book)
I remember telling this story to my mom and brother and they were fascinated (probably Because of how much I'd loved the book)
March 4, 2016
LOVED this book! Great characters and it really kept you interested.
May 7, 2016
Personal: It was a quick and fluff 'scary' read.
Read again?: No.
Read again?: No.
April 6, 2017
I'm skimming through random R L Stine books, mostly for the plot elements.
I've always been more of an Animorphs kid.
I've always been more of an Animorphs kid.
October 2, 2025
Being what I believe is the only Ghosts of Fear Street book set outside of Shadyside (until the last chapter, that is), this book—written by the A. and G. Cascone sisters—had some great stuff to be offered. There’s a lot of scares, all of which are actually decent, and alongside the scares are more disturbing scenes. Don’t even get me started with the eating scene. YUCK. The character duo-dynamic her is actually good; siblings, or rather cousins here, getting along well always make these reads better, and it worked wonders for the story. The beach theming is welcome, the plot is engaging and actually very interesting (though nothing too deep) and there’s a solid, tight climax here. Ending is goated as well, finally taking us to Shadyside, yet not to Fear Street lol. The book is arguably great, but I have some mild complaints as well: it’s a bit meandering in the first three-fifths I’d say, not really having much a plot. It’s not directionless, as it’s clear where we’re going, but getting there could’ve been better. The villain is underused and not fleshed out enough for her to be wholly memorable for me. There’s a bit of filler, the climax could’ve been a bit longer (it still like it even if tight af), and the book lacks that epic to place itself on any mountain top for this series’ peaks… or in other words, it’s a basic bitch. Overall, 8/10. Really solid read, and very tight as well even with the bit of filler (useless drowning scene, dragged on scenes) amongst other small issues. They indeed said the title in the book.
February 3, 2025
I'm a sucker for anything fortuneteller/carnival themed so I was always going to have a good time with this. We get thrust straight into the action and to be fair it keeps going throughout. One niggle I had was all our protagonists fears/encounters were all animal/insect based and they felt a bit samesy but I will say it does lead to a great scene later on. I did also feel that Madame Valda was defeated a bit easily but all in all this was a fun read and one of the better entries in the series (3.5 rounded up).
August 6, 2019
This was like a total 4 stars goosebumps book for me !!!! It was really good !!! Not the best and I think that there could be a lot of hinges that could happen that would make the book great !! But u know it was good the way it it !! I really didn’t understand why the ending happened like that coz that was just crazy !! But throughout he book was a great read !! U should go read It !!
August 15, 2017
What the hell was that? Granted, they can't all be winners, but the increasingly nonsensical plot to this one seemed to run in circles and go nowhere. There wasn't even an eye... did he hand the title off to a ghostwriter and say "just go with it?"
Read
October 15, 2020Kind of like an elementary school take on Drag Me to Hell, with the cure of the Gypsy curse echoing a bad episode of Fear Factor ("YOU HAVE TO EAT A JELLYFISH!!"). Pretty middle-of-the-road Stine.
November 29, 2017
It was well writen,but i didn't really enjoyed it.
June 28, 2020
A ver, este libro expande a mi parecer un poco mas todo el mundo de fear street y wow, quede maravillado. me gusto mucho el libro, la verdad esta a la altura de los anteriores.
July 23, 2020
You can't convince me that the woman on the cover isn't Teresa Giudice, lol. But this book was pretty creepy. A quick, short read.
May 14, 2021
Cute and fun.
August 3, 2023
I'm 63 years old and I just s Mr. Stine's books. This one was no exception. The books are always a quick read for an adult and I love his book plots.
September 18, 2023
2.5⭐️
😬 YIKES
😬 YIKES
September 21, 2023
Finished this book in a couple hours on a road trip. It’s pretty decent. And for some reason the book mostly takes place on a beach lol. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 STARS
August 3, 2016
One of my favorites. I used to bring this book with me to school so I could read it on the ride home. Kelsey's bull-headedness lands her in trouble with Madame Valda. She has a curse put on her and consults gypsies to have it removed. She nearly loses her life acquiring insects and a jellyfish, which she eats, only to discover that she was still doomed. What a fun read this was.
December 10, 2019
Ir doesn't make much sense but the wild antics made it a fun enough read. The concept is enough to carry it but it could have taken more advtange of the premise. Also, way too many uses of the G slur.
August 15, 2011
I absolutly loved it!
July 30, 2019
funny
and kinda scary if you are a kid
gotta love stine: when he is good, he is awesome, when he is bad, he is the worst
and kinda scary if you are a kid
gotta love stine: when he is good, he is awesome, when he is bad, he is the worst
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews