The Curse of Camp Cold Lake

Goosebumps #56

by R.L. Stine

They're baa-ack! Make way for the bestselling children's series of all time! With a fresh new look, GOOSEBUMPS is set to scare a whole new generation of kids. So reader beware--you're in for a scare!
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. . . .

Genres: Horror, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery

144 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

About the author

Robert 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...

Reviews

[✦BookishlyRichie✦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS!

This was one was pretty creepy and had a fun twist that I didn't really see coming. I will be picking up more Goosebumps books I didn't read as a kid soon. :)

[Zain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Good Book from Stine!

R.L. Stine’s books are beloved by middle school and high school students everywhere. All over the world. And l can see why. They’re wonderful. They put the goosebumps into your goosebumps.

The Curse of Camp Cold Lake is book number 56 in the series. I haven’t read all of the books in this series, but I am going to try. I find the ones I’ve read to be so entertaining.

I wish I knew about these books when I was a girl. How did I ever miss them? I don’t know how, but I know about them now and I intend to read them all. Soon as I can.

The title of the book tells you everything about the book and yes it is scary. Yes,
It is also about a cold lake. This book will receive four stars because it is fantastic!

Four stars. ✨✨✨✨

[Mehsi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like this one at all. It sounded so great, but it turned out to be horrendously boring and annoying.

This is mostly the fault of our main character. Dear Lord, that girl has an attitude and such a spoiled little brat. Constantly whining and wanting to get her way, not caring about anyone else until, of course, it is too late.
I hated her plan. Oh hey, let's make everyone love me. Guess what, I am going to drown myself. Because that is sooooo super awesome. *rolls eyes* Yeah sure girl, that is a brilliant idea.
I am not one to say this often: But she deserved all the stuff that came over her. I didn't feel anything of sadness for her.

I also didn't like any of the people in the camp. The bunkmates, the counsellors. On the counsellors, I really disliked them, totally not checking the other side of a story, immediately believing the others and not listening to our main character. Sorry, but you as counsellor have a job to listen and to not pick one side immediately.

There were also various parts in the story that just didn't match up. Like with Briana or with Della doing stuff, yet no one noticing. I was like: Wait? She is skiing on the lake, something happens, blababa and no one noticed? No one sees things go wrong? It was very strange, especially considering that they are so big on safety warnings and rules.

The ending, meh, disappointed much, especially considering I am wondering how everyone still saw that girl, unless I missed something, but I just checked back, and there are various things like high fives, chats and other things happening, yet that girl is dead?? Um, plot hole much? Or is everyone suddenly psychic, though they couldn't be because they can't see Della. Super confusing and also a reason for a lot of minus points.

All in all, this is one book I won't recommend.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Gavin Hetherington · Rating 2 out of 5]

I spent a month re-reading all 62 original Goosebumps books to see if they still hold up today, you can check out my 3.5 hour vlog here: https://youtu.be/2C73xc1FS5o

You can also check out my entire ranking of the original Goosebumps books where I review them from worst to best here: https://youtu.be/lBfaxCOwAnA

[Mansuriah Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Goosebumps book! I was 9 years old when my father bought me this book. And I still have it :) A great book for young readers. Here's my review for young readers.

The Curse of Camp Cold Lake by R.L. Stine is about Sarah that goes to a camp with her brother Aaron. Sarah really hates the camp and does not get along with her bunkmates. Meanwhile, Sarah's younger brother, Aaron, is the character that everyone likes. One day Sarah decides to pretend that she's drowning so everyone will feel sorry for her and be nice to her. While in the lake, an awesome unexpected twist happens, Sarah meets Della. Della wants to be Sarah's friend forever. Too bad Della is a ghost! :0

The ending is amazing, and I simply loved the book. It is truly a great book and I think most kids will thoroughly enjoy this thriller. It will definitely give them the Goosebumps!!! :)

[Arthur Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Goosebumps again after years and it feels good.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah is struggling to make friends at Camp Cold Lake. In an effort to try and get everyone on her, Sarah decides to fake drown in the lake for sympathy.
Little did she know if the horrors she’s about to unleash...

This has such a great Classic Goosebumps feel, a supernatural being at a summer camp feels so fitting for this series.

[AshleyiSee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh how I loved Goosebumps growing up! I wish it wasn't so hard to read down memory lane with this series.

For a middle grade book it's just as good as I remember. Silly, ridiculous, fun and spooky with an ending that sent shivers up my ten year old spine.

Katie hates spending time in the water, so naturally her parents sent her younger brother and herself off to a water sports camp for the summer. Camp Cold Lake, where they are animate about water safety! Katie starts her summer off on the wrong foot with her cabin mates. Alone and without a buddy Katie tries to figure out a way to get home.

When a practical joke goes a bit far Katie meets Della, a ghost of Camp Cold Lake.

And she desperately needs a buddy....

This is juvenile fiction at it's best. It'll keep the kids reading with a creepy grin from the ending. In this day and age where getting a kid to read a whole book is impossible because it's not digital, I'm really glad that Goosebumps is still around to try to spook another generation from the parents that loved them. With short chapters and cliff hangers, if I was ten again I'd be hungry for the whole series!

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my third Goosebumps book of October, and it’s tied for one of my favorites. Which amazes me, as I found the main character obnoxious. Sarah Maas (yes, like the author) is being forced to attend a summer water sports camp with her brother, who is thrilled at the prospect. He’s sporty and popular, after all. Sarah, however, is none of the above. Not sporty. Not popular. And definitely not thrilled to be at camp. She tends to wreck every potential friendship before it can ever get off the ground. Her woe-is-me mentality bugged me, but it was honestly a bit understandable given her awkward, antagonistic approach to life. But the supernatural element was fun, and I ended up being pretty invested in Sarah’s story by the final pages. I’m glad I read this one. It was a fun ride.

[➸ Gwen de Sade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hihihi I loved these books when I was little and this one was SO creepy! What a funny re-read :D

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will hook me with a story involving a summer/sleepaway camp every single time. I just love the setting and all the little tropes and elements that come along with the setting. And add some ghosts?! WOO! I think this one meanders just a tad in the middle... but other than that I had a great time with it. It has a good setup with an isolated main character surrounded by a handful of antagonistic campers. The plot thickens and gets a little spooky... and we get a few more twists than expected!


3.5 but bumping up on Goodreads to 4.

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skip the last few sentences and the story makes sense and ends well. The twist is a bit contrived, so I chose to ignore it.

The flawed characters are fun, and herein we deal with the fear of dark, open water, a fear that some believe causes panic and death during triathlons every year.

The winter scene with the introduction to the ghost was a nice contrast to the setting for the rest of the book.

Overall this was good. That twist ending though. How does it make sense?

[Mike (Hail Horror Hail) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 for the story 5 for the cover

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember loving these books as a kid, and while this one wasn't my favorite, that cover haunted me. I read it late into the night and had to fall asleep before finishing. I had a headboard on my bed and I had to move it on the far side of it just to make sure it didn't fall on my pillow in the night. Such sweet memories!

[Patricia (Patricia's Particularity) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even before Sarah arrives at Camp Cold Lake she has a bad attitude about Camp, an attitude that doesn't get better once she arrives. Right away she doesn't make the best of impressions with her bunk-mates after demanding to switch bunks and spilling a girl's asthma medicine (of which she wanted to keep secret from everyone). Later that night her bunk-bates don't let up on her, playing pranks on her in front of the whole camp, more than one. After trying to get the girls back with her own prank, Sarah makes her 'situation' at camp even worse. When it is time to go swimming, no one will be Sarah's buddy, a rule that MUST be abided by. No one wants to be her friend. How is Sarah going to fix this?

Sarah devices a plan to accidentally drown. Her goal: to get everyone to feel sorry for her and make them her friends. Her plan works all to well, discovering a Ghost that haunts Camp Cold Lake, a Ghost that wants to be Sarah's buddy and friend.... FOREVER.

While this is not one of my favorite Goosebumps books it does shed some light on real camp 'issues'. One of those being cattiness and downright meanness amongst the campers, mainly through pranks and words. But Goosebumps isn't about reality... its about the fun of being scared by the Paranormal. The cover alone tells you that you should be scared to learn the Curse of Camp Cold Lake. While I was not surprised about the Curse I was once again surprised by the ending. Maybe R.L. Stine does this on purpose but either way its great when he does - just when you think you know what is going to happen, and even feel a little let down, you are given a curve. One of the many aspects that makes R.L. Stine's books classics.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a Goodreads installment, and the age level, this is actually an excellent, creepy little thing. The trademark chapter cliffhangers are there as always, but they're not as annoying as usual, and they actually aren't false leads. The story doesn't skip around but follows a natural, quick progression that makes the story fly by and remain interesting all the while. The end is a dark, twisted thing that beats most of the endings of other Goosebumps. There is a surprise twist I really didn't see coming too. Kids, and adults, should enjoy this one.

[Farnoud Lavasani]

موقع خوندن این یکی یا بزرگتر از حدی بودم که بشه با استاین خوش گذروند یا شاید این یکی حوصله‌سر‌بر بود. نمیدونم

[Jonathan Pongratz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

Man, this book was fantastic! So glad I'm slowly rereading Goosebumps from my childhood days.

This time we follow around Sarah and her brother as they are dropped off at Camp Cold Lake for the summer. Sarah's little brother loves nature and quickly makes friends, but everything Sarah does seems to go awry and push people further away from her. After a prank to get everyone to feel bad for her goes horribly wrong, Sarah comes face to face with the reality that there is more to Camp Cold Lake than meets the eye. And if she's not careful, it may just be the death of her.

I immediately vibed with Sarah as a main character. She hates nature, she tends to fumble attempts at socialization, and she's tired of being ignored. Girl, me too! No, but seriously, I found her character to be endearing and a lot like me as a kid, so it was easy to root for her.

I found the camp antics to be on par for the time period, given that I went to summer camp when I was Sarah's age. Kids can be clique-ish and bitter rivalries can easily develop in these kinds of situations.

As for the chills and thrills, there was a really nice balance in this novel. There's something paranormal going on that was a mystery to be solved, and while it wasn't downright horrific in my opinion, it was very ominous and suspenseful.

This is definitely one of my favorite Goosebumps rereads to date, so if you need a hit of nostalgia or just need a quick spooky story you can't go wrong with this one!

[Prema · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember this one is my very first Goosebumps series I read and I was like stalking the other books ever since. I don’t know why, but on my childhood days I found horror stories are thrillingly inviting and I’ll be so eager to dig on stories about ghosts and such.

And The Curse of Camp Cold Lake was really is succeed to bring the goose bumps out of me. When I was reading this back then, I was like hypnotized and got stuck until the very end of the page. Even when the story had finished, it took me awhile to come back to my real world (I’m not kidding). I was scare, I was imagining I’m the one haunted, I was overwhelmed. But still I find myself fall (by the thrill) almost for all works by R.L. Stine.

But I found myself do not or don’t want to read horror novels quiet recently (or maybe it's already been too long, seriously). I was wondering if I should relive the ‘taste’…

[Robbie Myles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm off from work for a couple weeks, so I figured it was a good time to go back and re-visit an old Goosebumps! There are so many amazing books in the series, many of which I completely forgot the plot, twists, etc. The Curse of Camp Cold Lake is one of them. I re-read this one and it was okay. Mostly meh. As far as twists and turns go, Cold Lake fell pretty flat for me. I'm giving it four stars because I will forever be a slave to all the original 62! Fun little read, but you can do way better as far as the series goes.

[Grapie Deltaco · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean beyond 100% of this entire cast being a walking, talking headache…a plot twist isn’t a good one simply for being shocking and unexpected.

Especially not when it can only exist by establishing a laundry list of plot holes.

Meh

CW: references to child death, stalking, attempted murder, bullying

[Myranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nostalgic re-read.

This book was one of my favourite Goosebumps as a kid…maybe not so much anymore.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Curse of Camp Cold Lake is a Goosebumps book and follows Sarah and her experience at a summer camp that her parents send her off to along with her brother Aaron.

She starts off on the wrong foot with all her bunk mates, keeps blowing up all her chances at making friends and is hoorendously bullied by other kids at the camp for no reason. One day she decides to fake drowning in the lake while swimming to garner sympathy where she encounters Della, ghost of a former camp attendee.

I was quite entertained throughout the book and flew right through it. The ending was very twisty and creepy, a perfect goosebump conclusion imo and I got chills when Sarah ends up in the woods. The best part about these books is the point at which the author concludes them, leaving the readers shocked with their jaws hanging open. I loved it.

4 stars.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 It’s October. So I re-read my all time favorite Goosebumps book. The Curse of Camp Cold Lake honestly scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. And that cover definitely amps up the eerie atmosphere!

I thought this book had the most wild twist at the end when I was a kid, and as an adult I think it’s still adequate.

In my opinion, this book is one of the best in the Goosebumps series. You’ve got a young girl scared out of her mind, alone, and being bullied, and to add to that a ghost is stalking her. Very quick read, give it a try!

[Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ιδιαίτερα καλό, ειδικά μετά από μια σειρά απογοητευτικών βιβλίων, αλλά επειδή ο Stine έχει ξαναχρησιμοποιήσει στο παρελθόν τον ίδιο βασικό κορμό για άλλες ιστορίες του, και με πολύ καλύτερο τρόπο, δεν μπορώ να πω ότι ενθουσιάστηκα κιόλας. Παρ' όλα ταύτα, ωραίο σκοτεινό κλίμα, αρκετά τρομακτική διάθεση και αισθητική που θυμίζει περισσότερο τα πρώτα βιβλία της σειράς.

[D.K. Brantley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike some of Stine's other books, this one actually had me a bit nervous. I tried imagining myself as a kid reading it, and I'm pretty sure this would be one that would give me nightmares and make me afraid of summer camp forever.

Yes, it's that good. So if you're not a bald old man who can forget scary stuff before going to bed, you may want to avoid this one.

[✨Bean's Books✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

#56 "Last one in is a rotten... ghost!"
Sarah hates Camp Cold Lake. Nobody likes her and she just doesn't fit in. But when she pretends to drown in the nasty lake to make people feel sorry for her things don't go exactly the way she expected. She has no idea that there's someone lurking in the shadows. Who can this mysterious stranger be?

[Nikita Tuite · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I started reorganising my bookshelf until I picked this up and just read it in one sitting. It’s actually kinda scary idk how 8 year old me slept after reading this. I think I genuinely relate to Sarah on some sort of level. I get it Sez, you’re not alone. I’m reading into this book too much but she is me fr.

[Amanda Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars

I feel like R.L. Stine really understands the stress that comes with being a friendless child at camp. MC Sarah's social anxiety had me in its throes.

My biggest gripe is the plot twist at the end seems inconsistent with earlier events. Yes, Im vague-posting but I also don't want to spoil this book.

100 pgs is the best length for this kind of story.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember liking that so much more as a kid. It didn't really kick off until halfway through. But still.. summer camp!