El fantasma del auditorio

Goosebumps #24

by R.L. Stine

¡Luces... cámara... fantasma!

Al mejor amigo de Brooke, Zeke, le han dado el papel principal en la obra de teatro de la escuela, El Fantasma. Zeke se ha posesionado de su papel. Le encanta vestir el grotezco disfraz, le encanta asustar a los otros actores. Brooke cree que Zeke se está excediendo.
Pero entonces algo aterrador sucede. Aparece un mensaje en el escenario: "¡El fantasma ataca!".
¿Alguien quiere arruinar la obra?
¿O acaso hay un fantasma de verdad que vive bajo el escenario?

¡Cuidado, lector!
Usted está a punto de llevarse un susto, de sentir Escalofríos.

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

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

[✨Bean's Books✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

#24 "He's out to stop the show... for good!"
Brooke and her best friend Zeke are the stars in their new school play. They will be playing Esmerelda and the Phantom. Little do they know there is a real Phantom hunting the auditorium and has been for the past 70 years. Everyone tells the story but it can't possibly be real can it? Great ending!

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. This was a great horror-mystery!

They say that the play The Phantom is cursed. 70 years ago a boy was cast in the lead role but he disappeared on the night of the play and was never found. Now the drama teacher, Mrs. Walker, has found an old copy of the play. Everyone is excited about performing it.

Until some weird things start happening. A mysterious phantom sometimes appears during rehearsals. Messages are scrawled in red paint. Who is doing this? Why? Could there really be a phantom?
...

This was exciting and fun to read. I pieced things together before the big reveal, but I think a child would be surprised. This book actually had some decent twists to it.

The 'new kid' Brian is really the ghost of the dead boy, taking part in the play once again. The 'phantom' who was leaving scary messages and showing up at rehearsals was a homeless guy living under the stage in the auditorium. Unfortunately, the kids run him off and call the cops on him. Poor guy.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s certain Goosebumps books that I can still vividly recall reading. This being one of them.
It probably also explains why Phantom of the Opera is one of my favourite musicals, as this story relies heavily on the famous French novel.

Brooke and Zeke’s school is putting on a performance of The Phantom for the first time in 80 years, during the previous production the boy who was due to play The Phantom disappeared.
Strange events start to occur in this latest production, could the rumours of the play being cursed really be true?

I think this one struck a cord with me as there’s a certain realism to it.
This was released as the 29th book in the series in the U.K. so I would have first read it around the same time as the TV adaptation aswell, so probably helped cement that impact.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

read for goosebumpsalong 2017

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that so many of these stories were based on classic literature and I never even knew til I grew up. This was a fun read! So spooky! Poor old phantom.

[Makrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember this book in particular!
The horror was really something back then and all Goosebumps were an excellent fodder for my inquisitive brain

Read this back in 2003 and I remember loving ALL Goosebump books!

I would visit the nearest stores dragging adults with me to get my hands on one of these and I'd be happy for atleast 10 days and then I'd need a new one.

Goosebumps by R.L Stine made my childhood a bliss!

[Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου · Rating 5 out of 5]

Νομίζω πως το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο της σειράς "Ανατριχίλες" είναι το αγαπημένο μου. Βέβαια, δεδομένης της αγάπης που έχω για "Το φάντασμα της Όπερας", και του ότι η ιστορία αυτή είναι σαφέστατα επηρεασμένη από το κλασσικό αριστούργημα του Leroux, αυτό δεν είναι ιδιαίτερα περίεργο. Πολύ καλή ατμόσφαιρα, σκοτεινή, μυστηριώδης κι επικίνδυνη, με μια νότα ρομαντισμού που θυμίζει άλλες εποχές, η ιστορία του Φαντάσματος σε καθηλώνει ακόμα και αφού έχεις μεγαλώσει.

[Zoey De Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, Ive read worse, it's just a retelling of Phantom of the Opera, kids version, I didnt like it, I just read this before I would want to read the original classic one, but this one is just mediocre.

[Tyler Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guessed the ending and i'm not sure if it was from remembering it as a child or if it's just because it's Goosebumps, but either way a solid Goosebumps book.

[Gavin Hetherington · Rating 4 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 from worst to best here: https://youtu.be/lBfaxCOwAnA

[Mikala · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was the saddest story ever 😭 on so many levels

Reading notes along the way...

◘ Pg. 67 quote. Um poetry much? Wow surprisingly lyrical writing 😅

◘ I have a lot of different theories but can't say I have it all figured out yet and by over half way in to a children's book....that's a pretty impressive feat from the author.

◘ I'm really enjoying reading this one and really trying to picture everything that is occurring in detail. And pretend like its an old 90s episode of the show! 🙌 90s fashions and all!!!

◘ Pg. 71 quote.

◘ The whole thing about the homeless guy is heartbreaking. And then poor kid Brian...why did this story come out so sad 😭

[Grim Rainbow (Leslye) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I actually quite enjoyed this one, but it's because phantom of the opera is a favorite story of mine, so any retelling or inspired story is going to have a soft spot in my heart. Stine actually brought in multiple suspects to keep you guessing during the whole mystery, at least mildly. It was still easy for me to figure out, but perhaps a bit harder for someone in the middle grade range to figure out. A way for kids to use their context clues to solve a mystery.

My only complaint with this one is the tried and true repetition that Stine seems to like to do. Kids doing the same thing over and over again until something finally changes. It gets a little frustrating, and that's why this lost a half star.

[Paige Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m doing a full series reread and this one was just as good as I remembered it to be. I’ve always loved a good ghost story and when I was a kid I remember the ending really creeping me out.

Phantom of The Auditorium follows Zeke and Brooke as they have just been cast as the two lead rolls of the school play. Zeke and Brooke have been best friends for many years and do everything together. Zeke is constantly trying to scare his classmates but he can’t ever fool Brooke. Whenever their teacher is coerced into telling the legend of the phantom the class is shook and Zeke and Brooke start to believe that there is really an actual ghost after many pranks have happened but Zeke isn’t the culprit any of the times. This ghost or phantom is getting these kids into some huge trouble with the school and their parents.

I thought the twist was done very well and wasn’t all that predictable like some of the other books in the series. A kid would have had some trouble guessing that anyways in my personal opinion.

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

the door fiasco was just stupid;
i guess fright can do that

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

3.5 on this one! Full review to come.

[Lotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Projekti jatkuu. Muistan joskus lapsena meinanneeni myöhästyä koulusta, koska en halunnut lopettaa tätä kesken. Edelleen aikuiselle lopun twisti on aika karmiva.

[Gabriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as expected.

[Alysia · Rating 4 out of 5]

My goosebumps and Halloween cozy starts today.

This one was pretty cool. I had always wanted to read this one. Glad I did.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I initially revisited this book from my childhood, I still really enjoyed it. However since that time, I can’t get this book out of my head. I’m almost positive it’s one of my all-time favorites even though I wouldn’t say it’s one of the greatest books. This book really resonates with me off the bat for how grounded in realism it really is. It reminds me of books like Let’s Get Invisible!, Don’t Scream!, and Are You Terrified Yet?. This is one for the younger Goosebumps readers since it’s more of a mystery/suspense than an overt monster or ghost tale Goosebumps is famous for. I’d even go on to say that this book represents what Goosebumps was truly about more so than any other book in the series. Which I think initially with what I want to say about is that I feel this book is almost a perfect introductory book to readers just coming on to the series. It does have its problems unfortunately, which I’ll get into soon.

The story centers around a girl and her best friend who are auditioning for an ill-fated play that has been kept under wraps for over 6 decades at their school. The play was banned after a mysterious disappearance of the actor who was supposed to play The Phantom. The drama teacher asked for permission to make the infamous play and put it into production (which of course succeeds). The main two kids have a soft spot for horror and only auditioned for the play because of its creepy nature and backstory. However, like most Goosebumps books, things are even scarier underneath the surface.

A weird string of occurrences take place throughout the story that the main protagonist can’t pinpoint for herself. There’s multiple suspects from a caddy rival, to a weird janitor, to a new kid, to a potential Phantom, to even her own best friend. The twists and turns thrive in its mysterious setup. There a level of tension you can cut with a knife and each and every chapter makes you want to see what or who is behind the grand scheme of it all.

This book executes the double twist (some may even argue it was a triple twist). Where there is an initial twist towards the end. And then another at the very end. Which delivers an answer to the whole story via the final sentence. It may have been predictable, but it was fitting. Some may say it was anti-climactic. Which is fair. I think it works, but the predictability is more upsetting than who is behind the story.
And the predictability on both twists is the major problem(s) weighing the book down for me. For a book with many suspects, it sure does pick the most obvious ones of who it could be. I will say though, one character in particular is definitely a surprise that you see coming, but don’t see why they are doing things to the main two characters and the production of the play.

Minus the twists at the end, this story was one rollercoaster ride I am dying to revisit again and again. It very well might be the “weakest” favorite book of mine. But don’t take that as I am saying this book is weak at all. It’s a great fun time to be had. I loved every single character in this book. Even though the “villains” are rather weak, they’re still very good in the story. I dig the setup of a potential underground death trap underneath the auditorium. I dig the fact that the kids are willing to put themselves in harms way to uncover the truth. I even dig the subtle red herrings and plethora of suspects this book offers. It makes discovering the identity more questionable as the story goes along )until around 5 or 6 chapters left to read). I’d recommend this book for anyone looking for a different feeling Goosebumps book. Don’t let the title influence an opinion of “this is a ripoff of Phantom of the Opera”. Seriously, try it. You won’t be disappointed.

[Elena Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

-I read this book in participation of the goosebumps-a-thon Richard Denny is hosting, this is the first book on the list and I am so happy I chose to do this-


I loved this book so freaking much, RL Stein is a freaking genius and I love him so much. As I read the last sentence of the book I screamed out loud “I knew it”. I am going to continue to read the goosebumps books and make it my lifegoal to collect them all. I would recommend this book for anybody it was just fantastic & well done great writing style, great characters, amazing plot. I will say that midway through the ending I did have a feeling who the phantom really was but of course I wasn’t certain and reading that last sentence just proved me right and I loved the feeling, I can’t wait to watch the tv adaptation tonight.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm directing the musical adaptation of this book in the Spring so I wanted a refresh on the story. This is maybe my third read of it; not only is it enjoyable on it's own but it is a stand out in the Goosebumps line with very little of Stine's infamous fake outs.

Of course it takes heavy inspiration from Phantom of the Opera but it's actually a cute story about a school putting on "The Phantom" and mysterious pranks occuring and the cast of course thinks there's a ghost of a boy who died haunting their production. Lots of "who dunnit" moments throughout it was a fun ride with a neat ending twist.

[keely p · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with Brent (for his HW)
I'm proud of myself for correctly predicting the phantom at the beginning of the story. I knew something was fishy with Brian when he arrived at the school keen to audition for the play even though auditions where closed. My suspicion was confirmed when Zeke's dog was barking at Brian with distress.
Also I'm pretty sure every school has a a 'Tina.'

[Oni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The vanishing boy

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of my school days. We had a stage with a trap door that led down to a creepy area where it was rumoured a maniac lived! Solid 3 stars for this Goosebumps book.

[Gabriela]

A book where the haters are REALLY praying for your (literal) down fall

[Jolee · Rating 3 out of 5]

the scariest part was how many times they described the teacher as skinny

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

For Zeke and Brooke, horror movie fanatics, the announcement that the school play is going have scary elements is absolutely brilliant news made even better by the fact that they were both cast as the lead roles. Plus, the script is accompanied by a creepy story about how the first attempted showing of the play resulted in a mysterious disappearance and ghosts! Unsurprisingly, this new attempt at producing the play is plagued with strange occurrences that are blamed on Zeke the prankster. However, it quickly becomes apparent to the kids that perhaps there is more truth to the story about a real phantom than anyone wants to admit. In an attempt to clear his name, Zeke, Brooke, and their new friend Brian journey beneath the stage to see if there really is a ghost at work, but find out that all the pranks and destruction were really caused by a homeless man trying to prevent people from finding out that he lives in the basement of the school. Once they alert the proper authorities, the pranks stop, and the show goes on! That is until the night of the big performance when Zeke disappears, and Brian takes over the role of the Phantom, a role he wanted to play seventy years previous, before he died on opening night!

This is another Goosebumps novel where the twist wasn’t very well foreshadowed. Knowing the formula, it was pretty obvious that Brian was going to be some sort of ghost, but the story did little to build him up as a character, or drop hints that he was a ghost at all! In fact, throughout the book, the only truly ghostly moments happened at the very end. Relatedly, I was rather discomforted by the strange treatment of the homeless man in the school’s basement. His role in the story was a villain, and there was little sympathy or realism associated with his sad history. Goosebumps novels are generally not great sources of morals, but the treatment of this character bothered me quite a bit. He was also an exceptionally unnecessary character given the presence of Brian, as well as the seemingly antagonistic Tina who didn’t end up playing much of a role at all despite all hints that she was trying to undermine Brooke’s performance. While there was certainly some suspense, most of the plot was pretty mundane, and the ending wasn’t particularly satisfying.

[Wintermint · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Phantom of the Auditorium by R.L. Stine was an ok book.So, these two kids who have been best friends forever try out for the school play and get the two leading roles. On the first day of rehersals, the teacher tells the students about the first time the play was suppost to be put on. The phantom dissapeared the night of the performance and was never seen again. Brooke, the main character, was the only one who was not startled by her friend's sudden apperance as the phantom. He was trying to spook the cast, and succeeded. As time rolls on, strange things start to happen and they blame her friend, and he gets kicked out of the performance. The two kids start to investigate what truly was happening, and they find, with the help of their new friend Brian, that a homeless man was trying to keep them from useing the trap door because it lead to his " home sweet home". Brook's best fiend gets his part back, but on the night of the performance gets blackedout by someone who steals his costum and pretends to be him. The "phantom" tells, indirectly, how he dissapeared on the night of the performance over seventy years ago. After the performance, brook and her friend are at her locker and find and old year book in it, dating from the year the phantom died. Read the book to find out who in the cast was the true phantom. I liked this book alot, but I wish that it was more difficult of a read and a bit longer. I suggest this book to people who are reluctent to read and mabey don't know huge vocabulary.

[Daniel Stalter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phantom of the Auditorium is one of the more solid Goosebumps books I’ve read so far, though it is not without significant flaws. It had a few scary moments, but it mostly kept things light-hearted. I would say it was more entertaining than truly scary. It was even surprisingly sweet at times. I liked the character dynamics of the kids, even though it was way too easy for them to break into their Middle School at night. The sloppiest parts of the story revolved around the villain and their motives. Bad guys in Goosebumps books tend to make some really baffling decisions. Phantom is no exception. Ultimately this didn’t detract too much from the story, however. That’s because Phantom’s strength is in the layered storytelling, with multiple plotlines interconnecting. This allows it to succeed on some levels even as it falls flat on others. That’s about as specific as I can get without dropping major spoilers.

Score: 3.5



Check out my blog for my full review with memes, snark, and spoilers:
https://www.danstalter.com/phantom-of...

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. I’m always a bit hesitant about Phantom of the Opera inspired stories and retellings but this one was actually pretty good. The suspense was done well and I liked the main character, Brooke. This was a lot of fun and I thought the ending was great.