The 12 Screams of Christmas

Goosebumps Most Wanted #Special Edition #2

by R.L. Stine

The infamous, Most Wanted Goosebumps characters are out on the loose and after you. For the first time ever, it's a Goosebumps Christmas!

Kate Welles doesn't want to be special. She just wants to play the lead in her school's Christmas play. Her annoying "friend" Courtney is constantly getting in the way of that. Can you even call someone a "friend" if all they do is make fun of you and ruin everything all of the time? But Kate has to get along with Courtney or else neither of them will be allowed to take part in The 12 Screams of Christmas.

Kate and Courtney's teacher decides they need to find a special place to rehearse. A certain house with a special history. The kind of place that Kate would normally be pretty frightened to go into. The kind of place that gives new meaning to the term: Christmas Spirit.

Genres: Horror, Christmas, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Paranormal, Fantasy

174 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2014

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

[Justin Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Christmas-themed Stine works are fairly rare, but always a good time. Growing up, I was obsessed with Silent Night 1-3 from the Fear Street series. This is the only Goosebumps holiday entry that I'm aware of, other than a collection of short stories. I was surprised by how original it felt--and how creepy. I won't spoil, but evil ghosts wielding carving knives came across as fairly edgy for Goosebumps. A great way to spend a few hours before December 25th.

[Ionia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Goosebumps! For Christmas? Okay, so that seemed kind of weird at first, being that Christmas is a time of cheer and good tidings, but I thought this worked pretty well. It seemed to me that this book was a might more grown up than previous goosebumps titles I've read. The characters had a bit more depth and the story was a little scarier than I recall the other books being.

Still, this had the original Goosebumps flair, with laugh out loud moments and goofy characters to fill in the tense spots. I think kids of all ages will enjoy this book just as they have done with the rest of the series before it.

The frights in this story were original, and I liked that the main character had other drama in her life besides seeing ghosts. I'm sire kids could relate to the issues she brings up.

I love these books, and this series will never cease to please, in my opinion.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a struggle for me. I think it was a little too long. Usually goosebumps books are a reliable 120ish pages. This one was 170ish and I felt the extra 50.

It lacked the campy sense of humor of his other books.

On the upside, it was scarier than his other books too? The ghosts were out for some serious revenge, all though I have no idea why they picked the MC (whose name I have apparently forgotten).

Overall not bad. My daughter enjoyed it.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Read 12 screams of Christmas a few tears ago and really liked it at the time.This was the time before I did really long reviews.I figured it would be fun to of course read it agian for another Christmas.The story is split into a few parts the first being the prologue.The prologue starts off with three siblings.Nora,Ned and Abe.Ned and Abe are twins and Nora is the youngest sister at 8 years old.One of the twins is making fun of Nora playing keep away with her hat.She gets her hat back and the twins want to go explore their new house that they just moved into from a very small cottage.The twin boys want to explore the backyard where there is this supposedly haunted small guesthouse and the dad makes Flora go inside to help their mom.The boys go to explore when they run into a wasps nest.The boys run and escape.They are excited so they begin to dance.Flora comes out and shes standing on the well wall dancing then she falls.The dad and mom and everyone panick to save her.They almost get her out when the rope breaks and she falls in the well.I remember reading this a few years ago and loved how dark and bleek this intro was.Something I didn't remember is them almost saving her.It's actually genuinly dreadful.The main story starts and it follows our protagonist named Kate Welles.She is on her way home,but shes late.It turns out she and this other girl named Courtney,who is described as a frenimy got into an argument at school.She is late for rehersals with this guy named Jack.She really wants to be apart of this play and outshine Courtney.She decides to cut through the graveyard and is scared because of what happend last time.She dosn't really tell us what happend but we soon find out.She cuts through the graveyard  and sees these ghosts talking to one another.It turns out Kate can see ghosts.People in her class call her ghost girl,because she claimed to see this man in a tree,but all the others saw was a bag.She gets home and meets jack there.She sees a ghost that turns out to just be Courtney dressed as one for the play.they go to regersals and Mr.Piccio tells this story about this kid that was very sick and wants to be in a play.The kid ends up trying out and gets the part but then ends up not showing back up after the play to get congratulated and it turns out he's a ghost.We get introduced to this guy named Paco,who is a new student.Courtney and Kate ends up fighting and falling through a trapdoor and getting knocked out.She has a dream sequence about Paco being a ghost.Her and Courtney wake up and find out they are not getting the parts they want in the play.We get another part of this book and it turns out Mr.Piccolo is bringing the kids to this supposedly haunted house.Mr.Piccolo tells the kids the story of this house and it's essentially the same story as the prologue of the book.We also learn the play is named 12 screams of Christmas,because Flora screams twelve times.Im not sure where we learn this,but I figured i should mention it.Kate sees the two ghosts and she follows them.that night she hears whispers asking for help.This leads her to the well and the two boys show back up.They grab her and bring her into the house.Kate ends up going in this attic where the door disapears.She meets the family of ghosts and they begin calling her Flora.They talk about sitting on father Christmas' lap and this is just a skeliton with a Santa hat and outfit.We also get to see a worm crawling inside his skull.They try to force Kate to sit in father Christmases lap. They also try to force her to eat rat skulls and a turkey skeliton.This scene oddily reminded me of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.I'm not going to reveal much more,because this is basically the end.I'll start with my negatives.I only have one and like a very small one.The biggest negative is the very ending.A certian character days something that just isn't true.I also found the audition stuff not super intresting,with that being said,this one was still super fun.The prologue was really grim,but engaging.The concept of Kate seeing ghosts was really fun.The scene in the graveyard was really good.I also loved the last half of this book.The crazy family wanting her to take place of their passed away daughter was really dark as well.Call me crazy,but i give The 12 Screams Of Christmas a five out of five stars.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Are the four special editions in the Goosebumps Most Wanted series interrelated? The haunted mansion on their covers looks like the same one, and in each book it's located across the street from a graveyard. I don't recall if every minor detail lines up for the books to take place in and around the same property, and the house's backstory is different in each case, but it's interesting to think about. I'm not convinced the similarities are mere coincidence. The 12 Screams of Christmas starts with a prologue set in 1882, not the era R.L. Stine typically writes about. Twins Abe and Ned Marcus, their eight-year-old sister Flora, and their parents have moved to a much bigger house. The place needs fixing up, but the twins eagerly envision what mischief they could get into here. Then the family's dreams are dashed by a cruel accident involving Flora and a deep well on the grounds, and their portion of this book abruptly ends.

In the present day we meet Kate Welles, a twelve-year-old with the gift of seeing ghosts. She keeps what she sees to herself after an incident last year that had every kid in her grade making fun of her. At least she has blue-eyed, copper-haired Jack Hopper, a loyal friend Kate likes as more than a chum. Kate's class is staging a Christmas horror play written by their music teacher, Mr. Piccolo, and she wants to impress Jack by earning the lead role. Courtney Smith is a major obstacle to that goal, however. It was Courtney who tagged Kate with the nickname "Ghost Girl" after she claimed to see apparitions and no one believed her. The two were friends, but now they're mainly rivals; Courtney would love to beat Kate out for the biggest part in the musical, and maybe snag Jack as her own boyfriend. Their bad blood simmers as Mr. P and the class prepare for overnight rehearsal at a local haunted house. Kate is also nervous that she might see ghosts there.

Her concern level rises when Mr. P tells the house's ghost story. A girl fell into the well out back more than a century ago and couldn't be saved, and some say her family haunts the house. Kate knows it's more than a legend when she sees twin boy ghosts hanging around, and feels drawn toward the crumbling well in the yard. The long-dead Marcuses still occupy this property, and they've waited a long time for a girl to stand in for Flora. Their lives marred by tragedy, they want to be whole again, but not even a girl who sees ghosts can grant that wish...can she? Can Kate restore Flora to Abe, Ned, and their parents? Kate's life may depend on her ability to give a grieving family one last Christmas with their lost sister and daughter.

The 12 Screams of Christmas is one of the better Most Wanted books. I like that there's a Goosebumps Christmas novel, and that it has more emotion than most stories in the Goosebumps franchise. We feel the sorrow of the Marcuses, physically rotting ghosts trapped in their old house, doomed to go through the same sad motions in perpetuity. Who can blame them for mourning Flora? The possibility of their reunion carries emotional weight, which is rare for R.L. Stine's books. The narrative logic isn't all consistent, but it's decent, and the writing moves at a satisfying pace. Goosebumps fans shouldn't miss out on this ghost tale for the Christmas season.

[Austin Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one has some interesting ideas behind it, and is much more fresh / unique than the other Most Wanted books that I've read. I like that the main character has the ability to see ghosts / dead people, I like the school christmas play and the haunted house setting in the second half. Unfortunately, all of the good ideas aren't fully explored and we get a story that really drags its feet on cheap cliffhangers and faux scares. A lot of the book, the middle chunk to be specific, is very meandering and uneventful. This GB is a "Special Edition", which basically means its a bit longer than the average GB and in this case, the added pages hurt the story if anything. It goes on for too long with nothing happening. The best parts of this book are the very beginning and the climax just before the end. We do get a creepy scene that's part of the climax that reminds me a little bit of the dinner scene from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Of course, with this being a childrens book, it's very tame, but the style of that scene is kind of similar.
All in all, I appreciate some aspects to this one but it ends up being more of a letdown than anything. The Most Wanted has more misses than it does hits for me.
If you want to check out some awesome Goosebumps books go to the original series or Series 2000, or even the Hall of Horrors.
I give this book a 2 / 5

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was quite an enjoyable read. The story was interesting and I loved all the body horror! I’d definitely recommend it to others.

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is so stupid.

[Jaden V.]

Goosebumps: The 12 Screams of Christmas



The 12 Screams of Christmas is about a girl named Kate Welles who gets teased at school for “seeing ghosts” but only she knows the truth. While going on a field trip their teacher tells them the story of a family whose daughter fell in a well, later Kate tries to save that girl. It was a matter of life or death.

[Zoey De Leon · Rating 1 out of 5]

The 12 Screams of Christmas has a lot of good and new not necessarily original but a fresh take for a Goosebumps story and the main focus where the main character has this unexplained ability to see ghosts which reminded me a little bit of The Shining by Stephen King but not in the severe way, while The Shining I think is too far out and realistic in terms of psychological aspects compare to the one in this book but unfortunately, that idea is just played mostly for plot convineces only.

We follow our main character as she encounters some harmless ghosts just roaming around and having her compete with this school play.
So this book is a special edition and this book has same problems I have with the last Most Wanted special edition book I read, Zombie Halloween and it's how the book just focuses on the wrong things and oh my, I hate how overstretched that school play element in this book, it's so long, I wouldn't mind it being there, but it's just too long when it needs to be, like we get it, that school play element is now showcased now please move on, there's also like a huge dream sequence in it and sometimes that is common in Goosebumps and I wouldn't mind, but in this book, they play it a bit long and it's obvious that is a filler to just make this longer for the special edition contract.

So yeah, the book focused on the wrong directions and we get to like the main conflicts that the book is building up in the first prologue about this ghost family and it kinda has dark implications in it. but unfortunately, we're like 140 pages in and the book is almost done, the ghosts just did few things and we get some easy climax but atleast the closure is kinda has a funny part and a lame twist ending.

I wish the main conflict would get a lot more built up and we focus on this haunted house from like the 19th century but no, the book decided to focus on the boring and long and wordy auditorium scenes in the middle portion of the book.


Has definetly has good and unique ideas but was let down by some of the execution and the pacing.

[Billie Pritchett · Rating 1 out of 5]

In this probably ghostwritten book attributed to R.L. Stine, there's a gal who can see ghosts. She spends a great deal of the book mistaking people for ghosts (I think?) and then she and her classmates all go together to a haunted house to practice for a song(/play?) for their school called The 12 Screams of Christmas. But it's pretty bad writing all around.

First off, there's the 12 screams of Christmas. It's barely incorporated into the book. You wonder why it would be the title and what its relevance would be to anything but there's no payoff there.

Second, the book is divided into two parts: old-timey times and present day. But these two parts don't come together that well, I don't think. In some respects, it feels like there was a lot setting up the past events and not very much setting up the current events.

Third, the music teacher Mr. P is a little weird, but nothing is really done there, and--talk about weird--he takes all the cast for the song/play to this creepy haunted house to have a sleepover. Why? The book doesn't explain it. Not to mention it's just plain odd for an adult male to do this. I think these kids are elementary schoolers but for the sake of argument, assume they're middle schoolers--assume their high schoolers for that matter. What set of parents and what school system would allow one male authority figure to go off with a group of young mostly female students to stay in a strange old house?

The book's bad.

[Coos Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

No me esperaba nada muy maravilloso de los últimos libros de Goosebumps (este pertenece a la serie 'Most Wanted'), pero sinceramente la pasé genial leyendo este libro. Al parecer, este fue el único cuya temática difiere al resto de la serie (todas las historias transcurren en Halloween). Me gustó el claro tributo al clásico relato victoriano de fantasmas, con su propio giro macabro. En algunos aspectos se sale un poco de la esencia de los libros de Escalofríos, pero más allá de eso, creo que es una grandiosa historia ligera de terror para leer en esta época.

[Syon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I pick up a Goosebumps book, I can expect a few things; great pacing, believable characters, and a uniquely charming creep factor that permeates the entire series. This book was no different, and reminded me of why I loved Goosebumps so much as a kid (and still do as a grown man). 12 Screams had everything I wanted from a Goosebumps story. For a kid’s book, the humor was also very well done and actually made me chuckle out loud. The final act was surprisingly intense as well, and the ending left a smile on my face. My only gripe was the over abundance of moments where a character would pass out serving as cliffhangers to a chapter. While I do enjoy the manner in which chapters get tied off in Goosebumps books, I found it to be a bit too repetitive in this one. Overall, I enjoyed this one a ton. 12 screams out of 12 screams. Or 5 stars if you wanna be boring and keep things serious for Goodreads.

[Lisa Pineo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read a bunch of different genres of holiday stories and this is my first middle grade one of the season. My first impression of the book is that it's probably upper MG with faces looking like they're melting, the kidnapping and holding of Kate, poltergeists and lots of injuries. Great description, settings and pacing. The story is only 10 years old but it felt much older just with the dialogue, some word choices and over feel, and not just because of the ghost family story. I still found myself engaged and really wanted to know how Kate was going to end up saving Flora. An interesting twist ending as usual from Stine as well.

[Travis Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 12 Screams of Christmas by R.L. Stine is a creepy book about a girl named Kate and her “friend” Courtney who are going to a, possibly haunted, place to do a play. I really think this book is amazing because of how Kate can see ghosts! I wish I could see ghosts...kind of. No message, it’s a fun book. I'd recommend this book to all fans of Goosebumps, horror, and all 4th-6th graders.

[Leslye❇ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5* A Goosebumps book for Christmas?? ... okay, it seemed kind of weird, but it actually worked pretty well. It had a few goofy characters and humorous moments, but also a few frights. The ghost backstory was a little sad, but no worries- it has a positive ending. ... it's a Christmas story after all!

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3/5 for a book, 4/5 for a Goosebumps. One of the better Goosebumps books I've read. The characters were still cliches, but they were more realistic cliches. The ghost story was pretty creepy and now I want to sing the 12 Screams of Christmas song every Christmas.

[Ansh Yadawad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the book was great I really liked how R.L. Stine started off with how Flora died in the well. I really liked the ending because it was when Kate pulled Flora up from the well and Flora didn’t want to live with her own family because Her family left her there over a hundred years she wanted to live with Kate!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy these Goosebumps books. Cute, scary little stories. When craving a fun, quick read that is a little spooky - Goosebumps is where it is at! Love that there is a Christmas Themed one! Perfect read for the season.

[Noah Kenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of scary

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I can see ghosts."

Compulsively readable! It's the perfect time of year for this cozy, dripped-in-nostalgia Christmas Stine!

[Owen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was garbage. So boring and dumb

[Andrew Riva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually a really fun read for a Christmas themed Goosebumps book, and a bit darker than usual stories from R.L. Stine but in a good way.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Goosebumps franchise is something that goes way back to when I was a tween and it was all that I would read. I would make my dad get me a new book every week, and I’d devour it over the weekend in one or two sittings.

I miss those days.

When I saw this one was Christmas themed, I knew I wanted it and had to read it. For nostalgic purposes. I haven’t read an R.L. Stine book in . . . twenty years, but knew what to expect.

I was not disappointed. Yes, I’m a grown adult now and I look at and take in the story and the writing of this book differently than as I did when I was 10 or so. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only for the nostalgia, but also because Stine has a craft to his writing.

I think I might start getting back into reading all of the old classic and the newer Goosebumps books. For old times sake.

[Gisbelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thanks to Scholastic and NetGalley

Point of View: Single (Kate) only prologue was told from Abe's POV
Writing: First Person | Past Tense
Setting: Not mentioned
Genre: Middle Grade | Paranormal/Ghosts

Another miss from R.L. Stine. At least in my opinion. To be honest, it wasn't so bad; it just wasn't good enough to keep me interested the whole way through, either.

It was too weird that during Christmas time when people are having fun and enjoying the holiday season and the school chose to perform a horror play. I wasn't convinced that it was possible, but maybe I was wrong. And who would take kids to an abundant, broken-down house to rehearse for a play?!

The story was a little dragging for my liking because it took way too long just for something to happen. As a result, it was painfully slow.

I guess perhaps it was because I have read too many Goosebumps books that made this one very predicable and not in a pleasant way. However, I did enjoy Zombie Halloween which was the first book in this special edition.

In short, this one just wasn't for me. I really didn't like the storyline.

[Weathervane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another for which I should've written the review shortly after reading, since I no longer remember much from the story. It was decent. The section with ghost family was pretty fun. Unfortunately I think the longer format for these "Special Editions" doesn't well suit Goosebumps; even some of Stine's standard-length books feel padded or strangely-paced, so the extra pages here don't add much to narrative strength.

Not bad though.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great trip back to my childhood with one of my favorite series. Not surprisingly, Stine has created a brilliant ghost story that will be a perfect stocking stuffer this year. I enjoyed his addition of the prologue which gives the backstory for the ghosts. Kate's story is spooky fun but her struggles with peer pressure will be relatable to readers.

[Sera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! It was such a nice visit to an authors world that I loved reading as a child. I will be re-reading this around Christmas!

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loved it. He laughed and was scared at some parts. He would sing the music parts.

[Bracken · Rating 1 out of 5]

BLECCCCH! My son loves Goosebumps and we both hated this one. The end is like a children's Texas Chainsaw Massacre dinner scene. Goes too far for Goosebumps.