The Haunting Returns

by Kate Howard

Discover what happens to Isaiah, Margot, Nathan, and the rest of the folks in Port Lawrence in this official Goosebumps novel based on the hit Disney Plus series! Includes an exclusive ending only available in this book!

Thirty years ago, Harold Biddle died in a tragic accident -- but there's more to the story. Now, the teenage kids of Harold's classmates are determined to find out what happened to him all those years ago...as long as Harold's spirit doesn't exact his revenge first!

But Harold Biddle isn't the only monster roaming the streets of Port Lawrence. From doppelgängers to haunted books and one creepy dummy, Isaiah, Margot, James, and the rest of their friends have to fight to stay alive or risk becoming monsters themselves!

This official novel tells the story of season 1 of the hit Goosebumps series -- plus additional scenes and information not seen on the show, including resolving the show's cliffhanger ending!

Genres: Horror

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the show and picked this book up due to the disclaimer on top that all Cliffhangers would be answered.

That was a lie. It added a new cliffhanger. Now I know season 2 wasn't supposed to follow this story line but this book makes me wonder if it kind of does?

This book does not work as a stand alone story and was a poor adaptation of the show. The author didn't describe anyone, didn't bother to add an descriptors or emotion and just kind of went through the motions. It skipped giant and significant plot points as wella nd came f rather jumbled and messy.

[Beckee❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic nostalgic blast from the past! I used to love Goosebumps books as a child, and this one took me right back to the 90s!

[Lindsey Lawntea · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Your cliffhanger questions answered” except 99% of the book is literally just the novelization of the show and the “epilogue” is an 18 minute segment that ends in ANOTHER cliffhanger and resolves nothing 🤦🏼‍♀️

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Show ends with a cliffhanger, and this book ends with a cliffhanger. A lot of the original Goosebumps books ended with cliffhangers because R.L Stine wanted to give the impression that the craziness of that book wasn’t over, which I don’t have a problem with. But the fact that it’s a 99% retelling of the show and only 5 pages of “never before seen content,” makes this book feel like it’s not worth it tbh.

[Pulp_Fiction_Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

So... I was not a fan of the TV show but as a goosebumps collector I had to pick this up and read it. This is an extremely faithful adaptation and while I did find it slightly less egregious in written form it still wasn't good. I hate to use this sentence but it's just not Goosebumps. It's cringy, filled with teen drama and worse still, it's boring. This book also advertises an alternate ending to the show and it's a whole pile of nothing, to the point where I have no idea why the would even bother to add it. I don't think any of the blame should fall with the author though as she was dealing with very poor source material in the first place.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this novel. I loved the new spin on the classic stories as well as the Easter eggs from the stories not featured. I really hated James, though.

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming in at the longest Goosebumps story in history, The Haunting Returns (based off the 2023 show on Disney+) is a spectacular read! Of course, I’m joking. It’s not fantastic at all. However, I’m shocked that—just like the Haunted Halloween novel—this is actually a slight improvement. With every teeny little thing from the show applying here, we have the same upsides and downsides. Great first half, decent arcs and characters, enjoyability, and cool ideas being conflicted by the infamously shitty incest plotline, filler segments, dumb decisions and a shitty ending—or rather, the original shitty ending with now a new chapter added on to apparently fix said shitty ending. And now, for my thoughts on specifically the novel. The writing is awesome, like surprisingly well written and unique. Kate Howard’s writing is identifiable and really good, and helped carry the story weirdly enough. There’s also the lack of the soundtrack, which is good in some cases like at the end of episode 8 where there’s a song about getting an erection in a parking lot whilst dramatic conclusions play out. You don’t have to imagine that junk here! And same goes for the ugly cgi and anything you didn’t like about the show visually. Nice. And also, some things were handled better and felt better on page, like Isabella’s character. Like pretty much just her character but, still, it feels better as a 266 page novel. However, now we get to what didn’t go right with this novel. The pacing is the worst pacing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Would you believe me if I told you this book was actually really fast paced? Yeah, the longest gb book ever is actually not a slow read—it’s reallllllllllly fast. And not in a good way since there are slower parts, making a rough clash. And with the show’s original issues included, there’s also the new ending… which sucks lmao. Yeah, it ain’t good. It’s basically “it’s over but now really” bullshit that not only never explains the Kanduu in the mirror crap (or rather in a sensible manner with an actual conclusion) but also vaguely hints at another story being thrown into the mix in what would’ve been season 2. So uh… 8/10? I really enjoyed this one and I think some episodes just worked better on paper, specifically 5 and 9. Episode 7 and 8 though… drag on. Probably should’ve mentioned that earlier but idgaf. My aura is beige and I like humping my team to victory.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read a Goosebumps book before. My older children really enjoyed them when they were younger. This book is a tie-in with a Disney+ series, and I decided it would be an excellent choice for my first Goosebump read. it was a crazy, wild story that I would have loved as a child.

Teenagers make dumb choices all the time. Deciding to throw a party at a house that is currently tly being remodeled for its new owner is definitely a dumb choice. This house has a history. Twenty-some years ago, a boy tragically died in a fire there. The kids that go to the house to set up for the party encounter some disturbing events. One of the hits his head on a cuckoo clock. Another picks up an insta-matic camera and takes pictures of his friends. Another gets lost in the woods and is chased by an apparition, and another girl takes a mask that the boy who died in the fire created. Bad, scary things start happening to these teenagers. Worse is the more they try to figure out what is going on and how to stop it, they also discover their parents were involved I what happened when the boy died in the fire. Breaking bones, being thrown down a mine shift, turning into a troll, and being possessed by worms are just a few of the scary things that happen. how can they stop this terrible problem? When they figure out a way, they think they have solved the problem, but that just leads to more problems. Will the teens and their parents be able to end this curse, or will the curse end them?

As an adult, I found this book somewhat silly. As a child, I would have loved the scare it provided. I feel this book ended on a cliffhanger, and I will try and see if there is another book to follow so I can read it. I think this book would be a great one to read with your child.

[Doctorjoecool · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book.
This is a novelization of Season 1 of the Disney+ Goosebumps series. It also features an epilogue extending beyond the season's ending. That epilogue is great, easily, and makes me wish there was more story following it.
The rest of the book, though... varies.
Sometimes, the book does a good job of being a novelization, adapting scenes well. But a lot of the time, it just rushes through scenes and feels like a summary someone wrote of them. These parts end up rather tedious. There's also one part in the adaptation of episode 2 where important context is left out that explains something, even though it could've been put in there with a single sentence, easily.
Kate Howard had previously written photonovelizations for younger readers for both Goosebumps movies, and this kinda feels like that at times. Not QUITE that far, but still, similar.
Honestly, it might have just been too much to ask her to try to adapt the whole season into a reasonably sized book.
It was the longest Goosebumps book published upon release, only now beaten by the novelization of Season 2 by a few pages. (Confusingly, the actual season was SHORTER than Season 1.) But adapting 10 whole episodes is still a lot for this.
I can't really recommend this book overall, but if you liked Season 1 of the series (which I did), the epilogue's pretty cool. It's a shame a lot of the book prior to it struggles so much...

[J.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I have pretty mixed feelings about this book. As a huge original Goosebumps book (and movie) fan, I was so excitied to read this one. Full disclosure i haven't seen the show as I don't have Disney+ so this is the next best thing for me.

While I did like that it read a bit like the originals I can't say I was the biggest fan of the adaptations of the original stories. They were way to short and rushed, especially The Haunted Mask adaptation which was one of my all time favorite original stories.

With Slappy being another original favorite of mine I loved that we got some backstory on his orgins which was never really brought up in the original series. I do however feel like his story in this book could have been better.

Settling in the middle for this rating as I did enjoy it but it just didn't hit me like the originals did.

[Wolverinefactor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The tv series was bad and it’s even more obvious ingots adaptation.

The cliffhanger answers promised don’t happen and it just loves the cast to London and one person acting weird. Bleh don’t promise answers and just give more questions

[Pokefanyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this one would be pretty bad,
But it was actually pretty good and it was written like how the older goosebumps books were, the beginning was decent so it gets a 4.7/5 which I rounded up to a 5

[ᥫ᭡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audiobook was a lot of fun.

[reagan gulledge · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was…pretty good, i like how it switched POVs of characters from the show. but, the ending was rather confusing, and didn’t really tie off the loose ends or cliffhanger as promised.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot wait for the second one! This is Goosebumps for the grown ups who grew up in Goosebumps.

[Jasminebree · Rating 2 out of 5]

the ending was very short and unsatisfying im somehow left with more questions??

[Jessica Hardijanto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tutoring with a 10 yr old be like

[Kristin]

Not that great for sleeping.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine adaptation of the series.

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was bad. This was also my first experience of goosebumps books. I do very much assume the normal series is better than whatever this was. The plot made some kind of sense but it was very tell and not show. The horror vibes were also not really there? It seemed more like comedic horror yet the characters were obviously distressed. I wouldn’t recommend this particular book.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really wanted to love this book but ended up disappointed. Unfortunately the TV show ended on a cliffhanger, and season 2 will feature an entirely new cast, leaving this story unresolved. Part of the reason I picked up this book was because there was going to be a new ending that would ostensibly tie up some loose ends. It does not. AT ALL. So if you’re reading this for that reason, I wouldn’t recommend it. The writing is solid if unspectacular. 3 stars.