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Goosebumps #39

Una testa di mummia per me

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STAVO GUARDANDO LE IRIDI LUCCICANTI DI UN CENTINAIO DI CRANI MUMMIFICATI!

Un ammasso di teste rimpicciolite...
Teste su teste. Occhi su occhi. Teste grandi quanto pugni, con le bocche contratte in smorfie sdentate o in ghigni terrificanti.
Teste su teste... teste scure e rugose.
Erano spaventose, nella luce dorata emanata dai loro occhi.

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

119 people are currently reading
3928 people want to read

About the author

R.L. Stine

1,679 books18.6k followers
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...

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 314 reviews
Profile Image for ✨Bean's Books✨.
648 reviews6 followers
October 21, 2018
#39 "Heads up!"
Mark's aunt Benna just sent him a present from the tropical jungles of Baladora. A present that reminds him of one of his favorite video games. A shrunken head! But this isn't any normal shrunken head. This one has strange jungle magic inside it. Can Mark learn how to use the strange magic and save the island and his aunt?
Profile Image for Danny.
169 reviews
December 2, 2010
Ahhh, the Goosebump days. I would borrow so many of these from the library they seriously considered extending my limit of books checked out at one time. R.L. Stine you were a reprieve from a harsh and dreary childhood in which my mind wandered far away from the troubles of the day. I stole books into my bed and read far into the night by the faintest of lights. I might have better eyesight were it not for you; however, I regret not one page or line.
Profile Image for Ethan.
345 reviews336 followers
August 10, 2023
In How I Got My Shrunken Head, a mysterious woman claiming to work with Mark's aunt Benna on the remote jungle island of Baladora shows up at his door one day and gifts him an authentic shrunken head from his aunt. The woman invites Mark to go back to Baladora with him, and only when he arrives on the island does he discover his aunt is actually missing, and they need his help to find her. Mark has no idea where to start. But things are not what they seem, and this is no ordinary shrunken head...

This book broke my heart. I've loved the cover art since I was a kid, and the first 70 pages of this book were incredible. Unfortunately, the story falls off a cliff after that. It read like Stine just didn't know what to do with this story. There was 5-10 pages of Mark just getting stuck in quick sand, another 5-10 pages of him getting stuck in a hole in the ground, parts where he just wandered through the jungle. It was really boring. There's eventually a confrontation with the villains near the end, but why they want the Jungle Magic from Mark is never really explained, and in any case the Jungle Magic was kind of dumb in the first place.

I wanted this to be so much more, and for the first 70 pages it was everything I could have hoped for and more, but it just didn't pan out in the end. This is an average Goosebumps book, I'm sad to say.

CAWPILE rating:

Characters: 6.5
Atmosphere / Setting: 8.0
Writing Style: 5.0
Plot: 5.0
Intrigue: 5.0
Logic / Relationships: 4.0
Enjoyment: 5.5

= 39 total
÷ 7 categories = 5.57 out of 10
= 3 stars
Profile Image for Maei.
55 reviews22 followers
January 21, 2021
من نمیتونم برای کتاب ها‌ی آر ال استاین نظر بدی بنویسم
من عاشق همه چیز داستاناشم :)
این کتاب ، یه موضوع تاریخیه که با تخیل نویسنده به یه کتاب عالی و سرگرم کننده تبدیل شده و چه چیزی بهتر از جادوی جنگل ✨
🌳🪵کاش منم جادوی جنگل داشتم
Profile Image for Ken.
2,562 reviews1,377 followers
September 8, 2021
Mark visits he’s Aunt Benna in the jungle of Baladora after co-worker Carolyn had visited the family home with a small shrunken head.
As during that visit Mark noticed the head glowing, this means he has ‘Jungle Magic’.

A highly enjoyable action adventure style story in the series, plenty of fun cliffhangers involving ants, quicksand etc...
A fun Goosebumps book!
Profile Image for °•.Melina°•..
412 reviews615 followers
Read
December 16, 2022
۱۰ سال از اولین ترس‌ولرزی که خوندم میگذره و هنوزم قلمش برام جذابیت داره:')
۱ ساعت از امشب،برای کودک درونی که دلش برای آر.ال.استاین تنگ شده بود🕸
*نمیدونم ملینای ۹ ساله بهش چند ستاره میداد برای همین نمیخوام ملینای ۱۹ ساله قضاوت کنه🕷
**اسم کتاب به ترجمه:طلسم.
Profile Image for Alex | | findingmontauk1.
1,565 reviews91 followers
May 31, 2020
This installment in the Goosebumps series is an action-packed adventure in the middle of the jungle and it is WILD! It's not the typical horror that Goosebumps delivers, but at the same time, I cannot imagine being in the jungle searching for my family with tigers, shrunken heads, pits of quicksand, and more when being just a child. So.. yea, kinda scary still! This is also one of my favorite covers in the series - look at that shrunken head! 4 stars to this one!
Profile Image for Evan Macrone (Will Work For Books).
62 reviews12 followers
February 25, 2017
(WARNING, REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS-as if you f***ing care)
Ok, so after seeing what an atrocity Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns was, I decided to revisit a bunch of randomly selected Goosebumps book that are collecting dust on my shelf. Anyway, on to the review.

I think a part of me died after reading this. This might just be the worst piece of trash book I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading. I know that puts it up against competition like Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns and Leaving Fishers, but trust me. This is on a whole other level. Because there is something wrong with every. Single. Chapter. So, without further ado, let’s dive into this hellhole. I’m not going to go over every single aspect. If you want to know so much about it so badly, go waste your money and buy it yourself.

CHAPTER 1: Lots of telling instead of showing. Since this happens quite often I’ll just put TIOS to tell you. We get introduced to our “relatable” main character and as a cheap use of foreshadowing, he adores jungles. I guess that way the author's job is easier and he can make the deadline in time. Our protagonist's name from here on out will be Obnoxious Idiot. You’ll see why. Also, he reveals his “Jungle Cry” in this chapter. Yes, a “Jungle Cry” is just as stupid as it sounds. His cry his this: “Ka-Lee-Ah”. ಠ_ಠ. Seriously?

CHAPTER 2: His Aunt’s close explorer friend (or something like that I don’t f***ing care) brings Obnoxious a present-which is a shrunken head. He is so in love with it he seems ready to bang it, honestly. Apparently his aunt is busy doing busy things but she is soon interrupted by Obnoxious’s sister who (gasp) takes his precious shrunken head. Then there is one of the many, many, many, many, many, many fake scares in the book and it’s so, SO obvious.

CHAPTER 3: TIOS. Another fake scare that made me want to drink the Windex in the laundry room. Thing is, the implied scariness (AND BY ‘IMPLIED’ I MEAN THEY SCREAM IN YOUR FACE “BE SCARED PLEASE. PLEASE BE SCARED BY THIS STUPID THING THAT IS SO OBVIOUSLY NOT SCARY”) is completely unneeded and does nothing to move the plot forward or advance ANYTHING. You could have taken out all of that implied scariness and NOTHING would be lost.

CHAPTER 4: Obnoxious and his sister argue about whether girls think shrunken heads are cool or some shit. YAWN. Also, a real scare that leads to stupidness.

CHAPTER 5: So, the scare happens while Obnoxious is in bed. His first reaction is to scream out a 15 second “Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.” I don’t know about you but that is most DEFINITELY how a normal prepubescent would react. Warning-sarcasm reaching dangerous levels. Immediately after that sentence it says he “wailed”. You know, as in, a sound kind of wail. But he said an actual word...so, yeah. And then on the same exact PAGE he lets out the same EXACT “Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.” Why? Because in his terror he falls out of bed and gets tangled in the covers. I probably would’ve burst out laughing at that if it didn't make me want to jump off a cliff. After alerting his parents, he comes back to the room only to find the shrunken head gone.

CHAPTER 6: Turns out his sister took it off his shelf. THEY SPEND 2 AND A ¼ PAGES ON THIS SINGLE FACT. F*** ME. Then, more stupid, obvious foreshadowing.

CHAPTER 7 (Where only on 7? UGH): TIOS. Big surprise: His Aunt’s friend is taking him on a trip to the jungle his Aunt is exploring. Surprising because the blurb mentions nothing about this. Even though the story takes place in the jungle for literally 72.4137931% of the book. Also, why does it say he has a ‘dangerous power’ in the blurb? All we see it do is save Obnoxious’s ass a couple times. Also, another fake scare that does nothing to advance the plot and is completely meaningless.

CHAPTER 8: We get introduced to 2 more cliches: a girl who is Obnoxious’s age-conveniently-she will shall be called Obvious McTwist, and another adult who we will call Doesnothing Mac Probablyachildmolester. The aforementioned adult tells Obnoxious that he has a dark, destructive power of epic proportions. Surely such a power as a mysterious, foreboding name to match it’s own power, right? It’s called “Jungle Magic”. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ. AND THEY SAY IT WITH A SERIOUS, STRAIGHT FACE. AS IF IT ISN’T THE MOST UNINSPIRED, STUPID NAME GIVEN TO ANYTHING IN THE HISTORY OF ANYTHING EVER. OF ANYTHING EVER!!!!

CHAPTER 9: So, Obnoxious Idiot certainly lives up to his last name in this chapter. First, he asks to himself if “Jungle Magic” is a video game.ಠ_ಠ. Then all of the characters take a product placement break. Next is quite a facepalm worthy page or two. So, after hearing he has “Jungle MAGIC”, Obnoxious asks if his aunt gave him “some kind of magic”. THEN, LITERALLY ON THE SAME PAGE, AFTER RESTATING HE HAS JUNGLE MAGIC HE ASKS THIS: “You’re telling me I have some special kind of magic powers?” (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻. WELL NO SHIT, SHERLOCK. They literally say the word “magic” 12 times in this one chapter. 7 times in the last 1 ½ pages. If you couldn’t tell by my just, just, joyous and eccentric tone, IT GETS A LITTLE ANNOYING.

CHAPTER 10 (and beginning of 11, kinda): TIOS. FILLER, FILLER, AND A BIT MORE FILLER. ANOTHER SCARE THAT ISN'T SCARY BECAUSE WE KNOW WHY IT IS HAPPENING BUT OBNOXIOUS DOESN’T SO IT’S A BIT FRUSTRATING.

CHAPTER 11 (help me): Fake scare because it sets it up like a scare but it’s incredibly predictable and also, you know……………...NOT SCARY, KIND OF LIKE THIS ENTIRE SHITSTORM THAT MAKES ME ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED BEYOND ANY REASONABLE MEASURE.

CHAPTER 12: He finds out Doesnothing and Aunt friend person are plotting to steal his magic and use it for evil. What a surprise. What. A. F***ing. Surprise. I most certainly didn’t see it coming from 40 trillion kilometers away. FAKE SCARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHAPTER 13: OH NO! That girl we definitely still remember (who the f*** am I kidding, who is she?) stops him from walking out the door. Like, she was just, you know, standing there. Waiting for him to come out. She’s obviously a stalker. And guess what else? YOU GUESSED IT. FAKE F***ING SCARE.

CHAPTER 14: TIOS. Filler that has no point and doesn’t advance the plot in any way. Moving on.

CHAPTER 15: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah. UUUUUHHHHHHHH….. Literally the first thing that happens is he hears an animal and he thinks the most cringey, stupid thing that only a 40 year old man would think a kid would think in this situation. So after hearing this sound-which, by the way, is incredibly comical-he says this-”Not a giant rabbit. It sounded really BIG.” I’m not kidding, he all-capsed that last word. It was PATHETIC. He has a stupid dream that isn’t scary. It takes up a whole page of the chapter and is pointless, meaningless filler that has no purpose and doesn’t advance the plot in any way. Are you beginning to notice a pattern?

CHAPTER 16: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.
UUUGGHHHH!!!!!
So, you’re not going to believe this. In this chapter, they reveal that his stupid jungle cry from earlier is the “Magic Word” that activates his “Jungle Magic”. And he uses it to get ants off of him.

Just-
Just-
JUST-
AGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

CHAPTER 17-19: TIOS. TIOS everywhere. He gets stuck in some quicksand and spends at least 5 pages trying to get out of it before finally using the “Jungle Magic” to save his pathetic ass. The entire 3 chapters-3 whole entire F***ING CHAPTERS- spent on this single scene serves no purpose and is pointless filler that does nothing to advance the story in any way, shape, or form.

CHAPTER 20: Obnoxious angers a tiger. He tries to talk to the tiger and tell it that he isn’t trying to hurt his cubs. I’m not kidding, he says it in plain english. Hey, imbecile, tigers don’t understand english, you feeble-minded thick numbskull. So, he uses his jungle magic and the book makes it seem like it doomed him when we all know it saved his behind once again. So, basically, (TAKES HUGE BREATH)
FAKE SCARE.

CHAPTER 21: He tries to use his jungle magic AGAIN in order to get him out of yet another situation. But before he can, a mysterious figure appears. I WONDER WHO IT IS.

CHAPTER 22: Yep, it’s Obvious McTwist. Why is she here? Well, you see, she was worried about Obnoxious, so she followed him without alerting him of his presence for ¾ of the time she followed him and picked now to show herself. And do you know what her first question is? It’s “What are you doing down there?”
WHAT?????!!!
YOU WERE THE ONE WHO HELPED HIM ESCAPE, YOU THICK, STUPID, IDIOTIC, NUMB SKULLED, FEEBLE-MINDED, IMBECILE.

CHAPTER 23: All he thinks about for the first page is that stupid game from the beginning that has absolutely no significance on anything at all. He tells Obvious that her father is evil, but she’s not into that, so, yeah. Then they hear a human cough. I WONDER WHO IT COULD BE.

CHAPTER 24: TURNS OUT IT’S OBNOXIOUS’S AUNT. SHE GIVES A BUNCH OF EXPOSITION, WHICH IS WHY I WILL BE CALLING HER FROM HERE ON OUT: AUNT TIOS.

CHAPTER 25 and 26: Sorry, I had the caps lock on for that last chapter description. Now we get the obvious twist you saw coming since the first chapter that we met her on-turns out Obvious is, like, evil too. And she was only following him so that they could use him to find aunt TIOS. Who has the secret to “Jungle Magic”. But they could have just gotten the secret from Obnoxious so…yeah. Obvious is about to reveal the word but before she can get it out Obnoxious clamps his hand over her mouth and aunt TIOS tries to escape. They spend pages on this scene that ends in their failure and it has no point and is completely meaningless filler. If that seems needlessly convoluted to you, then you'd be right. STUPID FORESHADOWING IS STUPID.

CHAPTER 27: They all eventually get back to the HQs and the evil guys threaten to-get this-shrink their heads if they don't tell then the magic word. But, Obvious already knows it, so why aren’t they just asking her? What is happening?!

CHAPTER 28 and 29(UUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH): He’s about to use the magic head to save themselves again but oh no! His head gets hit into the pile of other shrunken heads that’s conveniently off to the side. He eventually finds it and uses the power to save them once and for all.
THE END.
That was, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so….AWFUL.

I am now going to go revel in my own shame and self-loathing for a while.

If I sound uninterested it is only because I am truly, TRULY defeated.
It take quite a huge level of bumbling incompetence and ineptitude to drain my soul at such an alarmingly quick rate.
This pile of feces not only has no point and is completely meaningless with no value or merit that would actually impact anything at all, but also is stupid.
SO, SO STUPID.
And I’m giving this one a negative 12 quadrillion/10 and a negative 6 trillion/5.

One final note: If I had to sum up this book in one word it would be this (TAKES LARGE BREATH):

AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHJSHGUEYWGUEWYBUYWEGIUYWEUYVTEWOUFHCLFUYVLCULVFBADJFVYACFBJDBGBGHBGCBGKFXBGGXVBETGAFCKFAVTVTAELRVCVTKUYVDHGFHDGFJSHGFDJKAVGCFCKAUYFTRGYVKGJHFCSCDJHFGJSHCVQFKYQUVTKUWYERVJKWHEGKUYFERKTYDFWCGVWLDSDUWCWVHDSGVJCSHGDJSHGVJDSCHGVCCDJGAVJDQSVJGVJGJhVEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGHHHHHHHHGHGHGHGHGHGHEAGEHGAHEGAHGEHAGHEGAHAGHEGHGJCAEFKVGKFJGKJDGFJSGJYGJCGFJHGFJHGSDJHFGMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMHGMJDFGHBJCHFGJHFGJHSDHJVFJCHGFHGGJDCFGHHDFGJTEHYGFEUYYJEURYIUEROTIWURYBEFBCCNXMNHCVCBNBBERUBKWEYCRKVTKYEKUWERYTVKYBUGYRGBHGHHERGUBABLURB.

I'M ENDING THIS REVIEW KNOW. GOOD BYE.
Profile Image for Rocio Voncina.
556 reviews160 followers
October 26, 2023
Titulo: La cabeza reducida
Autor: R.L. Stine
Motivo de lectura: Letras Macabras (Isla Macabra 2023)
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: 2/5

Lamentablemente este libro me decepciono un poco. Entre buscando una historia terrorifica y me encontre con una historia dentro del genero aventura con un tinte muy pequeño de terror. Este definitivamente no es el tipico libro de R.L. Stine.

El personaje principal (Mark) no es un protagonista que llame la atencion o se considere atrayente. Me dio la impresion de ser un niño meh sin ninguna cualidad rescatable.

La ambientacion de la historia transcurre en la selva y llego un punto que la trama se vuelve aburrida. Quizas si R.L. Stine hubiera agregado algo de comedia todo habria sido mas llevadero.



Esto sumado a un final muy abrupto como lectora me dejo con ganas de muchisimo mas.
Profile Image for Mikala.
641 reviews237 followers
March 21, 2025
That was disappointing. It turned very silly but not in a fun way. Also this was just a high stakes adventuring one, no scares.

2% Every goosebumps book has to have a chubby reference.
19% I don't know so far this one feels a lot more juvenile. Maybe it's the immature sibling dynamics
60% this audio narrator IS TERRIBLE. THEY NEED TO CALM DOWN. Evertime they say "Kalia" I have a physical reaction
I can't believe the character kareen.
100% Wow not even a fun twist 😕 not impressed by this one. Ridiculous, boring, silly, not very enjoyable
Profile Image for Marwa  Daghmash.
19 reviews11 followers
July 26, 2013
قرأتها منذ 10 سنين
وكانت تناسب سنى وقتها
اعجبتنى لدرجة ان حفرت احدى احداثها فى عقلى صوت وصورة - كأنى عشتها - حتى الان
وصدمت حين قرأتها ثانية لاجدانى رسمت احداثا اكثر لمعانا مما هو مكتوب , فى مخيلتى
لاتاكد ان للقراءة فى الصغر متعه لن تجد لها مثيل فى الكبر

ورغم هذا مازلت اعشق صرخة الرعب

وتقيمى "خمس نجمات" للذكرى الخالدة التى بصمتها فى عقلى
Profile Image for Evelyn.
199 reviews35 followers
December 10, 2016
I don't think I could ever give any of these books a bad review just because I'm SO ATTACHED to them! It was so much fun reading this and while of course it's not the best writing, I mean it's goosebumps...come on, it was still such a good time! Getting lost in this fun and lighthearted story was such a treat! I can't wait to re-read more of these!
Profile Image for ميرهان  مصطفى.
67 reviews54 followers
June 11, 2025
القصة بتدور حول مارك، ولد عادي زينا كدة، بس فجأة بيترمي في مغامرة غريبة لما بيروح جزيرة في المحيط الهادي مع عمته العالمة.
اللي بيخلي الرواية ممتعة إنها مليانة أحداث غريبة ومفاجآت.
Profile Image for Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου.
Author 6 books385 followers
June 12, 2024
Μάλλον έχω μεγαλώσει αρκετά... ή έχω παραξενέψει... ένα από τα δύο συμβαίνει, γιατί όσο οι "Ανατριχίλες" προχωράνε, τόσο λιγότερο γοητευτικές φαντάζουν. Βέβαια, μπορεί να φταίει το γεγονός πως στερούμαι πια παιδικής αφέλειας, αλλά και πάλι νομίζω πως το πρόβλημα είναι κάποιος πιο ευρύ και κυρίως, πως ίσως ο συγγραφέας κάποιες στιγμές να στέκεται στο κωμικό στοιχείο λίγο περισσότερο απ' όσο θα έπρεπε.
Profile Image for Michael Erickson.
285 reviews72 followers
December 17, 2024
I was aware of Goosebumps when I was a kid, but never got into it when I was the target demographic (K.A. Applegate had my younger literary life in a chokehold, but that's another story). But I picked up a few paperbacks at a Punk Rock Flea Market this past weekend and decided to see what I missed out on all those years ago.

Fully aware that this was a children's book going into it, my expectations via-a-vis overall story structure was still surpassed. Even though chapters were only 2-4 pages long, damn near every one ended on some sort of cliffhanger with varying degrees of severity. There was an incredible sense of forward momentum pushing the reader on, and I could easily see how a young reader could think, "what the hell, I'll read one more chapter real quick."

Content-wise, we got a kid (not a little boy, Mark is 12 years old, thank you very much...) who has the call to adventure literally come to his doorstep in the form of a colleague of his scientist aunt who's gone missing in a remote jungle and needs Mark's help. A ridiculous premise, but we don't get time to marinate on how improbable it is because things move on so quickly. Jungle-related hi-jinks and a constant rotation of new threats ensue until the absolute last sentence of the book.

I can see why this series was so successful and why many would look back on it fondly. Maybe moving forward I'll start 'rescuing' old copies when I come across them in thrift stores and whatnot.
Profile Image for Carmen.
1,948 reviews2,429 followers
April 29, 2015
Wow, this book was so COOL!!!!

I stared at a head.

A human head, wrinkled and leathery. About the size of a tennis ball.

The pale, dry lips were pulled back in a sneer. The neck was stitched closed with heavy black string. The eyes - solid black eyes - stared up at me.

A shrunken head. A real shrunken head.


Mark barely remembers his Aunt Benna. She has been working for the last 12 years on the jungle island of Baladora - he hasn't seen her since he was 4! But now a mysterious woman has come to the door, claiming to be Benna's co-worker. She comes bearing a gift - a shrunken head!

Wow. I looked up shrunken heads when I got to this part! So scary!

Anyway. Mark is obsessed with the jungle. He loves his new shrunken head. If only he can keep his annoying 8-year-old sister Jessica's paws off of it!

But that night, when Mark is lying in bed, trying to go to sleep, the shrunken head starts to glow...
...

Wow, this book is super-exciting! No wonder it was one of my all-time favorite Goosebumps books growing up (along with Why I'm Afraid of Bees and My Hairiest Adventure). We take a normal kid - short, chubby, dark-haired, video-game obsessed - and send him halfway across the world to the deepest jungle! There, he faces tigers, quicksand, and huge fire ants. There's magic in the jungle, too - magic only Mark can control and possess! We have betrayal, guns, espionage and lies! Dum dum DUM!!!!

LOL But seriously, a super-cool entry in the Goosebumps series. I enjoyed every page of it! Highly recommended for kids and parents who like exciting stories.
Profile Image for Paige Ray.
1,113 reviews65 followers
February 9, 2025
I’m doing a full series reread and this one was a truly terrifying addition in the series that gave me nightmares growing up! It was fun reading it again all these years later.

How I Got My Shrunken Head follows Mark as he’s on his way to visit his aunt in the jungle! He brings along the shrunken head he was given as a gift from his aunt and to make sure it stays away from his younger sister while he is gone. Ha. Once Mark gets to the jungle he realizes that he was brought there to save his aunt. She’s been missing! Only Mark can save her as he has the “jungle magic.”
Profile Image for A.
107 reviews14 followers
October 13, 2021
This was more like an episode of I Shouldn't Be Alive instead of a typical Goosebumps book. Not that I'm complaining! I love any sort of jungle adventure, especially ones that contain shrunken heads! Four stars all the way.
Profile Image for Chardonay Willard.
311 reviews13 followers
November 28, 2021
Hmmm als ik zijn moeder was, had ik toch wel even alles na getrokken. Beetje ongeloofwaardig dat een tante iemand stuurt om haar neefje op te halen. Maar, ondanks dat dit hele verhaal heel voorspelbaar en beetje teleurstellend was, was het wel weer een leuk tussendoortje om te lezen.
Profile Image for Nick Loy.
Author 6 books3 followers
January 21, 2021
"The pot hissed as water boiled over the side. I stared in horror at the billows of steam rising up over the pot. Was he really going to shrink our heads?"


I've always had a fascination with shrunken heads, but I couldn't remember where it came from. Now that I re-read this classic, I know it came from this story. There's absolutely nothing I can say wrong about the Goosebumps stories. They are the reason why I read so much as a kid, why I still love reading to this day. I still manage to read these stories in just one sitting, it's hard to put it down once you start reading. It's also because of R.L. Stine, I started writing my own stories.

I loved this book as it is one of my favorites. Although the ending did go at a rather quick pace, it didn't do anything wrong with the story. I can't wait to re-read all the other volumes in the Goosebumps series.
Profile Image for Clare rushby.
319 reviews2 followers
March 31, 2023
I really enjoyed this one. It did start off a little slow but it quickly heated up and i couldn’t put it down. It was a quick and easy read full of a crazy adventure you wouldn’t believe. I loved the atmosphere of the jungle and the spooks/suspense. Our main character Mark is cool and the shrunken head concept is something we haven’t seen in any goosebumps (as far as I’m aware) yet. This one is definitely worth the read. I hope you packed your misquito net, hiking boots and a whole lot of courage… because we are headed to the jungle.
Profile Image for Williesun.
492 reviews37 followers
July 17, 2016
I didn't just read this because I suddenly wanted to but for Snark Squad and it was my first Goosebumps book. I was more of an Enid Blyton reader as a kid which dampened my experience with this book a bit since I was surprised by how simple it actually was.

However, it was perfect for the purpose of blogging about it, so here's the link to the post: http://www.snarksquad.com/2016/07/goo...
Profile Image for Alexa.
9 reviews
October 8, 2018
This book is really good. It makes you want to keep on getting more and more of this series. This book will also make you feel like you absolutely need to read it again. This book has a lit of juicy details that really makes the book interesting and pulls it all together. It has interesting parts when you want to ask questions to. You won’t want to put this book down. Probably my all time favorite book yet!!
Profile Image for Invisible reader.
92 reviews1 follower
July 26, 2019
This I think is my favorite so far it makes me excited to continue with the Goosebumps books
Profile Image for Lauren Wells.
88 reviews
Read
July 4, 2022
I think I read this in middle school and I was obsessed with the goosebumps books for a while lol, it probably started my love for horror movies
Profile Image for Rae Lake.
Author 117 books669 followers
November 11, 2017
This was a really fun book.

In this book Mark who is a young boy gets a shrunken head from his Aunt Benna, it is delivered by a strange woman named Carolyn. At first he just thinks that it is a cool item but when he wakes up to see it glowing and floating towards him he starts to believe that maybe it is not just a cool gift.
Carolyn convinces his mother that her sister, Benna has requested Marks company in the woods.

Who the hell doesn't verify first??

So Mark goes with Carolyn only to find out that his aunt is missing and the only people on that island are people that want to catch her for the Jungle Magic. Something that comes along with the head that she gave him and a word that he has been saying since he was 4, a word that he thought that he made up.

He is tricked by Kareen who he thinks is there to help him only to find out that they were all working together to find Benna. The head that he has actually glows and helps him out of so many different things even in the end when they were about to kill both him and his aunt the Jungle magic shrinks Kareen and her father and Carolyn and allows Mark and Benna to escape.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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