Goosebumps: Horrors of the Witch House

by Denton J. Tipton, Matthew Dow Smith, Chris Fenoglio (Illustrations)

The kid-friendly horror series returns with all-new stories for a new generation bringing the terrifying world of R.L. Stine to graphic novel form!

All the kids in Beaver Creek, Oregon, know that the old Whaley House is probably haunted, so when young tech entrepreneur Veruca Curry moves in, the kids fear that there's more to her than meets the eye. The adults in town think that Veruca is just the sort of hip, young new blood that Beaver Creek needs, but Rosie, a loner who loves anime and Japanese comics, Carlos, a popular preppy boy, and Becca, the school's star athlete find out the terrible truth -- Veruca is a witch, and she's got a terrible plan that could destroy Beaver Creek unless they can stop her.

Genres: Horror, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Ebooks

72 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2019

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pretty good graphic novel about a bunch of kids who try to stop a witch from controlling their town. Be sure to check this book out at your local library and wherever books are sold.

[Diana Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the compilations with three books in each graphic novel.

[Hew La France · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I feel these Goosebumps comics keep going more and more downhill. The story is lackluster, the characters are non-existently developed... it is just missing some of Stine's finer touches.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute quick read. I don't think it holds a candle to actual Goosebumps books, content wise, but the illustrations were nicely done. I did like the friendship aspect of the plot, how Rosie didn't have friends, but by essentially trauma bonding with two popular kids they all became friends.

[Shaun · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Goosebumps novel series by this point has literally hundreds of entries. For all those books, a mere few really probably stand out to most readers, and most are "just another Goosebumps book." This related comic series is pretty small so far, but I would put this particular story in the "Just Another Goosebumps Comic" pile, as it really doesn't stand out. Weak story, weak villain, the only standout is the always pleasant artwork they have. It's fine, and if you are a reader of Goosebumps, here is another one for you, but it doesn't do anything to elevate itself.

[Lo Wayward Tomes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought about giving it 3 stars but this could have been so cool because goosebumps and graphic novels but it was boring. There wasn't any suspense or mystery. I know it's intended for kids so I'm not expecting to be mortified or anything but they literally had it all sorted and done in like 10 pages. And what witch would actually use abracadabra for every spell?

[Wolverinefactor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look at that title! It holds so much promise!

Sadly it’s brain dead web comic style art, a witch that says Abracadabra? The scariest thing is tools building a house on their own?

I actually hit 3 stars but as I typed my blurb it’s clearly a 2 star comic and that’s me being generous.

[Jennifer McCallum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun graphic novel that brings the modern day into its story writing. The Witch uses an iPad to cast her spells and control the town. I have not given it five stars as the characters were not well developed, and for the age of reader I would suggest of it, could have had a lot more information about them before their adventure starts together. Having said that however, this would provide a brilliant point for a series of literacy lessons. This book could be used as a hook for children to write their own horror stories. Picking out that the story needs more developed characters would give children a clear aim for their writing, and the story line begin to help shape their own ideas. Illustrations can be used to help build ideas, teaching children about visual reminders rather than just written notes. These illustrations could then be later developed to turn the children’s stories into graphic novels.
This story could then be illustrated either in an art lesson or a computing lesson and a series of learning could be guided through that. Other short horror stories could be taught alongside this book in order to show the traditional ‘story hill’ they follow (Something creepy in the town, a new problem develops, protagonist has to work out how to stop it).
The book is full of colour and small details which help to build the picture. For example, the witch’s long nails and spindly fingers lead you to the idea that she is a witch before it is announced. This graphic novel could therefore be used to teach children about using descriptive devices, using the characters in the book to write both personality and physical feature profiles about.
I would also use this book to explore other art mediums such as stop motion animation. Once the children have written their own stories can they use a computer/camera and either plasticine or themselves (or even something else) to bring this story to life? It would provide lessons in developing computer skills and patience as stop motion animation takes a jolly long time to achieve! It would be important for children to think about their use of colour, and use the novel to demonstrate this. Anything evil and magic is shrouded in green so can be easily identified for it is.

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of the three IDW Goosebumps stories I’ve read so far, this is easily the most mixed one so far. I really liked the villain, she was an enjoyable antagonist for what we got of her. The use of technology is super interesting, and I liked that a lot. There’s neat references out there wazoo in here which was cool. The story is fine, the characters are fine, and the arcs are fine. There’s nothing here I flat out thought was amazing or even great. Even the art is just fine. But there’s some issues here. The story’s pace is faster than the seconds between each ass-whooping given in that’s one scene in Black Phone. It’s rushing so hard, even harder than Monsters at Midnight and Download and Die, that nothing can reach its potential. In fact, if this were a whole 120+ page Goosebumps book, I think this would be an all-time favorite thanks to the arcs and the villain. But instead we’re left with this 15-minute comic that feels faster than the speed of light. Now besides that issue, the main character is… something else, man. I’m not one to judge a person but she was the stereotypical quiet girl who watches anime, collects merchandise of her favorite side-characters, and had a rushed arc attached to her. The book also could’ve just been so much better. 6/10, I wanted to like this more but thanks to the horrendous pacing and undercooked (or maybe overcooked?) feel to the whole thing, I just couldn’t. Irk reference opens up a plethora of rabbit holes.

[James Calefato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up reading and owning the whole set of Goosebumps and all the spin offs that came with it including R. L. Stine’s other works so I was surprised to find some GNs existed as well! This is a fun read and really worth your time even if you feel you have outgrown Goosebumps into adulthood. The art is very engaging and the story keeps you interested. Well done to IDW for reimagining the franchise this way. I hope to read many more Goosebumps GNs.

[Kay S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a couple years ago and have recommended it to so many people - kids and adults alike.

This book really takes the spooky tropes Goosebumps in known for and drags it into modernity. Adults will love falling back in to the world of goosebumps and seeing how it's evolved. Kids love how kids save the day from an evil witch using common electronics knowledge. Win-Win.

[Summer K]

Illustrations were great. Story line seems like it would be highly appealing to middle schoolers.

Summary for my own memory: woman moves into haunted house. Kids at school are suprised by that. Woman (witch) enchants the adults. Three kids are left to save their town by destroying the witches electronic grimoire and spell book tablet

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3

Total review score: 2

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and fun read for fans of Goosebumps. Very fast paced and included some nods to modern technology.

[Lindsay Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot holes and zero character development.

[Madeleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was once again a very quick read and I liked the fact that the witch could control the town with some spells on her IPad!

[Mikala Charron]

Didn’t really have the creepy feel the old Goosebumps books have.

[Dax · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was adorable, which is to say probably not what they were shooting for. The art is nice and man would I kill for that digital grimoire!

[Lea]

Fun 🤩 (no rating- decided not to rate children���s books anymore )

[Amethyst · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the artwork and the story was okay. I wished it had more of a twist.

[Water Viper · Rating 1 out of 5]

No thank you. I think R. L. Stine has gone off the deep end

[Victoria Minton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute comic full of chills and thrills. This modern goosebumps warms my heart and was just the fun 15 minutes my day needed

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute comic about some kids who have to defeat a witch before she can take over the world.

[Mercedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4/5

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun way for kids to read the Goosebumps books.

[siergiejklaudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Naaah to short to fast the vibes were there but disappeared quickly 👻

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Steffi]

I'm on a roll!
CW/TW: Violence, Death and Injury/Injury detail

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review is closer to 3.5. It was fun, but narratively felt weirdly paced. I definitely think it was a case of being a single run volume where the story might have warranted a sequel. But it would be an enjoyable book for any school library, for sure.