More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps: Ten Spooky Stories

Tales to Give You Goosebumps #6

by R.L. Stine

Includes:
- Don't Sit on the Gronk
- Nutcracker Nightmare
- The Ice Vampire
- A Holly Jolly Holiday
- Why I Hate Jack Frost
- Marshmallow Surprise
- Monster on the Ice
- The Double-Dip Horror
- Santa's Helpers
- Attack of the Christmas Present

Reader beware -- you're in for ten holiday scares!

Will Brad learn to care for his pet Gronk, before it takes care of him? Can Samantha sit through a boring Nutcracker ballet without cracking up... for real? Are Max's new monster skates putting him on thin ice? Has Sam been caught in the bone-chilling grip of an ice vampire?

Find out in these ten creepy Goosebumps short stories guaranteed to fill you with holiday fear!

Genres: Horror, Childrens, Middle Grade, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Christmas

125 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

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

[Austin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't Sit on the Gronk: 2/5

Nutcracker Nightmare: 2/5
Boring.

Ice Vampire: 3/5

Holly Jolly Holiday: 3/5
(This one's actually a bit creepy, if you're like me and detest over-zealous Christmas spirit)

Why I Hate Jack Frost: 2/5
(Why I'm beginning to hate this book)

Marshmallow Surprise: 2/5
This one actually started out interesting, and then ends with a twist that comes out of left field.

Monster on the Ice: 1/5
Easily the worst story in this collection. *Yawn*

The Double Dip Horror: 5/5
NOW we're talking! This story exhibits the quality common in the earlier Tales books. This one is easily my favorite of this collection and has a fun and clever twist, albeit, still a bit predictable. A great little story.

Santa's Helpers: 2/5
Back to mediocre road.

Attack of the Christmas Present: 1/5
Oof. This one was almost as bad as Monster on the Ice. Yuck.

Overall... 2 stars for the book. Probably my least favorite Tales to Give You Goosebumps collection so far. Only story I really dug was the Double-Dip Horror. The rest were very meh.

[Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book I read awhile back when I got into collecting. I remember it for its expected use of Christmas or winter-time cliches. There were some hits and some misses in this book. For those that don’t know, these Tales To Give You Goosebumps books feature 10 short stories so I will run down them all. Normally I would talk about what happens in the stories but for this series I’ll just list my thoughts.

Don’t Sit On The Gronk (3.5/5 ⭐️)
- A better Gremlins homage/rip-off than Monster Blood IV and it was quite funny and quick to get through. Quite average compared to the series overall but a solid average entry.

The Nutcracker Nightmare (1.5/5 ⭐️)
- My least favorite story of this book but not the worst. It was extremely boring, quite predictable, and hardly had anything to do with Nutcracker’s. It’s more about attending the Nucracker play just so you know. Just a big miss for me.

The Ice Vampire (2.5/5 ⭐️)
- Unbelievably corny but did offer something unique to the table. Too childish for my taste. The creativity really is the saving grace on this one for me.

A Holly Jolly Holiday (5/5 ⭐️)
- Wow. This story is an inflection for those who hate think the holiday season is more terrifying than anything else. Well thought out story, definitely memorable. Incredibly unique, greatly paced, and overall super creepy.

Why I Hate Jack Frost (4.5/5 ⭐️)
- While this is blatantly a rehash of a story from the fourth Tales To Give You Goosebumps book called “The Goblin’s Glare”, I like this one more than that one. I am extremely creeped out by the villain Jack Frost in this, so much so he has become one of my favorite villains in the entire Goosebumps franchise. The setup to this story plays out exactly like The Goblin’s Glare and even the 61st Original 62 book called “I Live In Your Basement!” which released around the same time as this collection did. I knocked it down for originality. Still a personal favorite.

Marshmallow Surprise (3/5 ⭐️)
- I dig the setup to this story but everything cliche about a cabin in the woods trope commonly used since Hansel and Gretel is in this. However, the twist comes out of nowhere and the shock-value is enough to make me say it subverted my expectations enough to give it a pass.

Monster On The Ice (1/5 ⭐️) (WORST STORY)
- Not my least favorite of this book, but it is the worst one. What’s been done in this story has been done in The Haunted Mask, Werewolf Skin, Pumpkin Juice, and Full Moon Fever. Nothing original. Not to mention, the pacing of the story is super rushed and characters are as flat as you can get. The only thing creative the story had was it’s theme being a pair of ice skates that turns a kid into a monster. Just extremely predictable, plays on many tropes that Goosebumps molded itself (shocking I know), and fails to deliver anything different. The twist is literally the twist to The Haunted Mask.

The Double-Dip Horror (5/5 ⭐️) (BEST STORY)
- This story reminds me of Stephen King’s The Shining. Except it actually does it’s own thing in the process. This story is one of a select handful of stories to feature real teens which I thought was interesting. How the story plays out is something you never would guess and the ending is super eerie. Another well-paced, well-executed story. It’s so good, I’d even place it in my Top 5 favorite short stories from the series altogether.

Santa’s Helpers (2/5 ⭐️)
- Expectedly cliche to the point I almost DNF’d the story. It did get good around the twist but that’s all I have to say about this story. It’s in this collection for being Christmas, and that’s all I can say it has going for it. The atmosphere sells the story more than the writing. The twist is decent though.

Attack Of The Christmas Present (1.5/ 5 ⭐️)
- Christmas? Robot Toys? This sounded up my alley until I read it. And it’s bafflingly dumb. The robot’s name is Robot Tag. Which feeds to the ending which I kid you not, ends on the robot tagging the kid and saying “You’re It!”. Need I say more?

This is close for me, initially I almost gave it a flat 3/5 ⭐️ review but I settled on 3.2 and gave a few bonus points for the stellar stories. This book falls into the trend that I feel about the Tales To Give You Goosebumps series. You may get 4-5 ones you like (divisive or not) and 4-5 ones you don’t like. I’d say since the Goosebumps lineup is missing Christmas feeling stories (after reading this I don’t really care if there’s more to be honest but…) give this a try. If you’re someone who likes how cliche the holidays can be, this will work for you. It is acquired taste I would say, some may view it as charm, some may view it as overused tropes. Either way, there are a handful of stories in here that subvert the Christmas genre enough to blend in some creativity and horror that I would recommend it to a degree.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, didn't log it last year. Peek at my review, pretty bitty please with Christmas trees?

https://spongey444.wordpress.com/2020...

[Liam Underwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ten Goosebumps short stories in More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps are all Christmas / winter holiday related, so it made sense for me to kick off my December with this book. Last month I read More & More Tales To Give You Goosebumps and was very underwhelmed, finding the book unfortunately contained more misses than hits. More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps disappointingly continues this trend, but is it worse? Let's find out.

Don't Sit on the Gronk
The twist is so obviously signposted right from the jump that its inevitability strips this short of much tension. It's not completely terrible, but it's hardly a strong start with an end that leans a little too cartoonish.

Nutcracker Nightmare
Conceptually this is a very strong entry, but I think the execution is lacking to make the effectiveness of this idea really land. By emphasising how boring the show in this entry is, there's a real risk that the short itself could also become tedious, but thankfully the lead character here is likeable enough to retain interest.

The Ice Vampire
I can't say I was particularly fond of this concept, and the twist ending comes a little too out of leftfield. There's a fun twist on vampires here that has potential, but this short doesn't really delve into any of the more interesting elements.

A Holly Jolly Holiday
This is my favourite entry in the book, only narrowly surpassing Nutcracker Nightmare. It's another very strong concept that's handled well with a likeable lead, and the twist ending is pretty fun too. There's also a couple of moments here that have the potential to be genuinely creepy.

Why I Hate Jack Frost
Where Nutcracker Nightmare managed to sidestep the repetitiveness inherent in its concept, Why I Hate Jack Frost really doubles down on it and becomes a bit of a bore. There's only so many times you can read about a kid being cold and not able to warm themselves up before it becomes a bit of a slog, and these stories are so short they should never start to feel that way. The twist ending didn't feel thought-out enough to really work.

Marshmallow Surprise
I think more could have been done here to set up the ending, which as it stands feels like another entry where the twist ending comes a little too out of leftfield. There is a manipulation here that I can appreciate as being quite creepy in a kids' book, but the ending does somewhat undermine this. As is somewhat of a trend with these Goosebumps short stories, I think there's potential here that just isn't quite reached.

Monster on the Ice
We've seen this idea done before within Goosebumps - most notably The Haunted Mask - and done better, so it's of no surprise that this entry ends up feeling quite weak. There is an unexpected streak of violence here that is only interesting because it stands out as being so different to all the other short stories included here, but otherwise there is nothing going on here that feels unique.

The Double-Dip Horror
I recently read the Point Horror book Twins and the similarities between that book and this short are interesting. This is another fun entry that I rather enjoyed, all building to an excellent ending. This one overall isn't quite as good as either Nutcracker Nightmare or A Holly Jolly Holiday, but at this point anything that is more enjoyable than tolerable I'm counting as a win.

Santa's Helpers
Sadly this short is easily one of the worst included in More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps. It takes too long to get to the meat of the story, and once we finally arrive there it's just so ludicrous that it's difficult to care. There is maybe a meanness that one could read into this that maybe could've been interesting if one actually cared about anything going on here.

Attack of the Christmas Present
We limp to the conclusion of this book with what is easily my least favourite entry. This entire short story is building to a final moment that is just not strong enough to justify the build up. It's a shame to end this entire book on such a weak note, but I can't say I'm surprised.

More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps is marginally better than More & More Tales To Give You Goosebumps , but it's still not as good as any of the others. This is a far cry from More Tales to Give You Goosebumps , but I guess that's the inherent nature of these short story collections. The thing with these Goosebumps short stories is they either have to be conceptually really strong, or end on a killer punchline - preferably both. I have no doubt that Stine has an extraordinary imagination, but it's evident that not all of his ideas have the ingredients necessary to make them enjoyable worthwhile contributions. Of course, that is quite deliberately overlooking the fact that Stine was undoubtedly aided by ghost writers, but it's his name on the cover and associated with the Goosebumps brand.

This is the final Goosebumps short story collection, which honestly, judging by the title of this book is not really a surprise. I mean, after the title More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps, where do you go from there? There should be a limit of how many times the word 'More' can appear in a book title and this book is already stretching that limit to breaking point. I do like the coherence that the themed short story collections have - More Tales to Give You Goosebumps with the camp theme and Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps with the Halloween theme, as well as the Christmas theme found here. But I do wonder if adhering to these themes is also somewhat limiting. These last two short story collections - More & More Tales To Give You Goosebumps and More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps - have easily been the worst, so it's probably a good time for this series to wrap up. Overall, I still think it's a fun idea, and there have been some good Goosebumps shorts, but I think there have ultimately been more bad than good.

2/5

Tales to Give You Goosebumps Ranked
1) More Tales to Give You Goosebumps - 3.5/5
2) Tales to Give You Goosebumps - 3/5
3) Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps - 3/5
4) Even More Tales to Give You Goosebumps - 2.5/5
5) More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps - 2/5
6) More & More Tales To Give You Goosebumps - 2/5

[Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't Sit on the Gronk 7/10 - Really strange and goofy concept, but in a good way. I liked it.

Nutcracker Nightmare 8/10 - I enjoyed it, however, it is kind of repetitive and had a lazy ending.

The Ice Vampire 9/10 - My second favourite story in this book. It also has a really eerie atmosphere which I really enjoyed.

A Holly Jolly Holiday 9/10 - My third favourite out of this book. The concept is kind of goofy but honestly pretty scary.

Why I Hate Jack Frost 6/10 - Just a flawed story with a lazy ending, however it’s not terrible and I still enjoyed it.

Marshmallow Surprise 4.5/10 - My least favourite story. It’s not bad, but it’s just kind of bland.

Monster on the Ice 5/10 - A really goofy story, but in a bad way. Not horrible but not amazing.

The Double-Dip Horror 9.5/10 - My favourite out of this book. I loved every page and the twist is amazing.

Santa's Helpers 6.5/10 - Once again just a strange goofy story. Not horrible, not amazing.

Attack of the Christmas Present 5/10 - Pretty bland Slappy-like story. Not horrible, not amazing

Overall rating: 69.5/100 (7/10)

Overall this book is a solid collection of story’s. With some amazing stories, and some slightly flawed stories.

[Griffin C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty solid book overall, only two stories below 8/10
My reviews for each story:
Don't Sit On the Gronk - 9.5/10
Pretty fun Gremlins ripoff.
Nutcracker Nightmare - 6.5/10
A better version of An Old Story, a little on the boring side.
The Ice Vampire - 10/10
Pretty fun vampire story.
A Holly Jolly Holiday - 10/10
A pretty good concept executed well.
Why I Hate Jack Frost - 10/10
Genuinely incredible story, reminds me a lot of The Goblins Glare and I Live in Your Basement!
Marshmallow Surprise - 4/10
Genuinely great setup with a random ending.
Monster on the Ice - 8/10
Fun monster transformation story, reminds me of The Haunted Mask.
The Double-Dip Horror - 10/10
Very fun ghost story.
Santa's Helpers - 10/10
Fun story.
Attack of the Christmas Present - 10/10
Fun story, feels like a better version of Night of the Living Dummy.
Overall: 9/10

[Dakota Foote · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one is a massive disappointment. I love Christmas horror and there hasn't been a single Goosebumps story set around Christmas, so I assumed there might be some fun, fresh stories here. Unfortunately, only 2 of the 10 stories were good and neither were that creative. This might be the worst Tales To Give You Goosebumps in the series. It's a close call between this and the 2nd book.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the short stories especially when you just want a quick read. Double dip horror is my favorite from this but I loved most of them.

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great tales in this book. I liked 7 of the 10 stories in this book. Here’s my ratings for each:

Don’t Sit On The Gronk - 4/10
Nutcracker Nightmare - 6.5/10
The Ice Vampire - 9/10
A Holly Jolly Holiday - 9/10
Why I Hate Jack Frost - 5/10
Marshmallow Surprise - 3/10
Monster on the Ice - 8/10
The Double-Dip Horror - 7.5/10
Santa’s Helpers - 8/10
Attack of the Christmas Present - 8/10

[Kay Croan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as an adult for Dogfie Daycamp. The winter theme was cute.

[Willen P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished - 05.09.2023

Well, I think this one was one of the "better" collections, even if it was the festive themed one. Nutcracker Nightmare had to be my favourite, it was terrifying, the whole ordeal. The Double-Dip Horror was also quite nail-biting.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

All but two of the stories were written in first person- third person ones anoyed me.
Don't sit on the Gronk- Cool little critter. Funny ending.
Nutcracker Nightmare- Vintage Stine. Semi creepy, usual clifhanger ending.
The Ice Vampire-Third person. Just kinda eh. Again with usual cliffhanger. Interesting concept.
A Holly Jolly Holiday- Umm what was so scary about it? Cliffhanger funny ending.
Why I hate Jack Frost- It was ok. Ending was kinda confusing. Where did he really belong?
Marshmallow Suprise- Third person. Liked the ending.
Monster on the ice- Just kinda fell flat. Ending was vintage- not cliffhanger so much as just its over.
The Double Dip horror- One of only a few Goosebumps where the protagonists are teens, albeit young teens. Actualy kinda sad. Semi cliff hanger but seams pretty obvious what happened.
Santa's Helpers- Unique idea for a scary story but not really scary. Little sister got revenge. Funny.
Attack of the Christmas present- Funny more than anything. No real suspense.
Good for younger kids, or adults looking for nostalgia or just a fun read.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't Sit on the Gronk - 5/5
Nutcracker Nightmare - 5/5
The Ice Vampire - 3/5
A Holly Jolly Holiday - 3/5
Why I Hate Jack Frost - 5/5
Marshmallow Surprise - 5/5
Monster on the Ice - 2/5
The Double-Dip Horror - 4/5
Santa's Helpers - 4/5
Attack of the Christmas Present - 2/5

Total 38/ 50

3.8/ 5

A lot of my early memories of anything that is Christmas/ Winter horror-themed are largely inspired from this book and rightfully so! The twists and life lessons so cleverly interwoven between R.L. Stine’s fun-to-read and easy accessible prose make these scary tales as enjoyable as they are terrifying, and very memorable! They’ve always held a special place in my heart but now that I know this book was published in October 1997, just makes it all the better!!!

[Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the endings.