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Spinetinglers #26
Wear and Scare
For Halloween, Sam and his friends create a walk-through haunted house, renting costumes from creepy old Mr. Slithern, and discover that the realistic costumes have taken on a power of their own
122 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 19, 2023
In this entry in the Goosebumps knockoff series known as Spinetinglers, author "M.T. Coffin" (who is actually Kathleen Duey in this case) had a cool idea but the execution fell very flat. The story follows Sam and his friends as they attempt to put on the scariest haunted house possible for their school's annual Halloween Carnival. I had some issues with the pacing early on, and never once did I enjoy any of the antagonist's shtick. The way Kathleen Duey attempted to build suspense wasn't the worst, but it didn't necessarily get me excited to keep turning the pages. I will probably recommend this to my niece when she's in elementary school, but otherwise this is pretty forgettable.
October 5, 2021
We begin our Hallween reads for a 3rd helping of Spinetinglers, finally. I put off an extra one to do this. Our author this time is Kathleen Duey, who had a solid career in YA fantasy type stuff. She is the second most recurring author in the series, behind George Edward Stanley. Sadly, she passed away just last year.
This book is weird, as I liked it...even though basically nothing happens for most of it. Let me explain.
Sam Basket loves Halloween and he is the head chairperson of his school's haunted house committee for their annual Halloween carnival. This year he wants to make it the best ever, along with his friends Beth, Jason, and a name I don't wanna spell. Plus, his mom and aunt Emma are helping as they also love Halloween.
They discover a mysterious store that they never saw before (always a good sign) which has the subtitle Wear and Scare, oh there it is. It has great costumes but the creepy guy running the story, Mr. Slithern, sells them for absurd prices. Eventually they talk him into letting them rent the costumes, provided he is there during the event and hands out his business cards. This is a bit odd but hey the show must go on.
As expect, they become their costumes and Slithern has plans for them. So the writing is pretty decent here, at first abusing some wonky sentences but eventually getting into some decent descriptions. The Halloween factor is strong here, with how the haunted house is, them getting it ready, and how excited everyone is. If the story were stronger, this could be up there with Haunted Mask for being the perfect Halloween story.
I especially like Mom and Aunt Emma. Both of them were inspiring actors and are into theater stuff, and their mentioned to have extensions critiques of certain productions and stuff. They're pretty both fun in their interactions with Sam. Emma especially is awesome. This angle helps make them feel stronger than most relatives in these. Plus, they get involved in the spooky stuff and eventually do know it's going on, huzah!
But the story brings it down, as it's kind of weak. They spend a lot of time on certain things that go on for awhile, from the initial scene in Slithern's shop to them asking Emma if they can her house for the haunted house. It takes forever for the turning into costumes stuff to fully kick in, and longer for Sam to realize it.
Slithern's deal is revealed at the last minute, and it's not fully explored. What he does is interesting and creepy but I don't quite get it. What he is about to before being defeated is kind of wild but again, I don't get it. Why was he selling it for a high price when it seems like he wants people for this big plan?
The climax is super rushed too, and the ending note is okay though. The reason it still kinda works is that they still allow for some good little moments, like the details of what goes in the haunted house. Kathleen did fine here but she could have did better on the actual story.
I feel like they got too wrapped in these details and forgot to fully flesh out the story. It's a shame, as it's almost there. With a better story, this could have been really strong. As it is, it's half halfway there. It has a lot to like, with a solid spooky vibe and decent writing with pretty solid adults.
But the storytelling needed work, as not enough happens and the ideas aren't explored quite well enough. When things do happen, it doesn't make sense fully. I don't know, if this was a Shivers with the same problems, it would likely suck. But this writer managed to make it somewhat work inspite of itself.
Overall, I'm leaning towards Decent on this one. It's a cut above most with this rating as it has plenty to like. But it just doesn't have enough going on story-wise to be called fully Good like I wanted to call it. It's the weakest Spinetinglers so far but hey, if even that can still have some virtues, that's not a bad track record...so far anyway.
I think there's enough to be worth a read, just don't expect anything super strong per say. Still, at least we'll always have Aunt Emma.
Next time on the Halloween reads, a return to a series I've talked about on the blog. See ya then. (Oh and this Friday is my blog review for Halloween Night 2 so there's an extra one)
This book is weird, as I liked it...even though basically nothing happens for most of it. Let me explain.
Sam Basket loves Halloween and he is the head chairperson of his school's haunted house committee for their annual Halloween carnival. This year he wants to make it the best ever, along with his friends Beth, Jason, and a name I don't wanna spell. Plus, his mom and aunt Emma are helping as they also love Halloween.
They discover a mysterious store that they never saw before (always a good sign) which has the subtitle Wear and Scare, oh there it is. It has great costumes but the creepy guy running the story, Mr. Slithern, sells them for absurd prices. Eventually they talk him into letting them rent the costumes, provided he is there during the event and hands out his business cards. This is a bit odd but hey the show must go on.
As expect, they become their costumes and Slithern has plans for them. So the writing is pretty decent here, at first abusing some wonky sentences but eventually getting into some decent descriptions. The Halloween factor is strong here, with how the haunted house is, them getting it ready, and how excited everyone is. If the story were stronger, this could be up there with Haunted Mask for being the perfect Halloween story.
I especially like Mom and Aunt Emma. Both of them were inspiring actors and are into theater stuff, and their mentioned to have extensions critiques of certain productions and stuff. They're pretty both fun in their interactions with Sam. Emma especially is awesome. This angle helps make them feel stronger than most relatives in these. Plus, they get involved in the spooky stuff and eventually do know it's going on, huzah!
But the story brings it down, as it's kind of weak. They spend a lot of time on certain things that go on for awhile, from the initial scene in Slithern's shop to them asking Emma if they can her house for the haunted house. It takes forever for the turning into costumes stuff to fully kick in, and longer for Sam to realize it.
Slithern's deal is revealed at the last minute, and it's not fully explored. What he does is interesting and creepy but I don't quite get it. What he is about to before being defeated is kind of wild but again, I don't get it. Why was he selling it for a high price when it seems like he wants people for this big plan?
The climax is super rushed too, and the ending note is okay though. The reason it still kinda works is that they still allow for some good little moments, like the details of what goes in the haunted house. Kathleen did fine here but she could have did better on the actual story.
I feel like they got too wrapped in these details and forgot to fully flesh out the story. It's a shame, as it's almost there. With a better story, this could have been really strong. As it is, it's half halfway there. It has a lot to like, with a solid spooky vibe and decent writing with pretty solid adults.
But the storytelling needed work, as not enough happens and the ideas aren't explored quite well enough. When things do happen, it doesn't make sense fully. I don't know, if this was a Shivers with the same problems, it would likely suck. But this writer managed to make it somewhat work inspite of itself.
Overall, I'm leaning towards Decent on this one. It's a cut above most with this rating as it has plenty to like. But it just doesn't have enough going on story-wise to be called fully Good like I wanted to call it. It's the weakest Spinetinglers so far but hey, if even that can still have some virtues, that's not a bad track record...so far anyway.
I think there's enough to be worth a read, just don't expect anything super strong per say. Still, at least we'll always have Aunt Emma.
Next time on the Halloween reads, a return to a series I've talked about on the blog. See ya then. (Oh and this Friday is my blog review for Halloween Night 2 so there's an extra one)
October 18, 2025
I just finished what is probably my most expensive book in my collection,this being Wear And Scare from the Spinetinglers series.I bought this earlier this year for around 70 dollars off of Thriftbooks.I decided to read it for October and I finally finished.The book begins with our main protagonist Sammy.He is the president of this committee thing at school that hosts a haunted house every year.Him and his friend Beth talk about hosting it at his aunts house.Beth has ideas to do a scary attraction in every room.He goes home and his mom takes him costume shopping.They go to this costume shop and here they meet Mr Slitherin.Mr.Slitherin is this old man,that pops up suddenly when your not expecting it.They explore a bit,but don't find anything.They see this room towards the back and Mr.Slitherin leads them to the back and starts pulling out costumes,including a vampire,a witch,a mummy and a skeleton.Sam and his mom are both impressed with these costumes,but Mr.Slitherin wants to much money for them.The mom tries and talk him down,but he tells her you won't find costumes like his anywhere else.She tells him he will be advertised alot at this carnival thing,but he still dosn't agree.The two leave and go home.The next day they are at Sam's aunts house.They have meetings here and finally break the ice to see if they can have the party at her house.She agrees and they think they see Mr.Slitherin going across the yard.They end up going back to the costume shop.Mr Slitherin agrees to let them get the costumes for free under a few conditions.They have to wear the costumes during the whole party and he has to be able to give out cards.I think they are suppose to give out cards also.At the party the people start to become the costumes they are wearing.Sam is making weird popping noises,because he is a skeliton.His mom and aunt are cackling witches and there is a vampire doing something that I forgot about.This is basically the book so I'll stop there.I didn't love this one I liked the beginning but the middle portion was meandering.It did have some creepy scenes like Mr.Slitherin going to the house,eventhough he didn't know where they lived.There is also a scene where we hear Sam's voice,but it's not coming from him.I also kinda liked the vague explanation of where the costumes came from.Other then that this was another miss for me.I give Wear And Scare a two out of five stars.
October 26, 2025
Nothing happens in this book until 100 pages in. This book is only about 115 pages long, mind you.
Most of the story is comprised of the MC and his friends setting up a homemade spook house for Halloween. They make plans and set up decorations and gush about how awesome it will be.
The actual conflict of the story isn't introduced until nearly the end, and is then resolved just as quickly, and with little explanation of anything.
There's a germ of an interesting idea here, even if it is a bit of a ripoff of The Haunted Mask from GB. The main villain, Mr. Slithern, is basically the shopkeeper from the Haunted Mask and he sells the kids costumes that come alive(?) and begin to turn the kids into the actual monsters. Keep in mind very little actually happens or occurs under that premise; only a few scenes insinuate that such is even happening. There is then a scene involving the villain and some ulterior motive he has but it is all very vague and over rather quickly.
Oh, and the haunted attraction that the kids set up is lame. I could build a better one with my eyes closed.
Overall this Spinetinglers entry gets a 2.5⭐ rounded down. It has some nice Halloween aura to it and the plot had potential but is ultimately dragged down with its nothing-burger of a story and the 15-page climax and resolution. Meh.
Most of the story is comprised of the MC and his friends setting up a homemade spook house for Halloween. They make plans and set up decorations and gush about how awesome it will be.
The actual conflict of the story isn't introduced until nearly the end, and is then resolved just as quickly, and with little explanation of anything.
There's a germ of an interesting idea here, even if it is a bit of a ripoff of The Haunted Mask from GB. The main villain, Mr. Slithern, is basically the shopkeeper from the Haunted Mask and he sells the kids costumes that come alive(?) and begin to turn the kids into the actual monsters. Keep in mind very little actually happens or occurs under that premise; only a few scenes insinuate that such is even happening. There is then a scene involving the villain and some ulterior motive he has but it is all very vague and over rather quickly.
Oh, and the haunted attraction that the kids set up is lame. I could build a better one with my eyes closed.
Overall this Spinetinglers entry gets a 2.5⭐ rounded down. It has some nice Halloween aura to it and the plot had potential but is ultimately dragged down with its nothing-burger of a story and the 15-page climax and resolution. Meh.
February 12, 2022
First off, I think Spinetinglers (to me) has the most appeal in the Goosebumps knock-off series, even more than Deadtime Stories or Monsterstreet or even Frightland. It’s because the entire series is written by different authors and you get a taste of different flavors and notice different flares with certain authors that wrote for the series. The author “M.T. Coffin” is a pen-name and the entire series is ghostwritten (hence different authors). This book was written by Kathleen Duey, who took the cake for easily one the worst kids horror books (anthology based) with Your Turn-To Scream! That book was taking elements from Jumanji and just crapping all over it with cliche tropes, nauseating repetition, and immensely packed filler. Also, wasted the coolest concept of the book, the villain. This one, Wear and Scare, is taking elements from The Haunted Mask. But I’d be in vain if I said it was a rip-off. Duey manages to create something unique here, which I’ll get into.
This kid and his friends are tasked with putting on their school’s Halloween function and want to make it special. They have this idea to do something different (not in the gymnasium like every year) and host it at the main character’s aunt’s house, Aunt Emma (who is awesome). It is revealed that the character is nervous in asking for the house to put the attraction on but after much convincing, it pays off and so comes the story.
Each character is tasked with specific things and the main character is tasked with finding costumes for the group to put on at the haunted house event at Aunt Emma’s. They find this shop that deals these really ornate and realistic costumes, run by an eccentric yet foreboding villain known as Mr. Slithern. It takes some convincing after the first visit, but after he gets his friends to accompany a second time and try on the costumes, they all love them. Even though there is something very REAL about them. Mr. Slithern agrees to loan the costumes for a school function only if he can give his certain business cards to people at the event (which may or may not play into later on).
At the Halloween celebration, all seems well until things start to not add up, people stop acting themselves, and all lights get pointed on Mr. Slithern. What is really going on? Well you’ll have to read it to find out.
First off, I appreciated the heart put into this by Kathleen Duey. It’s a definite upgrade to books like Your Turn-To Scream!, which already gives it brownie points for me. Certain characters felt wholesome, like the main characters mother and Aunt Emma who were prevalent throughout the story and actually mattered in the grand scheme of it all. The concept is a throwback to famous Goosebumps books like The Haunted Mask but the parallels really only correlate to how the costumes act and Mr. Slithern does have the Shop Keeper vibes. Other than that, this story is its own thing. The twist at the end was decent, utilizing obvious setups and the payoff was kind of weak. But the ending we got was kind of cool, even though rather flat playing into “reality vs fiction” tropes done similarly throughout the kids horror genre, and admittedly, RL Stine himself.
If I had any critiques would be the style of laying out the story. It felt too descriptive and focused too much on dialogue at points which kind put plot progression in limbo. I wished we had more scarier scenes with either Mr. Slithern, or have the costumes doing extra things than what we got. It was kind of sloggish in those scenes dealing with massive dialogue and felt the book could’ve been condensed down. I similarly compare this book to Attack Of The Jack-O’-Lanterns as it’s too much context, not enough action.
Overall though, I’d recommend this one actually. It’s far more realized than some of the average/good tier Goosebumps books where I think it serves a 4⭐️ from me. I actually gave it a 4.6/5 (including the fact I tend to give bonus points here and there and 1⭐️ off the bat for being a kids book). I’ll be honest, it isn’t a home run type of thing but the vibes of it really struck a chord with me. And now I’m willing to give the other Kathleen Duey books in this series a fair chance. If you are looking for a new Halloween kids horror anthology book and are tired of reading the typical Goosebumps books associated, this one would suffice. I think Monsterstreet has better ones, but this one was really good. I’d recommend it.
This kid and his friends are tasked with putting on their school’s Halloween function and want to make it special. They have this idea to do something different (not in the gymnasium like every year) and host it at the main character’s aunt’s house, Aunt Emma (who is awesome). It is revealed that the character is nervous in asking for the house to put the attraction on but after much convincing, it pays off and so comes the story.
Each character is tasked with specific things and the main character is tasked with finding costumes for the group to put on at the haunted house event at Aunt Emma’s. They find this shop that deals these really ornate and realistic costumes, run by an eccentric yet foreboding villain known as Mr. Slithern. It takes some convincing after the first visit, but after he gets his friends to accompany a second time and try on the costumes, they all love them. Even though there is something very REAL about them. Mr. Slithern agrees to loan the costumes for a school function only if he can give his certain business cards to people at the event (which may or may not play into later on).
At the Halloween celebration, all seems well until things start to not add up, people stop acting themselves, and all lights get pointed on Mr. Slithern. What is really going on? Well you’ll have to read it to find out.
First off, I appreciated the heart put into this by Kathleen Duey. It’s a definite upgrade to books like Your Turn-To Scream!, which already gives it brownie points for me. Certain characters felt wholesome, like the main characters mother and Aunt Emma who were prevalent throughout the story and actually mattered in the grand scheme of it all. The concept is a throwback to famous Goosebumps books like The Haunted Mask but the parallels really only correlate to how the costumes act and Mr. Slithern does have the Shop Keeper vibes. Other than that, this story is its own thing. The twist at the end was decent, utilizing obvious setups and the payoff was kind of weak. But the ending we got was kind of cool, even though rather flat playing into “reality vs fiction” tropes done similarly throughout the kids horror genre, and admittedly, RL Stine himself.
If I had any critiques would be the style of laying out the story. It felt too descriptive and focused too much on dialogue at points which kind put plot progression in limbo. I wished we had more scarier scenes with either Mr. Slithern, or have the costumes doing extra things than what we got. It was kind of sloggish in those scenes dealing with massive dialogue and felt the book could’ve been condensed down. I similarly compare this book to Attack Of The Jack-O’-Lanterns as it’s too much context, not enough action.
Overall though, I’d recommend this one actually. It’s far more realized than some of the average/good tier Goosebumps books where I think it serves a 4⭐️ from me. I actually gave it a 4.6/5 (including the fact I tend to give bonus points here and there and 1⭐️ off the bat for being a kids book). I’ll be honest, it isn’t a home run type of thing but the vibes of it really struck a chord with me. And now I’m willing to give the other Kathleen Duey books in this series a fair chance. If you are looking for a new Halloween kids horror anthology book and are tired of reading the typical Goosebumps books associated, this one would suffice. I think Monsterstreet has better ones, but this one was really good. I’d recommend it.
October 12, 2025
Wear and Scare is an unapologetic Haunted Mask clone. With one of the characters named Beth and the concept being pretty much the same, this was clearly trying to cash in on that story. It tried—in more ways than one. This is most abruptly one of the most well-written Spinetinglers. Seriously. Kathleen Duey put in a good effort here and it shows. The story is also extremely patient; it doesn’t try to rush at all, and takes its time. This isn’t a bad thing at all, even if it may be a bit daunting, as it allowed for her to really flesh out the atmosphere—a whole praise in itself. This is dead straight a masterpiece in the vibe department, as it really captures that Halloween tone. It legitimately feels born out of the holiday itself, thanks to the amazing proust and imagery. I really liked the whole concept of the book, with the characters making a haunted house attraction. The story is okay, the characters feel realized, and the book didn’t have much of a dull moment, even though this thing runs at 1mph. With this praise said and done, I do feel there are two flaws here: the final chapter and the timing of the climax. I appreciate the patience in this one a ton, but I think it could’ve gotten to the reveals quicker, and it would’ve sufficed having been dealt more pages to flesh out Mr. Slithern and all that we learned near the end. The end itself is super underwhelming; the whole conflict resolves itself way too quickly and easily, and we don’t get a complete answer to what was going on. It feels almost like it’s waiting for a sequel book, which for all I know could’ve been the plan, had we got to book 38 in Spinetinglers. The whole final chapter really just didn’t stick the landing, which was my biggest fear, not to mention the whole card thing was just a dumb villain moment. Again: way too quick and easy of a resolution. Oh, and this is an already explored idea for a book, and really doesn’t bring much new to the table aside the story. Overall, 8.5/10. I really liked it, but wished for something more from the final little chunk of the book. It’s been (god, how long? Since Billy Baker’s Dog?) too long since I’ve found a Spinetingler I’ve given more than an eight lol—not to mention most of the ones I’ve read in the past few months sucked. Go Bare and Go Scare.
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