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Give Yourself Goosebumps #7
Under the Magician's Spell
"Reader beware--you choose the scare! GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS!
You, and your little sister, and your best friend just found a new magic shop at the mall. The man inside calls himself the Magician. He's pretty creepy. Before you know it, your little sister runs out of the shop with his book of magic spells.
If you read one of the spells, you find yourself in the magician's workshop. Suddenly you are part of a magic act. You are forced onstage, about to be sliced into a million pieces!
If the three bullies from the school grab the book, you must find it before the magician makes your sister disappear...forever!
The choice is yours in this scary GOOSEBUMPS adventure that's packed with over 20 super-spooky endings!"
You, and your little sister, and your best friend just found a new magic shop at the mall. The man inside calls himself the Magician. He's pretty creepy. Before you know it, your little sister runs out of the shop with his book of magic spells.
If you read one of the spells, you find yourself in the magician's workshop. Suddenly you are part of a magic act. You are forced onstage, about to be sliced into a million pieces!
If the three bullies from the school grab the book, you must find it before the magician makes your sister disappear...forever!
The choice is yours in this scary GOOSEBUMPS adventure that's packed with over 20 super-spooky endings!"
134 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1996
31 people are currently reading
1249 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,681 books18.7k followersRobert 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...
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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
October 4, 2023
Ich liebeeee die alternativen Enden und dass man die Entscheidungen selbst trifft, dafür waren die Stories leider schwach 🫣
February 16, 2024
Under The Magicians Spell was a book I didn't know what to expect but man was I in for a surprise! The story starts with you trying to sneak to the mall to hang with some friends when your mom catches you and tells you to bring a long tour bratty little sister.You end up at the mall when you notice your sister isn't around.She is next door at a magic shop so you go and stop her.As you guys are leaving out you notice she has a book in her hand.It turns out to be a magic spell book.You notice one of the pages has a warning about this book that if you don't return it at a certain time whoever stole it disappears.you notice your sister's fingers are clear.If the bullies end up stealing the book.Your in for quite a fun time.you can use spells to try and get the book back and you run into alot of things.You can meet a giant genie that wants you to do his chores for him.You get giant animals and one is a cop.But probably my favorite of them all is you can get a werewolf/cannibal granny.There is a lot of different unique things in this story line and I'm just naming a few.If you decide to go the other route,which is essentially your little sister reads strange words out loud your transported underground via earthquake.And here you meet the evil magician.The magician wants his spell book back but he is also after heads for his collection.He gives you an hour glass and when the time is run out he will come after you.In this story line you meet mostly carnival workers like The Masked Man who wants you to do acts like the classic cutting in half scene from the cover of the book.and cabinet of knives.You get to meet Mr.knowlege who knows everything but not really.But when you make him mad it leads to a pretty good scene.I wasn't sure how I felt about the second storyline at first but when they mentioned Bad Hare Day.I was really surprised.Ill say both of these storylines had really fun unique endings.This book had alot of surprising gore and scary imagery.I could only find maybe two things to complain about.Thats the dog in the bully storyline that's not really explained.and the swap of the diary with the book that your little sister has.I don't like when the whole scenario changes because of a choice.But those are just nitpicks.Id honestly say this book has a little bit for everyone and I highly recommend it.I give Under The Magicians Spell a four out of five stars.
August 15, 2025
I dont even know what to think about this one. From the get go i love almost all of Mark Nagatas art for this series, but this is hands down the worst he ever did… so thats sad. Now moving onto the contents of the book we have two main arcs, one that sucks and one thats actually pretty good.
The one thats good is the one with the magic show
And the one that sucks is the one where your trying to get the book back from your bullies
I wish i could say this book trys a lot, but when it does its just so random to the point im exhausted. Theres always some sort of plot device to rush to the ending and it almost never makes much sense at all. Like why does a cowboy appear in the middle of nowhere where theres no sign of life and puts on a game show for no audience involving us and our two side characters.
Light 5/10.
The one thats good is the one with the magic show
And the one that sucks is the one where your trying to get the book back from your bullies
I wish i could say this book trys a lot, but when it does its just so random to the point im exhausted. Theres always some sort of plot device to rush to the ending and it almost never makes much sense at all. Like why does a cowboy appear in the middle of nowhere where theres no sign of life and puts on a game show for no audience involving us and our two side characters.
Light 5/10.
September 5, 2013
This book is a very fun one, probably great for ages 8-11. The book is written in the second person, so it really gets children involved in their reading. It follows a group of young kids who, inadvertently, steal an evil magician's book. There are over 20 endings, and many fun choices for the kids to make (from choosing to strangle your sister, to choosing whether or not you want to go dumpster diving).
I would recommend this be a book children read on their own, not a book to be read aloud to the class (as it is one where many personal choices must be made). It is a book for beginner readers, and especially for ones who teachers and parents find have difficulty finding enjoyment in their usual reading. I would definitely recommend that teachers recommend not just this, but many of the Goosebumps books; these books are written by an author who knows the distinction between 'real scary' and the 'fun scary' way that these books are written. I would absolutely read the book again! Very fun read!
I would recommend this be a book children read on their own, not a book to be read aloud to the class (as it is one where many personal choices must be made). It is a book for beginner readers, and especially for ones who teachers and parents find have difficulty finding enjoyment in their usual reading. I would definitely recommend that teachers recommend not just this, but many of the Goosebumps books; these books are written by an author who knows the distinction between 'real scary' and the 'fun scary' way that these books are written. I would absolutely read the book again! Very fun read!
April 2, 2025
Half good, half bad. This is a GYG I have some mild nostalgia for since I read it back in 4th Grade, and I remembered the endings and paths I took vividly. But that nostalgia can’t blind me and not allow me to feel the way I do about this book. For some positives, I’ll give the book credit with the actually magic centered storyline. It was fun and had some neat elements, solid ideas, and didn’t overstay its simple welcome. I quite liked the settings as well, with the underground dungeon in the magic arc and the abandoned factory in the… random shit happens arc. There’s some good endings here and there, a few great endings like the drowning in tears one and the “kid knees” joke. Bad Hare Day line drop was a genuine chuckle moment too. But the book falls flat when it comes to the other arc: the random-shit-balls-to-the-walls-chemical-factory-bullies-subscribe-to-undertime-slopper bullshit. It’s so random and has little to nothing to do with magic and has no identity aside from, “hey, that’s the half-factory arc!” Whilst there’s cool bits and some good endings, most endings in this arc and even some in the other arc are butt. So yeah, the arc is really random and resurrects the biggest issue I had with Escape from the Carnival of Horrors. The book also was clearly ghost written, because the paragraph’s are structured poorly—a whole issue in itself. Some paragraphs go on too long or should have been cut, usually the fault of poorly placed dialogue. I wouldn’t mind this if it didn’t happen like twenty times lol. Overall, a flat 5/10. Mid, but not bad and definitely not the worst GYG in the series.
November 8, 2025
Love a choose your own adventure!
May 14, 2018
Under The Magicians Spell
PLOT: (MAIN STORY) Under the Magician’s Spell is a Give Your Self Goosebumps book. You nearly escape but not close enough. I have to take my bratty nine-year-old sister with me to the mall. I meet up there with my friend Sid. I lose track of Joanie and immediately a magic shop catches our eye and we see her go in. When we get inside Joanie has already started to get into trouble. As we get closer we see that she has chopped off her finger on a guillotine. Luckily it’s only a magic trick. But at the same time, Sid has handcuffed his-self. A man walks up in a black cap. He looks kinda sinister. He introduces himself as the Magician. But he doesn’t offer his assistance, just laughs and when we turn around he has disappeared. There's a black curtain but there's nothing but a stone wall behind it.
MY STORY
Joanie finds a spell book that’s not in English, but there are some words in the back.
I say the words.
A black hole opens and I fall through.
Thunder and lightning are heard (and seen).
We find ourselves in an underground cavern with a coffin and another curtain.
Three jugglers appear with fireballs.
One is thrown in my direction.
Since this is a magic story I can now juggle.
As they toss the balls at me I catch each and toss them right back.
They inform me that the Magician is angry and wants his book back.
They free Sam but vanish because he's approaching.
Out of the coffin, the fishbowl, and the birdcage, I choose the coffin
A hat turns into the Magician who demands his book back.
(Since he was there the whole time shouldn't he have seen the whole thing?)
He turns you upside down and searches you but still can't find anything.
(Ok I've seen Grimoires and they don't exactly fit in your pocket)
He gives me a time turner and a time limit of an hour to return the book.
Or you'll join his collection of human heads.
Should you give up the book?
(UH NO! IT’S A MAGIC BOOK)
You realize Joanie stomped her foot and it made a hollow sound.
There's a trap door underneath a rug.
A figure appears in the doorway.
It's a cowboy wearing a gorilla mask.
He has a knife pressed in our back.
He ties us to a wheel and starts throwing knives at us.
The gag is supposed to use trick knives but OOPS (a real knife got slipped in by accident). Or was it?
Pretty close to my first attempt where I got the exact same result when I read this for the first time. So I tried another direction.
ATTEMPT 2
I decided to give The Magician his book back.
But the book isn't in the coffin where I put it.
Footsteps are heard.
We get inside the coffin only there isn't enough space.
As we move around a switch gets flipped and opens the bottom and we slide out of a chute.
The book is on the floor by a cabinet.
A man steps out.
A masked him.
He is standing by the book so we distract him and grab the book.
We tell him we're assistants.
He asks if want to practice the sword cabinet or getting sawn in half.
Neither sound appealing but I choose the cabinet of swords.
He hypnotizes Sam and Joanie and they prepare the trick.
While in the cabinet you figure out the trick is stepping on the swords.
He's pleased and offers you a reward.
He can't tell us how to get out but says Mr. Knowledge can.
Time is running out. Do we pick Mr. Knowledge or Miss Card?
We pick Mr. Knowledge but the only 'knowledge' he knows are the answers to corny jokes.
Miss Card sits us down and introduces us to the rest of the players.
We suggest a game of draw.
Turns out I win but the game is 500 card draw.
Rating 7 I liked that the premises for this one is built around magic and illusions.
PLOT: (MAIN STORY) Under the Magician’s Spell is a Give Your Self Goosebumps book. You nearly escape but not close enough. I have to take my bratty nine-year-old sister with me to the mall. I meet up there with my friend Sid. I lose track of Joanie and immediately a magic shop catches our eye and we see her go in. When we get inside Joanie has already started to get into trouble. As we get closer we see that she has chopped off her finger on a guillotine. Luckily it’s only a magic trick. But at the same time, Sid has handcuffed his-self. A man walks up in a black cap. He looks kinda sinister. He introduces himself as the Magician. But he doesn’t offer his assistance, just laughs and when we turn around he has disappeared. There's a black curtain but there's nothing but a stone wall behind it.
MY STORY
Joanie finds a spell book that’s not in English, but there are some words in the back.
I say the words.
A black hole opens and I fall through.
Thunder and lightning are heard (and seen).
We find ourselves in an underground cavern with a coffin and another curtain.
Three jugglers appear with fireballs.
One is thrown in my direction.
Since this is a magic story I can now juggle.
As they toss the balls at me I catch each and toss them right back.
They inform me that the Magician is angry and wants his book back.
They free Sam but vanish because he's approaching.
Out of the coffin, the fishbowl, and the birdcage, I choose the coffin
A hat turns into the Magician who demands his book back.
(Since he was there the whole time shouldn't he have seen the whole thing?)
He turns you upside down and searches you but still can't find anything.
(Ok I've seen Grimoires and they don't exactly fit in your pocket)
He gives me a time turner and a time limit of an hour to return the book.
Or you'll join his collection of human heads.
Should you give up the book?
(UH NO! IT’S A MAGIC BOOK)
You realize Joanie stomped her foot and it made a hollow sound.
There's a trap door underneath a rug.
A figure appears in the doorway.
It's a cowboy wearing a gorilla mask.
He has a knife pressed in our back.
He ties us to a wheel and starts throwing knives at us.
The gag is supposed to use trick knives but OOPS (a real knife got slipped in by accident). Or was it?
Pretty close to my first attempt where I got the exact same result when I read this for the first time. So I tried another direction.
ATTEMPT 2
I decided to give The Magician his book back.
But the book isn't in the coffin where I put it.
Footsteps are heard.
We get inside the coffin only there isn't enough space.
As we move around a switch gets flipped and opens the bottom and we slide out of a chute.
The book is on the floor by a cabinet.
A man steps out.
A masked him.
He is standing by the book so we distract him and grab the book.
We tell him we're assistants.
He asks if want to practice the sword cabinet or getting sawn in half.
Neither sound appealing but I choose the cabinet of swords.
He hypnotizes Sam and Joanie and they prepare the trick.
While in the cabinet you figure out the trick is stepping on the swords.
He's pleased and offers you a reward.
He can't tell us how to get out but says Mr. Knowledge can.
Time is running out. Do we pick Mr. Knowledge or Miss Card?
We pick Mr. Knowledge but the only 'knowledge' he knows are the answers to corny jokes.
Miss Card sits us down and introduces us to the rest of the players.
We suggest a game of draw.
Turns out I win but the game is 500 card draw.
Rating 7 I liked that the premises for this one is built around magic and illusions.
May 19, 2018
So much fun. I absolutely love alternate endings. So far I've read three out of twenty possible endings. This is going to be reread many times more.Btw the fun scary R. L. Stine provides in Goosebumps has my daughters and I laughing and gasping. If was fun to see their choices.
September 11, 2024
The stronger GYG books are ones with multiple characters. This time your character is forced to interact with your sister and friend throughout the book, which adds more opportunity for interesting situations. The dialogue is believable and even made me chuckle a few times. You're at the mall with your friend Sid when your sister ducks into a magic shop and steals the owner's book of spells. The storyline where the characters visit an abandoned chemical factory has an eerie atmosphere as well as the other storyline where you're dealing directly with The Magician himself. The side story has you encountering a strange grandma and things get weird quickly. Overall, this book was interesting, the writing was well-paced, and it was just a good read. I recommend after you've read some of the more stellar books of the series.
July 28, 2017
This book is yet another of the Choose Your Own Adventures from R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps series and so, as always, you know roughly what to expect as you’re getting into it. I do have to say though, that this one in particular suffered from a fatal flaw. The choices that you’re given are misleading, and there seems to be no logic behind whether the decisions you make bring about ‘The End’ or not.
Still, I’m sure it’s decent enough if you’re eight years old, and the fact that you can’t really ‘play‘ it and that it all feels kind of random is potentially a good thing. It means you’ll re-read it and see different endings.
Still, I’m sure it’s decent enough if you’re eight years old, and the fact that you can’t really ‘play‘ it and that it all feels kind of random is potentially a good thing. It means you’ll re-read it and see different endings.
July 28, 2015
I have loved Goosebumps since I was a little kid. The "Give Yourself Goosebumps" series is very cool as you get to choose the direction the stories go in. This one has interesting twists and turns, and fun decisions to make. At one point I even got to take out a deck of cards and play a card game to decide my fate. Very fun! I highly recommend these to anyone over the age of 10 who is ready for an adventure!
September 23, 2011
very good.
October 5, 2014
that is a good and to much trucks but is funny is the best
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2024
Under the Magician’s Spell has to be so far my favorite Give Yourself Goosebumps book I have read so far! It exceeded my expectations. It’s true what they say…you can’t really judge a book by its cover (and this book is a perfect example of that.) I loved the storyline and the endings were better than I expected. I loved the storyline with you having to be a part of “ The Magician’s” magic show, some of the endings there were pretty morbid, because they consisted of you doing a dangerous trick/stunt and something wild and morbid ended up happening to you..like for example being beheaded.. or getting sawed in half..things like that. (It was pretty wild haha) It really was such a fun (quick read) and engaging book to say the least! Overall, I really loved this book! so going that being said…I will be giving it 4 out of 5 stars! :)
September 9, 2025
This was a fun one. The ending was funny and definitely saw it coming from a mile away. I'm curious what would have happened if I went the other route but there are far many more of these to tackle.
Under the Magician's Spell follows two sisters. The oldest is in charge and the youngest goes running off into this magic shop inside the mall. Inside there is a magician and before you know it, the little sister takes off with the book of magic spells. From here on things get interesting.
Under the Magician's Spell follows two sisters. The oldest is in charge and the youngest goes running off into this magic shop inside the mall. Inside there is a magician and before you know it, the little sister takes off with the book of magic spells. From here on things get interesting.
June 19, 2017
Adoravo i piccoli brividi da bambina e forse avrei amato anche questi game.. ma in libreria non li avevo mai visti.. Ho provato a leggerne uno oggi tanto per leggere qualcosa di semplice in inglese (sono molto facili) ma temo di essere fuori "età massima" per apprezzarli.
August 19, 2018
I picked this book up from a charity a few days ago and really enjoyed it, I’ll definitely be reading it many more times as there is 20 different endings. I loved the book as it’s goosebumps and also pick you own pathway style.
January 22, 2021
This one looked like it could have been super entertaining...had I chosen the correct option in the beginning.
It was clear from the start that I had chosen the wrong option.
Oh well. Maybe I'll live during the next choose your adventure book!
It was clear from the start that I had chosen the wrong option.
Oh well. Maybe I'll live during the next choose your adventure book!
October 24, 2022
When your little sister steals a book of spells from an evil magician's magic shop at the mall, it sends you on a roller coaster ride of deadly twists and turns. You choose the ending and decide if the magic that has ensnared you will help you out- or make you disappear forever!
October 25, 2023
I read this book within 30 minutes. It was very short since you chose your own plot and make decisions which was pretty cool. It wasn’t scary at all but if I were in middle school and read that I would be terrified. The ending I got was being eaten alive by piranhas so that’s cool 👍
September 26, 2025
Another great one from the master of creepy, R.L Stine. This one is fun becuase it really involves the rteader in the story with it being written in 2nd person. The reader beware, chose your own goosebumps series will always be a favorite of mine.
February 20, 2019
I read it to my son, and he loved it. It's so funny to watch his expression when we came to an ending where something weird happened.
June 14, 2019
Pretty good! A lot of different endings and twists.
July 25, 2019
Page 5 was my end. I should know better than to trust any sort of thing that says, "yeah, I can help you, come with me."
I turned into a dummy. It was still fun for my first attempt though.
I turned into a dummy. It was still fun for my first attempt though.
September 3, 2023
This one was a snooze - in a book where the main Crux is magic, a lot of random things happen and none are particularly interesting.
September 12, 2023
Classic
January 1, 2024
6/10
134 pages
134 pages
September 10, 2024
The magic of these books is in the bizarro places and monsters that make no narrative sense but make for interesting turns of events.
October 31, 2024
This was such a weird story. The granny is off her rocker. We loved it.
February 10, 2025
Blast from the past. Very fun.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews