July 1992 – December 1997. A period of five and a half years that saw the release of sixty-two books of a series that would go down in history as not only a pop cultural phenomenon of the nineties, but also create a franchise that still lives in other forms to this day. R L Stine’s popularity has rarely been matched in the twenty years following the release of the first book and now, with nearly fifteen years separating today from the release of the last book, I decided it was time to dust off the covers and determine which books seemed to be the best of the bunch. I have read virtually the whole series, and while some were more forgettable than or not as good as others, overall we have a collection of books that many have credited for getting anti-book people into reading. So, with that being said, here is my list. Of course, this is my opinion so others will have their own ideas on what deserves to be on here, but here goes:

20. A Shocker On Shock Street - A boy and girl who are friends and big fans of horror movies made under a ‘Shock Street’ banner get selected as the first to tour Shock Street’s new theme park.

19. A Night In Terror Tower – A brother and sister vacate in England when they become lost in a medieval torture chamber called Terror Tower. They are locked inside and a hooded executioner from centuries ago is after them.

18. You Can’t Scare Me - Two pranksters team up to try and scare a girl who seems fearless but the plan backfires at the swamp.

17. Calling All Creeps –A former school newspaper club member attempts a prank by putting a message for “creeps” to call the newspaper head after midnight in the next issue of the school paper. But his name gets in the message instead and he is stalked by lizard creatures.

16. The Werewolf Of Fever Swamp – A family move to a rural area in Florida near a swamp infamous for werewolf sightings and a strange dog becomes a new pet.

15. The Horror At Camp Jellyjam – Two siblings decide to stay at King Jellyjam’s Sports Camp and participate in the activities. But the winners end up missing, one of the camp staff survives a bone-crushing hit and the ground begins to shake at night.

14. The Haunted Mask – A girl decides to buy a mask from a strange costume shop for Halloween but the more she wears the mask, the more her personality changes and the harder it is for her to take off the mask.

13. Attack Of The Jack O’Lanterns – A group of friends decide to get revenge on two kids who have always ruined Halloween for others but two pumpkin-headed monsters appear and force the group to trick-or-treat all night so they can be fattened up for eating.

12. Monster Blood II – The evil novelty slime known as Monster Blood is accidently fed to the class hamster.

11. The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom – In attempt to get revenge on his bratty sister for ruining his birthday party, a boy vandalizes his father’s cuckoo clock by twisting the bird’s head backwards so that his sister will get blamed for it. However, he finds himself reliving his disastrous birthday party and later relives kindergarten and then babyhood.



10. One Day At Horrorland – On a day trip, a family and a friend end up in a theme park run by monsters called Horrorland.

9. The Ghost Next Door – A girl has a boring summer at home while her parents are at a baseball game and her friends are on vacation. After waking up from a nightmare about her room being on fire, a mysterious boy moves in next door making the girl believe that the boy is a ghost.

8. Stay Out Of The Basement – Two children try to solve the mystery of their father’s strange behaviour after finding plans for a plant-human hybrid in the basement.

7. Welcome To Dead House – A family move into a new house in Dark Falls where the residents are all ghosts who have died while living in the same house.

6. Say Cheese And Die – One day a group of friends investigate an abandoned house that is said to be haunted by a mad scientist. A camera is stolen but whenever pictures are taken, photos develop that were not expected.

5. The Beast From The East – A former nature camp survivor and her twin brothers end up lost in the woods, where monsters challenge them to a dangerous game of tag.

4. The Blob That Ate Everyone – An aspiring writer is given a typewriter and a pen by a woman whose shop was destroyed by a lightning storm. He uses the typewriter to finish his story about a blob monster without knowing that his story could come true.

3. Werewolf Skin – An aspiring photographer goes in search of werewolves in a small town while staying with his aunt and uncle. He discovers that the werewolves are closer to him than he thought.

2. Say Cheese And Die – Again! – A boy wants to prove to his English teacher that the camera he found is real, so he can raise his grade on a class assignment. He goes back to the abandoned house to retrieve the camera. It still works and is still evil.

1. ***ANNOUNCED BELOW*** - A family move into a new house and find what appears to be a sponge underneath the sink in their new house that turns out to be a monster that causes bad luck for anyone who finds it.

And number one…

Reader beware…
You’re in for a scare…

LOL, well not necessarily but my number one is…



And that’s the list. Feedback or other opinions are welcomed.