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We owe a lot to R.L. Stine. Honestly, in this day and age, it's amazing most of us can even read at all. If you think back to when you were a kid, you have to remember staying awake with a flashlight skimming through the latest pages of Goosebumps. Stine created 62-editions of the original series and each one was actually pretty sick and twisted.
You might not be aware of the impact Goosebumps really had, but these books were once something we looked forward to. Long before the days of reality TV and the Internet, kids read — and we read Goosebumps. If you're lucky enough to still have a few lying around, you'll notice the covers were always illustrated in a crazy way. For the original series of books, it was artist Tim Jacobus who was responsible for the awesome art, and he counts Monster Blood II and Egg Monsters From Mars among his favorites.
Each cover took about four or five days to paint, and they were more than just a teaser for the story inside. They were the foundation to help guide our imagination into Stine's dark and awesome world. Since Halloween is approaching, we felt a little nostalgic and revisited our favorite childhood series for a look at the greatest Goosebumps cover art.
No need to worry about spoiler alerts, we just give a brief synopsis of the book's tale — if you wanna really know what happens, read the damn thing. Check out our ranking of the 25 Greatest Goosebumps Book Covers.
25. The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb
Title: The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb
Release Date: January 1993
Plot: Getting lost in a pyramid with a cursed mummy is going to cause some issues, especially when a local legend turns into a reality for Gabe and his cousin. The two boys are left with no choice but to deal with the mummy their way.
24. Say Cheese And Die
Title: Say Cheese And Die
Release Date: November 1992
Plot: Finding an old camera is pretty sweet, but not when the pictures you're taking can turn out fatal. Greg figures out his new camera is a deadly find and must track down its origin.
23. Monster Blood
Title: Monster Blood
Release Date: September 1992
Plot: Staying with a spooky aunt is never fun but that was just the beginning of Evan's problems. After buying some monster blood from an old toy store, Evan learns the blood is a deadly goo out to kill his aunt.
1. I Live In Our Basement!
Title: I Live In Our Basement!
Release Date: November 1997
Plot: Marco's has an overprotective mom who prevents him from having any fun. One day, Marco sneaks away to play a game of ball and gets struck in the head. He returns home to heal up when he falls asleep and his entire reality is altered.
2. Don't Go To Sleep!
Title: Don't Go To Sleep!
Release Date: April 1997
Plot: Matt doesn't like sleeping in his tiny bed, so one night he sneaks into his parents guest room for a little extra space. Once he falls asleep, Matt realizes it was he's stuck in a world that's not his own.
3. Calling All Creeps!
Title: Calling All Creeps!
Release Date: December 1996
Plot: Ricky gets kicked out of the school paper and decides to pull a prank on his peers. His message gets distorted along the way and is chased by an alien lizard.
4. Ghost Camp
Title: Ghost Camp
Release Date: July 1996
Plot: Harry and his younger brother are headed to Camp Spirit Moon. When they arrive the camp is empty, but the two soon discover it's actually a haunted playground.
5. Egg Monsters From Mars
Title: Egg Monsters From Mars
Release Date: April 1996
Plot: An easter egg hunt turns into trouble for Dana when she discovers an egg that hatches into some sort of monster and is imprisoned by an evil scientist.
6. The Abominable Snowman Of Pasadena
Title: The Abominable Snowman Of Pasadena
Release Date: December 1995
Plot: A couple of California kids are sick of the weather and go with their dad on his assignment to Alaska in search of the Abominable Snowman. Only thing is, the snowman follows them back home.
7. The Headless Ghost
Title: The Headless Ghost
Release Date: November 1995
Plot: Duane and his friend visit the haunted Hill House. It's a big tourist attraction that boasts a lot of hype, and Duane finds out exactly why firsthand.
8. The Haunted Mask II
Title: The Haunted Mask II
Release Date: October 1995
Plot: Steve wants to one-up his friend Carly from the previous year, so he goes to the same shop and buys an even scarier mask. The mask is working out fine until Steve notices it's changing him physically.
9. Night Of The Living Dummy II
Title: Night Of The Living Dummy II
Release Date: May 1995
Plot: Slappy the evil ventriloquist dummy is back. Somehow he made his way to another pawn shop and continues his terrifying routine. This time his new owner has to figure out how to get rid of him.
10. It Came From Beneath The Sink!
Title: It Came From Beneath The Sink!
Release Date: April 1995
Plot: Kat and her brother Daniel just moved into a new home with their family. They have the day off to help unpack, but what they find beneath the sink is scarier than anything they could have ever imagined.
11. Monster Blood III
Title: Monster Blood III
Release Date: March 1995
Plot: Evan's on another unsuspecting adventure when he mixes some monster blood into an experiment his cousin is performing. He accidentally ingests some of the goo and starts to mutate and grow. Evan must now figure out a way to return back to normal.
12. A Night In Terror Tower
Title: A Night In Terror Tower
Release Date: January 1995
Plot: Eddie and Sue are on a group tour through London. The brother and sister lose their guide and end up alone in an old prison tower, only to discover there's more than just the two of them there.
13. Return Of The Mummy
Title: Return Of The Mummy
Release Date: September 1994
Plot: Gabe travels back to the pyramids with his family. He's reluctant to return but figures the chances of running into another mummy are pretty low. Too bad the odds were higher than he expected.
14. Ghost Beach
Title: Ghost Beach
Release Date: August 1994
Plot: A brother and sister are sent to spend a month at their cousin's beach house. The two are having a nice time until they discover the island is crawling with ghosts.
15. Go Eat Worms
Title: Go Eat Worms
Release Date: July 1994
Plot: Playing with bugs was always a favorite hobby of Todd's, until one day he cuts one in half. This doesn't sit well and soon Todd can't get away from an angry army of worms.
16. Monster Blood II
Title: Monster Blood II
Release Date: April 1994
Plot: Evan thought escaped the terrors from the previous summer, but when a friend from his aunt's neighborhood sends him a package of monster blood, things become all too familiar.
17. One Day At Horror Land
Title: One Day At Horror Land
Release Date: February 1994
Plot: When The Morris family stumbles upon an abandoned amusement park, they set out on the most dangerous journey of their lives. Now they have to figure out a way to escape in one piece.
18. You Can't Scare Me!
Title: You Can't Scare Me!
Release Date: January 1994
Plot: Jealous friends cross paths with an evil mud monster. Turns out to be the biggest mistake these two friends ever made.
19. The Haunted Mask
Title: The Haunted Mask
Release Date: September 1993
Plot: Just a few days before Halloween, Carly gets a new mask that's pretty scary. She gets payback and laughs at a few friends until she realizes the mask can't be removed.
20. Welcome To Camp Nightmare
Title: Welcome To Camp Nightmare
Release Date: July 1993
Plot: Summer camp is supposed to be fun, but not when people suddenly go missing. Billy has to track down what's going on before he winds up next.
21. The Girl Who Cried Monster
Title: The Girl Who Cried Monster
Release Date: May 1993
Plot: Lucy is a girl who tells a lot of stories to scare her brother. After joining a summer reading program, Lucy discovers the librarian is a creepy bald man who's hiding something. Problem is, nobody believes a word she says.
22. Stay Out Of The Basement
Title: Stay Out Of The Basement
Release Date: July 1992
Description: Dad's a scientist experimenting with plant matter in the family's basement. After venturing down into Dr. Brewer's lab, Margaret and Casey see their father holding up a bloody hand and are warned to stay away.
