Goosebumps Books in Order: The Complete Reading Guide
Updated September 2026
Goosebumps Books in Order: The Short Answer
The original Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine has 62 books, published by Scholastic from July 1992 to December 1997, starting with Welcome to Dead House and ending with Monster Blood IV. Almost every one is a standalone, so reading Goosebumps books in order matters mainly for the few sequels. The newest books come from Goosebumps House of Shivers, which reached Book 7 in August 2026.
That standalone format is good news for parents: each book has its own kids and its own monster, so a reader can grab any title off the shelf and jump in. The full numbered list is below, followed by the sequels that do need an order and every series that came after.
In this guide:
- The Original 62 Goosebumps Books in Order
- Every Goosebumps Series After the Original
- Best Goosebumps Books for a First-Time Reader
- How Scary Goosebumps Gets, by Age and Series
- Goosebumps on TV and Film
- Picking Up Used Goosebumps
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Original 62 Goosebumps Books in Order
| # | Title | Year | # | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome to Dead House | 1992 | 2 | Stay Out of the Basement | 1992 |
| 3 | Monster Blood | 1992 | 4 | Say Cheese and Die! | 1992 |
| 5 | The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb | 1993 | 6 | Let's Get Invisible! | 1993 |
| 7 | Night of the Living Dummy | 1993 | 8 | The Girl Who Cried Monster | 1993 |
| 9 | Welcome to Camp Nightmare | 1993 | 10 | The Ghost Next Door | 1993 |
| 11 | The Haunted Mask | 1993 | 12 | Be Careful What You Wish For... | 1993 |
| 13 | Piano Lessons Can Be Murder | 1993 | 14 | The Werewolf of Fever Swamp | 1993 |
| 15 | You Can't Scare Me! | 1994 | 16 | One Day at HorrorLand | 1994 |
| 17 | Why I'm Afraid of Bees | 1994 | 18 | Monster Blood II | 1994 |
| 19 | Deep Trouble | 1994 | 20 | The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight | 1994 |
| 21 | Go Eat Worms! | 1994 | 22 | Ghost Beach | 1994 |
| 23 | Return of the Mummy | 1994 | 24 | Phantom of the Auditorium | 1994 |
| 25 | Attack of the Mutant | 1994 | 26 | My Hairiest Adventure | 1994 |
| 27 | A Night in Terror Tower | 1995 | 28 | The Cuckoo Clock of Doom | 1995 |
| 29 | Monster Blood III | 1995 | 30 | It Came from Beneath the Sink! | 1995 |
| 31 | Night of the Living Dummy II | 1995 | 32 | The Barking Ghost | 1995 |
| 33 | The Horror at Camp Jellyjam | 1995 | 34 | Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes | 1995 |
| 35 | A Shocker on Shock Street | 1995 | 36 | The Haunted Mask II | 1995 |
| 37 | The Headless Ghost | 1995 | 38 | The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena | 1995 |
| 39 | How I Got My Shrunken Head | 1996 | 40 | Night of the Living Dummy III | 1996 |
| 41 | Bad Hare Day | 1996 | 42 | Egg Monsters from Mars | 1996 |
| 43 | The Beast from the East | 1996 | 44 | Say Cheese and Die—Again! | 1996 |
| 45 | Ghost Camp | 1996 | 46 | How to Kill a Monster | 1996 |
| 47 | Legend of the Lost Legend | 1996 | 48 | Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns | 1996 |
| 49 | Vampire Breath | 1996 | 50 | Calling All Creeps! | 1996 |
| 51 | Beware, the Snowman | 1997 | 52 | How I Learned to Fly | 1997 |
| 53 | Chicken Chicken | 1997 | 54 | Don't Go to Sleep! | 1997 |
| 55 | The Blob That Ate Everyone | 1997 | 56 | The Curse of Camp Cold Lake | 1997 |
| 57 | My Best Friend Is Invisible | 1997 | 58 | Deep Trouble II | 1997 |
| 59 | The Haunted School | 1997 | 60 | Werewolf Skin | 1997 |
| 61 | I Live in Your Basement! | 1997 | 62 | Monster Blood IV | 1997 |
Stine was turning out roughly one book a month at the height of the craze, which is why the dates march along so steadily. Scholastic has reissued many of these as "Classic Goosebumps" paperbacks with new covers, so don't be surprised if your used copy has a different cover than the one you remember. The story inside is the same.
The sequels that do need an order
A few villains came back, and these are best read in sequence:
- Monster Blood: #3, #18, #29, #62
- Night of the Living Dummy (Slappy): #7, #31, #40
- The Haunted Mask: #11, #36
- The Mummy: The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (#5), then Return of the Mummy (#23)
- Say Cheese and Die: #4, #44
- Deep Trouble: #19, #58
One Day at HorrorLand (#16) is also worth knowing, since the whole 2008 HorrorLand series grew out of it.
Every Goosebumps Series After the Original
This is where people get lost. Here's each series in the order it started, with how many books it has.
| Series | Years | Books | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tales to Give You Goosebumps | 1994–1997 | 6 | Short-story collections |
| Give Yourself Goosebumps | 1995–2000 | 50 | Choose-your-own-ending gamebooks, including special editions |
| Goosebumps Presents | Late 1990s | 18 | Short books adapted from episodes of the TV show |
| Goosebumps Series 2000 | 1998–2000 | 25 | A scarier relaunch aimed at slightly older readers |
| Goosebumps Graphix | 2006–2015 | 4 | Comic adaptations of original-series stories |
| Goosebumps HorrorLand | 2008–2011 | 19 | Linked books where returning characters end up at the HorrorLand theme park |
| HorrorLand: Hall of Horrors | 2011–2012 | 6 | Standalone tales told at the park |
| Goosebumps Most Wanted | 2012–2016 | 10 + 4 specials | New stories built around classic villains |
| Goosebumps SlappyWorld | 2017–2023 | 19 | Slappy the dummy introduces each story |
| Goosebumps House of Shivers | 2023–present | 7 so far | The current series |
A planned series called Goosebumps Gold was announced around 2001 and then cancelled, so if a listing claims to sell one, be skeptical.
HorrorLand is the one sub-series to read in order
Most of the later series behave like the original: standalone books. HorrorLand is different. Its 19 books, starting with Revenge of the Living Dummy (2008) and ending with The Horror at Chiller House (2011), carry a connected storyline, with kids from the classic books drawn back to the park. Start at Book 1 and go in order. The Hall of Horrors follow-ups are loose standalones again.
SlappyWorld: 19 standalones hosted by Slappy
Nineteen books, from Slappy Birthday to You (2017) to Friiight Night (July 2023). Each one opens with Slappy taunting the reader. They're standalones and a good fit for kids who love the dummy. A separate special edition, Slappy Beware! (2022), tells Slappy's backstory.
House of Shivers: the newest Goosebumps books
This is the series currently coming out, about two books a year:
- Scariest. Book. Ever. (September 2023)
- Goblin Monday (March 2024)
- Night of the Living Mummy (September 2024)
- Say My Name! Say My Name! (March 2025)
- The Last Sleepover (July 2025)
- One Night at Camp Bigfoot (March 2026)
- What We Do at Night (August 2026)
More House of Shivers books are on the way. If your reader has worn out the classics, House of Shivers is where the new material is. And when they have read every Goosebumps title in the house, our list of books like Goosebumps covers other authors writing the same kind of fun scares.
Best Goosebumps Books for a First-Time Reader
Welcome to Dead House is Book 1, but it's honestly not the best introduction. It's one of the darker entries and a bit slower than what came later. Most booksellers and longtime fans would hand a new reader one of these instead:
- Night of the Living Dummy (#7) — the first Slappy book and the most famous villain in the series.
- The Haunted Mask (#11) — a Halloween mask that won't come off. Often named the best of the original run.
- Say Cheese and Die! (#4) — a camera that photographs bad things before they happen.
- Welcome to Camp Nightmare (#9) — a creepy summer camp with one of Stine's best twists.
- One Day at HorrorLand (#16) — a monster theme park, and a natural lead-in to the HorrorLand series.
If they like it, let them wander. That's how most of us read Goosebumps as kids: whatever was on the library spinner rack that week.
How Scary Goosebumps Gets, by Age and Series
Scholastic pitches the series at roughly ages 8 to 12, grades 3 to 7. The books are about 120 to 160 pages with short chapters, and nearly every chapter ends on a cliffhanger, which is exactly why reluctant readers tear through them. Our list of books for sixth grade boys who don't like reading has more titles that work the same way.
The scares are real but they're played for fun. There's no gore to speak of, no bad language, and the kids almost always come out okay. The famous trick is the twist ending: the monster is defeated, and then the last page reveals one more surprise. Some kids love that; a few anxious ones find it keeps them up. If you have a sensitive seven-year-old, try reading one aloud together first, or start with our gentle mystery series for 9-year-olds, which deliver suspense without the monsters.
A few notes by series:
- Series 2000 was deliberately written to be scarier. Save it for kids who found the originals too tame.
- Give Yourself Goosebumps gamebooks are great for kids who get bored with straight narratives. Expect a lot of "you have died, go back to page 1" endings, which kids find funny rather than upsetting.
- The Slappy books can be creepier for younger kids, simply because a talking doll is one of the most unsettling ideas going.
Parents who grew up in the 90s will notice some dated details, like pay phones and VCRs. Kids don't seem to mind.
Goosebumps on TV and Film
- Goosebumps (1995–1998) — the original anthology TV series, four seasons on Fox Kids, produced in Canada. Many episodes adapt the books directly.
- Goosebumps (2015) — a film starring Jack Black as a fictional R.L. Stine whose monsters escape from his manuscripts. Rated PG.
- Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018) — the sequel, also rated PG, with Jack Black returning in a smaller role.
- Goosebumps (Disney+, 2023) — a live-action series aimed at teens, premiering October 13, 2023, followed by a second season, Goosebumps: The Vanishing, with David Schwimmer, in January 2025. Disney+ cancelled the show in August 2025 after two seasons. It's noticeably more intense than the books and pitched older.
The two films are a fun family Halloween double feature. You'll find them in our used DVDs when copies are in, and our guide to the best PG movies for family movie night has more picks at the same rating.
Picking Up Used Goosebumps
Goosebumps is one of the best series to buy used. Millions of copies were printed in the 90s, and a well-thumbed paperback with a cracked spine is exactly how these books are meant to be read. See which Goosebumps books are on the shelf today, check for Give Yourself Goosebumps gamebooks, or browse all our kids' books. Shipping is free on orders over $15, so a small stack of paperbacks usually qualifies.
For R.L. Stine's other work (Fear Street, standalones and more), see our R.L. Stine books in order guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Goosebumps books are there?
The original series has 62 books (1992–1997). Counting all the follow-up series, gamebooks and specials, the total passed 240 books by 2022 and is still growing.
Do you have to read Goosebumps books in order?
No. Almost every book is a standalone. The exceptions are the sequels (Monster Blood, Night of the Living Dummy, The Haunted Mask and a few others) and the HorrorLand series, which has a connected storyline.
What is the first Goosebumps book?
Welcome to Dead House, published in July 1992. Stay Out of the Basement came out the same month as Book 2.
What is the newest Goosebumps book?
What We Do at Night, House of Shivers #7, published in August 2026.
What age are Goosebumps books for?
Roughly ages 8 to 12, grades 3 to 7. The scares are mild and there's no gore, but twist endings can unsettle anxious younger readers.
What is the best Goosebumps book to start with?
Night of the Living Dummy or The Haunted Mask. Both are among the most popular in the original series and show off what Goosebumps does best.
Is the Goosebumps Disney+ show for kids?
It's aimed at teens and is darker than the books. For younger children, the 1990s TV series or the two PG-rated Jack Black films are a better fit.
