A Man With An Agenda

For Banned Book Week the local library and an area business have teamed up to have a window display of people reading banned books. I had signed up this morning for a couple hours and brought along some old favorites, namely Goosebumps. I know I got a few passerby laughing when they checked out what I was reading.

A lot of people have a soft spot for this series and I'm glad that it's continued to be reprinted. I'm shocked that these books were ever challenged, at least on any basis other than literary merit. Because, with rare exceptions, Goosebumps had a lot of issues with poor writing and weak gotcha endings. But, after reading this again today I remembered how some of the early books were violent and gory. Amanda's dream her first night in the house is a rare moment of authentic horror.

Since this is the first book I assume Stine actually wrote it as compared to a lot of the others being ghostwritten. There was a lot more effort spent in trying to flesh out the characters, Amanda's sad parting from her best friend before moving for example, and the pace was a lot slower and up until the last few chapters things were more eerie than scary. A lot of unnerving behavior on the part of the Dark Falls children, curtains moving at night, etc.

The climax and

Also, why wouldn't the family say anything to the people who are moving into the house as. they. leave. the. driveway?