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It's the last week of October leading up to Halloween and we're celebrating all things Goosebumps here on the STACKS by TAKING OVER the blog! Be sure to check Ink Splot 26 every day this week for your daily dose of Goosebumps!

Goosebumps books are such page-turners and one of the things that makes them so much fun are the monsters, ghouls and villains that R.L. Stine creates to terrorize his characters—and his readers. Now we can learn how to draw the Goosebumps ghouls with a new book that provides step-by-step instructions for our favorite Goosebumps villains. All the fan favorites such as Slappy, the Haunted Mask, Werewolf of Fever Swamp and the Horror are included, plus many others. 

Did you know that the basic foundation of all drawings are basic shapes like circles and squares? Very true! And the book teaches you that you need to think of these shapes in 3D to make drawings look realistic. You start out with these basic shapes and work on adding details and refining to create the character drawings. OK, sounds simple enough. I like to think I'm pretty talented. I mean I'm no Picasso but hey, who is, right? Check out my rendition of Slappy. . . 
Who's your favorite Goosebumps ghoul? Tell us in the Comments.

—Amabel, Scholastic Media Staffer

October is just around the corner, and you know what that means. . . it's time for some thrills and chills! And what better way to scare up some thrills than with Goosebumps! The Get Goosebumps Mall Tour is traveling around the country the whole month of October to offer fans some spooktacular fun! Best of all – it's free!

If you live in the touring cities (see below), take a breather from the schoolwork and stop by your local mall to star in and send your very own Goosebumps prank video to all your friends and family! You can also play the Goosebumps HorrorLand video game for Wii or take your picture as a Goosebumps Horror and receive a keepsake frame! While you're at it grab a free Goosebumps book and special offers (while supplies last) as well as enter a raffle for a chance to win a bevy of Goosebumps books, DVDs and games.

Get Goosebumps Mall Tour 2010 Dates: 

• October 2 – Livingston Mall/Livingston, NJ
• October 9 – Northshore Mall/Peabody, MA
• October 16 – Stoneridge Shopping Center/Pleasanton, CA
• October 23 – Great Lakes Mall/Mentor, OH
• October 30 – North East Mall/Hurst, TX

If you don't live near these towns, don't worry. There's a great way for you to share the scare and spook some of your friends this October by sending them the Get Goosebumps Tombstone Challenge. Let's see how you fare – we dare you!

—Amabel, Scholastic Media Staffer

According to the many school librarians I've talked to over the past six months, kids are clamoring for series more than ever before. Schools and libraries can't keep certain series on the shelves.

It's understandable. There's real comfort in reading about characters you've come to know and like. For young readers, when the plot structure is familiar, the books can be easier to read, too. Books in which they can anticipate the style and language they're written in are less threatening. Plots are clearer. Repetition is encouraging. Especially to reluctant readers.

When I remember back to the 90s, when a great battle was raging in schools over the Goosebumps books, I'm amazed. I knew purists among the librarians who wouldn't have those books on theirshelves. And parents who wouldn't let their children read them.

Ten years later, that wouldn't happen. Sure, the Goosebumps books were plot-driven. The characters weren't well-developed. But they were exciting and scary. As their advocates would tell you, they got kids reading. And reading a lot. Boys, especially, who wouldn't ordinarily pick up a book, ate those stories up.

It seems almost impossible to imagine such a hue and cry today. what I said yesterday about writing a series is pretty much the way you'd approach writing any genre. The reason why their elements seem more pronounced, maybe, is because there are so many books in each series that their strengths, as well as their weaknesses, are emphasized.

The concept-based series, for example. The MAGIC TREE HOUSE series by Mary Pope Osbourne is a perfect example. Both the concept and the structure are abundantly clear: It's the Wizard of Oz revisited. A brother and sister discover a tree house in their woods. It's filled with books. Every time they point to a particular book, one about dinosaurs, for example (the first book in the series), the wind starts to blow. The trees start to shake. The tree house starts to spin and the next thing they know, it crashes down to earth and there's total silence. Chapter two. The two look outside and there they are - back in the prehistoric age, or wherever else the book they had pointed to, took place.

When their adventure is over, or needs to be brought to a fast halt because they're in trouble, they go back to the tree house and point to a book about their hometown, and the whole spinning process happens all over again until they make a safe crash-landing back in their woods. Only to find that no time has passed since they left.

It's diabolically simple. Yet because Osbourne takes the pair to a different period in history or country in each book, the books feel different and are great fun to read.

The Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park might be the quintessential character-led series.
Junie B, the Attitude Kid. She talks her own way and leads her own life. Every book in the series revolves around Junie B's unique view of the world and the people and situations that annoy or delight her. Nothing is as important as the way Junie B. responds to it.

Another character-driven series are the Henry and Mudge books by Cynthia Rylant. Kids read series such as these two for the emotional bond they make with the characters as much as for the stories themselves.

The Goosebumps series written by R. L. Stine is a good example of a plot-driven series. There are a lot of characters; none particularly stand out; the action starts right away; there lots of screams and scares; The End. Kids love to read these. They're as popular today as they were back during the bruhaha I spoke of.

And, of course, there are the fantasy series. And series for older readers. I'm a huge reader of series for adult

Renowned children’s author R.L. Stine recently joined First Book in celebrating the distribution of one million books that KPMG’s Family for Literacy has made possible during the first two years of our partnership with the audit, tax, and advisory firm.

Just in time for the author’s favorite holiday, the Halloween celebration took place at a school in Harlem where Mr. Stine shared that nothing scares him more than the thought of kids growing up without books. The message was well received by the students, who greeted Mr. Stine with rock star adoration. A group of older students on the playground recognized him and flocked to him – saying how much they loved his Goosebumps, Fear Street and latest Goosebumps HorrorLand books and sharing how cool it was to have him at their school.  Mick Jagger couldn’t have felt more loved by his fans.

Thanks to generous contributions of funding and volunteer time by KPMG partners, staff and their families and friends, First Book has been able to reach tens of thousands of children with wonderful new books. First Book is especially grateful to Susan Flynn and Beth Veihmeyer who helped originate KPMG’s Family for Literacy which has quickly proven to be an innovative model for engaging partners, employees, alumni, retirees, and interns, as well as their families and friends in a shared cause that benefits the educational needs of children in need in KPMG communities nationwide.

If you were at the live webcast yesterday with R. L. Stine, wasn't it COOL??!! (If you missed it, you can watch the video here.) He talked about his favorite books, advice for future writers, and a starstruck moment with HIS favorite author. Plus, he revealed that he's always hated Halloween. Surprised? You'll have to watch the video replay to find out why!

R. L. Stine was really funny, and Slappy was there too, being his nasty, creepy self. Kids in the audience got to ask questions, listen to R. L. Stine tell a new HorrorLand story about a zombie canoe ride, and he made a super-exciting announcement. . .

. . . A writing contest where YOU get to be the Fright Master! R. L. Stine wrote three scary story starters for you. Choose one and finish the story. Then send it to Scholastic, and R. L. Stine and his editors will choose the winning story!

Enter the Contest

And for more about R. L. Stine, read this Kid Reporter interview where he tells where he gets his ideas.

Last week, author and fright-master R.L. Stine wrote about how excited he was for the live Goosebumps Webcast where he will be here in the flesh for a webcast to talk about his creepy books and answer questions.

Well, the fateful day has arrived! Prepare yourself!

1- 1:30pm (ET) today — Get Goosebumps with R.L. Stine!

Join the webcast.

(Yes, we know, it's during the school day, and you might have a math test or something. If you can't make it at that time, don't despair, you can watch the video recap afterwards.)

The GET GOOSEBUMPS Mall Tour kicked off earlier in October and now that it has been to a couple of cities, we thought we would tell you about some of the cool stuff the tour offers and where it has been so far. The most popular part of the tour has been the viral video activity. This is where someone can get their picture taken and then go online to find out what exactly they got their picture taken for . . . just a little hint, it provides a bit of a SCARE where it is least expected. Visitors to the tour also had the opportunity to try out the Goosebumps video game for the Wii and get their photo taken as a Goosebumps Horror!

Here are a couple of photos and quotes from the cities visited so far —

The tour started off on October 3rd in Seattle, Washington at the Tacoma Mall. There were many intrigued Goosebumps fans that couldn't wait to see what the event was all about.

“I love Goosebumps. It is my favorite book of all time!”
–A Goosebumps fan, Tacoma, WA

“Goosebumps is so scary! Well . . . I mean, not that scary but it kind of freaks me out but I love it.”
–A Goosebumps Fan, Tacoma, WA

 
The next stop on the tour was the Westminster Mall in Westminster, California. Some Goosebumps fans stopped by in their Halloween Costumes! This location was a hot-spot for Goosebumps fans of all ages:

“Yeah I'm a Goosebumps fan! Goosebumps! Goosebumps! Goosebumps!” (while jumping up & down)
–A Goosebumps Fan, Westminster, CA

“I'm an educator and my kids would love those books in the prize pack”
– Educator, Westminster, CA

The 3rd event on the tour was at the Mall of Georgia in Atlanta, Georgia. This location featured books for sale right by the inflatable as well as face painting for anyone who participated in the event!

“Goosebumps has been my favorite book since my whole life!”
-A Goosebumps Fan, Atlanta, GA.

The last 2 stops on the tour are Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, Michigan (which was this past Saturday) and Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, New York ON HALLOWEEN!!! If you get a chance and you live in the New York area, come out to Smith Haven Mall to GET GOOSEBUMPS on Halloween!

If you don't get a chance to GET GOOSEBUMPS at the mall, here are some other ways to get in the Halloween spirit this October!

• Get Goosebumps on Cartoon Network – weekdays at 4:30pm
• Get Goosebumps on DVD
• Get Goosebumps with R.L. Stine
• Get Goosebumps on The STACKS with an online chat

—Julia, Scholastic Media Staffer

Well, everyone, I've got a lot to do to get ready for my Goosebumps HorrorLand webcast. I've got to press my black cape. . . sharpen my fangs. . . practice my terrifying wolf howl. . . and drink lots of warm blood to keep my strength up. . .

Is it possible for the full moon to show itself at one in the afternoon (ten a.m. Pacific time)? Don't worry. It will be as scary as midnight once we start sharing ghost stories and telling our scariest Halloween tales.

We'll talk about my scary books and I'll tell a scary story. And I hear that maybe a few of my scary friends might drop by. Slappy the evil dummy wouldn't dare come alive and interrupt our fun—would he?

We'll see. I'll be waiting for you.

What: Get Goosebumps Live Webcast Event
When: October 28, 1pm (ET) / 10am (PT)
Where: scholastic.com/goosebumpswebcast

Make sure your teacher tunes in.

Readers, beware—see you there!

— R. L. Stine, Goosebumps Author

DARE to chat with us?
Join our LIVE CHAT on the Goosebumps series, other spooky books & more!

WHEN: Tuesday, October 27, 6-7 PM E.T.
TOPIC: Scary books!

Halloween is right around the corner! And to celebrate, our October Live Chat will be about the Goosebumps series and other spooky scary books. Join in the chat to talk with other kids about the books that give YOU goosebumps!

For more about the Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine, visit the Goosebumps site and learn more about lots of other Halloween Goosebumps events!

And if you're in New York City on October 24, stop by the Scholastic Store in SoHo at 3pm for a demo of the Goosebumps HorrorLand Wii game, and more Halloween fun!

— STACKS Staffers

Hey all you ghoulish Goosebumps Fans, it's that fabulously fearsome time of year again to give everyone you know GOOSEBUMPS! Lucky for you, Scholastic is bringing Goosebumps to a mall near you with the Get Goosebumps Mall Tour! On this tour, you can have the opportunity to star in and send your own Goosebumps prank video, try out the Goosebumps HorrorLand video game for Wii and take your picture as a Goosebumps Horror. You can also enter for a chance to win a Goosebumps prize pack consisting of Goosebumps books, DVD's and a video game. Dates and locations are HERE. Hope to see you there!

If there isn't a location close to your home this year, keep an eye on The STACKS continued coverage Goosebumps activities and updates throughout the Halloween season.

—Julia, Scholastic Media Staffer

I'm Sam, a producer with Scholastic Interactive. It's a really exciting time of year for us because we're launching our first ever apps for the iPhone^TM and iPod touch®! I got the coveted assignment of producing the app for Goosebumps^TM. I'll be giving you an inside look at what it takes to make an app.

Goosebumps is funny and frightening all wrapped into one. So what would be funny and scary on the iPhone? We had a bunch of early ideas for apps:

• A “Scream Machine” that gives you a sound bank of Goosebumps noises.
• A “Haunted iPhone” that looks like the standard iPhone desktop but replaces all of your functions with twisted versions of themselves.
• “My Pet Goo,” like a virtual pet game except that you're raising a disgusting glob of goo. Take good care of it and it might grow teeth, change colors, or even split into two globs of goo.

Maybe we'll make one of those next, but our favorite idea was PhotoShock, which lets you take any picture from your iPhone or iPod touch and give it the full Goosebumps treatment. So you can turn your friends into ghastly ghouls or even give your dog The Haunted Mask! 

The app gives you a collection of stickers that you can put on your photograph and then move, resize or rotate to create some truly horrifying compositions. We brainstormed every scary thing you might want to add to a picture: Googly eyes, splatters of slime, hanging spiders, crawling bats, a full moon, a tombstone… well, you get the idea.

We then had to draw and create the stickers in the Goosebumps style. We worked closely with the Goosebumps gurus (aka brand managers – what a cool job!) to ensure that the stickers had the right balance of scares and humor. We also were able to include Goosebumps monster masks so you can make yourself into Slappy or change a photo of a group of friends into the ultimate Goosebumps monster crew around!

With over 95 stickers and icons, the possibilities are endless. And what good are photos if you can't share them and show them off? Once you're done, you can email your photos to friends to show off your masterpiece!

Happy PhotoShocking!

— Sam, Scholastic Interactive Staffer

Rainy Day Books

When I was in grade school, I was always eager to buy the latest Goosebumps book or anything else that might grab my curiosity. Before I had ever heard of Borders or Barnes and Noble, a small used book store called Rainy Day Books was my most beloved childhood destination. Not only did it spark in me a craving for books, it was the only place where I could convince my mom to make any kind of purchase. Since most of these trips took place during the summer months, I was always given a minimum daily reading requirement to ensure I kept my mind rolling.

Unfortunately, many kids don’t have the opportunity to discover reading during the summer months. Summer, in fact, plays a crucial role in the increasing achievement gap between lower- and middle-class children. A whopping two thirds of this gap occurs during the summer months. By the end of fifth grade, many children living in poverty have fallen more than two years behind in verbal achievement.

So, it’s time to turn off the cartoons and turn on the imagination. One simple way to help bridge the achievement gap is this: help your kids read more. It’s vital to encourage reading in the summer, whether at home or in summer school programs.  Many public libraries offer children’s programs as well. If children read one million words a year, at least one thousand words will be added to their vocabulary.

First Book believes summer reading should be a reality for kids in need and our efforts to provide and increase access to new books are just one step towards this goal. Help those kids who don’t have access to the little book store that so much played a vital role in my childhood. One book can go a long ways. Thank you for joining us to improve the lives of thousands of children, making the future just a little bit brighter, one book at a time.

The middle-grade book series Goosebumps by R. L. Stine is going to become a live-action movie produced by Columbia Pictures. According to Cynopsis Kids, the Goosebumps movie will likely feature unknown young actors as the leads, with well-known actors in supporting roles–just as the Harry Potter movies did.

I like hearing about deals like this. The Goosebumps series has been around for a long time, and now it’s being made into a movie–which means to me that a book can still gain attention years after it’s published. (I think the first book appeared in 1992.) So to me, that’s hopeful news for authors–and publishers. I love it.

Thanks to Cynopsis Kids for the info.

Hello, all true believers out there in the Land of Blog, it is I once again the great and terrible Darth Bill. I must apologize (geez, I must be slipping Sith--never apologize!) but I fell really terrible that I missed giving my Beowulf program this past Tuesday. I was really jazzed about doing it but you are never going to believe what happened to prevent me from doing so. Let's just say what prevented me had long pointy teeth, two furry ears and a deceptively cute nose. Sounds pretty innocent, doesn't it? But I warn ya, its extremely dangerous!!!!! Lets just take a closer look at this great monstrosity, but don't say I didn't warn you if you do happen to have nightmares after looking!!!!!! Last chance to look away. I'm warning ya!!!!!








Yes, while hunting down lowly Jedi in the Outer Rim, I ran across this "innocent looking creature." I proceeded to calling it all sorts of ugly names when all of a sudden it flew through the air, its huge, hideous, great long pointy teeth going straight for my throat!!!!! I drew my lightsaber just in time to deflect it's try for my throat. All I can say is that for 3 days and 3 nights we fought a great battle. How did this epic battle, much greater than that between Beowulf and Grendel, end? Lets just say that now I have a brand spanking new lucky rabbit's foot! However I was wounded most grievously and thus I was forced to stay home mending, using great Sith magics, to pull myself from the brink of death. Thus I missed doing my Beowulf program. But do not be unduly sad as the Beowulf program has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 29 at 2:00. Hope to see you there. Also don't forget about the Heroes and Villains Festival Tuesday, January 22 starting at 2:00.

Well enough about my recent adventures, lets talk about some good reading material, me buckos!!!!

Two really good books I have read recently concerning Beowulf are:

Beowulf by Charles Keeping and Kevin Crossley-Holland - This retelling of the Beowulf hero tale is really a great mix of exciting narrative and illustrations. In this version of the tale a stranger wanders into the great hall of King Hygelac of the Geats. This stranger tells the King and the men in the hall about the monster Grendel and his savagery toward the Danish people. One man within the hall listens to the tale with great interest. He is so impassioned by the tale that he vows to sail to Denmark and vanquish this foul beast. The man's name, of course, is Beowulf. This is a really great version of the tale of Beowulf and if you think Grendel is the only monster Beowulf must contend with, think again.



Another great version of the Beowulf story is:


Beowulf adapted and illustrated by Gareth Hinds - This retelling of the Beowulf legend is equal parts text and illustrations. Mr. Hinds uses cool illustrations to not only enhance this great story, but at times the artwork alone is the tool in which the story is told. One great example is the battle between Grendel and Beowulf. Told strictly through illustrations without a single word, this battle scene will leave you breathless. I highly recommend this book!!!!!!





And now for something completely different!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just wanted to talk briefly about 2 Graphic Novels that are brand new to the library and I recently finished reading.


R.L. Stine's Goosebumps: Scary Summer - This is the third in the line of Graphic Novel adaptions of popular R.L. Stine's Goosebumps stories. The stories included in this volume are "Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes", "Ghost Beach" and "The Horror at Camp Jelly Jam." Each story is adapted and illustrated by different and very talented individuals. I found "Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes" and "The Horror at Camp Jelly Jam" to be more humorous than scary and that was cool as I like funny as well as scary. However if you want scary, "Ghost Beach" should do a pretty good job of leaving you with a good case of the creepies. Very well done, so check it out!!!!!!!



Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Volume 10 - Hey, hey, hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The newest volume in the Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures has just hit the library system and it rocks!!!!!! Like the rest of the Graphic Novels in the series, the new one has 4 great stories included. My favorite story in this volume stars Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. They find themselves in a particularly bad situation, trapped in a Canyon, appropriately named Death Canyon, by a bunch of intergalactic bounty hunters. The only way out is through a stretch of of ravines named Thunder Road. Obi-Wan is sure they are doomed as he watches young Anakin patch together a "classic" (Obi-Wan calls it a piece of junk) Land Speeder. This story is both exciting and funny as the two try to escape through Thunder Road using the beat-up Land Speeder. Man, I just love it and know you will also. The rest of the stories are awesome, so this one is a must read.

Well, little cow pokes, until next time,

Bill

Hey, guys, it's Carl. How many of you got to stay home today? Having a good time?
We've go a new comment from Will:

I think Goosebumps Return of the Mummy by R.L.Stine is a good book because I like the way the mummy comes alive and scares people.

Good job, Will. I think you and cyber kid 303 may now be tied. I'm busy this morning and don't have time to figure it up, so I'll check it later. I'll also tell about some of the cool events at our Heroes and Villains festival.

You guys are writing in faster than I can post! This is great!!! Here's the latest from cyber kid 303:

I have not read all the Harry Potter books. I am in the middle of the third one, Prisoner of Azkaban. I have seen all the movies and I think the best is a tie between Harry Potter and the Sorcorer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The movies are really cool with the animations and special effects, but the books are better with more things going on. So far, I like the book Prisoner of Azkaban best.
I heard Darth Bill is sick and can't do the Beowulf program. I'm sorry he is sick.

Here are some books I really like.
Goosebumps books by R. L. Stine
American Chillers books by Jonathan Rand
Rotten School books by R. L. Stine
Captain Underpants books by Dav Pilkey
The Fudge series by Judy Blume
Judy Moody books by Megan McDonald
Hank Zipzer books by Henry Winkler
Choose Your Own Adventure series by R.A. Montgomery and Shannon Gilliganand
the Matt Christopher series by Matt Christopher.

I'm glad you like the Matt Christopher books. I like them too. I've never read the Fudge or the Hank Zipzer books, though, and you've made me curious.
Whew! Hard work keeping up with you all. Keep it up!!!
Carl

Tim absolutely loves magic tricks and he would do anything to go to one of Amaz-O's show.He asked his parents but they said no because it was so late at night.Then he sneaks out of the house the night of the show (and he has to take his bratty little sister with him or she will tell his parents he's sneaking off!) .But then when he got there he volunteered for a trick.But what he didn't know was he had to disappear. When he disappeared he just went in the basement of the place and he found Amaz-O's secret magic tricks but they aren't just secret they are scary like the snakes that come out and balls that multiply and bounce every where in all directions...

What I like about the book is that magic is fun and anyone can learn it and magic just will lite up a persons day.What I don't like about the story is that magic tricks are pretty cool just magic tricks aren't supposed to be scary there supposed to be fun and suprizing not like killing magic tricks thats just...not normal.

Greg still has that camera and he doesn't want to let go of it but his English teacher Sourball is very grouchy,too grouchy.Greg told everyone about the camera and everyone thinks he is crazy, Sourball, (Mr.Saur), tells Greg to bring the camera to school and take a class photo of everyone...

What I like about the story is that it's like Say Cheese and Die! Continues...But really it's kind of the same but it's more boring because you pretty much know what's going to happen because it is almost the same as the last book just with a new person in it that doesn't believe you.

Billy and Sheena get to go to their uncle's house for the summer and he is a underwater scientist so they get to swim in the oceon a lot,but they aren't supposed to go in the coral reefs but Billy likes them so pretty and peaceful,he goes in there,but there is something dangerous and part human part underwater creature...

What don't like about the story is that on the cover it doesn't look like what it sounds it just look like a shark and that's all not something creepy and weird.What I do like about the book is that my mom loves underwater things and sea creatures so if I would show this book to my mom and she read it she would no exactly what to do if she was trapped with a shark.I think.

Jerry get to visit his Aunt and Uncle in New England Jerry's sister Terri loves grave yards and Jerry hates them,but when he finds a cave he can't wait to explore it!Then kids tell him about the story of a ghost who haunts deep deep inside the cave and is over 300 years old...

What I don't like about this book is that I don't think there is such thing as ghosts and I don't think people realize that there isn't such things as ghosts but,there is such thing as spirits or demons and they might not just spirits or demons there could be things that people call ghosts and they could be what science hasn't figured out yet,and I don't think spirits really hurt people or haunt people or else it would be all over the news for attacks and people wouldn't be dressing up as them for Halloween.The book is also really not scary at all I didn't even get a little chill and none of my neck hairs stood up either.This book is kind of,it's hard to say it,but it was kind of not really boring.That was hard to say!

Greg stole a camera from a persons house and Greg doesn't know it but this camera is a very special camera.Because when he takes pictures something weird happens the picture doesn't ever turn out right it always turns out different and it is really weird because when he took a picture of his friend and it turned that his friend was laying on the ground sprawled on his back,his neck bent in a odd angle and his eyes shut tight...

What I don't like about the book is I love photography but I really don't think R.L was letting Greg get a nice camera because Greg talks about cameras a lot but he doesn't at least get a nice one??What I do like about the story is the story seems so long.This story really tells about Greg's life so barely even half way in the beginning of the story you know already what's going on!!

Skipper loves comic books and he has a ton of them in his room.He loves a comic book series called "The Masked Mutant" which is about a mutant who is trying to rule the universe!But then one day when he is going to the library he sees this really weird place it was kind of cool too it was reddish pink and had yellow and blue in it too..It looked like The Masked Mutant's secret headquarters!!!Did the Masked Mutant really live in this town??

What I like about the story is it is really awesome that this kid collects comics,most people these days don't collect or keep comic books anymore his comic books are cool it would just be nicer if R.L used "The Tick" or Spiderman" or "Batman" then that would be really awesome.What I also like about the story is the story seemed so long!Lots of stories seem really short and not really much of a story.

Gary needs a vacation and he needs one just for him and he has to have one soon,a long vacation too.The reason why he needs one is because he gets beet up every day even his sister hates him.Then his wish gets granted he gets to switch bodies with a kid,but when he finds out who the kid is he isn't exactly sure he wants to switch anymore because this kid isn't exactly a kid...

What I like about the story is that I would like to change into someone too if I really had to I don't exactly want to,I just like changes.This book is also kind of like "Phantom of the Auditorium" because most books don't have phantoms in them and most scary stories don't have bees in them either.

Steve will always remember Carly Beth's Halloween mask from last year for Halloween he though it was totally awesome,but he wants to get one just like it so he is wondering where she got hers ,at first she doesn't want him to do it so she doesn't want to tell him because she did the wrong thing and she doesn't want him to be sorry,but then she couldn't help it she told him he went there that night he took his friend too,the man that sold them wasn't there then his friend and him found some doors to the basement where all of the masks were...Was he going to steel them or would he wait 'till the next day????

What I like about the story is the same reason why I like "The Haunted Mask" except this is with a different person and he might steel it or he will wait.The story is almost the same as the first one.

Brooke's best friend Zeke gets the new role for the phantom and his directer says that the play was cursed but no one believed her. Everyone thought she was trying to trick them.Zeke really loves to dress up and scare every one on the cast so he is really in to it,mayby a little too far into it,oh well it is really fun anyway to dress up and act,but it isn't that fun when the night comes and a light comes crashing down on the stage...

What I like about the story is that most stories I mean a lot don't have phantoms in them,I don't know why because phantoms are awesome but they just aren't and this is like the only story I have ever read with a phantom so this story was exiting when I first saw it.This story is very scary and it tells kind of how to deal in Middle School when people are really mean.