R.L. Stine Wants ‘The Haunted Mask’ to Get the ‘Goosebumps’ Movie Treatment

The first Goosebumps film featured cameos from various villains that have appeared in the novels, while Goosebumps 2 focused specifically on the ventriloquist dummy Slappy and other assorted monsters. Author R.L. Stine thinks that, of his many tales of terror, The Haunted Mask would be the one that would make a compelling film.

“I would like to see The Haunted Mask. I think that one would make a good feature,” Stine shared with ComicBook.com when asked which of his stories would make a good movie. “And maybe put together Haunted Mask one and two. That’s my best Halloween book, I think. If they did a third [movie], I would want them to make it a little scarier, and less funny. They go for laughs, which is wonderful, and they have scary scenes, but […] I’d like to see the movies just heighten the scares a little bit.”

Both films have been rated PG, making the frights family-friendly. The Goosebumps novels featured all manner of ghastly stories, with readers and their unique tastes finding highs and lows in the scares department, though they all offered an entertaining experience. Likely due to the filmmakers wanting to appeal to as many viewers as possible, the films have played it safe when it comes to startling sequences.

A fan-favorite entry of the original novel series is Welcome to Dead House, the very first installment. While fans would love to see that story come to life in a film, Stine has second thoughts about whether it would be too intense for young viewers.

“Well that was the first one, and I didn’t really have the formula, I didn’t really know what I was doing,” the author admitted when that novel was suggested. “See, now I look at Welcome to Dead House, and I think it’s too scary for the series. It doesn’t have the humor of the other books. I didn’t quite have it yet. But that’s interesting you said that, ’cause I think it does stand out, as far as scariness goes.”

Another beloved entry in the series is the fourth book, Say Cheese and Die, which had a more effective balance of humor and horror. Of that book, Stine confessed, “I had the right mix of horror and humor [on that book], I think.”

Stine himself made an appearance in Goosebumps 2, which is out now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.

Which Goosebumps book would you most like see get turned into a film? Let us know in the comments below!