Name: Headless Halloween
ISBN: 9780590767811

R. L. Stine

Brandon thinks his impersonation of a headless freak is the height of Halloween scariness, until he gets invited to the creepiest costume party of all time, where guests bob for rats and eat doughnuts filled with worms. Original.

Headless Halloween

Colton Ray

Reread 10/23/16 

I hated this the first time I read it, but that was probably due to not expecting just how different this is from a regular GB book. This is way more demented and dark than your typical RL Stine, and it wouldn't surprise me if this were ghostwritten. It feels more like a twisted novella than something from under the GB moniker. The main character is still the most unlikable in the whole series, but it works in context. Parts of the plot feel random and unnecessary. The ending is probably the darkest in the series, paying homage to The Ghost Next Door #10 and The Headless Ghost #37. Still, I enjoyed it a lot more this time around, and the Halloween GB books are typically strong. I'm bumping up the score but leaving my original review for nostalgia's sake. 

Original review circa 12/05/13

I remember seeing the preview for this one as a kid and trying hard to find this book, but I never got around to reading it, and that was probably for the best. Unlike some people, I don't relish writing negative reviews. However, I also don't enjoy reading junk. The protagonist is simply the most unlikable Goosebumps protagonist out of all 62+ books. Apparently, in an attempt to upgrade Goosebumps from "scares" to "horror" R.L. Stine felt it necessary to insert an obligatory scene involving vomit in every Series 2000 book. It's not frightening, just predictable and unpleasant to read about. Incredibly, the protagonist, Brandon, dies halfway through the book. In order to regain his life, he has to save three people from being scared. Reading about the misadventures of this jerk is just not fun. The story gets some points for being pretty dark and even mentioning beer (!) at one point. However, I just cannot recommend this at all.

Headless Halloween

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