Top 5 Goosebumps Covers That Freaked Me Out the Most as a Kid

As promised, here is my second Goosebumps-related blog entry. In the last one, (my review of Tim Jacobus’ and Sarah Rodriguez’s fine masterpiece, The Art of Goosebumps,) I told you the story of how I discovered my love of Goosebumps through the cover art, but today I wanted to delve into the topic in greater detail by counting down the top 5 covers that I found the scariest as a kid.

Let’s dive into it!

5.) The Haunted Mask - This was the cover that started it all, but, as you’ll find out, it was by no means the scariest. I first saw this book cover at a newsstand while on vacation as a seven year old. At the time, I tended to enjoy much tamer material such as Shel Silverstein and Roald Dahl, but this discovery was a shock. At the same time, however, it was a delightful shock. It’s hard to put into words, but I suppose my thoughts at the time were along the lines of “this is what the big kids are reading, and I want to be like them.”

Now onto the art itself, I find that Jacobus’ use of lighting and shadow plays a big part in creating a menacing atmosphere. Plus, the gleam of the mask’s teeth, the drool coming off the lower lip, and the glowing eyes are all a dead giveaway: this is no ordinary mask!

4.) Say Cheese and Die! - I was always fascinated with skeletons from a young age, starting with the classic 1929 Silly Symphonies cartoon, The Skeleton Dance. But this cover took skeletons to a whole new level because it depicts them in a setting where they are not expected. That and the tilted angle of the image give off a very unnerving, nightmarish atmosphere.

3.) Night of the Living Dummy II - This was the second Goosebumps book in my (at the time) rapidly growing collection, and I considered it an accomplishment because it was the first one I got that I found genuinely scary. There is something about the warped perspective, the pairing of the supernatural with the mundane (which, as it happens, was a technique that Jacobus used often in these covers,) and the dummy’s fixed stare that make this a satisfyingly creepy and unnerving cover.

2.) The Girl Who Cried Monster - Who in their right minds would create something so deeply entrenched in the depths of the uncanny valley, and, of all things, market it to children?? Only the intrepid and bold Tim Jacobus. That’s who! And if I might say so, he did a tremendous job here. The monster can clearly be identified as such because of his unnatural appearance, and yet he looks too much like a real human being. Yes, folks! This is the uncanny valley at its deepest and darkest, and these ultra-frightening covers are a part of why the Goosebumps books are so legendary and well-remembered today.

I also remember owning this one as an eight year old, but as with all the other creepy covers emanating from Jacobus’ twisted imagination, this wasn’t something I recoiled against but rather embraced as a truly proud owner. The scarier the covers, the more they appealed to the rebel in me. I always wanted to have the things I wasn’t supposed to have, and do the things I wasn’t supposed to do. And the more these covers appeared to be too scary for kids, the happier I was to own them in my collection.

1.) The Horror at Camp Jellyjam - More uncanny valley material here. This cover, like The Girl Who Cried Monster, features a monster that looks too human. But this one was scarier to me because, while the monster on The Girl Who Cried looks away from the viewer at his tasty meal of insects, this one pierces the viewer with a direct and menacing gaze. That, plus the lighting scheme, the foreboding sunset, and the clouds of mist around the houses, all make for an over-the-top creepy cover that gave us 90s kids fitful and agonizing, but fun and cathartic, nightmares.

Do you agree with my list? Which Goosebumps covers scared you the most when you were a kid? Sound off in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter for more awesome content.