Nostalgic Chills: My First Encounter with Goosebumps

The Goosebumps series will always hold a special place in my heart, even though my introduction to it was far from typical. I vividly remember seeing the books at Scholastic book fairs as a kid. Their covers were irresistible—splashes of purple and green with creepy characters that seemed to leap off the page. But while I was drawn to them, my parents didn’t think those kinds of books were appropriate for me, so I could only admire them from a distance.

It wasn’t until a few years later but still in the 90s, when Goosebumps was adapted into a TV series, that I finally got to immerse myself in R.L. Stine’s spooky world. My first episode was the iconic “The Haunted Mask,” which premiered on YTV (the Canadian Youth Television Channel) during their Halloween Dark Night special. I’ll never forget the mix of fun and fear I felt watching it for the first time. The story was perfectly creepy—just enough to give me chills but not enough to keep me from sleeping afterward.

For me, Goosebumps wasn’t just a passing phase like it was for most kids. Even now, I can’t help but feel a wave of nostalgia whenever I think about those spine-tingling tales. They take me back to a simpler time, when the thrill of a good scare was just a TV remote away, and the world of creepy stories felt both exciting and comforting. Goosebumps wasn’t just entertainment—it was a gateway to the joy of exploring fear in a way that felt safe, sparking a love for the eerie and mysterious that has stayed with me ever since.