There’re plenty of Goosebumps stories that have fallen out of print. With each passing day, they grow more and more expensive online. It’s to the point where people charge hundreds of dollars on e-commerce sites for copies of “Slappy’s Nightmare” or “Revenge of the Body Squeezers.” However, these stories are still accessible in some format.
There are still several Goosebumps books which remain difficult to find anywhere. Unlike the standard Goosebumps books, these were created and distributed as part of special contests and games. You’re unlikely to find these online without a deep dive and some cash to spare. The completed format of one of these stories still isn’t available to the Goosebumps fandom at large.
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Chair de Poule Illustre – “Goosebumps Illustrated“
This was something of a surprise for me as a fan, but these came exclusively from the French Goosebumps line. Chair de Poule Illustre were a set of six Goosebumps novellas with illustrations. These came exclusively from the Tales To Give You Goosebumps short story collections. You had:
- Good Friends / On ne Touche pas aux Tarentules
- Click / La Telecommande Diabolique
- The Wereworlf’s First Night / Les Griffes de L’homme-loup
- The Perfect School / La Punition de la Mort
- The Scarecrow / L’epouvantail Malefique
- The Ice Vampire / Le Vampire de Glace
I own all of them except for “Click.” The difference between the English and French versions, aside from the illustrations, includes an extended ending for “Good Friends.”
Chair de Poule: Á Jouer: La Maison Du Vampire
Another French exclusive, according to the Goosebumps wiki this book was released as part of a board game.
The story was about three siblings and their pet dog trapped in a vampire’s house. Apparently, R.L. Stine had nothing to do with this tale. It was written by Jean-Luc Bizien.
Goosebumps: Haunted Library
In 1996, Scholastic collaborated with the Pepsi, Hershey, and Doritos corporations for a giveaway contest. Kids could receive one of three special Goosebumps mini-books, alongside a cardboard container. The three tales were:
“Bad Dog” – Siblings are followed by a vicious stray dog wherever they go.
“Don’t Make Me Laugh” – Two bullies are abducted by aliens that’ve forgotten how to laugh.
“The Halloween Game” – Three kids participate in a classmate’s bizarre game on Halloween night.
The three stories are roughly twenty pages each. Being pamphlet size that makes them about four or five full pages long. As collector’s items, they’re incredibly rare. Rarer still is the cardboard carrying case, decorated with logos for junk food brands and random stories like “Spooky Nights 2.”
With a stroke of luck, I found the entire set on eBay several years before they became really expensive. They remain especially elusive due to the fact they were never released outside of the United States.
