‘Goosebumps’ Is Not Nearly as Scary as ‘R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour’

On January 10, the long-storied history surrounding author R.L Stine’s Goosebumps series will once again hit the small screen. Just as the first season did, this new iteration (subtitled The Vanishing) will discard the isolated episodic storytelling from the 1995 television show and instead have one main horror arc stretched out over all the entries. Not only does the trailer seem to hint that the show will have thematic elements from Goosebumps books like Monster Blood, Stay Out of the Basement, and The Girl Who Cried Monster, but actor David Schwimmer (of Friends fame) has stepped into one of the main roles as a divorced dad who becomes the unwilling recipient for some dangerous science experiments.

But as much as this new season will surely be filled with spooks and scares (the story does continue following the “disappearance” of the five teens from Season 1, after all), a single episode from R.L. Stine’s other (and much underrated) series will always be much more terrifying. Enter The Haunting Hour — originally airing on the HUB Network and a much darker series than anything Goosebumps ever was — all crafted around R.L. Stine’s book series of the same name. Disney, eat your heart out.

Nobody Can Stop the End of the World in ‘The Haunting Hour’

Running for four seasons and 76 episodes, The Haunting Hour had one major difference from its 15-year-old predecessor. Even though the stories were similar in that they usually revolved around monsters, ghosts, and the like, the possibility of dying or suffering forever from some cruel fate from these various monstrosities was clear-cut. Not only could minor characters or antagonists actually be killed, but protagonists, too!

The Haunting Hour was not afraid to go all out on morality. That’s certainly the case with the 11th episode of the second season, “Scarecrow.” Even though your typical creepy villain is present (just like every other R.L. Stine-related story), the overwhelming feeling of dread and the looming end of the world make this one of the best Goosebumps-esque stories ever made.

Related

How Goosebumps Created a Generation of Horror Lovers (And Why It Still Works Today)

Did the series creep the hell out of you? Do you love horror movies now? There is an obvious connection and we need to talk about it.

Directed by Ken Friss (nominated for a Daytime Emmy and winner of a Leo Award), this December 10, 2011, entry of The Haunting Hour expands on a 1925 poem called “The Hollow Men” by poet T.S. Eliot. In the episode, actor Richard Harmon and actress Bailee Madison play siblings Jenny and Bobby, who work hard on their parent’s farm. A mysterious man soon enters their lives, offering Jenny a chance to rid the pests from her crops with the help of a scarecrow. Soon enough, all of Bobby’s cows disappear, their parents are nowhere to be found, and the rest of the townspeople vanish without a trace.

‘The Haunting Hour’ Has Phenomenal Acting for a Children’s Show

Jenny is then eerily cornered inside her house by the ominous scarecrow and goes missing, too. When Bobby returns home, he is confronted by the man who turns out to be not only an embodiment of the scarecrow but also a harbinger of the end of the world. He recites the poem with his last few words: “We are the hollow men. We are the stuffed men leaning together…” In the final scene, he shows himself once again as the unnerving scarecrow in Jenny’s field. Next to him is Bobby, now transformed into a scarecrow too.

Even though it is aimed at a younger audience, Scarecrow doesn’t stay within that storytelling mindset. The good guys don’t miraculously overcome the odds. The world ends with a whimper (instead of a bang), and Jenny, who is a child, becomes a permanent victim of this fiendish entity.

Even the alternate ending (airing only for the episode premiere) is not so gracious with the outcome. Instead of turning into another scarecrow, Bobby burns the original at the stake and slowly walks off camera, now alone forever. No matter which conclusion, the theme of hopelessness is vastly apparent. To think this isn’t a season finale. This is how their story definitively ends. The following episode, “Dreamcatcher,” follows new characters in a different story. While there are a couple of over-the-top moments that remind you that this is, in fact, a show aimed at teens, the cast goes above and beyond to bring this horrific situation across the screen.

Related

Goosebumps: Every Movie and TV Adaptation, Ranked

R.L. Stine’s popular book series has had its monsters adapted for the screen many times. Here is every Goosebumps movie and TV show, ranked.

Harmon’s facial reactions when confronting the Stranger in the kitchen convey finality — he might not understand what’s going on, but there is nothing left to do except listen to what the horseman has to say. Regarding the scream queen category, Madison’s visual and sheer terror while trying to escape from this eerie, moving scarecrow (that she put together herself) is top-notch fear. Juan Riedinger’s depiction of a doomsday herald is creepier than most modern-day horror icons.

Let’s be honest, Goosebumps: The Vanishing might just keep some of you awake at night, but there will surely be a happy ending for Devin and Cece Brewer. At the end of “Scarecrow,” all that was left was an empty sky, a long road, and a silent world. The Haunting Hour is available to rent on Prime Video and YouTube.