Goosebumps (1995 TV series)
Anthology horror series adapting R. L. Stine's books.
Goosebumps is an American children's horror anthology television series adapted from R. L. Stine's popular book series. The show presents standalone stories centered on preteens and young teenagers encountering supernatural and occult situations, closely mirroring the themes of the novels, with most episodes directly adapting the original plots.
In April 1995, the Fox Children's Network began working with Scholastic to produce an anthology series based on Stine's books, initially called *Goosebumps Theatre*, set to debut in the fall of that year. Fox planned to premiere the show as the lead-out program following *The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror* Halloween special. The series was primarily filmed in Ontario, Canada, using existing houses and historic properties in Toronto, Markham, and surrounding rural areas instead of constructing artificial sets. Ontario provided a cost-effective location with a flexible look that could convincingly stand in for the United States while keeping the setting geographically vague. Props were designed by Ron Stefaniuk and Alan Doucette; after the series ended, Stefaniuk kept many of the animatronic props at his own studio.
The show originally aired on YTV in English from 1995 to 2004, with additional runs in 2016–2017, and on Canal Famille in French in Canada. It aired on Teletoon and Télétoon in Quebec in 2015 and from August 13–18, 2019. Since 2022, Family and WildBrainTV have broadcast reruns. Internationally, Fox Kids aired the series in Australia in 1995 and in the United States from October 27, 1995, to November 16, 1998, with repeats on Fox Family until September 6, 1999, and September 3, 2001. Cartoon Network aired episodes every October from 2007 to 2009. The Hub, partially owned by Hasbro, aired the series from September 6, 2011, to October 5, 2014. Netflix has streamed all 74 episodes since 2013. In the United Kingdom, it aired on Children's BBC from 1997 to 1999, with repeats until 2001; CBBC heavily censored episodes, especially twist endings, while the UK Fox Kids channel aired mostly uncensored versions, though "A Shocker on Shock Street" omitted Mr. Wright's death by electrocution. In the United States, the series is also available on Tubi, The Roku Channel, and Paramount+.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Horror / Fantasy / Adventure / Thriller / Science fiction / Comedy
- Creator
- R. L. Stine
- Based On
- Goosebumps · R.L. Stine
- Developer
- Deborah Forte
- Theme Music Composer
- Jack Lenz
- Composer
- Jack Lenz (S1, 3) / Brad MacDonald (S2, 4)
- Country
- United States
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Language
- English
- Num Seasons
- 4
- Num Episodes
- 74
- List Episodes
- List of Goosebumps episodes
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In April 1995, it was reported that the Fox Children's Network was working with Scholastic to produce an anthology series based on the Goosebumps novels, under the working title Goosebumps Theatre, to premiere on the 1995 Fall schedule. Fox expected to premiere the series as the lead-out program for that year's The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween special. The series was filmed largely in Ontario, Canada, using different houses and historic properties in Toronto, Markham, and other rural areas as sets, rather than constructing artificial buildings. Ontario offered a cost-effective filming location with a versatile aesthetic that could convincingly resemble the U.S. while preserving geographical ambiguity. Props were designed by Ron Stefaniuk and Alan Doucette, and Stefaniuk retained many animatronic props at his own studio after the series was cancelled.
Reader's Guide
Goosebumps originally aired on YTV in Canada from 1995 to 2004, and later on Teletoon and Family. In the U.S., it aired on Fox Kids from 27 October 1995 to 16 November 1998, with repeats on Fox Family until 2001. It later aired on Cartoon Network, The Hub, and streamed on Netflix, Tubi, The Roku Channel, and Paramount+. In the UK, it aired on Children's BBC from 1997 to 1999, with heavy censorship of twist endings, while Fox Kids UK aired mostly uncensored versions. A Halloween 1998 marketing campaign with General Mills promoted VHS releases on 10 million packages. According to Billboard, some VHS releases were among the best-selling children's videos in November 1998. The series was released on DVD starting in 2004, with later revival sets coinciding with the Goosebumps HorrorLand books. A rebooted live-action series was announced in April 2020, heading to Disney+ in 2022, with a 10-episode serialized storyline.
Did You Know?
- Props were designed by Ron Stefaniuk and Alan Doucette; Stefaniuk kept many animatronic props at his own studio after cancellation.
- A Halloween 1998 marketing campaign with General Mills promoted the VHS series on 10 million packages.
- The rebooted series announced in 2020 will be a 10-episode serialized story, not an anthology.
More in American children's fantasy television series 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced