When I thought about what book I should start this series with, the answer was obvious, one of my favourite ones which I think is criminally underrated in the goosebumps universe- Phantom of the Auditorium. If you are a cinephile you will notice that the title is a direct homage to a classic film, that is, Phantom of the Opera. More about that later, but let's start with the book itself.

Book 24 in the OG Goosebumps 62 series, Phantom of the Auditorium is set in a middle school where Brook and her best friend, Zeke are all set to play the lead in their school’s upcoming run of the play, ‘The Phantom’.The play is revived after almost 72 years because of the unfortunate incident that happened at the night when the play was set to be performed for the first time. Zeke and Brooke were really excited for their respective parts until scary things started to happen to their scenery. They set out to find the person who is trying to ruin their play, with the help of their new friend, Brian.

My Review (Spoilers!)

I loved the legend part of this story and how everything comes back to circle at the end. If you are a fan of the mystery and thriller genre in general then you probably would have guessed where the story is heading ever since the entry of Brian, but the ending was a good one. I did think the story was slow in the beginning especially because of Brooke and Zeke’s fiasco with the trapdoor. This filler in the story was completely unnecessary and overall slowed down the pace of the story but once the actual play is in action, it gets interesting. Now coming to the actual characters, there was not much background given to them so it's hard to either love of hate them. My feelings are neutral. Though I think we should have gotten more background for Brian’s character to completely empathise with him. Overall this book was a new take on a very old formula of using cursed legends. By the way, in case you all didn’t know there is a musical based on this book on Spotify, and it's awesome, I recommend you guys to listen it to maximize your experience. Lastly, if you are a fan of plays, legends and well….goosebumps, then definitely give this a read.

My Score: 3/5

(Not the best goosebumps book but a solid one)

OG TV episode: 

There is a TV episode for this book available on Youtube but let's be honest the original '90s goosebumps episodes haven’t aged well in terms of VFX, acting, or cultural relevance, so I am kinda scared to watch it. If you have watched it then tell me in the comments down below how you liked it. Also which goosebumps book should be next in this series?

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