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Stinetinglers #3
Stinetinglers 3: MORE Chilling Stories by the Master of Scary Tales
From R.L. Stine, the master of horror for young readers, comes ten brand new stories that are sure to have you keeping the light on at bedtime tonight.A boy things that a dream factory will help him make his slumber more fun...but what's the line between dream and nightmare? Two kids find an abandoned shack on the side of the road and are determined to make it their new treehouse... but is it as abandoned as it seems? A boy wants to impress a birthday party with this amateur magician skills...but how far will he go to wow the crowd? And each story comes with a personal introduction from Stine himself, adding even more chills.Laced with Stine’s signature humor and a hefty dose of nightmarish fun, Stinetinglers 3 is perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Stine’s own Goosebumps books who want even more scares. These chilling tales prove that Stine’s epic legacy in the horror genre is justly earned. Dive in, and these stories will stick with you long after you've turned the final page.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published August 27, 2024
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,522 books17.6k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
August 2, 2024
I requested this for nostalgia. I am no longer nostalgic.
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Young Listeners
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Young Listeners
July 17, 2024
As a kid and teen I loved R. L. Stine. I am glad to see him writing again for a new generation. This collection was definitely full of nostalgia for me even if all of the stories were brand new. I read the first Stinetingler collection and I think I enjoyed that one more, but I did enjoy this collection. I listened to the audiobook and I do think the narrators did a good job bringing the stories to life. A couple of the stories didn’t feel complete so while there was good potential I wanted something more. The story that had cross reality travel was very good (the narration switches really made this one) but I didn’t care for the ending and felt like there could have been something more that would have made it scarier, as it was the twist didn’t seem at all scary or creepy. I also felt like the fish story didn’t feel finished and didn’t fully tie back to the why this boy who hated rules ended up with these fish. The last third or so I enjoyed a lot more and had me finish this book on a very positive note. The treehouse story was very creepy (who goes back?!) and will stick with me. The body switching story was one of the most creepy of that type I have heard despite this being middle grade. And the dream story was very scary (even if I love the idea of being able to purchase a dream). Overall I definitely liked the collection and highly recommend it for both the young and the young at heart.
August 29, 2024
Ratings for each of the stories in this collection:
Full Moon Sleepover Party - 3/5
Werewolves. Enough for me to get some enjoyment out of it, although the story was predictable and retreads other short stories Stine has already written.
The Bad Luck King - 3/5
I liked the idea for this one, but it's a bit convoluted and not executed in the best way. A more unique take on the superstition tropes.
The Stray Dog - 2/5
Fish Food - 2/5
One of my least favorites in this book.
The Treehouse - 3/5
The Magic is in the Hat - 3/5
One of my favorites in this book - a more comedic story about a kid that wants to be a magician, but gets more than he bargained for when stealing an actual magic hat.
Oops! - 2/5
Didn't care for this one either. A fantasy story reminiscent of The Most Evil Sorcerer, a short story from Stine's Nightmare Hour book. It feels kind of random and like he made it up as he went along.
I'm Not Becka - 2.5/5
The Dream Factory - 2.5/5
Eddie the Flash - 1.5/5
Overall, I give this book a 2.5/5.
There were a few decent stories in here but none that I thought were great, and a few that I didn't care for whatsoever. Having been a Stine fan for as long as I have and having read so much of his work, most of these just feel like stories he's already done. Someone not as exposed to his work might get more out of this, but it was just simply "meh/whatever" to me. Not bad but not that good.
I think I prefer Stinetinglers 2 out of the three books, as that one had a few stories in it I rated more highly than the ones in here and the first book.
Full Moon Sleepover Party - 3/5
Werewolves. Enough for me to get some enjoyment out of it, although the story was predictable and retreads other short stories Stine has already written.
The Bad Luck King - 3/5
I liked the idea for this one, but it's a bit convoluted and not executed in the best way. A more unique take on the superstition tropes.
The Stray Dog - 2/5
Fish Food - 2/5
One of my least favorites in this book.
The Treehouse - 3/5
The Magic is in the Hat - 3/5
One of my favorites in this book - a more comedic story about a kid that wants to be a magician, but gets more than he bargained for when stealing an actual magic hat.
Oops! - 2/5
Didn't care for this one either. A fantasy story reminiscent of The Most Evil Sorcerer, a short story from Stine's Nightmare Hour book. It feels kind of random and like he made it up as he went along.
I'm Not Becka - 2.5/5
The Dream Factory - 2.5/5
Eddie the Flash - 1.5/5
Overall, I give this book a 2.5/5.
There were a few decent stories in here but none that I thought were great, and a few that I didn't care for whatsoever. Having been a Stine fan for as long as I have and having read so much of his work, most of these just feel like stories he's already done. Someone not as exposed to his work might get more out of this, but it was just simply "meh/whatever" to me. Not bad but not that good.
I think I prefer Stinetinglers 2 out of the three books, as that one had a few stories in it I rated more highly than the ones in here and the first book.
October 11, 2024
Review coming soon!
July 15, 2024
I loved the goosebumps novels growing up so I was so happy to get this arc. This is a collection of stories spooky enough for younger kids. I love R.L.Stine and I forgot how good his writing was! Definitely recommend for younger readers!
July 8, 2024
Loved it! I didn't realize that it was another book of mini stories, but I would rather have those than a dragged out novel like so many authors do today. The cover is amazing and this is the classic style goosebumps that so many fell in love with as kids. Some of the stories did remind me of his previous work but Stine still did it in his own way and made them new. Great for all ages!
August 26, 2024
"Stinetinglers 3: More Chilling Stories from the Master of Scary Tales" by R.L. Stine is an anthology of ten short stories in the horror genre for children. I enjoyed these as they weren't too scary but edged on it.
I gave a star rating to each story. Then, I averaged the reasons to get my overall rating of 4 stars. I had ratings from 3 to 5. Nothing rated lower than 3 stars. I gave four of the stories 5 stars!
My five-star stories were as follows:
✅️ The Stray Dog - alien story
✅️ The Tree House - ghost story
✅️ Oops! - magic and fantasy
✅️ I'm Not Becca! - zombies and body swapping, most scary
Most, if not all, of the stories are told in the first person, which puts you right into the action. The settings are well described. This was my first time reading R.L. Stine and I am very impressed with his writing skills.
The book is narrated by several readers: Johnny Heller, Katharine Chin, and Torian Brackett. They used the perfect narrator or set of narrators for each story!
I recommend this book for children and for adults who don't like really scary stories, but just a touch of creepiness.
Thank you to Netgalley, MacMillan Audio, MacMillan Young Listeners, and R. L. Stine for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
I gave a star rating to each story. Then, I averaged the reasons to get my overall rating of 4 stars. I had ratings from 3 to 5. Nothing rated lower than 3 stars. I gave four of the stories 5 stars!
My five-star stories were as follows:
✅️ The Stray Dog - alien story
✅️ The Tree House - ghost story
✅️ Oops! - magic and fantasy
✅️ I'm Not Becca! - zombies and body swapping, most scary
Most, if not all, of the stories are told in the first person, which puts you right into the action. The settings are well described. This was my first time reading R.L. Stine and I am very impressed with his writing skills.
The book is narrated by several readers: Johnny Heller, Katharine Chin, and Torian Brackett. They used the perfect narrator or set of narrators for each story!
I recommend this book for children and for adults who don't like really scary stories, but just a touch of creepiness.
Thank you to Netgalley, MacMillan Audio, MacMillan Young Listeners, and R. L. Stine for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
September 19, 2024
I went with the audio for this one too. It had a multi-narrator cast again, mostly tackling the different POVs, and they did a good job.
This is 10 more short stories from the master of middle grade horror. As always, I’m not really sure on the legality of these things, but I’m eternally wondering why all of his stories aren’t under the umbrella of Goosebumps. It’s his signature style anyway, and they all bring to mind GB stories anyway.
These 10 are spooky too, some of which were actually quite a bit scarier than the second book. Particularly the idea of trading bodies with a dead person, where in the story, this zombie kindly asks for 30 minutes inside a living body. You’d still be alive, but you’d shortly live inside their deteriorated zombie-esque body. To me, the ending, and what was left as the consequence, could have been even scarier than the story itself. I’d really have liked to see that become a full novel from Stine, with notes of Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls and (a really) Freaky Friday.
This one unfortunately did not continue on with Stine introducing the shorts. It was a bit jarring to hear someone random do it, and definitely felt like a downgrade. But I’m sure a middle grade reader probably would not notice something like that. Maybe he was too busy?
Spooky, eerie, silly, multiversal, and body changing, these stories from Stine continue to offer interesting and enjoyable places to go for a short while. While I feel like some of these hold back a bit more than Goosebumps did, I’m glad generations to come are getting their intro to Stine.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-stinet...
This is 10 more short stories from the master of middle grade horror. As always, I’m not really sure on the legality of these things, but I’m eternally wondering why all of his stories aren’t under the umbrella of Goosebumps. It’s his signature style anyway, and they all bring to mind GB stories anyway.
These 10 are spooky too, some of which were actually quite a bit scarier than the second book. Particularly the idea of trading bodies with a dead person, where in the story, this zombie kindly asks for 30 minutes inside a living body. You’d still be alive, but you’d shortly live inside their deteriorated zombie-esque body. To me, the ending, and what was left as the consequence, could have been even scarier than the story itself. I’d really have liked to see that become a full novel from Stine, with notes of Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls and (a really) Freaky Friday.
This one unfortunately did not continue on with Stine introducing the shorts. It was a bit jarring to hear someone random do it, and definitely felt like a downgrade. But I’m sure a middle grade reader probably would not notice something like that. Maybe he was too busy?
Spooky, eerie, silly, multiversal, and body changing, these stories from Stine continue to offer interesting and enjoyable places to go for a short while. While I feel like some of these hold back a bit more than Goosebumps did, I’m glad generations to come are getting their intro to Stine.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-stinet...
September 11, 2024
I loved these short scary stories. The introductions for each story are really neat. I am such a fan of books of short stories. The stories are creepy and a bit scary. They are just perfect for spooky season. I really enjoyed all the stories but some that stuck with me are the two treehouse ones, curse from an imp, monstrous pet fish, and Mary Poppins. I highly recommend this and the series. The narration was awesome! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.
October 15, 2024
I hate to tell you all this but @rl_stine1 is STILL killin it with scary stories!!! And some of these stories creep ME out more than some adult horror does! My favorite stories were the one about the treehouse (complete with uninvited guests, ha!) and the one about the dumba*ss who lent her body out to another spirit and may or may not get it back! Those two were creepy. Everyone loves #goosebumps !!
This would be fine for probably a 9-12 year old. Gigi isn’t Into audiobooks so she didn’t really listen to them with me, but this was a lot of fun for me, so her loss!!! Highly recommend for a spooky read!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to this on audio. I loved it.
This would be fine for probably a 9-12 year old. Gigi isn’t Into audiobooks so she didn’t really listen to them with me, but this was a lot of fun for me, so her loss!!! Highly recommend for a spooky read!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to this on audio. I loved it.
July 25, 2024
I enjoyed this collection of stories. My son and I listen or read to the RL Stine books together. This one did not disappoint. It's perfect for younger kids that may not have the long attention span. The narrators change with the stories. R L Stine books are perfect to get the scary without being too scary.
Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan audio and RL Stine for the opportunity to listen to this book.
Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan audio and RL Stine for the opportunity to listen to this book.
September 4, 2024
This was a fantastic collection of horror stories! Lots of fun with some surprise twist endings. Some fear based in the everyday, some not as serious. I enjoyed the authors notes at the beginning telling his inspiration for the next story, it added an extra layer to the fun. The narrators really brought this book to life with their enthusiasm.
July 14, 2024
I picked this book up for nostalgia's sake, and it did not disappoint. I was a huge R.L. Stine buff when I was a kid, and seeing a collection pop up on Netgalley gave me all the feels.
These ten stories had the same charm and appeal as they did back in the 1990s and were actually a bit darker than I remember the books usually being. (That's a good thing, as I had expected them to be pretty cheesy (in a good way) honestly.) Some of the endings were actually real horror endings, though not gruesome or bloody like a King book would be.
If you have a kiddo expressing interest in the horror genre, these stories would be an excellent way to ease them in. They have the spooky supernatural elements without being too dark, but they don't have cheesy Scooby Doo endings, either. It's a nice balance for a kid's book of horror stories. I was pleasantly surprised.
These ten stories had the same charm and appeal as they did back in the 1990s and were actually a bit darker than I remember the books usually being. (That's a good thing, as I had expected them to be pretty cheesy (in a good way) honestly.) Some of the endings were actually real horror endings, though not gruesome or bloody like a King book would be.
If you have a kiddo expressing interest in the horror genre, these stories would be an excellent way to ease them in. They have the spooky supernatural elements without being too dark, but they don't have cheesy Scooby Doo endings, either. It's a nice balance for a kid's book of horror stories. I was pleasantly surprised.
July 12, 2024
These stories brought back so many memories for me. I devoured every Goosebumps book I could get my hands on as a kid. So when I saw R.L. Stine was coming out with ten new stories I jumped at the opportunity to read them.
They didn't disappoint. They are full of great scares, humor, and fun. I think young readers will enjoy these stories and find them very relatable! From the girl who wants to fit in with the clique of “werewolves,” to the kid who buys dreams! I look forward to the day I can share my love of R.L. Stine with my son.
They didn't disappoint. They are full of great scares, humor, and fun. I think young readers will enjoy these stories and find them very relatable! From the girl who wants to fit in with the clique of “werewolves,” to the kid who buys dreams! I look forward to the day I can share my love of R.L. Stine with my son.
July 5, 2024
Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The author of Goosebumps is back with a collection of spine tingling stories.
What a fun book! I love the goosebumps books so I was excited to get this arc on netgalley! These stories are all spooky and creepy. They are written for kids so it’s not like super scary but I think it’s scary enough for kids. I was very entertained!
I also enjoyed the audiobook! I liked the different narrators throughout the book.
I would definitely recommend this to kids looking for some spooky stories!
The author of Goosebumps is back with a collection of spine tingling stories.
What a fun book! I love the goosebumps books so I was excited to get this arc on netgalley! These stories are all spooky and creepy. They are written for kids so it’s not like super scary but I think it’s scary enough for kids. I was very entertained!
I also enjoyed the audiobook! I liked the different narrators throughout the book.
I would definitely recommend this to kids looking for some spooky stories!
July 3, 2024
While I collect a lot of R.L. Stines, it’s been a minute since I’ve read one. These stories are for middle grade readers, but even as an adult I still enjoyed myself, even if I saw most of the twists coming. Not to give too much away but the body swap story was actually CHILLING. 😱
10/10 gave me goosebumps.
Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Macmillan Young Listeners for this eAudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
10/10 gave me goosebumps.
Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Macmillan Young Listeners for this eAudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 3, 2024
Great book for the age range it’s meant for. Not entirely spooky, some stories almost felt a little science fiction-y rather than horror, but should keep the attention of young readers and listeners. The audio is what made this book really shine. Read by various narrators, they all brought the stories to life.
August 5, 2024
it’s r.l. stine, what do you want me to say?
September 3, 2024
That’s right, Stine gives us a third round of Stinetinglers. These have been decent so far, but not my favorite short story work of his. Still, I’ve had fun so let’s see if this is the best one yet, especially since 2 was a modest improvement.
Full Moon Sleepover Party: Nessa longs to join a group of girls called the Wolfpack, even if she knows what they really are. This starts promising with interesting dynamics. She saves one girl but still basically gets shunned later, which creates an interesting situation with her going back and forth on wanting to be with them. But then the twist happens and it’s so overdone. On its own it works alright but even the little bit Stine adds has been done. It’s still mostly decent as a story with some deeper ideas in the setup but the ending makes it more played out. Fair start but not ideal.
The Bad Luck King: Lou and Ella visit their uncle, where they discover a bad luck charm. Yes, yet another bad luck story, This one starts out in a typical way but it actually goes in a new direction. The idea it introduces is a bit under explained but it is fun with how crazy it is. The set/up payoff is good and the resolution/twist is pretty wild. Feels rushed but at least it felt fresh. Final beat is typical but works. So yeah, it was fun enough.
The Stray Dog: Two boys find a dog that is more than it seems. This was pretty good actually. Not horror in a traditional sense but it was rather unique and fun. It involves someone from another dimension visiting ours and it’s mostly from their POV, more so than the human kids. We get to see the excitement they have about this at first and also the hardships they go through. It’s played for comedy but I did feel bad for them. The ending could have been a stronger or scarier punchline but it works alright. This felt rather fresh for Stine so yeah, pretty solid.
Fish Food: A boy who prefers to cheat steals some odd fish from the pet store which has some consequences. So most of this is just Awesome Ants. They’re told to only feed them a bit and they feed them more so the fish grow big. There’s decent flow and tension but it just feels like a been done thing. The cheating aspect isn't quite used so it’s more of a generic stealing thing than anything. The ending is a bit different at least but feels like a just okay note to end the story on. It goes down a typical route when it had a more unique setup at the start. Ah well.
The Treehouse: Miller and Della get a new treehouse but its haunted. This has a sound and solid concept but it doesn’t go anywhere too interesting. It flows well, doesn’t waste time and had some creepy-ness with the ghosts and how they act. But it doesn’t quite blow up like I hoped and we don’t know why the ghosts are here per say. Their defeat is just odd. Twist is functional but kinda typical. It’s a passable story, it functions, it just feels a tad underwhelming given the potential of the setup.
The Magic is in the Hat: A young magician who sucks at it steals a girl’s magic top hat. This one doesn't exactly get originality points, as we have a kid into magic who steals something magical and also there’s a girl named Ginny. Seriously. Thankfully this one is good. Slow to start as it focus on how he sucks but I do feel bad for him. The climax is solid with how chaotic it gets and the ending note is fun. Compared to Bad Hare Day, it’s more fun and has at least some mild tension. Could be tighter but it works.
Oops!: In the middle ages, Nathan is an apprentice to a wizard who screws up a fair. Got some Most Evil Sorcerer/How to Bargain with a Dragon flashbacks and while it’s not on the level of those it does work. It has solid flow and fun stuff with him becoming a frog. The ending is a happy note which works. It feels like a less hard hitting version of the stories I mentioned, mostly with the ending but again it’s unique-ish and fun enough to work.
I’m Not Becka: Greta switches bodies with a dead girl. More body swapping but this easily beats his other attempts. It’s a mash up of Ghostly Stare and I’m Not Martin and is the better version of those. The swap is logically (ish) explained and it gets decently creepy with the graveyard setting the decomposing body of the dead girl. It has a dark ending too and the ending plays out well. I wanted an explanation of one thing that ties into what happens to Greta at the end but otherwise this was solid and spooky, it just works well.
The Dream Factory: A shockingly not superfluous Clay discovers a place that can sell you dreams. This was a creative premise that is done well. There’s a fun weird dream scene at the start and while it takes a bit due to it being a more setup/punchline style one, that punchline works. It’s a bit obvious but works as a downer ending. A fun screw you type ending. It’s solid, just could have spent more time on the dream.
Eddie the Flash: A young comic creator faces his creation for real. We end on Stine trying out a comic story again and it’s mixed. It has a good setup as I like the comic characters and I really dig how passionate Eddie is. We see the thought he puts into his creations including how he plans fight scenes, it’s charming and makes me like him. But like always with these, it doesn’t make tons of sense as it goes. The ending is a weird meta twist that is kind of clever as it has Stine lampshading things but it’s also kinda lazy too? Not his worst comic story as it has some clever things to it but it doesn’t quite come together….Even if that may be on purpose? Weird note to end on.
So that’s Stinetinglers 3. Overall, a mixed bag. While 2 was a mild step up, this feels a bit lesser early on. The stories are generally enjoyable enough, I can’t pick an easy weakest this time per say. I guess the first one for how tiring the twist as, as well as the Treehouse one. These just feel the same tropes we’ve seen a lot which granted is less of an issue for kids. But it does feel like some of these do just enough to get by and that’s it.
But then the latter half kind of cooks. Sure, almost all can be traced back to some prior works but as it goes Stine gets more creative and creates some solid ones that flow well. My favorites are The Stray, it sticks out in that first half and I’m Not becka. One is fully refreshing and the other is decently creepy. It’s toned down again closer to the Tales books but Becka does make up for that.
The 2nd book did feel more consistently and better constructed on average but this has some bigger highs, I think my 2 faves are my faves in these alongside Skin. Lucky Me from 2 didn’t hit as much as my faves in the others. So the sauce is there, Stine just feels too autopiloty in about half of this compared to the more out there stuff like Dream Factory.
So yeah it’s weird. Mostly decently enjoyable but about half of it shows him running on fumes but it has these sparks of being more inventive. He’s announced that these did well enough to get a 4th so I’m hoping he can lean more into that for next time. I think he should stick more with short stories as there’s more chances in one place to get a banger and his writing style works best sometimes in these bursts.
It’s mixed but worth it for the highlights. I hope to review at least the first on the blog for more details. For now, here this is, it’s fine. Take of that what you will. Next I’m hoping will be the new House of Shivers and Haunted Mask Graphix but we’ll see.
See ya then.
Full Moon Sleepover Party: Nessa longs to join a group of girls called the Wolfpack, even if she knows what they really are. This starts promising with interesting dynamics. She saves one girl but still basically gets shunned later, which creates an interesting situation with her going back and forth on wanting to be with them. But then the twist happens and it’s so overdone. On its own it works alright but even the little bit Stine adds has been done. It’s still mostly decent as a story with some deeper ideas in the setup but the ending makes it more played out. Fair start but not ideal.
The Bad Luck King: Lou and Ella visit their uncle, where they discover a bad luck charm. Yes, yet another bad luck story, This one starts out in a typical way but it actually goes in a new direction. The idea it introduces is a bit under explained but it is fun with how crazy it is. The set/up payoff is good and the resolution/twist is pretty wild. Feels rushed but at least it felt fresh. Final beat is typical but works. So yeah, it was fun enough.
The Stray Dog: Two boys find a dog that is more than it seems. This was pretty good actually. Not horror in a traditional sense but it was rather unique and fun. It involves someone from another dimension visiting ours and it’s mostly from their POV, more so than the human kids. We get to see the excitement they have about this at first and also the hardships they go through. It’s played for comedy but I did feel bad for them. The ending could have been a stronger or scarier punchline but it works alright. This felt rather fresh for Stine so yeah, pretty solid.
Fish Food: A boy who prefers to cheat steals some odd fish from the pet store which has some consequences. So most of this is just Awesome Ants. They’re told to only feed them a bit and they feed them more so the fish grow big. There’s decent flow and tension but it just feels like a been done thing. The cheating aspect isn't quite used so it’s more of a generic stealing thing than anything. The ending is a bit different at least but feels like a just okay note to end the story on. It goes down a typical route when it had a more unique setup at the start. Ah well.
The Treehouse: Miller and Della get a new treehouse but its haunted. This has a sound and solid concept but it doesn’t go anywhere too interesting. It flows well, doesn’t waste time and had some creepy-ness with the ghosts and how they act. But it doesn’t quite blow up like I hoped and we don’t know why the ghosts are here per say. Their defeat is just odd. Twist is functional but kinda typical. It’s a passable story, it functions, it just feels a tad underwhelming given the potential of the setup.
The Magic is in the Hat: A young magician who sucks at it steals a girl’s magic top hat. This one doesn't exactly get originality points, as we have a kid into magic who steals something magical and also there’s a girl named Ginny. Seriously. Thankfully this one is good. Slow to start as it focus on how he sucks but I do feel bad for him. The climax is solid with how chaotic it gets and the ending note is fun. Compared to Bad Hare Day, it’s more fun and has at least some mild tension. Could be tighter but it works.
Oops!: In the middle ages, Nathan is an apprentice to a wizard who screws up a fair. Got some Most Evil Sorcerer/How to Bargain with a Dragon flashbacks and while it’s not on the level of those it does work. It has solid flow and fun stuff with him becoming a frog. The ending is a happy note which works. It feels like a less hard hitting version of the stories I mentioned, mostly with the ending but again it’s unique-ish and fun enough to work.
I’m Not Becka: Greta switches bodies with a dead girl. More body swapping but this easily beats his other attempts. It’s a mash up of Ghostly Stare and I’m Not Martin and is the better version of those. The swap is logically (ish) explained and it gets decently creepy with the graveyard setting the decomposing body of the dead girl. It has a dark ending too and the ending plays out well. I wanted an explanation of one thing that ties into what happens to Greta at the end but otherwise this was solid and spooky, it just works well.
The Dream Factory: A shockingly not superfluous Clay discovers a place that can sell you dreams. This was a creative premise that is done well. There’s a fun weird dream scene at the start and while it takes a bit due to it being a more setup/punchline style one, that punchline works. It’s a bit obvious but works as a downer ending. A fun screw you type ending. It’s solid, just could have spent more time on the dream.
Eddie the Flash: A young comic creator faces his creation for real. We end on Stine trying out a comic story again and it’s mixed. It has a good setup as I like the comic characters and I really dig how passionate Eddie is. We see the thought he puts into his creations including how he plans fight scenes, it’s charming and makes me like him. But like always with these, it doesn’t make tons of sense as it goes. The ending is a weird meta twist that is kind of clever as it has Stine lampshading things but it’s also kinda lazy too? Not his worst comic story as it has some clever things to it but it doesn’t quite come together….Even if that may be on purpose? Weird note to end on.
So that’s Stinetinglers 3. Overall, a mixed bag. While 2 was a mild step up, this feels a bit lesser early on. The stories are generally enjoyable enough, I can’t pick an easy weakest this time per say. I guess the first one for how tiring the twist as, as well as the Treehouse one. These just feel the same tropes we’ve seen a lot which granted is less of an issue for kids. But it does feel like some of these do just enough to get by and that’s it.
But then the latter half kind of cooks. Sure, almost all can be traced back to some prior works but as it goes Stine gets more creative and creates some solid ones that flow well. My favorites are The Stray, it sticks out in that first half and I’m Not becka. One is fully refreshing and the other is decently creepy. It’s toned down again closer to the Tales books but Becka does make up for that.
The 2nd book did feel more consistently and better constructed on average but this has some bigger highs, I think my 2 faves are my faves in these alongside Skin. Lucky Me from 2 didn’t hit as much as my faves in the others. So the sauce is there, Stine just feels too autopiloty in about half of this compared to the more out there stuff like Dream Factory.
So yeah it’s weird. Mostly decently enjoyable but about half of it shows him running on fumes but it has these sparks of being more inventive. He’s announced that these did well enough to get a 4th so I’m hoping he can lean more into that for next time. I think he should stick more with short stories as there’s more chances in one place to get a banger and his writing style works best sometimes in these bursts.
It’s mixed but worth it for the highlights. I hope to review at least the first on the blog for more details. For now, here this is, it’s fine. Take of that what you will. Next I’m hoping will be the new House of Shivers and Haunted Mask Graphix but we’ll see.
See ya then.
October 9, 2024
When R. L. Stine started making headlines as a writer with the Fear Street novels, I was already aging out of his target audience. I know that that's a weird thing to say given how I voraciously read books across all age ranges now, but having grown up on Nicholas Fisk and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, I was already well into Christopher Pike and adult horror territory when the Fear Street books came out. And they were fine. Interesting but not as deep or inventive as I expected or was used to, so it was pretty easy for me to tune out both that series and the massively popular Goosebumps books that would come out later, targeted at an even younger audience, while I set my sights on more mature reading.
But now that I'm a much older person with a lot more experience (and now that I've officially been a book critic for well over a decade!) I can look at his works and evaluate them as a professional instead of as a young reader. I couldn't say whether Stinetinglers 3 hit in quite the same way as it would have were I a young reader still, but I can say that it's quality horror writing, and something I'm looking forward to passing on to my own middle schooler, who adores watching the Creeped Out horror anthology series for kids on Netflix. Tho, as far as I can tell, the Creeped Out episodes tend to have much happier endings than the stories in this book do...
That actually surprised me, how the endings uniformly avoid the "problem solved, now the protagonists can go back to life as usual" sense of normalcy with which certain adults routinely baby children. Coupled with the almost wistfully written introductions to each story -- each vignette a short explanation of how Mr Stine came up with the idea for the story that follows -- this collection felt surprisingly mature and bleak, but not in a way that's at all age-inappropriate. Change happens, sometimes for the worse. Life is full of ups and downs, and there are going to be moments when you're in a bad spot because of things outside of your control. But, crucially, each spooky ending holds within it a seed of what could happen next. The stories almost dare the reader to keep going with the story, to fill in their own heroic endings. And if they don't want to do that, if they've gone through enough of a rollercoaster of emotion to want to rest here at the thrill point (so to speak) before they can pull themselves together enough to carry on, then Mr Stine indicates that that's okay, too.
And that's pretty genius, tbh. Giving kids a breathing point that says "here, rest, then decide" is a pretty important life lesson. Letting kids ponder on a problem before deciding whether they wish to continue to engage, on their own time, invites kids to engage in dialog with the text, while affording them the agency to decide whether this was enough or if they wish to continue in their imaginations. I haven't been trained in childhood education outside of my firsthand experiences with my own three kids, but that feels like something I would've loved to experience -- perhaps even did but never noticed -- as a young reader. Being able to approach fear and take a mental time out is a great way to learn perspective and allay anxiety, as well as to begin training oneself out of a freeze response to danger.
Perhaps I'm overthinking it. But as a person whose usual fear response is to fight, and who's been trying to work on resolving conflict by consciously choosing empathy and calmness, I know that a lot of the good stuff I've learned has been modeled for me just as much through books as through people I actually know. And, perhaps surprisingly, Spinetinglers 3 gave me that same sense of assurance I've been working on granting myself for so long: that I get to be in control of what happens next, despite all the scary and upsetting things that may have happened so far.
There are ten short stories altogether in this collection, each of a speculative bent that taps into childhood (if not universal) themes of longing, with outcomes far different than might be expected. The cover art is amazing, and the interior illustrations by David SanAngelo are terrific, too. There's no outright gory violence in this book but honestly, there doesn't have to be. Any pain is matter-of-fact rather than gratuitous and, again, entirely age-appropriate.
I'm not sure whether my appreciation of Mr Stine's work has grown as I have, or whether his work has also taken on more complexity with the years. But I can wholeheartedly recommend this collection to children who have an interest in reading scary stories, and to the adults who care about those children.
Spinetinglers 3 by R. L. Stine was published August 27 2024 by Fiewel & Friends and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
This review originally appeared at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
But now that I'm a much older person with a lot more experience (and now that I've officially been a book critic for well over a decade!) I can look at his works and evaluate them as a professional instead of as a young reader. I couldn't say whether Stinetinglers 3 hit in quite the same way as it would have were I a young reader still, but I can say that it's quality horror writing, and something I'm looking forward to passing on to my own middle schooler, who adores watching the Creeped Out horror anthology series for kids on Netflix. Tho, as far as I can tell, the Creeped Out episodes tend to have much happier endings than the stories in this book do...
That actually surprised me, how the endings uniformly avoid the "problem solved, now the protagonists can go back to life as usual" sense of normalcy with which certain adults routinely baby children. Coupled with the almost wistfully written introductions to each story -- each vignette a short explanation of how Mr Stine came up with the idea for the story that follows -- this collection felt surprisingly mature and bleak, but not in a way that's at all age-inappropriate. Change happens, sometimes for the worse. Life is full of ups and downs, and there are going to be moments when you're in a bad spot because of things outside of your control. But, crucially, each spooky ending holds within it a seed of what could happen next. The stories almost dare the reader to keep going with the story, to fill in their own heroic endings. And if they don't want to do that, if they've gone through enough of a rollercoaster of emotion to want to rest here at the thrill point (so to speak) before they can pull themselves together enough to carry on, then Mr Stine indicates that that's okay, too.
And that's pretty genius, tbh. Giving kids a breathing point that says "here, rest, then decide" is a pretty important life lesson. Letting kids ponder on a problem before deciding whether they wish to continue to engage, on their own time, invites kids to engage in dialog with the text, while affording them the agency to decide whether this was enough or if they wish to continue in their imaginations. I haven't been trained in childhood education outside of my firsthand experiences with my own three kids, but that feels like something I would've loved to experience -- perhaps even did but never noticed -- as a young reader. Being able to approach fear and take a mental time out is a great way to learn perspective and allay anxiety, as well as to begin training oneself out of a freeze response to danger.
Perhaps I'm overthinking it. But as a person whose usual fear response is to fight, and who's been trying to work on resolving conflict by consciously choosing empathy and calmness, I know that a lot of the good stuff I've learned has been modeled for me just as much through books as through people I actually know. And, perhaps surprisingly, Spinetinglers 3 gave me that same sense of assurance I've been working on granting myself for so long: that I get to be in control of what happens next, despite all the scary and upsetting things that may have happened so far.
There are ten short stories altogether in this collection, each of a speculative bent that taps into childhood (if not universal) themes of longing, with outcomes far different than might be expected. The cover art is amazing, and the interior illustrations by David SanAngelo are terrific, too. There's no outright gory violence in this book but honestly, there doesn't have to be. Any pain is matter-of-fact rather than gratuitous and, again, entirely age-appropriate.
I'm not sure whether my appreciation of Mr Stine's work has grown as I have, or whether his work has also taken on more complexity with the years. But I can wholeheartedly recommend this collection to children who have an interest in reading scary stories, and to the adults who care about those children.
Spinetinglers 3 by R. L. Stine was published August 27 2024 by Fiewel & Friends and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
This review originally appeared at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
October 5, 2024
Copy provided by the publisher
Alvin Schwatz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has an unholy hold over many of my students; while I still have the first edition 1980s copies that were in my library when I started working there, I've had to buy new editions to keep up with demand. Along with Lubar's scarier than you would expect Lawn Weenies books, San Souci's Dare to Be Scared and Short and Shivery collections, and compilations of different authors edited by Stine, (Scream and Scream Again, Fear, Nightmare Hour) these books have been the most popular scary short story collections that I have. Until Stinetinglers.
Stine certainly is a master of the scary book, from the Goosebumps goofiness of evil lawn gnomes and brothers who turn into birds, to the more serious, young adult You May Now Kill the Bride, which also has great historical details. My students know this, and have been recommending these books to their friends, which has been easy, since the covers are also scary! This latest book has a few stories that veer more towards concerning science fiction, but there may still be fights over who gets to check it out first when this book hits my shelves.
Once again, Stine prefaces these stories with the inspiration for them, and it's fascinating that many of these instances date to when Stine was a tween himself. I especially enjoyed the stories about a girl who wants to hang out with the school "Wolf pack" because she is a werewolf as well, the vacation that two kids take to their collector uncle's house, and the treehouse that is haunted by the owners of the shack that is used to create it. The stories about a dog from another dimension, experimental fish, and a boy who creates his own superhero seem to fall more into the science fiction realm. A couple are more fantasy, like a magic show at a birthday party that goes wrong, a wizard who isn't very good at magic, and a boy whose parents buy him a disastrous dream for his birthday. The one that I think my students will enjoy the most is the story of Greta and Kylie who like to make two minute horror videos in the local cemetery until the dead Becka appears and just wants to borrow Greta's body for one last walk!
Most of my Fear Street books finally fell into ruin, but there's no lack of fresh new titles for the newer generation of Stine fans, whose parents may well have a box of moldering 1990s paperbacks at the back of a closet somewhere!
Alvin Schwatz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has an unholy hold over many of my students; while I still have the first edition 1980s copies that were in my library when I started working there, I've had to buy new editions to keep up with demand. Along with Lubar's scarier than you would expect Lawn Weenies books, San Souci's Dare to Be Scared and Short and Shivery collections, and compilations of different authors edited by Stine, (Scream and Scream Again, Fear, Nightmare Hour) these books have been the most popular scary short story collections that I have. Until Stinetinglers.
Stine certainly is a master of the scary book, from the Goosebumps goofiness of evil lawn gnomes and brothers who turn into birds, to the more serious, young adult You May Now Kill the Bride, which also has great historical details. My students know this, and have been recommending these books to their friends, which has been easy, since the covers are also scary! This latest book has a few stories that veer more towards concerning science fiction, but there may still be fights over who gets to check it out first when this book hits my shelves.
Once again, Stine prefaces these stories with the inspiration for them, and it's fascinating that many of these instances date to when Stine was a tween himself. I especially enjoyed the stories about a girl who wants to hang out with the school "Wolf pack" because she is a werewolf as well, the vacation that two kids take to their collector uncle's house, and the treehouse that is haunted by the owners of the shack that is used to create it. The stories about a dog from another dimension, experimental fish, and a boy who creates his own superhero seem to fall more into the science fiction realm. A couple are more fantasy, like a magic show at a birthday party that goes wrong, a wizard who isn't very good at magic, and a boy whose parents buy him a disastrous dream for his birthday. The one that I think my students will enjoy the most is the story of Greta and Kylie who like to make two minute horror videos in the local cemetery until the dead Becka appears and just wants to borrow Greta's body for one last walk!
Most of my Fear Street books finally fell into ruin, but there's no lack of fresh new titles for the newer generation of Stine fans, whose parents may well have a box of moldering 1990s paperbacks at the back of a closet somewhere!
October 7, 2024
Ten, creepy tales come together in this third collection in the series, promising strange twists and more than a few unexpected moments.
Fans of R.L. Stine will be thrilled to dive into another set of tales, which flow in the usual Stine fashion. From a haunted treehouse to a body-switch on a graveyard, eerie situations surprise with various twists and themes. Each story begins with a half-page introduction from Stine as he explains what inspired him to write each one. These are interesting and give a fun insight into each story, making the reader see approach them just a tad bit differently.
The stories are darkish but carry Stine's unique dab of humor, which keeps each one more in the strange direction than in the out-right horror one. This makes these very appropriate for the middle grade audience. Some twists aren't hard to see coming but Stine's writing style draws in to make them fun, anyway. Others will stay in the head long after the book is over. It does make for a varied collection, which can be picked up and read as time allows. The stories are only a few pages long each, perfect for a quick read even for more reluctant spooky fans.
It's R.L. Stine as he's known and loved. I received an ARC and found this to be Stine tales as they have been longed enjoyed.
Fans of R.L. Stine will be thrilled to dive into another set of tales, which flow in the usual Stine fashion. From a haunted treehouse to a body-switch on a graveyard, eerie situations surprise with various twists and themes. Each story begins with a half-page introduction from Stine as he explains what inspired him to write each one. These are interesting and give a fun insight into each story, making the reader see approach them just a tad bit differently.
The stories are darkish but carry Stine's unique dab of humor, which keeps each one more in the strange direction than in the out-right horror one. This makes these very appropriate for the middle grade audience. Some twists aren't hard to see coming but Stine's writing style draws in to make them fun, anyway. Others will stay in the head long after the book is over. It does make for a varied collection, which can be picked up and read as time allows. The stories are only a few pages long each, perfect for a quick read even for more reluctant spooky fans.
It's R.L. Stine as he's known and loved. I received an ARC and found this to be Stine tales as they have been longed enjoyed.
August 28, 2024
I love how these stories end on a cliffhanger of sorts, it makes them more scarier this way.
There were some a loved, some I liked, and a couple that I didn't enjoy. I tried to put myself back in the mindset of 10 year old-Noelle when reading these. I think that I would have had a great time reading these when I was younger. Even as an adult there are a few that stand out.
These are my initial, very brief, thoughts on each story.
1. 👍A short story about middle school werewolves and cliques.
2. 😍 Sometimes your bad luck is just a curse from a little wooden imp.
3. 👎A scientist travels to another dimension and is stuck in the body of a dog.
4. 👍 Experimental monstrous pet fish.
5. 😍 Thanks to a haunted tree house you won’t look at walnuts the same way.
6. 👎A magician’s hat meets Mary Poppins bag.
7. 😍 This magician isn’t evil, he’s just Bad.
8. 😍 Zombie’s night out.
9.👍Don’t go choosing your dreams.
10.👎Guess you never know if someone else is pulling the strings.
There were some a loved, some I liked, and a couple that I didn't enjoy. I tried to put myself back in the mindset of 10 year old-Noelle when reading these. I think that I would have had a great time reading these when I was younger. Even as an adult there are a few that stand out.
These are my initial, very brief, thoughts on each story.
1. 👍A short story about middle school werewolves and cliques.
2. 😍 Sometimes your bad luck is just a curse from a little wooden imp.
3. 👎A scientist travels to another dimension and is stuck in the body of a dog.
4. 👍 Experimental monstrous pet fish.
5. 😍 Thanks to a haunted tree house you won’t look at walnuts the same way.
6. 👎A magician’s hat meets Mary Poppins bag.
7. 😍 This magician isn’t evil, he’s just Bad.
8. 😍 Zombie’s night out.
9.👍Don’t go choosing your dreams.
10.👎Guess you never know if someone else is pulling the strings.
September 17, 2024
This felt like a bit of a step down in quality from the last two installments of Stinetinglers (which were both outstanding), but there’s still plenty of good stuff here, even if it’s not quite up to Stine’s usual standards.
I was a bit more let down by this one than my kids were (they have consistently loved this whole series), and I think it’s because this installment had less that felt clever in a way adults might appreciate, and it focuses more on a big twist and humor than on anything you might really find creepy or eerie.
Part of the trouble is that the stories in these have become pretty formulaic, to the point where you can get predict the twist and the ending almost from the jump because they all follow the same pattern.
The humor is still charming and I’m not sure the repetitiveness of content will bother young readers much, but for this adult reader, it started feeling a bit shopworn.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
I was a bit more let down by this one than my kids were (they have consistently loved this whole series), and I think it’s because this installment had less that felt clever in a way adults might appreciate, and it focuses more on a big twist and humor than on anything you might really find creepy or eerie.
Part of the trouble is that the stories in these have become pretty formulaic, to the point where you can get predict the twist and the ending almost from the jump because they all follow the same pattern.
The humor is still charming and I’m not sure the repetitiveness of content will bother young readers much, but for this adult reader, it started feeling a bit shopworn.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
October 5, 2024
Stinetinglers 3 is a collection of spooky short stories written by the incredible R.L. Stine. Although these stories are marketed towards middle grade readers, horror-lovers of all ages will have a fun time reading these. Some stories I liked more than others (my favorite was the foggy cemetery one), but as a whole they brought a sense of nostalgia along with the spookiness. The multiple narrators really delivered as well.
Factoring all of the stories together, 4.25/5!
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Stinetinglers 3: MORE Chilling Stories by the Master of Scary Tales by R. L. Stine. My comments are an independent, honest review.
Factoring all of the stories together, 4.25/5!
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Stinetinglers 3: MORE Chilling Stories by the Master of Scary Tales by R. L. Stine. My comments are an independent, honest review.
October 17, 2024
I read R.L. Stine's 1st 2 Stinetinglers collections, Stinetinglers and Stinetinglers 2, earlier this year, after I got both of them last Christmas. Now I've gotten the 3rd anthology, Stinetingers 3 for my 34th birthday last month. It's the 2nd of 3 R.L. Stine books that were part of my birthday presents this year. (The 3rd and final book, Shark Night, will be my next book to read.) And the reason I'm reading all these books by R.L. Stine in October is, with Halloween coming up, that makes them very fitting for this time of year.
Like its' predecessors, this book is a collection of 10 short stories. Each of them comes with a brief introduction from R.L. Stine himself. Overall, it was a very good book that I really enjoyed.
Like its' predecessors, this book is a collection of 10 short stories. Each of them comes with a brief introduction from R.L. Stine himself. Overall, it was a very good book that I really enjoyed.
September 1, 2024
It’s hard for me to rate these as someone who isn’t the target audience. I was not really into these stories, unfortunately. I keep trying to chase that Goosebumps nostalgia as someone who was a horror kid and is now a horror adult. I feel like this would be great for a young person who is going through their phase of just getting into horror literature. I love RL Stine and I’ll keep reading these as they come out, but I can’t really say I’m a fan of them or recommend them.
July 30, 2024
I love the nostalgia that came when listening to these stories, but sadly, I had to stop listening to some towards the end because I didn't like the narrators. Though I did like Katherine Chin's narrations, and I would listen to her read more books.
The stories are engaging and quick; some I liked more than others.
Overall, it was a good collection that I enjoyed and I think kids would love it.
Thank you to Libro FM and the publishers for the ALC.
The stories are engaging and quick; some I liked more than others.
Overall, it was a good collection that I enjoyed and I think kids would love it.
Thank you to Libro FM and the publishers for the ALC.
September 2, 2024
My 6-year-old son and I were so sad when this audiobook ended. Perfect intro to very mild horror for little ones.
October 6, 2024
A wooden statue that brings bad luck. A tale of growing fish. The dog alien story was a little weird. Quick, little tales of horrors! Overall, I liked these stories.
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