The Ghost Next Door (Goosebumps #10)

## There's a strange new kid on the block....

Hannah's had a lonely summer vacation: Her friends are gone, too busy to answer her letters, and her small town's just about empty of things to do. About the only thing to do is keep her little brothers company around the campfire, until a boy named Danny suddenly appears living next door. Hannah's quick to make friends, but something about Danny just isn't quite right: He seems to come and go, disappearing at a moment's notice, almost as if he were a ghost....

[N.B. This review includes images, and was formatted for my site, dendrobibliography -- located here.]

Like any Goosebumps book, things aren't quite what they seem. Dark shadows start to haunt Hannah, intent on taking her out of the show more story. The Ghost Next Door is a finely-structured, classic ghost story. It's not quite scary, but rather thrilling. The mystery of the ghost's purpose and identity unravels in a really clever way. (Hint: The Ghost Next Door was the most prominent influence on the 2015 Goosebumps movie starring Jack Black!)

It's hard to discuss the plot without spoiling it. Rather than hinging on a last-page twist as most Goosebumps books do, the ghost plot goes through some shocking turns at the halfway point, completely changing the story's direction. It's not a major mystery, but is really satisfying to figure out regardless, and makes the Ghost Next Door one of R.L. Stine's most mature Goosebumps yarns.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#9 Welcome to Camp Nightmare | #11 The Haunted Mask show less

I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. Unfortunately, there is still always a risk of slight spoilers despite my best efforts. If you feel something in my review is a spoiler please let me know. Thank you.

It wasn't bad. Not creepy but sweet and kinda sad. My daughter seemed to have a hard time paying attention to this one. And I saw the 'big plot twist' coming a mile away. But it was a fun read to do with my daughter.

Hannah’s uneventful summer gets strangely eerie when a pale new boy moves in next door—but only when she’s asleep. He disappears overnight, the house seems abandoned again, and Hannah can’t shake the feeling something is off. Facing disappearing neighbors, ghostly visits, and creeping suspicions, Hannah must unravel the mystery before being stranded in a haunted world. R. L. Stine serves up a suspenseful, atmosphere-rich tale—spooky but not too scary—for young readers exploring gentle ghost stories with a twist.

this was way too drawn out for such a simple plot, maybe it's because I just listened to Welcome to Dead House and they're both so similar, but this was much more of a slog. That being said, it wasn't *bad* just average. I know I'll forget everything about this in a week or so.

I remember this as my favorite Goosebumps book, though rereading it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I think I was mostly really into the fact that the ghost wasn't the mysterious neighbor kid, but rather the main character. I also like that she's suddenly reappeared for a purpose, and I think the book really works because things have to go the way they do for her to be in the right position to save him.

Hannah Farichild is not enjoying her summer vacation as much as she would like¡Kshe didn¡¦t get to go away to camp with her friends this year, even worse than that is they aren¡¦t answering her letters. She can hardly wait for summer to be over and for 8th grade to start so that she can see her friends again¡Kbecause they seems to have fallen off the planet, they¡¦ve not written her once the entire summer. One day when she is bored out of her mind she literally runs into Danny Anderson¡Kthat¡¦s strange, she¡¦s never seen him before and yet he says he¡¦s living right next door to her. From there The Ghost Next Door turns into a fast paced ¡§mystery¡¨ as Hannah tries to find out more about Danny, his friends and the show more mystery behind why he seems to disappear so quickly when she¡¦s trying to follow him. Is he REALLY her new neighbor or is he a ghost?

I figured out the ending to this less than halfway though the book, but it was still interesting to watch Hannah puzzle it all out. The Ghost Next Door is a light, easy read¡Ka easy to solve ¡§mystery¡¨ with the typical twist that all of Stine¡¦s books seem to possess¡Kthings aren¡¦t always what they seem and I rather like that about this series¡Kyou always find yourself wondering what the ¡§surprise twist¡¨ is going to be. Overall, I give The Ghost Next Door three stars, it¡¦s a quick read with likeable characters (mostly) that is pretty easy to figure out. show less

So, some Goosebumps books have proven to be uncommonly good. Not like, I'm terrified good, but good in an amusing and slightly disturbing way that makes me realize why some parents were totally on board with the idea of banning them in the 90s. While I still fall firmly onto the "don't ban these books" side of the fence, I can see why some were slightly disturbed due to, say, [b: The Curse of the Mummies Tomb|125601|The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (Goosebumps, #5)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867783s/125601.jpg|120966] or [b: The Girl Who Cried Monster|125581|The Girl Who Cried Monster (Goosebumps, #8)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328866711s/125581.jpg|120946] and some of the gorier descriptions. Not show more to mention scenes like the mask pulling in [b: The Haunted Mask|308540|The Haunted Mask (Goosebumps, #11)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867787s/308540.jpg|299495].

But for every scary moment in Goosebumps and decent book there's one like [b: The Ghost Next Door|464102|The Ghost Next Door|Wylly Folk St. John|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459885331s/464102.jpg|2012728].

Yeah. Great twist, this one has. show less