Ghost Camp (Goosebumps #45)

by R. L. Stine

Goosebumps (45), Goosebumps: Publication Order (56)

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Harry and his brother Alex are at Camp Spirit Moon. The jokes the old campers love to play on the new campers are serious, creepy, scary ...

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13 reviews
## Be all that you can't see!

Ghost Camp's a surprising gem for coming so late in the series. Far different from the usual Goosebumps tale, this entry sticks close to the series' horror roots, playing out like a traditional ghost story in the woods.

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

Brothers Harry and Alex Altman are joining a summer camp late in the season, intending to spend a few weeks in the woods before the new school year starts. Camp Spirit Moon's the only camp accepting latecomers, however, and it's an oddball camp full of oddball characters, and hidden with nary a trail or guiding sign to point the way through the woods.

For their first night in camp, head show more counselor Uncle Marv shares some truly eerie, truly true ghost stories about a camp just like Camp Spirit Moon. Following that, the resident campers spend every moment trying to terrify the newcomers by, well, 'dying' again and again and again.

The camp's intentions are quickly revealed as sinister -- no spoiler going by the story's title -- and both Harry and Alex need to find a way to escape an oppressive black fog that's taken over the camp, the monstrous force living deep in the woods, and countless souls desperate to escape the woods in the heroes' place.

Straight spookiness here creates one of the most satisfying Gooseboops yarns in a long while.

Yohhhhhhhh Spirits!

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#44 Say Cheese and Die-Again! | #46 How to Kill a Monster
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I previously complained about [b: The Horror at Camp Jellyjam|125591|The Horror at Camp Jellyjam (Goosebumps, #33)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867788s/125591.jpg|120956] and [b: Welcome to Camp Nightmare|125538|Welcome to Camp Nightmare (Goosebumps, #9)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390767495s/125538.jpg|2687577] being essentially the same book. Little changes existed, yes, but the pacing of it was largely the same and that made for some rather boring reading. I was hesitant when I reached [b: Ghost Camp|411446|Ghost Camp (Goosebumps, #45)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867786s/411446.jpg|400708] in my increasingly depressing Goosebumps read through for that reason. Thankfully, show more [b: Ghost Camp|411446|Ghost Camp (Goosebumps, #45)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867786s/411446.jpg|400708] proved to be a rather pleasant surprise, even if it was just as cheesy as the rest of the Goosebumps books to an adult reader.

[b: Ghost Camp|411446|Ghost Camp (Goosebumps, #45)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867786s/411446.jpg|400708] was fun largely because it revolved around the ever entertaining trope of campfire stories. The stories in the book were entertaining, one of which I recall hearing at some point though I don't think I read this book before... It gave a nice, creepy atmosphere although the rest of the book was predictable as ever. I think this would be a fun book to read as a kid, or to a kid. I think it would keep a younger reader guessing until the end... where they would (hopefully) be laughing as loud as I groaned at the 'twist.'

So, yes, a very entertaining little Goosebumps book that finally broke the camp trope mold. Hooray!
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Not as good as The curse of camp cold lake, it has too many exclamation marks and false leads. The second half is a lot better than the first and kids should get a kick out of the mystery/revelation. The ending is a little cute/humorous with how it played out. Takes awhile to get into as the writing feels less sincere, but it warms up as it goes.
I love reading the story of alex and harry as they try to figure out the mysteries of camp Spirit Moon and stay alive in the process. The story starts off with two brothers on a bus but when they get off the bus they have to walk on a little trail in the forest to get to camp. When they get to camp it looks abandoned but a person runs up behind them and says that the entire camp has disappeared into the forest. then the horrors begin and everything goes evil if you like scary stories this is for you. Reader beware you're in for a scare.
#45 "Be all that you can't see!"
have you ever gone to camp and felt like no matter what you do you just don't fit in? That's the way it was for Harry and Alex at Camp Spirit Moon. The strange traditions at this camp make them feel like even more of outsiders. And the jokes that the older campers play are really not so funny. In fact they're pretty scary!
Harry and Alex are excited to go to Camp Spirit Moon, but things are a little strange. Everyone keeps playing jokes on them, there's blue slime on the floor, and it seems like people should have more problems than they do. It turns out that everyone in the camp (except Harry and Alex) is a ghost, and they're all trying to enter Harry and Alex's heads to take their bodies over and escape. Harry and Alex escape (though it seems Alex didn't escape being taken over).
½
This book is about the girl and her brother who go to the camp. Everyone is a ghost thats in the camp and they find weird kids like a girl who can go in the water for a long time and a boy who has a fork in his cheek. The girl and her brother get lost in the forest and something is coming closer and closer.....................

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Author Information

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1,160+ Works 183,838 Members
R. L. Stine was born in Columbus Ohio on October 8, 1943. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1965. Under the name Jovial Bob Stine, he wrote dozens of joke books and humor books for kids including How to Be Funny, 101 Silly Monster Jokes, and Bozos on Patrol. He also created Bananas, a zany humor magazine which he worked on for ten years. show more His first teen horror novel, Blind Date, was published in 1986 under the name R. L. Stine. His other works include Beach House, Hit and Run, The Babysitter, The Girlfriend, the Goosebumps series, and the Fear Street series. He also wrote an adult novel entitled Superstitious. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Ghost Camp (Goosebumps #45) (Goosebumps #45)
Original title
Ghost Camp
Original publication date
1996-07-01
People/Characters
Harry Altman; Alex Altman; Elvis McGraw; Uncle Marv
Important places
Camp Moon Spirit
First words
"You know I get bus sick, Harry," Alex groaned.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Elvis's voice came out of Alex's mouth. "Please, Harry, don't tell," he begged. "I swear I'll never sing again - if you promise not to tell!"

Classifications

Genre
Fiction and Literature
DDC/MDS
813.54Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English1900-19991945-1999
LCC
PZ7 .S86037 .GLanguage and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresJuvenile belles lettres
BISAC

Statistics

Members
1,181
Popularity
21,017
Reviews
12
Rating
½ (3.46)
Languages
7 — English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
25
ASINs
4