Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium by R. L Stine is book 24 in the Goosebumps original order. This book is an obvious reimagine of The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux with a Goosebumps twist. This book has some scary moments Going down into a trap door and getting stuck, being haunted by a mysterious phantom and getting stuck in the dark with out light. The book moves at a fast pace and stays focused on the phantom plot from the beginning. The twist was okay even though a casual Goosebumps reader will guess it. The plot relies heavily on misdirection but it is easy enough to see through and the subplot is full of jump scares. The scariest thing is a girl named Tina that is the understudy to the lead, Brooke, who keeps playing mind games and wants her sick, her story dies with the subplot but I could have seen more of Tina and her obsessive behavior. The Phantom of the Auditorium was made into an episode for the 90’s Goosebumps television series that is pretty close to the original. This book was also made into a one act musical which looks super interesting, here’s a preview I found of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHy3s… . I have been reading Goosebumps books in order and at the end of this review I have where The Phantom of the Auditorium ranks among the 24 Goosebumps books that I have read.

The Plot Summary: Brooke and Zeke are best friends who love horror movies and theatre. They audition for a play called The Phantom that was written 72 years ago and has a mysterious past. The legend goes on opening night of the Phantom the actor playing the phantom disappeared and was never seen again. Zeke gets the role of the Phantom and Brooke get the female lead that he desires. The play starts off being haunted, but when the cast discovers a creepy dark trap door in the stage, the goosebumps really start.

What I Liked: I liked the girl / guy best friend aspect, Stine has done it before, but it really worked here. Tina is the true horror that you loved to hate as she messed with Brooke. A couple of the jump scares really worked here. I liked the real story of the legend that we learn at the end. How the darkness of the trap door was described.

What I Disliked: How I knew the ending before it happened, I liked the story of the legend but figured out the twist really early. The rules of ghost and the supernatural were stretched a little thin.

Recommendations: I enjoyed this one and had fun with it. A good introduction to kids and the real Phantom of the Opera later. This story is more creepy then scary. I rated The Phantom of the Auditorium 4 out of 5 stars. Here’s my full ranking of the 24 Goosebumps books that I have read in order to my favorite to least favorite: 1) Stay Out of the Basement, 2) Ghost Beach, 3) Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, 4) The Haunted Mask, 5) One Day At Horrorland, 6) Night of the Living Dummy, 7) Welcome to Camp Nightmare, 8) The Phantom of the Auditorium, 9) The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, 10) Say Cheese and Die, 11) Let’s Get Invisible, 12) The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, 13) Welcome to Dead House, 14) Monster Blood II, 15) The Girl who Cried Monster, 16)Deep Trouble, 17) The Ghost Next Door, 18) Be Careful What You Wish For… , 19) Return of the Mummy, 20) Why I’m Afraid of Bees, 21) Go Eat Worms!, 22) The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, 23) Monster Blood, And 24) You Can’t Scare Me!