Goosebumps – Ghost Camp by R. L. Stine is Goosebumps book 45 in the original series. Ghost Camp is scary as it plays with the reader’s mind asking what is real. This book has the fear of abandonment, the fear of fitting in, the fear of ghosts, the fear of possession, and the fear of being trapped. Stine usually lets off the tension by saying it’s a joke and having the kid believe it, but the same thing happens in this book. Still, Harry does not believe it and only plays along so as not to worry his little brother Alex. This book has the strongest brother bonding, the brothers are not annoyed with each other and praise the other’s abilities. The pacing is one of the best, there is tension in the opening scene and doesn’t let up until the end. The final twist wasn’t too surprising but was set up from the beginning and worked well for the story. The side characters were fun and served a purpose. The two ghost stories told within this story are so good and haunting. The Camp trilogy as I’m calling it consists of Welcome to Camp Nightmare, The Horror at Camp Jellyjam, and Ghost Camp is the best of the themed Goosebumps writing. Ghost Camp was published on July 1, 1996, by Scholastic Inc..

Plot Summary: Harry and Alex are the only kids on the bus as they head to a camp in the middle of summer. They get off the bus to find no one there and the bus driver tells them to walk down a short path to the camp. The camp seems abandoned when they get there, but the other campers and camp councilors come out of the forest to surprise them, saying it is a joke they always do to the new campers. The owner of the Camp tells a ghost story of a black mist that comes with ghosts, which Harry finds funny but no one else does, and shortly after he’s finished a black mist appears. Then everyone laughs uncomfortably. Harry starts noticing strange things when he drops his hot dog in the fire another camper reaches in with their bare hands to retrieve it and calls it a trick when questioned, a camper stabs himself in the neck with a fork as a joke. Harry knows something is going on but tries to act cool for his younger brother who starts noticing things too. Harry is going to find out the mysteries of the camp if it kills him, but it just might.

What I Liked: The pacing and the tension work so well in this story it makes it hard to put down. This Goosebumps book is scary since we the reader do not know what is going on. The story is well told Stine writes camp very well. I loved the brother’s bond which is very supportive and nurturing. The ending worked well on two levels it made sense for the story and released the tension at the same time. The two ghost stories within the story are great and if read out loud would unnerve kids today. I liked the side character of Lucy a lot Harry and her had chemistry that is usually ignored in goosebumps, it remains friendly but Harry likes her, you can tell.

What I Disliked: I would have wanted a little back story on the camp and how it got started. I wanted one backstory on how another kid arrived at camp.

Recommendation: Ghost Camp is one of the Best goosebumps stories so far. It is also one of the scarier ones. The way Stine writes camp is the best and some of my favorite stories are the camp-themed stories. I fully recommend Ghost Camp for any of my Goosebumps book lovers out there.

Rating: I rated Ghost Camp by R.L. Stine 5 out of 5 stars.

Ranking: Here’s my full ranking of the 45 Goosebumps books that I have read in order from my favorite to least favorite: 1) A Night in Terror Tower, 2) Stay Out of the Basement, 3) The Headless Ghost, 4) Ghost Beach, 5) Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, 6) The Haunted Mask, 7) Ghost Camp, 8) The Horror at Camp Jellyjam, 9) One Day At Horrorland, 10) Night of the Living Dummy, 11) Welcome to Camp Nightmare, 12) A Shocker on Shock Street, 13)The Phantom of the Auditorium, 14) It Came From Beneath the Sink, 15) The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, 16) Say Cheese and Die, 17) Let’s Get Invisible, 18) The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, 19) Welcome to Dead House, 20) Monster Blood II, 21) The Beast From the East, 22) The Girl who Cried Monster, 23)Deep Trouble, 24) The Ghost Next Door, 25) Say Cheese and Die – Again! 26) Night of the Living Dummy 2, 27) My Hairiest Adventure, 28) Be Careful What You Wish For…, 29) Return of the Mummy, 30) Why I’m Afraid of Bees, 31) The Haunted Mask II, 32)How I Got My Shrunken Head, 33) Attack of the Mutant, 34) Go Eat Worms!, 35) Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, 36) The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, 37) Bad Hare Day, 38) Cuckoo Clock of Doom, 39) Monster Blood, 40)Night of the Living Dummy III, 41) The Barking Ghost, 42) Egg Monsters from Mars, 43) The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, 44) You Can’t Scare Me!, and 45) Monster Blood III.