Claws! (Goosebumps Hall of Horrors #1) (1)

In the first book of the new series, Mickey and his best friend, Amanda, are taking care of his vacationing neighbors' black cat, Bella. They basically just feed the cat and make sure it doesn't claw the furniture. One day, they accidentally leave the door open and Bella runs out. They try to catch up to her, but it was too late. Bella was hit by a truck.

Mickey and Amanda come up with a plan to replace Bella before her owners come home. They go to a local pet store called Cat Heaven. The store carries different breeds and colors of cats, but they don't have one exactly like Bella. Before leaving, Mickey and Amanda stumble upon a room in the back where they find an exact match to Bella. The clerk won't let them buy a cat from the back room, so they steal it.

Now the trouble begins, as Mickey starts seeing more cats. Are these cats real or is he imagining them?

The Halls of Horrors is an old castle hidden in HorrorLand where kids come to tell a true scary story to the Story-Keeper. If the story is really frightening, the Story-Keeper will keep the story in the Halls of Horror. Unlike the previous Horrorland books, this new series doesn't have a continuing storyline, besides from the Story-Keeper being the narrator. Or maybe R.L. Stine has something up his sleeve and maybe the kids from this series will be gathered together in one book. Overall, I enjoyed reading Claws! and I loved the twist at the end.

After writing ninteen oringinal horror books by the Thriller Master, you might say that he would be finished by now! But it seems that Mr. Stine is still going on at it strongly. I'm missing some of the original first story arc of HorrorLand, but I will post my reviews of the first story arc once I get them.

Welcoem to the Hall of Hall of Horrors. A place where kids can find an old castle that can't be found on the HorrorLand map. It's a haunted place for visitors to come and tell their tale of horror to the Story-Keeper. He is the Keeper of their stories. Every story is different for each visit. And so the Story-Keeper puts their shadowy faces on a wall, to remind them that their story is safe with the Keeper. And so the first visitor is about a girl named Mickey and a cat named Bella. Lets begin the review, shall we?

There was nothing unusal about Bella, the negighbor's cat. that young Mickey, before te accident. The accident that changed his life for the worst. On the first day, Mickey and his best friend, were taking care of Bella, like they were supposed too, but had left the front door wide open, giving the cat a chance for an escape routine. Tragically, the cat gets smothered by a truck and is killed. Sadden, the two best friends, lose hope that they might be fired from their job, if they don't find a solution to their problem, promto.

Then, luckily, Amanda suggest they go to the look-alike cat store in town. They browse hundreds of cats that don't look anything like the road killed Bella of their neighbor's pet. But when the kids stumble into a back room, they discover several cages with the same kind of cat that looked exactly like Bella! But something doesn't seem right with these strange pussy cats. Could it could too real to be true, that these cats could actually be dead?

I bought this book for my 8 year old son to read, who is very picky about what he likes to read. When he ran out of books to read and I asked him if he'd like more Goosebumps books, the answer was a resounding, "Yes!" He's looking forward to receiving the next two books in the series.

Welcome to the Hall of Horrors! A place where the truly frightened and haunted kids stumble their way into an old castle hidden somewhere in Horrorland. The castle of the Hall of Horrors isn't found on the HorrorLand map. But kids somehow always manage to find it. They are greeted by the Story-Keeper. He is the keeper of their tales. In the first story called Claws!, a boy named Mickey must look after his neighbor's cat, named Bella, while they go on vacation. With the aid of his best friend, Amanda, who tags along to assist him. They must make sure that Bella has plenty of food and nourishment and doesn't completely extinguish the house. As easy as it may seem, this cat can be somewhat stubborn. Because one day, Mickey accidentally leaves the door ajar and Bella dashes outside. Uneventfully, the cat gets dispatched by a speeding truck. The truck driver doesn't realize what he has done and tries to apologize to Mickey and Amanda. But the cat is nowhere to be seen as the the truck driver goes on. Feeling with dread, Amanda and Mickey began to panic. They go in a frenzy. But not to worry, Amanda has a idea that might could save them from their tragedy. They discover their local pet store, Cat Heaven, that sells nothing but cats of all kinds. So they decide to investigate. But when they accidentally find a strange, hidden storage room, in the store, Mickey and Amanda are in for a surprise when they find out a black cat that looks exactly like Bella. But to their disappointment, the sales clerk refused to sale it to them. Because these special cats aren't exactly friendly. But they steal her anyways. They should've obeyed the store clerk, because these cats at Cat Heaven aren't really alive to begin with. But nobody told that to Mickey and Amanda. Now they are in for a shocking surprise, when they find out that Bella cannot be returned to Cat Heaven, because only it's true owner can carry out it of the store. I won't give anything else away, because I think you'll find that this story has a satisfying conclusion. Of course, the Story-Keeper will treasure Mickey's tantalizing tale for the Hall of Horrors. So go ahead, and scream... because "There's Always Room For One More Scream!" In the Hall of Horrors...!

The condition of the book should have been "fair" as the cover is a bit bent up. In my opinion, the price is pretty high for a used book when it is sold new for less. Then why did you buy it, you ask. Because I couldn't find it new! So it was a conscious decision and to list the positives: it is not ripped, has all its pages, it came when promised, and smells normal. I would purchase again. For the content itself? My 10 year old liked it so much she made me buy it and only told me afterwards she has already read it and just wanted her own copy. Thanks, kid.

I like to read something GB or Stine every year for the Spooky Season. I was grabbing a couple things from ThriftBooks this year, and added this one on for some cat thrills.

I strangely read this at the same time as/during/after two other reads (Wild Things by Ian Thomas/ Daphne by Josh Malerman) that also starred young kids/teenage girls. It’s interesting to see how all of the author’s portrayed them and the differences. This one features Mickey and Amanda, two twelve year old neighbors set to the task of cat-sitting for their vacationing neighbors. Amanda is the snarkier, bossy friend, and Mickey is more docile and aiming to please. Both are nicely age appropriate, screaming and crying at the right moments, especially when you think they should.

This is Hall of Horrors 1, which is one of the earlier Goosebump original spin-offs. With that being said, it is kind of darker than the 90s series was. There’s more ridiculous and somewhat violent things that happen to the characters too. Back in 2020, I read Fear Street: Cat, and although those were meant more YA, I feel like these read similar. Both in feline context and writing.

I feel like this book is what someone would write for children after seeing the 2019 trailer for Pet Sematary and nothing further (I know it came out before that).

Hard to find in New Condition...add to collection...

I love Bella she is a very interesting character. This is one of R.L. Stines best books. And it's very scary.

The book arrived in pretty rough shape. It appears to have been used.

Read this with my son and we LOVED it. We love the goosebumps. Highly recommend it. We always try to figure out what is going to happen.