The Stinal Countdown: Goosebumps House of Shivers #06: One Night at Camp Bigfoot

It's that time of year again. Time to talk about the first of this year's Goosebumps offerings. House of Shivers last year offered some middling books in my opinion. One a frustrating mess, the other really feeling like it intentionally held itself back from being something special. We have a camp book this time and with Stine, he almost always nails the camp books. He's had a couple clunkers, but the ratio skews mostly positive. Plus, Bigfoot's in this one. It's been a while since we've had a cryptid in a Goosebumps book. Hell, the last one was the Abominable Snowman and that book... existed. I hope this book can do more than just exist. Let's talk about One Night at Camp Bigfoot.

Oh right. It's this cover. I talked about it last year shortly after its reveal as it came under fire for feeling like it was made by AI. By all accounts, Robert Ball has never admitted to using AI for his work and some of the early House of Shivers covers do have concept art for them, so I don't buy the idea that he or Scholastic in general suddenly cheapened out and went full slop (Stine clearly has given THAT Instagram post but that's besides the point). That doesn't mean I like this cover. Bigfoot is decent in design, but I wish his pose was more intimidating. Though the burning marshmallows is a nice touch. But what really bugs me is the Bigfoot hole in the cabin in the background. How clean it is. How perfectly Bigfoot shaped it is. I would have preferred a more destructive looking scene that really sells that Bigfoot is a threat. It's a case of being too cartoony but somehow not cartoony enough to feel effective. It's a cover that just feels lacking to me. Again, I don't want to believe it's AI, I'll give the benefit of the doubt, but this just feels off for a Goosebumps cover.

Our protagonist Harper starts the story as her friend May-Lin points out how she always seems to draw monsters. Or Hello Kitty. Or Hello Kitty either being a monster or being eaten by Godzilla. Harper really doesn't know why, but all she can really draw are monsters. As they debate over if the Loch Ness Monster is real, a furry monster leaps out of Harper's closet. It's just her brother DJ in his mom's old robe. Also his name is just DJ. It was Dylan in the synopsis, but I can see that Stine changed it. He comments about a monster dropping him on his head when he was a baby with Harper saying he has no birth certificate because he was born in an egg. Thankfully I can bury the lede. If you're worried this is yet another puberty allegory book, then worry not, because it isn't for once. 

Their parents arrive and scold the kids for constantly believing in monsters and scaring their friends, but they think they have a way to get them to stop, or at the very least get them the hell out of the house for a few weeks. They show the kids a pair of T-shirts for Camp Woo Woo, an arts camp that their parents met at. There's drawing, pottery, even guitar and piano lessons. I hear they can be murder. Neither Harper nor DJ are too thrilled about spending their summer there as pottery and music lessons don't exactly thrill them. So May-Lin suggests something else. Maybe if Harper can pretend to be sick, she won't have to go. And that idea involves May-Lin putting spots on Harper's face with a red marker. Her parents almost buy it, but because May-Lin is bad at hiding evidence, they immediately clue in on it. Also the marker's permanent ink so it doesn't wash off too well, so congrats on going to camp looking like a pepperoni pizza.

The family drive to Camp Woo Woo, only to discover the camp is closed, which is odd since they paid an eight week fee. They investigate further and peer into the main lodge, only to find bears inside. No bowls of porridge or the shredded remains of a little blonde girl to be seen. The bears begin to charge at the family but they manage to close the door in time. A man shows up named Davis Hammond. He was the head counselor for Camp Woo Woo before the bears attacked. And given animal control says the bears are endangered, that means they pretty much have squatters rights to the whole campground and Boo Hoo, no Camp Woo Woo. But there just so happens to be another camp way back in the woods that could be a suitable replacement. The family drive deep into the woods and soon find a campground. A man with short white hair, a tan and a white mustache greets them and welcomes them to Camp Bigfoot. His name is Saul Sasquatch but everyone calls him Uncle Squatch, which, I'll say it again, is the Uncle thing normal or is that like a Stine thing? I'm guessing it's normal. Also, a very fitting name for a camp called Camp Bigfoot.

Uncle Squatch shows the family around and notes that first off the last name wasn't his real name, but he changed it to fit with the camp theme. He also says that there are stories of Bigfoot lurking around the woods and that most of the campers survive the summer. The parents doubt this whole thing, but Harper is excited at the prospect of seeing Bigfoot for real. And since Bigfoot is the state monster for Washington, this has garnered more interest, so much so that the big event of the camp is a search to find Bigfoot for real. As the family decide, they hear screams nearby, to which Uncle Squatch says is just a screaming practice being held by Ashley Yeti. If there is a counselor named Abe Bominable then this book is a 10/10. Ultimately the parents relent, saying Harper and DJ can stay for four weeks as opposed to eight. Then a giant dog named Tiny leaps at Uncle Squatch which yes, that is a great dog name. The parents finally leave as Harper and DJ get situated. They run into a very lifelike statue of Bigfoot and see a hawk flying around the camp, which is Hawkeye, the camp hawk. But when Harper asks if Uncle Squatch has seen Bigfoot, he just laughs and doesn't answer. 

The kids get situated in their cabins with DJ meeting a teen counselor named Andy Cryptowitz, or the Crypt Keeper. Harper arrives at her cabin where there's a girl named Cora-Ann in the bunk. After Uncle Squatch leaves, Cora-Ann tells Harper that she's hiding because she doesn't want to die, specifically at the furry hands or large feet of one Bigfoot. Then she laughs because it was an end chapter stinger-I mean a big fake. She was at Camp Bigfoot last year and tells Harper that all that happens at the search is Uncle Squatch wears a Bigfoot costume and scares them. That's all. Certainly no actual Bigfoot. But Cora-Ann says she's a werewolf, as in she's in the Werewolf cabin but also she's a werewolf, honest. The next door cabin is the vampires. Their cabin-mates arrive, Sophie, Carla and Reesa, who tell Harper that the camp really loves its horror. Harper mentions Camp Woo Woo's bear issue, but the girls don't fully believe her that the whole camp would go down by a bunch of bears. Unless one of the campers were eaten by a bear. Actually the bear just ate his hat. Was it a good hat? Ah yeah.

The girls leave the cabin and notice that the Bigfoot statue has disappeared! No, wait, Uncle Squatch just takes it to get its fur cleaned. At lunch, Uncle Squatch and Ashley Yeti tell the campers that tomorrow will be the Bigfoot search and that two years ago Bigfoot did show up at the camp and tore everything apart, with the campers escaping in time. The kids think it's a joke obviously, but Ashley warns them that they'll be out in the middle of the woods during a full moon, which Cora-Ann notes is when she'll transform. That night, Harper sees some counselors on their phones acting suspicious. She's too jazzed to stay asleep, so she drags Carla and Reesa out to the woods with her to search around. She almost falls off a cliff, and the girls find footprints. Big footprints. Bigfootprints? They then get lost for a minute before running back into each other. As they try to head out, they spot two people nearby eating dead mice. Harper immediately realizes that those aren't humans, those are werecats. Hey, if you're gonna remind of a Ghosts of Fear Street book, reminding me of a good one is always appreciated. The three make it back to the cabin and after a fake-out scare with Cora-Ann possibly not being in the cabin, she wakes up and confirms that those were definitely werecats given it's almost a full moon.

After a nightmare where she gets attacked by Bigfoot and pulls his head off, Harper wakes up and runs into DJ who is jazzed for the search. Ashley Yeti hands Harper some Bigfoot Spray to use on his face if he gets close. They're also given LED flashlights to help search. The search begins with Harper noticing the other girls don't have their jackets for the cold night, which Cora-Ann notes they won't need. They arrive at the campsite for the night as Uncle Squatch disappears. Harper goes to get firewood and gets attacked by BIGFOOT-I mean by Tiny the dog. She returns to the campsite as Cora Ann again talks about the full moon and becoming a werewolf. Suddenly Bigfoot arrives. The actual factual Bigfoot, carrying Uncle Squatch. The kids run as Tiny leaps at Bigfoot and attacks, only for Bigfoot to grab the dog and hurl him over the tents, injuring him. Animal abuse. This is definitely a "Stine's trying" book. Harper then sees Cora-Ann begin to transform into a Werewolf because she was actually telling the truth on that. But not just Cora-Ann, all the other campers. Yeah, they're all werewolves and werecats. 

Cora-Ann attacks Bigfoot, tearing at him, but he overpowers her, kicking her super hard and injuring her. Ashley then attacks, but gets easily bested and runs off. As Harper fears the worst, she also has no clue where DJ is. As Bigfoot grabs Harper, DJ comes back with the can of Bigfoot Spray. He gives it to Harper who uses it, but it doesn't work. Just as Bigfoot is about to destroy her, he puts her down and notices the red dots on her face. He screams, then runs away into the woods. Everyone recovers from the incident and decide to return to the camp. When they arrive the next morning, Harper and DJ's parents are there with good news. Camp Woo Woo's open again. But Harper and DJ say they're going to stay at Camp Bigfoot as this is the best camp ever. I guess that's a twist ending, but I'm not going to really count it as one. At least it wasn't "Then the Vampires from the Vampire Cabin showed up" or "Camp Woo Woo is actually full of zombies" or some shit.

It's the third month of 2026 and it feels like there is so much uncertainty as to what the future holds, only that a lot of it is going to suck. But thankfully there remains one constant in this world. R.L. Stine can still write a damn good camp book. I'll go as far as to say it's one of his best camp books. Maybe it's a case where after the mess that was Nightmare on Nightmare Street anything could be considered great by comparison, but honestly, this was really good. There's definitely a slow build to get there, with the Camp Woo Woo fake out stuff then having to set up Camp Bigfoot, the story of the bigfoot search and even if Cora-Ann is telling the truth about being a werewolf or not. But when it gets going, it really never stops being a solid adventure. It's also a book where nothing feels random or pointless. Everything has a part to play. The werecats aren't just something we see once and never return to, the build to get to Bigfoot is actually well done, and we get one of the best action scenes we've ever had in Goosebumps with Bigfoot feeling like a real threat. Is him being felled by fake measles a bit silly? Sure, but it's also a case where the comedy of Goosebumps actually works for a fun way to send us off. Only real downside is no real twist to the book, but also sometimes you really don't need a big twist. And yeah, a summer hanging out with werewolves sounds like a bitchin' summer. 

Speaking of, I actually like the werewolf twist. I had worried that it would be the end twist, but it actually being a part of the big climax really elevated this book. Is werewolves a crutch for Stine? Oh definitely. But much like camp books, he rarely if ever gets the werewolf story wrong. Of course a camp being full of werewolves isn't a new idea from Stine. This is reminiscent of The Werewolf's First Night from More Tales to Give You Goosebumps only there the big swerve of everyone but the protagonist being werewolves is the actual twist. Also Night in Werewolf Woods from Give Yourself Goosebumps does have camp and werewolves involved. But I maintain that this does in fact feel fresh enough. That the Bigfoot stuff is so important to the main plot, and the werewolf stuff is never tucked away, not just one random thing Cora-Ann says in passing. And that Harper not believing it can at least work because she doesn't really know what to believe from everyone. It's not a "This thing happened, no it didn't" style story structure like some of Stine's worst cases can be. And it does leave one with the question if Harper and DJ will become werewolves or werecats themselves. And any book that makes me wonder what happens next is always a positive. 

It also feels like every issue I had with the last two books were weirdly fixed here. The nonsensical issues with the plot from Say My Name! Say My Name! The cover monster actually mattering to the story which bogged not only Say My Name! Say My Name! but a lot of Stine's works. The horror actually having intensity and action which bogged The Last Sleepover, and the book not having to essentially tell the reader mid-book that nothing really that exciting will come from this. Ideas dropped and never mentioned of again? Not an issue here. Random segues that add nothing to the story? Nope. A place for everything and everything in its place. It's a clean Goosebumps book with actual effort put into it that actually feels like it tries. So yeah, doing this after Nightmare on Nightmare Street does feel like whiplash. Doesn't change my comments though as I feel books like this are exceptions, not the rule to a lot of his modern works, but it's at least proof that there is still an R.L. Stine that tries and sometimes succeeds in his efforts. 

Harper is a solid protagonist. Good enthusiasm with her monster interest, but also someone who isn't sure what to actually believe once she gets to the camp. DJ vanishes into the ether for the most part once we get to Camp Bigfoot, but serves as a solid brother character. I like Cora-Ann. That she comes off as creepy and someone you aren't sure about, but could actually buy being a werewolf, which she is, which also earns her coolness points. Cara and Reesa mainly exist for the night search scene. Sophie is the Superfluous Clay as she just vanishes after her first scene. Uncle Squatch works well enough as a misdirect. Never feeling like a major threat but still someone unable to be trusted, same with Ashley Yeti. Tiny is a good doggo. And Bigfoot feels like Bigfoot. A large, scary and dangerous beast that could have done far more damage if he wasn't worried about catching whatever Harper didn't actually have. 

Overall, this is a great book. In terms of ranking it with the other Goosebumps camp books, I'd probably have it in fourth place, just behind Ghost Camp, Camp Jellyjam and my beloved Camp Nightmare. It's a bit of a slow start and you can definitely feel like the book could have benefitted more from not taking 60 pages to get going in this 148 page story. But the characters are solid, there's decent creepy vibes to the story, lots of action, a monster that matters, and a real feel of being a fun Goosebumps book that actually does blend the horror and comedy quite well. It's another example of House of Shivers so far being more good content than bad content. Hopefully last year wasn't a full preview of what's to come but you never know with Stine. We have a very odd one next time with a group of kids called the Night Birds who may actually be bird people. Will this be Night of the Squawker done right? After this book was so good and especially after Nightmare on Nightmare Street wasn't I shouldn't be giving Stine that much of the benefit of the doubt again, but we'll see in August.