What do you think?
Rate this book
Fear Street #7
Haunted
Welcome to Fear Street.
Don’t listen to the stories they tell you about Fear Street. Wouldn’t you rather explore it yourself…and see if its dark terrors and unexplained mysteries are true? You’re not afraid, are you?
The Night Stalker
Melissa woke up screaming. The prowler was at her window…or was he? The recent headlines about a Fear Street prowler had everyone on edge. Her father now kept a loaded pistol in his bedroom. That made it even more frightening—and real.
Then the haunting began: her new car driving as if someone else had taken control; her birthday presents ripped open by unseen hands; an invisible force trying to push her out the bedroom window.
Out of the shadows of her bedroom came a menacing figure. Who was he? Did he really come from beyond the grave? And why had he come to kill her? If Melissa doesn’t solve the mystery fast, these questions will haunt her—to death!
Don’t listen to the stories they tell you about Fear Street. Wouldn’t you rather explore it yourself…and see if its dark terrors and unexplained mysteries are true? You’re not afraid, are you?
The Night Stalker
Melissa woke up screaming. The prowler was at her window…or was he? The recent headlines about a Fear Street prowler had everyone on edge. Her father now kept a loaded pistol in his bedroom. That made it even more frightening—and real.
Then the haunting began: her new car driving as if someone else had taken control; her birthday presents ripped open by unseen hands; an invisible force trying to push her out the bedroom window.
Out of the shadows of her bedroom came a menacing figure. Who was he? Did he really come from beyond the grave? And why had he come to kill her? If Melissa doesn’t solve the mystery fast, these questions will haunt her—to death!
164 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1990
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,518 books17.1k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
August 13, 2021
3.5
Woah, esto se puso oscuro. Necesito pensar qué quiero decir sobre esta historia tipo ghost la sombra del amor + pandilleros malandros.
Woah, esto se puso oscuro. Necesito pensar qué quiero decir sobre esta historia tipo ghost la sombra del amor + pandilleros malandros.
March 29, 2015
Rating as a book for this young of an age group, was better than the normal RL Stine fear street story.
From an adult perspective of course would not give a four star rating, but for the age group it was well done and well layed out.
The protagonist, Melissa, is from a wealthy family and gets used to teasing about her family's money. Even though she's well-off, she seems less snobby than some of her other friends. On her birthday, all sorts of weird things start happening, such as feeling the steering wheel of her car being grabbed by an unseen force. At home she encounters the ghost of a teenage boy she doesn't recognize, who said she killed him and his death is her fault. He wants revenge, but she claims innocence, swearing she's never seen him in her life.
The ending of this book is actually much deeper than most of Stine's other books, and it's pretty sad. When the bizarre mystery is explained, it's profound, and what happens is bitter and gut-wrenching, which isn't the norm for this kind of stuff. Color me impressed.
There is little creep factor, really. It's more of a mystery type Fear Street. Both characters are completely likeable. To me this is one of Stine's best works, and instead of relying on fun scares and light cliches, there's a real drama story here for young adults to enjoy.
As an adult, these books don't hold up well with writing style and chapter cliffhangers; however, it's great for young adults venturing into older, suspenseful type reading for their age groups.
From an adult perspective of course would not give a four star rating, but for the age group it was well done and well layed out.
The protagonist, Melissa, is from a wealthy family and gets used to teasing about her family's money. Even though she's well-off, she seems less snobby than some of her other friends. On her birthday, all sorts of weird things start happening, such as feeling the steering wheel of her car being grabbed by an unseen force. At home she encounters the ghost of a teenage boy she doesn't recognize, who said she killed him and his death is her fault. He wants revenge, but she claims innocence, swearing she's never seen him in her life.
The ending of this book is actually much deeper than most of Stine's other books, and it's pretty sad. When the bizarre mystery is explained, it's profound, and what happens is bitter and gut-wrenching, which isn't the norm for this kind of stuff. Color me impressed.
There is little creep factor, really. It's more of a mystery type Fear Street. Both characters are completely likeable. To me this is one of Stine's best works, and instead of relying on fun scares and light cliches, there's a real drama story here for young adults to enjoy.
As an adult, these books don't hold up well with writing style and chapter cliffhangers; however, it's great for young adults venturing into older, suspenseful type reading for their age groups.
October 1, 2010
Wow! I didn't know R.L.Stine could write so... sentimentally. lol. His books always spook me out and are kinda kiddish. The plots aren't SO awesome. But I gotta say, this book left me flabbergasted. First, the plot is real cool - ghost-from-the-future. Secondly, the ghost himself is a beautiful character, coming to the past and killing himself to save Melissa. wow, just wow. I love this book. The best R.L.Stine has written yet!!
January 18, 2018
3.25 stars
I really did enjoy this book for the most part! I think I also need to stop looking at reviews before I read a book. Afterwards sure, maybe see things differently or new things, but not before. That just leads to disaster.
Anyway I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. I needed to know how it would pan out even as I got worried about the ending. I related to Melissa in some ways. Not entirely because I didn't grow up rich but she isn't a typical snob. Her second guessing herself, her feeling frustrated that no one would listen to her, thinking maybe they were right, being timid but also being able to stick up for herself when she had too.
There is a lot of rape culture in the book. To me it always looked like a bad thing, it wasn't condoned in my eyes. She got frustrated, she said no, you heard her thoughts. If you honestly think that crap is ok i'd have to say the problem is with you, not the book. I do get how this book isn't for everyone though. Could it have been clearer? Maybe, but it seemed obvious to me. I like it didn't talk down to it's readers.
It's not the most well written, it's R.L.Stine and early in his career too I believe. But I did see it tackle some things and I really liked that. The ending could very understandably piss people off though. I see that clearly. To me it makes me think, and I like books that make me think. The plot was a bit...contrived to say the least. And a bit far-fetched. It's not ment to be a masterpiece though. I enjoyed it for what it was. As always these are just my thoughts on the book.
TW: Attempted rape, rape culture
Blog | Youtube | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram
I really did enjoy this book for the most part! I think I also need to stop looking at reviews before I read a book. Afterwards sure, maybe see things differently or new things, but not before. That just leads to disaster.
Anyway I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. I needed to know how it would pan out even as I got worried about the ending. I related to Melissa in some ways. Not entirely because I didn't grow up rich but she isn't a typical snob. Her second guessing herself, her feeling frustrated that no one would listen to her, thinking maybe they were right, being timid but also being able to stick up for herself when she had too.
There is a lot of rape culture in the book. To me it always looked like a bad thing, it wasn't condoned in my eyes. She got frustrated, she said no, you heard her thoughts. If you honestly think that crap is ok i'd have to say the problem is with you, not the book. I do get how this book isn't for everyone though. Could it have been clearer? Maybe, but it seemed obvious to me. I like it didn't talk down to it's readers.
It's not the most well written, it's R.L.Stine and early in his career too I believe. But I did see it tackle some things and I really liked that. The ending could very understandably piss people off though. I see that clearly. To me it makes me think, and I like books that make me think. The plot was a bit...contrived to say the least. And a bit far-fetched. It's not ment to be a masterpiece though. I enjoyed it for what it was. As always these are just my thoughts on the book.
TW: Attempted rape, rape culture
Blog | Youtube | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram
June 18, 2021
One of my least favorite Fear Street books, I'm sad to say. Great cover though! 2.5 stars
December 28, 2015
Main character: Melissa Dryden
Cameo: Della O'Connor (Melissa's best friend) and her now-boyfriend Pete Goodwin from Book #3
Plot: Melissa's parents don't believe her when she screams after having seen a ghost in her very own room. They, and her boyfriend Buddy, think she's just making things up. But the ghost who claims that SHE kills him, and is now determined to kill her for payback, is very much real...
What's the connection to Fear Street? : Melissa's house is there. The Fear Street Prowler is there.
the twist? : I am so glad I didn't read the book's blurb here beforehand. A ghost from the future? i'm sorry, that would have just ruined half of the book for me. Of course, I'd guessed this a few chapters before the reveal, but it was nice getting my prediction right.
Overall: this book might just be my guilty pleasure. It's really good. I was very intrigued to see how the story would fold out, and it was indeed satisfying. The ending was unexpectedly touching, too. It delivered right. In. The. Heart. However, I did wish for more interaction between Melissa and ghost Paul, or at least a heart-to-heart. But I guess this is a mystery novel above all, not romance. Duh.
Lingering questions: what drove Paul to be an alcoholic rowdy, demeaning, awful pain in the ass? All this talk about being poor, and yet none about what exactly caused him to be that way. He was probably abused, I guess.
Also, Della is best friends with Maia Franklin in Book #3, but there is no mention of her at all in this book. Poor Maia isn't even invited to Melissa's birthday party! That's what you get for being a crybaby party pooper, Maia.
Cameo: Della O'Connor (Melissa's best friend) and her now-boyfriend Pete Goodwin from Book #3
Plot: Melissa's parents don't believe her when she screams after having seen a ghost in her very own room. They, and her boyfriend Buddy, think she's just making things up. But the ghost who claims that SHE kills him, and is now determined to kill her for payback, is very much real...
What's the connection to Fear Street? : Melissa's house is there. The Fear Street Prowler is there.
the twist? : I am so glad I didn't read the book's blurb here beforehand. A ghost from the future? i'm sorry, that would have just ruined half of the book for me. Of course, I'd guessed this a few chapters before the reveal, but it was nice getting my prediction right.
Overall: this book might just be my guilty pleasure. It's really good. I was very intrigued to see how the story would fold out, and it was indeed satisfying. The ending was unexpectedly touching, too. It delivered right. In. The. Heart. However, I did wish for more interaction between Melissa and ghost Paul, or at least a heart-to-heart. But I guess this is a mystery novel above all, not romance. Duh.
Lingering questions: what drove Paul to be an alcoholic rowdy, demeaning, awful pain in the ass? All this talk about being poor, and yet none about what exactly caused him to be that way. He was probably abused, I guess.
Also, Della is best friends with Maia Franklin in Book #3, but there is no mention of her at all in this book. Poor Maia isn't even invited to Melissa's birthday party! That's what you get for being a crybaby party pooper, Maia.
January 20, 2014
I love this book! Although ALL RL Stine books are amazing reads and worth reading EVERY SINGLE book he ever wrote, this was one of the first ones I read and fell in love with the characters. This book had me so entranced I couldn't put it down. I read it all in just a few hours. It's spooky, romantic, and overall worth picking up to read. After I read all of my RL Stine books, I give them to friends and family to read as well. I wish I had only let them borrow the books because I would give my right arm to have them all back to re-read. Teens and adults alike will love these books! He wrote for an even younger generation when he wrote Goosebumps. My children and I enjoy reading them and I would suggest this author to EVERYONE!! He will scare you, while exciting you. He will make you fall in love, and sometimes cry. He gives you the ability to let your imagination run wild while giving you an intense, suspenseful read!
January 17, 2018
This was a re-read.
I read this book when I was a young teen. I couldn’t remember anything about it. This one was ok. There’s a big twist. I can see how some may not like it but it didn’t bother me. This one will probably fade into the background again. There wasn’t much to make it stand out.
I read this book when I was a young teen. I couldn’t remember anything about it. This one was ok. There’s a big twist. I can see how some may not like it but it didn’t bother me. This one will probably fade into the background again. There wasn’t much to make it stand out.
February 3, 2012
One of these classic books I read as a teenager.... fond memories ;) Now if only it were available on Kindle...
February 16, 2020
Finally a book with a supernatural being!
Haunted has finally broken the mold and given us a monster that isn't human. Melissa lives on Fear Street and I am kind of mystified why we haven't heard about her before. She is best friends with Della (from The Overnight) and some of our previous high school characters, and has lived on Fear Street for the last five years.
At the end of the summer, Fear Street is experiencing a string of break ins. They have deemed the culprit the Fear Street Prowler and the residents are worried and on high alert. One of these houses is, of course, Melissa's. So when a ghost boy starts to pop into her room, she panics. Now I don't know about you, but if a random ghost popped into my room and threatened to kill me, I'd call my psychiatrist. But convinced she isn't crazy, Melissa reasons with the ghost. She will find out who killed him in exchange for her safety.
Now this story's romance really bothers me. Buddy is painted as a "typical" teenage boy that is self-centered and completely heartless to what Melissa is going through. He has put his hands on her. Yes, grabbing a wrist to prevent Melissa from leaving is abuse. And as a DV survivor, I worry that Stine doesn't give these actions their importance. Again, we are 30 years in the future and hindsight is 2020, so I can't be too upset at him.
I enjoyed the ghost aspect in this story and the ending was satisfying.
Haunted has finally broken the mold and given us a monster that isn't human. Melissa lives on Fear Street and I am kind of mystified why we haven't heard about her before. She is best friends with Della (from The Overnight) and some of our previous high school characters, and has lived on Fear Street for the last five years.
At the end of the summer, Fear Street is experiencing a string of break ins. They have deemed the culprit the Fear Street Prowler and the residents are worried and on high alert. One of these houses is, of course, Melissa's. So when a ghost boy starts to pop into her room, she panics. Now I don't know about you, but if a random ghost popped into my room and threatened to kill me, I'd call my psychiatrist. But convinced she isn't crazy, Melissa reasons with the ghost. She will find out who killed him in exchange for her safety.
Now this story's romance really bothers me. Buddy is painted as a "typical" teenage boy that is self-centered and completely heartless to what Melissa is going through. He has put his hands on her. Yes, grabbing a wrist to prevent Melissa from leaving is abuse. And as a DV survivor, I worry that Stine doesn't give these actions their importance. Again, we are 30 years in the future and hindsight is 2020, so I can't be too upset at him.
I enjoyed the ghost aspect in this story and the ending was satisfying.
October 1, 2018
Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book
Melissa is being haunted by ghost who claims she killed him. But surely this is something she would remember, right? First the Fear Street Prowler breaking into houses on Fear Street to steal stuff, and now this? Poor Melissa.
I really loved the premise of this book! I was just as confused as Melissa throughout the whole thing! I could not figure out why Paul, the ghost, was claiming the Melissa killed him when she did not remember. Amnesia, maybe? Nope!
And while researching the dead ghost boy and deaths in Shadyside, Melissa actually finds nothing. No dead teenagers, not a single one. In Shadyside. I was like, “Umm excuse me but this is book 7 in the Fear Street series, there have definitely been deaths!” Especially those of teenagers! Lol. So yeah, this mystery was just bananas! But I liked it!
Oh, one part towards the beginning of the book, Melissa’s car was being controlled by, well, not her. It was very Cataluna Chronicles , which I’ve been dying to read lately! And if you don’t understand that reference, Christine, basically. Lol. It was pretty cool. I also love the movie Christine, but that’s beside the point.
Anyway, overall, I really loved this one! First of all I loved that there was an actual ghost on Fear Street! Second, the mystery surrounding Paul’s death and why he was haunting Melissa... so much YES! The plot twist was insane and I loved it! This is why I love this series!
Easter Eggs: Melissa's best friend Della O’Connor is the main character from The Overnight ! Pete Goodwin, Della’s boyfriend is also mentioned (and also from The Overnight). And last, David Metcalfe is mentioned, who is the friend of Cory, the main character from The New Girl .
The Fear Street connection: Melissa lives on Fear Street.
That’s one way of putting it. Lol.
Melissa is being haunted by ghost who claims she killed him. But surely this is something she would remember, right? First the Fear Street Prowler breaking into houses on Fear Street to steal stuff, and now this? Poor Melissa.
I really loved the premise of this book! I was just as confused as Melissa throughout the whole thing! I could not figure out why Paul, the ghost, was claiming the Melissa killed him when she did not remember. Amnesia, maybe? Nope!
And while researching the dead ghost boy and deaths in Shadyside, Melissa actually finds nothing. No dead teenagers, not a single one. In Shadyside. I was like, “Umm excuse me but this is book 7 in the Fear Street series, there have definitely been deaths!” Especially those of teenagers! Lol. So yeah, this mystery was just bananas! But I liked it!
Oh, one part towards the beginning of the book, Melissa’s car was being controlled by, well, not her. It was very Cataluna Chronicles , which I’ve been dying to read lately! And if you don’t understand that reference, Christine, basically. Lol. It was pretty cool. I also love the movie Christine, but that’s beside the point.
Anyway, overall, I really loved this one! First of all I loved that there was an actual ghost on Fear Street! Second, the mystery surrounding Paul’s death and why he was haunting Melissa... so much YES! The plot twist was insane and I loved it! This is why I love this series!
“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” Buddy said, shaking his head. “Even on Fear Street.”
Easter Eggs: Melissa's best friend Della O’Connor is the main character from The Overnight ! Pete Goodwin, Della’s boyfriend is also mentioned (and also from The Overnight). And last, David Metcalfe is mentioned, who is the friend of Cory, the main character from The New Girl .
The Fear Street connection: Melissa lives on Fear Street.
Fear Street is by far the most interesting street in Shadyside, she thought.
That’s one way of putting it. Lol.
September 13, 2020
I was super in the mood to read a Fear Street book so I picked up HAUNTED, trying to keep with the beginning of my spooky season theme I have going on, and was only vaguely disappointed. Ultimately HAUNTED is peak Fear Street. Melissa, basic Shadyside rich girl who’s so skinny she gets “made fun of,” is haunted by some greaser-looking dude in a Canadian tuxedo. He claims she killed him but she has no memory of killing anyone.
Considering this is Fear Street I would not have been surprised that Melissa had killed him in some blase sideswipe of her car or something and she just ditzed out and drove away from the scene/committed a felony that she got away with. Not outside the realm of expectation. But that wasn’t the case, thank god. I won’t give away the twist, but I do think it’s that twist that ultimately amped up the story from mediocre to decent.
Without that twist it would have just been a rich girl gets her comeuppance story and would have been really boring. As it stands she does spend a fair amount of time justifying the crappy personality traits of her paper weight boyfriend and even Paul the Ghost. Girl has no self-worth, apparently. But what she lacks in confidence she makes up for in hair volume. Because she has a ton of that. Another of her “flaws.” On noes. What’s a girl to do with all that luscious body???
Totally lame, but totally hit the spot in my Fear Street fix. The story was actually decent even though the characters left something to be desired (par for the course with these books) and the ending wrapped the book up nicely.
4
Considering this is Fear Street I would not have been surprised that Melissa had killed him in some blase sideswipe of her car or something and she just ditzed out and drove away from the scene/committed a felony that she got away with. Not outside the realm of expectation. But that wasn’t the case, thank god. I won’t give away the twist, but I do think it’s that twist that ultimately amped up the story from mediocre to decent.
Without that twist it would have just been a rich girl gets her comeuppance story and would have been really boring. As it stands she does spend a fair amount of time justifying the crappy personality traits of her paper weight boyfriend and even Paul the Ghost. Girl has no self-worth, apparently. But what she lacks in confidence she makes up for in hair volume. Because she has a ton of that. Another of her “flaws.” On noes. What’s a girl to do with all that luscious body???
Totally lame, but totally hit the spot in my Fear Street fix. The story was actually decent even though the characters left something to be desired (par for the course with these books) and the ending wrapped the book up nicely.
4
June 24, 2020
I really enjoyed Haunted in spite of a few really problematic aspects of it. It was well-conceived and thoroughly executed. The characters were typical of the Fear Street series but had enough nuance about them to keep things interesting. There were some genuinely creepy scenes and a premise that kept me guessing. Even though the story felt familiar, I didn’t mind. What I did mind was how shitty behavior on behalf of the two main male characters was so easily forgiven. I’m beginning to see a pattern in these books with boyfriends who have problems with boundaries and never believe the women in their lives. Some of them face consequences, but so much of it is written off as boys being boys. I know this is a sign of the times they were written, but it’s impossible (and quite frankly irresponsible) to not see them through a modern lens regarding gender and accepted behavior. I just wished more of these books ended with women realizing that they truly deserve better.
Score: 4
Full review with snark, gifs, and spoilers:
https://www.danstalter.com/haunted/
Score: 4
Full review with snark, gifs, and spoilers:
https://www.danstalter.com/haunted/
March 13, 2014
This is a typical Fear Street book with another one of R.L. Stine's crazy twist endings. I didn't think I remembered much about this book, but once I started it all came back to me.
This one is better written than some of the others I've been re-reading lately, and seemed less repetitive. All in all, this book was just fun to read again.
This one is better written than some of the others I've been re-reading lately, and seemed less repetitive. All in all, this book was just fun to read again.
May 4, 2021
A classic Feat Street with a supernatural twist. The story was majorly predictable but I still had fun reading it. I liked Melissa as the protagonist because she’s fully aware of her privilege and chooses to call out friends for putting others down for being poor. She’s also very aware that she’s not a very good driver. Seriously, the girl needs her license taken away...
October 21, 2013
This book is about a girl who lives on Fear Street, and there is a prowler on the loose. Newspapers are calling him the "Fear Street Prowler". When she sees a ghost in her bedroom, she has to help him find out who he is, AND WHY SHE MIGHT HAVE KILLED HIM!!!
July 6, 2013
Read this when I was a teen and absolutely fell in love with it. By far the best book he ever written.
November 30, 2015
This one was sad! It actually made my cold little heart twitch! I enjoyed this one because it was sad but it had a decent ending.
July 10, 2024
I just finished the book Haunted from the original Fear Street book series.This was a buddy read with a good friend of mine and I'm thankful for that.The story starts with Melissa getting scared of some scraping outside her window.She assumes it's the Fear Street Prowler.It turns out not to be though and it is indeed just a tree scraping the window.her parents sooth her and tell her everything is ok and all that.We learn Melissa's birthday is approaching and she has just been awarded a brand new car from her father.Melissa and her family are very rich so they can afford lavish things like this.While driving her brand new car, she feels cold air and what sounds like somebody whispering her name.All of a sudden the car starts moving away from the road and the steering wheel begins to turn all crazy and whatnot.After this Melissa is at her birthday party and finds out a bunch of her presents got unwrapped .Melissa soon learns whats going on as a guy appears in her room later and she assumes its the Fear Street prowler. The guy in her room introduces himself as Paul and Paul informs Melissa that he died and he is here to get revenge because she killed him. She of course has no recollection of any of this, because she in fact did not kill anybody.Paul also doesn't remember any vivid details of his death ,so she has no idea what's going on. She agrees to try to figure out how exactly he died and he seems okay with that for now. She ends up trying to tell her boyfriend Bud about Paul, but he literally thinks she's crazy. She gets mad and tries to get information from her friend Della and Della's friend who goes to a completely different School to no avail. Melissa tries to take her mind off of things by going out with Bud to this place called the Red Heat. While there they get into a fight again over ghostly Paul. So she ends up leaving but this is where the story kind of falls apart for me .She sees Paul in person ,not a ghost with some very much alive friends and they're out drinking and they end up making her very uncomfortable. So she runs away. When she goes back to her house and ask Paul about what's going on he doesn't seem to know anything. This is getting into some spoiler territory so I'm going to kind of skip over a little bit but basically we think we learn what is actually going on with Paul and it's actually really dumb. I didn't like this reveal it made zero logical sense. I know this is a Fear Street book but come on. And after we get this reveal the book turns kind of into a person trying to save somebody type of thing and it just doesn't work. I did enjoy some of the themes that were more mature in this book. There's a scene where Melissa is driving and Paul appears in the passenger seat and she runs directly in to a person in front of her and he gets out of the car very mad and he asks her if she is "stoned or something" which is a direct drug reference. There is also a scene where she is getting undressed and she thinks that the ghost is around and says that she is kind of excited about it ,which was a little different ,needless to say. Haunted was definitely a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the ghost stuff and I enjoyed the early parts of the book, but when we find out exactly what's going on with Paul it definitely falls apart. I give Haunted a three out of five stars.
May 29, 2014
Finally! A Fear Street book that lives up to my memory. I was beginning to think that I was delusional - or just had really crappy taste as a pre-teen. But, no, this book is definitely one of the series better offerings. The characters are still pretty superficial, but what do you expect from a book that taps out at 168 pages? There is actually something creepy going down on Fear Street in this outing, and the series finally ventures into the paranormal. It isn't immediately obvious what's happening, which is an improvement over the last four books I've read in the series (still waiting for books 2 and 6 - the perils of ordering used books online!). The central mystery feels more like something from Supernatural than from Scooby Doo, and you actually root for the main character to figure it out before it's too late. A quick, fun read that you won't want to put down until you finish.
May 23, 2013
This was my first R.L. Stine book that I got from the library about 15 years ago and fell in love with this author. He is an amazing writer and every book that I have read of his I love. I own all of his Fear Street's books and other ones.
March 2, 2014
Imagine a ghost has been following you and blaming you for the cause of their death. What would you do? If you want to find out more, read this book. It's amazing!
March 25, 2018
There are trigger warnings for this book: Attempted rape, rape culture.
I liked the story. It was written decently enough, but it lacks depth. It almost feels like it is purposely written in a simplified way because the target audience isn't given enough credit. (The target audience being teens/young adults.)
You can tell it is pretty dated, but since I read it back in the 90s, I feel nostalgia toward it. The little plot twist was a bit meh. It wasn't spooky or anything after you know the truth. Honestly, do you expect any of these books to be scary? They are cheesy, for sure, but in a good way. A perfect nostalgia guilty pleasure read.
They kept talking about the main character being so skinny and having wild, messy hair and saying she needs to fix it or get it cut. She was being teased for being skinny and that is just as bad as shamming someone for being overweight. It sounded like they thought curly hair was bad and straight hair was good. Just a little thing I noticed.
Trigger warnings ARE NOT a spoiler, so here they are in more detail:
The whole book had very high rape vibes, rape culture. She said no and he kept coming for her. That is attempted rape, people. His friends also laugh and encourage him. The main character is stalked by a guy, he comes onto her inappropriately, even after she says she's not into him, she is nearly attacked and probably would have been raped had this not been written/targeted toward teens. He also seems like he is very entitled to her because she's a rich spoiled girl and would never like him because he's a poor guy. For this reason, he has really come to hate her.
I liked the story. It was written decently enough, but it lacks depth. It almost feels like it is purposely written in a simplified way because the target audience isn't given enough credit. (The target audience being teens/young adults.)
You can tell it is pretty dated, but since I read it back in the 90s, I feel nostalgia toward it. The little plot twist was a bit meh. It wasn't spooky or anything after you know the truth. Honestly, do you expect any of these books to be scary? They are cheesy, for sure, but in a good way. A perfect nostalgia guilty pleasure read.
They kept talking about the main character being so skinny and having wild, messy hair and saying she needs to fix it or get it cut. She was being teased for being skinny and that is just as bad as shamming someone for being overweight. It sounded like they thought curly hair was bad and straight hair was good. Just a little thing I noticed.
Trigger warnings ARE NOT a spoiler, so here they are in more detail:
The whole book had very high rape vibes, rape culture. She said no and he kept coming for her. That is attempted rape, people. His friends also laugh and encourage him. The main character is stalked by a guy, he comes onto her inappropriately, even after she says she's not into him, she is nearly attacked and probably would have been raped had this not been written/targeted toward teens. He also seems like he is very entitled to her because she's a rich spoiled girl and would never like him because he's a poor guy. For this reason, he has really come to hate her.
September 23, 2023
This is R L Stine at his best. I loved it.
We have heard of ghosts coming back after they have been killed but in this book
Imagine seeing a ghost who accuses you of murder
Imagine the ghost wanting revenge
However
Imagine going out and then seeing the ghost alive
What would you do
What would you believe
How can this be
Read and find out
Everything is not necessary understandable until it happens to you
We have heard of ghosts coming back after they have been killed but in this book
Imagine seeing a ghost who accuses you of murder
Imagine the ghost wanting revenge
However
Imagine going out and then seeing the ghost alive
What would you do
What would you believe
How can this be
Read and find out
Everything is not necessary understandable until it happens to you
July 3, 2017
My reaction upon finishing this book:
Look. I get it. This book was written in 1990 and a whole lot of behavior that was acceptable back then isn't now. I enjoy reading old fear street books despite the problematic shit I normally come across. But this book was just a hot mess of bad writing, classism and rape culture.
I'm basically going to spoil the whole book so if you don't want to know the ending don't click.
Spoiler Free Summary: Girl gets sexually harassed, pressured for sex and almost raped. Those storylines make up most of the 160 pages. Also poor people cannot be trusted because they're all drunk criminals.
It is not good times for anyone. Especially when you remember this book was targeted toward young teens.
I have a few other Fear Street books checked out from the library and I'm planning on reading them. Just hoping they contain less attempted rape and sexual harassment.
Look. I get it. This book was written in 1990 and a whole lot of behavior that was acceptable back then isn't now. I enjoy reading old fear street books despite the problematic shit I normally come across. But this book was just a hot mess of bad writing, classism and rape culture.
I'm basically going to spoil the whole book so if you don't want to know the ending don't click.
Spoiler Free Summary: Girl gets sexually harassed, pressured for sex and almost raped. Those storylines make up most of the 160 pages. Also poor people cannot be trusted because they're all drunk criminals.
It is not good times for anyone. Especially when you remember this book was targeted toward young teens.
I have a few other Fear Street books checked out from the library and I'm planning on reading them. Just hoping they contain less attempted rape and sexual harassment.
August 16, 2011
Gila, gue baca ini udah lama banget. Bukunya sendiri udah entah kemana. Tapi gue inget gue suka banget sama ini novel.
Awalnya serem pastinyaaa... tentang seorang cewek bernama Melissa yang dihantui sama hantu cowok yang bilang kalo dia udah ngebunuh si hantu padahal Melissa kenal aja nggak sama sosok si hantu!! Lalu dia bertemu dengan wujud orang si hantu. Masih hidup, yep, masih hidup. Tapi si hantu tetep aja ngeganggu dia. Lha jadi hantu itu, hantu siapa??
Pas beli novel ini, gue gak expect sama sekali ya akan ending novel ini yang ternyata jadi sentimentil berat. Tapi gue malah suka endingnya, soalnya ngebikin novel ini nggak sekedar novel misteri kaya novel-novel Fear Street atau Goosebumps tapi lebih masuk akal. Setelah gue beli dan baca novel ini, gue mulai ngebeli novel2 fearstreet lainnya tapi nggak ada yang sebagus novel ini tuh kalo gue bilang.
Awalnya serem pastinyaaa... tentang seorang cewek bernama Melissa yang dihantui sama hantu cowok yang bilang kalo dia udah ngebunuh si hantu padahal Melissa kenal aja nggak sama sosok si hantu!! Lalu dia bertemu dengan wujud orang si hantu. Masih hidup, yep, masih hidup. Tapi si hantu tetep aja ngeganggu dia. Lha jadi hantu itu, hantu siapa??
Pas beli novel ini, gue gak expect sama sekali ya akan ending novel ini yang ternyata jadi sentimentil berat. Tapi gue malah suka endingnya, soalnya ngebikin novel ini nggak sekedar novel misteri kaya novel-novel Fear Street atau Goosebumps tapi lebih masuk akal. Setelah gue beli dan baca novel ini, gue mulai ngebeli novel2 fearstreet lainnya tapi nggak ada yang sebagus novel ini tuh kalo gue bilang.
April 22, 2022
5 stars (reread). This was one of my favorite Fear Street books growing up and I remember absolutely weeping at the ending. I still cried as a twenty-four-year-old woman and I have no shame. This book is terrible. The plot is full of holes in terms of how a and Melissa is almost assaulted by every guy she interacts with, but there is no awareness of how this an issue teen girl's face with young male toxicity and masculinity. It's a problem that Stine ignores and glosses over. It's sad because so much could've been expanded and addressed. Obviously, this novel is lacking, but my nostalgia and love for it clouds my ability to rate this low. I am aware of its issues, but I just love this novel. Full review to come.
September 29, 2022
Lollll I thought this was going to be a prank ghost situation but nah.
Ghost Paul vs. IRL Paul was something I didn’t see coming. And why were their personalities so different? 😆
This one hurt my brain a little, but still a wild ride.
Ghost Paul vs. IRL Paul was something I didn’t see coming. And why were their personalities so different? 😆
This one hurt my brain a little, but still a wild ride.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2011
This book had such a creepy ending. Even though I knew it was gonna happen. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!
April 13, 2012
I was a huge R.L. Stine fan in my early teens! I loved all the fear street books! They are what got me into reading again! :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews