If the hairs on the back of your neck were standing up and every single light around was on, there was a high probability that there was a Goosebumps book in hand. The horror fiction series focused on a child that encountered scary situations, and although they were frightening to read sometimes as a kid, you always had to find out what happened next. Goosebumps were more than words on a page– they were an escape.

My brother always spent spring through summer playing baseball in some of the most dirty and scorching hot locations. My family would drive all over to places sometimes three hours away for tournaments meaning I would accompany them, as well. Luckily, I would lug around a stack of Goosebumps books to read while the games ensued. This allowed me to get lost in some chilling tale for hours, while occasionally looking up as Will pitched or was up to bat. I even brought my books out to the team dinners that would follow and consume page after page at the table. On one occasion I had some trouble getting through one of the books as I was not the fastest reader.  I was really eager to know what was going to happen, however. One of Will’s teammates, Paul, an avid student, offered to read the book and provide me with a summary of the plot. I complied and handed him the book with a headless ghost glaring up from the cover.

After a fairly brief period of time, Paul sauntered over to me, examining the book in hand.  He sat down and then spent the next few minutes explaining h0w the ghost haunted the house and new family living there and even asked if I had any questions. I did not think too much of it at the time, but it was incredibly kind of him to spend his time helping me.

The Goosebumps series provided a way for me to enter another world while in some of the most bleak areas, and in retrospect, made me appreciate those times at the baseball diamond much more.