Parents' Guide to Goosebumps

TV Disney+ , Hulu Science Fiction 2023
Goosebumps 2025 Poster Image: Actor David Schwimmer's face is surrounded by spooky looking imagery.

Common Sense Media Review

Ashley Moulton By Ashley Moulton , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 12+

Fun, nostalgic scares may be too spooky for some kids.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 12+?

Any Positive Content?

Enjoy 3 free reviews when you get the Common Sense Media app .

  • Goosebumps 2023 TV Show: 5 teenagers have cartoonish scared faces, reacting to something offscreen
  • Goosebumps 2023 TV Show: a teenage girl crouches and holds a baseball bat near cars covered in yellow goo
  • Goosebumps 2023 TV Show: Isaiah, a black teenager, uses a phone as a flashlight and looks worried

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 16 parent reviews

 

 

See all 16 parent reviews
age 12+

Based on 21 kid reviews

Kids say the show offers a fun mix of horror and humor, appealing to younger audiences with its engaging plots and relatable characters; however, it contains some sexual references and mild language that might be unsuitable for very young viewers. While fans appreciate its nostalgic ties to the original series, some critiques suggest that adults may find the writing lacking and the themes cringeworthy.engaging plotsmild languagemixed reviewsnostalgic appealcringeworthy moments
Summarized with AI
 

 

See all 21 kid reviews

What's the Story?

GOOSEBUMPS is an extension of the universe built in the 1995 TV series (itself an adaptation of R.L. Stine's spooky book series). The series begins with teenage friends breaking into a house to throw an epic Halloween party. They soon realize that they've awakened a teenage ghost, Harold Biddle, who died in the basement in 1993 under mysterious circumstances. Biddle's ghost thinks he was wronged as a teen, and is determined to get revenge on his former friends' children. A teen's mom (Rachel Harris) makes the connection between what's happening in 2023 and what happened 30 years ago. The friends begin "time hopping" in an effort to try to stop Biddle, so they can worry about normal teenage things like college and crushes.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 16 ):
Kids say ( 21 ):

Parents who grew up with the '90s Goosebumps will love watching (and getting scared) with their teens. Kids will likely be more divided -- some will love the spooky scares and others will hide under the covers. For those kids ready for a thrill, Goosebumps is an eerily good time. The scares are good: just spooky enough to be fun but not approach grown-up levels of horror. The characters are relatable, and there are a lot of great acting performances by the ensemble cast. The plot development and writing is sophisticated enough that grown-ups will also enjoy. Watch together -- just maybe not right before bed.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about watching scary TV shows or movies like Goosebumps. Is it fun to be scared? What feels scary to you? What doesn't?

  • When do you think the characters in Goosebumps are good role models? When are times they do not make good decisions?

TV Details

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Goosebumps 2025 Poster Image: Actor David Schwimmer's face is surrounded by spooky looking imagery.

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