Zack Morris, Ana Yi Puig, Miles McKenna, Will Price, and Isa Briones in ‘Goosebumps’.Photo:David Astorga/Disney
David Astorga/Disney
The iconicGoosebumpsbook series has come alive on the big screen.
The series, which draws from theR.L. Stine-authored books, follows the journey of five high school students as they embark on a“shadowy and twisted journey”to investigate a decades-long tragedy of a teen’s death. The students also uncover dark secrets from their parents’ past along the way.
Disney/David Astorga
While adapting the series, executive producers Conor Welch and Pavun Shetty drew from their own childhood memories as fans of the books.
“My sister was three years older than me, so she had all of theGoosebumpsbooks on her bookshelf,” Shetty recalled. “I used to sneak in her room and steal the books and read them.”
Welch cultivated his love for the spine-chilling tales from his days circling faves in theScholastic Book Faircatalogs in elementary school.
“[He was] a presence that was looming the whole time,” Welch said of the author. “He read some of our drafts and watched some of our cuts, so he set the bar super high. We wanted to make sure that we delivered for him, for the fans and for people who hopefully now become fans because of this series.”
“We wanted to take what people love so much and preserve that, but also add new elements to it,” Shetty explained of the plot. “I think the real challenge was walking the line between honoring what people really liked, but then also doing a new version of it that we thought people would like as well.”
“It’s the first show I’ve worked on where my friends can watch it with their kids at the same time,” Shetty said. “Everything’s been way too adult, so it’s nice to see pictures of them watching with their family.”
Goosebumps producers Conor Welch and Pavun Shetty.Kristina Humphrey/Disney
Kristina Humphrey/Disney
Both producers also wanted to preserve the element of surprise throughout the 10-episode series,which premiered on Oct. 13.
“We wanted folks who were expecting scares to get laughs and expecting laughs to get scares! And to feel like this was really an elevated take that deserves to exist, as opposed to treading on territory that had already been tread on before,” Welch said of expanding theGoosebumpsuniverse.
The producers went through the “really tough” process of choosing which books to draw from — not only the “most popular ones,” but also books where the central story “tied directly into the central issue that each kid was having themselves.”
“We tried to line up exactly what was happening in the books with the character,” Shetty added.
“It was important to us to elevate that and to create a series that would keep you on the edge of your seat, that would want you wondering what’s happening next,” Welch said. “Also, the ability to get a little deeper into the characters and the dynamics between them as opposed to what you could do in just one hour-long episode.”
“There’s one scene further along where [the character is] literally fighting himself to get this possession out of him,” Welch teased. “And so Justin Long throwing himself on the ground, slapping himself, fighting himself for literal hours, was a pretty hilarious sight.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The producers have been excited to hear the reaction from viewers as new episodes roll out weekly.
However, just one season might not be quite enough for the troves of bone-chilling horror stories the producer duo has in mind.
“There’s so many moreGoosebumpsbooks that we personally love, that fans would like to see in there,” Shetty said. “And we lucked out with such a great cast – they have such good chemistry together and there’s plenty more high school stories to tell with them. So, if we’re lucky enough to get more seasons, we have a lot to do.”
You can tune in on the thrilling horror adventure too –Goosebumpsis now available on Disney+ and Hulu, with new episodes dropping weekly on Fridays.
source: people.com
