Amy A. Cowan·Nov 23, 2021Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: The Blob That Ate EveryoneIn eighth grade, every student had to take an English test at the end of the year to determine which English track we were going to take in high school. I’m not here to talk about my thoughts on tracking students (short version: it’s stupid), but I am here…Books7 min readBooks7 min read
Amy A. CowaninRereading My Childhood by Amy A. Cowan·Feb 15Goosebumps: The Headless Ghost by R. L. Stine — A Rereading My Childhood Book Review & SummaryOne of the many reasons I love The Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland is the lore. There’s the Stretching room at the beginning, and after you board the Doom Buggy, you see the Endless Hallway. There’s a row of rattling doors. Madame Leota’s Seance Room. The Ballroom. The…Goosebumps8 min readGoosebumps8 min read
Amy A. CowaninRereading My Childhood by Amy A. Cowan·Nov 10, 2022Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-o’-Lanterns by R. L. StineThe difference between a teenager’s Halloween party and a kid’s Halloween party is the Trick-or-Treat. Usually, a Halloween party for teenagers is an excuse to drink and attempt to engage in an awkward courtship ritual that will haunt them forever. The kid’s Halloween party is supervised and at some…Goosebumps8 min readGoosebumps8 min read
Amy A. CowaninRereading My Childhood by Amy A. Cowan·Oct 24, 2021Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: The Haunted MaskThe year 2020 was tough on everyone for many different reasons. One of the biggest casualties for me was Halloween. Sure, the pop-up stores in vacant K-Marts still managed to appear without warning, but their merchandise was lacking. The costumes and the pop culture apparel were dusty. The…Halloween10 min readHalloween10 min read
Amy A. Cowan·Aug 26, 2021Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: A Shocker on Shock StreetI love a good dark ride. Strap me into that little car and guide me through that pretzel-shaped track, thank you very much. And it doesn’t have to be the level of Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. …Books8 min readBooks8 min read
Amy A. CowaninRereading My Childhood by Amy A. Cowan·Jun 19, 2021Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: Egg Monsters From MarsSaturday Morning Cartoons were weird. Normal ones, Looney Tunes, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and the like, existed. Properties for children, like G.I. Joe and, my personal favorite, The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, were also common. …Books6 min readBooks6 min read
Amy A. Cowan·Mar 31, 2021Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: The Scarecrow Walks at MidnightI’ve gone my whole life without ever seeing those vast cornfields that Boomer and Gen X writers are obsessed with. Children of the Corn, In the Tall Grass, and countless other examples demonstrate how terrifying cornfields are to them. Now, I have never seen these interminable rows of clustered…Goosebumps7 min readGoosebumps7 min read
Amy A. Cowan·Apr 12, 2021Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: Ghost BeachInstant friendship is a childhood art that is lost when we hit puberty. We gain boobs or cracked voices while we lose some fundamental part of us that can make a friend in five minutes. My family traveled during every school vacation and when we arrived at our destination…Goosebumps6 min readGoosebumps6 min read
Amy A. CowaninCurious·Mar 4, 2021Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: Legend of the Lost LegendWhen I was a kid, treasure hunting deep in the woods seemed like a completely plausible endeavor. I thought I could go on some grand fantastic adventure with wood nymphs and sprites. I quickly dismissed this idea because I lived (and continue to live) in Nevada, where we have…Books6 min readBooks6 min read
Amy A. CowaninRereading My Childhood by Amy A. Cowan·Jan 6, 2021Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: Night of the Living DummyCultural osmosis is an interesting thing. I have this library of pop culture I can draw from and understand references to even though I haven’t interacted directly with that specific piece of pop culture. I have never seen Die Hard but if someone references Carl Winslow shooting a kid…Goosebumps9 min readGoosebumps9 min read
Amy A. CowaninCurious·Dec 5, 2020Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: Stay Out of the Basement!My parents were not anti-vaxxers because they were responsible parents. My sister and I were current with all our shots, no matter how hard it was to get us to sit down and actually take the damn shot. We used to cry and cling to our parents and engage…Books8 min readBooks8 min read
Amy A. CowaninRereading My Childhood by Amy A. Cowan·Oct 3, 2020Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: The Curse of the Mummy’s TombWhen I was eight, during the summer between third and fourth grade, my parents took my sister and me halfway around the world to the Philippines. The trip was my first venture outside the United States, my first plane ride, and my first time in a country that spoke…Goosebumps10 min readGoosebumps10 min read
Amy A. CowaninCurious·Aug 12, 2020Rereading My Childhood — Goosebumps: Monster BloodMost of my teachers had some kind of twenty-minute quiet time after lunchtime recess. At around 11:30, my entire class and I piled into the hallway and stood in line (if you wanted hot lunch). We paid the lunch lady our $0.75 each at the front or used one…Goosebumps12 min readGoosebumps12 min read
