Justin Tate's Reviews > Phantom of the Auditorium

Even better than I remember, with excellent portrayal of Middle School theatre drama. We encounter a jealous understudy, ghostly lore, destroyed set backdrops, secret passages connected to the stage trap door and, of course, a mystery phantom. There's many obvious allusions to The Phantom of the Opera, but also MacBeth and even familiarity with one of Stine's best Fear Street novels, Trapped.

Unlike most Goosebumps books where characters are largely Generic Child and the setting is Anywhere, USA, we see fleshed out thespians motivated by complex goals. Setting is important to the story, including historical influence and an auditorium that breathes with life itself. While the phantom "monster" isn't particularly scary, the adventure of solving his identify is thrilling.

While revisiting Goosebumps as an adult, I've been surprised how well most hold up 30+ years later. This one has improved with age even more than most. Fun fact, the book was adapted into an actual stage musical in 2016 that's still frequently performed all across the country today.