Welcome to Dead House/TV episode

Welcome to Dead House is a two-part episode of the Goosebumps TV series. It is based on the first Goosebumps book of the same name. The episodes aired on Fox Network on June 29, 1997. Parts one and two were the twentieth and twenty-first episodes of Season 2, and the thirty-ninth and fortieth episodes overall. The episode was directed by William Fruet.

Cast

 * Amy Stewart as Amanda Benson
 * Ben Cook as Josh Benson
 * Elizabeth Saunders (creditted as Elizabeth Brown) as Penelope Benson
 * Benedict Campbell as Mr. Benson
 * Ian D. Clark as Compton Dawes
 * Jessica Greco as Karen Thurston
 * Mairlyn Smith as Agnes Thurston
 * Frank Pellegrino as Mr. Thurston
 * Scott Wickware as Hard Hat Worker
 * B.J. McLellan as Jerry
 * Damien Whitely as George
 * Marc Marut as Ray
 * Anna Henry as A Girl
 * John Friesen as Mayor
 * David Blacker as Townsperson
 * Matthew Galliford as Window Ghost (uncredited)
 * Eliska Sursova as Letta (uncredited)
 * R.L. Stine as Himself / Host

Differences from the Book

 * In the book, the 'Dead House' is described as a tall redbrick house with a sloping black roof and rows of windows framed by black shutters.' In the TV episode the house is shown to be a white weatherboard house with a wooden porch.
 * In the book there is no reference to waterfalls at all, however in the TV episode, we see the Benson family driving into town past the 'Welcome To Dead Falls' sign, which contains a waterfall image.
 * In the book we learn that many years ago, most of the residents of Dead Falls used to work at a plastics factory on the outskirts of town. However, there was an accident at the factory, where a yellow gas escaped and quickly floated over the whole town, killing all of the residents. At the beginning of the TV episode, the Benson family drive past an abandoned factory with signs that say 'CLOSED - Dead Falls Chemicals' and 'DANGER'.
 * In the book, Amanda sees a boy (Ray Thurston) standing in her bedroom doorway as the family are welcomed and shown around the house by Mr. Dawes for the first time. In the TV episode, Petey begins barking immediately at the upstairs window of Amanda's future bedroom from the front lawn as the family arrive at the home for the first time. Amanda briefly sees Ray Thurston behind moving curtains b efore anyone has entered the house.
 * In the book, Ray's surname is Thurston, and Karen's surname is Somerset. In the TV episode, Karen's surname is Thurston, and Ray's surname isn't revealed.
 * At the end of the book, the Benson family decide to move back to their old house after Amanda and Josh save their parents from the Dark Falls townspeople. As they are leaving, Amanda sees what she thinks is Mr. Dawes helping another family moving in to the 'Dead House'. At the end of the TV episode, the family escape the horde of zombie townspeople after most of them are killed by sunlight. They manage to reach their car and drive off, with one zombie screeching for them to return because he's starving. They manage to pick up Petey after they notice him on the highway well out of town, but Petey is revealed to have become one of the dead, and he turns gray after hopping in the back of the car. There's no other family who moves in the house.

Episode Trivia

 * The original premiere of the television episode, as well as the VHS and DVD release, included R.L. Stine as the television episode's host.
 * Ben Cook (Josh Benson) previously appeared as Jerry Hawkins in Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, and would appear again as Marty in A Shocker on Shock Street.
 * Scott Wickware (The Hard Hat Worker) previously appeared as The Masked Mutant in Attack of the Mutant, and the Haunted Mask in The Haunted Mask II.
 * This is the only Goosebumps episode to feature zombies.