Escape from the Carnival of Horrors

Escape from the Carnival of Horrors was the first book in the Give Yourself Goosebumps series. It is a gamebook, which means that the main character is the reader.

The cover illustration featured an alligator breaking out of its cage. The tagline was, Take a ride if you dare...

Plot
You sneak into the closed annual carnival with your friends, Patty and Brad. But then you need to escape, because the carnival is evil. It is owned by a man who traps you and you friends inside the carnival. He forces them to "test" out the rides, before the carnival opens and traps the entire city's population inside. The reader can decide to fight the monster of Booger Bog, face the psychotic carnival freak, the evil Snake Lady, brave the Supersonic Space Coaster, and risk the attack of every reptile in the Petting Zoo, become slaves to Slappy or Mr. Wood, or ride the Doom slide. Like most Give Yourself Goosebumps books, the book is divided into three sections. There is an ending that involves the reader stuck between turning to two pages, unable to get out of the Hall of Mirrors, this is actually the only time Give Yourself Goosebumps had an ending like this. Monster Blood is mentioned in this.

Sequel
There is a sequel to this book. It is book twenty-two, and is called Return to the Carnival of Horrors. It is the only Give Yourself Goosebumps book to do so.

Bad Endings

 * Eaten by an alligator (only implied).
 * No CHANCE.
 * Becoming a Dummy.
 * Going back in time.
 * Blasting of to Mars for 20 years (with a chance of 10 more or less years).
 * Falling out of a tree while avoiding giant baby vultures.
 * Becoming a volleyball.
 * Eaten by a Swamp Monster.
 * Riding the Doom Slide.
 * Being slaves to Slappy or Mr. Wood
 * Drowning.
 * Becoming a ghost.
 * Bouncing forever on a trampoline.
 * Eaten by a monster.
 * Becoming a chicken.
 * Eaten by MONSTER Patty.
 * Thrown away.
 * Eaten by a "Man" monster.
 * Cannoned to space.
 * Being stuck together with Brad and Patty by a glue-like substance.
 * Falling.
 * Killed by Elves.
 * Taking 3 monsters home.

Good Endings

 * The carnival changing to a happy carnival.
 * Escaping from the carnival with the help of Monster Blood.

Trivia

 * There are twenty-three bad endings and two good endings.
 * The cover was not illustrated by Mark Nagata, who illustrated many of the Give Yourself Goosebumps books covers, contrary to popular belief, but was actually illustrated by Tim Jacobus, the artist who illustrated Goosebumps and Goosebumps Series 2000. This is especially noticeable due to the plants in the background. His signature is obscured on the front cover illustration by a sticker that says CHOOSE FROM OVER 20 DIFFERENT SCARY ENDINGS! However, it is visible on the back, on a brick to the lower right hand side of the alligator (or crocodile).
 * There are many notable references to other Goosebumps books, I.E. Night of the Living Dummy, Monster Blood, and more.