The Ghost Next Door/TV episode

"The Ghost Next Door" is the third and fourth episode of season four of the Goosebumps TV series, and the sixty-ninth and seventieth episode overall. Part one and part two premiered on September 28, 1998, and September 29, 1998, on Fox during the Fox Kids block.

Cast

 * Nicole Dicker as Hannah Fairchild
 * Cody Jones as Danny Anderson
 * Neil Crone as Mr. Chesney
 * J. Adam Brown as Alan
 * Dov Tiefenbach as Fred
 * Diego Matamoros as Shadow Figure (voice)
 * Alex Fallis as Shadow Figure
 * Amanda Hancox as Mrs. Anderson
 * Judy White as Hannah's Mom (credit only)
 * Salvatore Antonio as Pizza Delivery Boy (as Salvatore Milliore)
 * Nicole Underhay as Cyclist
 * Masato Chikusa as Pizza Eater (uncredited)

Plot
Hannah Fairchild wakes up one morning to see her room engulfed in flames and smoke, but she quickly realizes this is only a nightmare. Waking up, Hannah begins to type up a letter to her friend, Katie, who's currently away at camp. In her letter, she complains about the boring summer she's been having in Greenwood Falls. Outside her window, Hannah sees a shadowy figure watching her. She dials 911, but the responder can't seem to hear her and hangs up. A rock is thrown through Hannah's window and she decides to head outside. The shadowy figure is nowhere to be found, but she goes bump into a boy she's never seen before. He introduces himself as Danny Anderson and informs her Hannah that he just moved here. Hannah thinks this is strange, as the house his family has moved into still looks empty. The next day, Hannah begins to go about her daily routine alone, as her parents are seemingly away. Hannah attempts to deliver the letter, but the postman, Mr. Chesney seemingly ignores her shouting. On the drive, Mr. Chesney almost hits Danny, who's riding across the street on his bike. Danny begins to act strange, doing such things as seemingly vanishing into thin air. Upon peeking into his home, Hannah sees it is covered in candles, and the stove looks as if it hasn't been used in years. This causes Hannah to believe he could be a ghost haunting the house. Hannah investigates Danny further, running again into the shadowy figure she saw outside her window. She later discovers a newspaper story online detailing a fire in the neighborhood that left no survivors. Hannah believes it could have been Danny's family that died in the fire, and goes to his house. She tries to talk to his mother, but she ignores Hannah, causing her to think his mother might be a ghost as well. Danny arrives at her house and informs her his mother is deaf. Hannah accuses Danny of being a ghost. The two argue, and Danny points out she can't possibly live where she claims, as it is nearly destroyed. Hannah passes straight through Danny.

Hannah realizes that she is the ghost, and that her family was the one that died in the fire. The discovery terrifies Danny, who runs away. Hannah is confronted by the shadow figure, who tells her he is here to help her become a ghost, and offers her lessons in haunting. She agrees, and he teaches her how to concentrate hard enough to pick up objects. With the help of the spirit, Hannah pulls a prank on Mr. Chesney by messing with his mail, sending him running off. Hannah gets into an argument with the shadow and says she doesn't need help being a ghost, that she has to have another purpose than simply haunting people. He informs her that nobody can see her, or talk to her. Hannah informs him this is untrue, as Danny can see her. Her comment angers the ghost who tells her to stay away from Danny. The shadow tells her only Danny can see her because he is about to die.

Hannah tries to talk to Danny, who has begun hanging out with a pair of troublemaking friends, but he wants nothing to do with her. During their talk, a beam nearly falls on Danny, but he is saved by Hannah. Hannah confronts the shadow figure, calling him a liar. He tells her that when Danny dies, he will take his form, and wants to speed up the process.

Hannah realizes that she came back as a ghost to save Danny's life. Later that night, Danny and his friends break into the home of Mr. Chesney, and a fire is started. Danny's friends make it out, but Danny is trapped inside. Hannah enters the house to rescue Danny. She begins playing the piano in Mr. Chesney's house, and the music alerts Chesney that something is wrong. He enters the house and Danny is saved.

Danny calls out for Hannah, saying he cannot see her anymore. Hannah's family appears before her, with her mother telling her she has done a great job. With Danny saved, the shadow figure is destroyed. Hannah then goes into the afterlife with her family, completely disappearing. Danny looks out into the night sky, and thanks Hannah for saving his life.

Differences from the book

 * In the book, Hannah's friend who's away at camp is named Janey, not Katie.
 * In the episode, Hannah sees the Shadow Figure immediately after having her nightmare. In the book, she doesn't encounter the figure until much later.
 * Because Hannah sees the Shadow Figure at night, she tries to call 911. When Hannah is unable to communicate with the 911 operator, she goes outside and meets Danny Anderson for the first time. In the book, Hannah does not call 911 and meets Danny the next day.
 * Hannah is said to wear day-glo clothing in the book, but in the television adaptation, she does not wear brightly colored clothing.
 * In the episode, Hannah is shown to be rather skilled at playing the piano, which is never depicted in the book.
 * In the episode, Danny's first encounter with Mr. Chesney occurs when he is almost hit by Mr. Chesney's mail truck. In the book, their first interaction occurs after Mr. Chesney attacks Danny's friend's dog.
 * In the book, Mr. Chesney was a postmaster. However, in the episode, he is seen delivering mail. The job of a postmaster does not involve delivery, which means that Mr. Chesney is not a postmaster in the episode.
 * In the book, Mr. Chesney is depicted as a cruel, child-hating man, at one point even threatening a group of children with a shotgun. In the episode, he is far calmer and never does anything mean. He even ends up saving Danny in the end.
 * In the book, Hannah goes through Danny's hand and Danny's arm passes through Hannah. In the episode, Hannah walks through Danny.
 * In the book, Hannah discovers her house burned down by eavesdropping on a conversation between her neighbor, Mrs. Quilty, and another woman. In the episode, she finds a newspaper online that recounts the story of the house burning down. This at first leads Hannah to believe Danny's family was the one who died in the fire, which never happens in the book.
 * The book specifies that Hannah and her family died in a campfire that Hannah forgot to put out. The episode simply says they died in a fire and it is not mentioned how it got started.
 * The character of Mrs. Quilty is omitted from the episode.
 * In the episode, the Shadow Figure has a more active role, teaching Hannah how to be a ghost and trying to prevent her from saving him.
 * Hannah's parents, as well as her twin brothers, Bill and Herb, do not appear until the very end.
 * In the book, Hannah saves Danny by herself. In the episode, she can't touch him due to being a ghost and has to concentrate on playing the piano so Mr. Chesney will hear and rescue Danny.
 * In the book, Danny's mom communicates with people by reading their lips. In the episode, she uses sign language.
 * The episode has a happier ending. In the book, Hannah tries to say goodbye to Danny but goes to the afterlife before she can find out if he heard her. In the episode, he gets to properly say goodbye to her.

Home media
"The Ghost Next Door" was released on DVD on September 6, 2005. It was included in a 3-Pack Thriller DVD on August 26, 2014.

Filming Locations

 * Hannah and Danny’s houses were filmed on Pinewood Ave. in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
 * The post office featured in this episode is on the corner of Lakeshore Blvd and Islington Ave in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada.

Trivia

 * The song that Hannah plays to save Danny is Schubert's Trio in E Flat Op. 100. It was also used in the movies, "Barry Lyndon" and "The Hunger."
 * In the first scene, in the shot of The Music Academy award, Hannah Fairchild's first name is misspelled as Hanna.
 * Goof: In the montage of important scenes from part one on the second part episode, when Danny Anderson falls into the bunch of garbage cans, the mask on the stuntman's face becomes undone and reveals him.
 * Dov Tiefenbach (Fred) played Tim in season two's, "Bad Hare Day"
 * Cody Jones (Danny) played Carly Beth's little brother Noah in season one's "The Haunted Mask" and season two's "The Haunted Mask II".
 * Diego Matamoros, who voiced the shadow figure, played Morgred in season one's "A Night in Terror Tower".
 * The street Danny and Hannah lived on-Cordina Way-was named after the show's producer, Lena Cordina.