Return to the Carnival of Horrors

Return to the Carnival of Horrors is the twenty-second book in the Give Yourself Goosebumps gamebook series, and is the second book in the Carnival of Horrors saga. It was published in 1997. It is a sequel to the first Give Yourself Goosebumps book, Escape from the Carnival of Horrors, and was the last book in the series to use the original cover design before it changed in the next book, Zapped in Space.

The cover illustration depicts a bunch of crazed ghosts riding a long roller coaster that seems to extend far off into the background.

Blurb
IT'S THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE...AGAIN!

You escaped the first time. But Big Al, the evil carnival manager, wants your second visit to last forever!

You've got to get out there—before midnight. If you win three midway games, you have a chance. But the games are horrifyingly hard. Like Q Quest. If you pick the wrong number, the penalty will really blow you away!

Maybe you should look for a way out on the rides. But watch out for the Roller Ghoster. It's a steer-yourself roller coaster—filled with ghosts!

The choice is yours in this scary GOOSEBUMPS adventure that's packed with over 20 super-spooky endings!

Plot
A carnival has come to town, and your aunt and uncle decide to take you to it as a surprise. Your cousin, Floyd, accompanies you on the journey, as does Patty, the same girl who appeared in the first Give Yourself Goosebumps book, Escape from the Carnival of Horrors.

Your uncle drives you and your friends to the carnival. He instructs the three of you to walk into the carnival while he and your aunt look for parking. Cautiously, you enter the fairgrounds. You slowly realize that the carnival you've stepped into is the Carnival of Horrors. Once again, you must escape the carnival before midnight, or you will be trapped there forever!

You can choose between trying to blend in with the crowd on the midway or riding some of the carnival's attractions. The plot forks after the reader makes this decision.

Story A
If you choose to visit the midway, you must win three carnival games and face off against Big Al in a "final challenge" in order to escape.

Story B
If you don't want to be on the midway, you can choose to explore some of the carnival's rides to see if any of them hide an escape.

List of endings
There are eighteen bad endings and three good endings.

Trivia

 * While most of the book doesn't use gender specific language, you are referred to as a male twice on page 28.
 * Say Cheese and Die! is mentioned in this book, and The Camera makes an appearance.
 * On page 73, this book assumes that you followed one particular storyline of Escape from the Carnival of Horrors; Patty says that you previously escaped the carnival by riding the choo-choo train. However, the book also refers to some things from the second storyline, which you supposedly encountered during your first visit to the carnival, even though there's no way this would be possible in the original book.
 * The first concept art sketch features a skeleton that bears a strong resemblance to Curly's appearance on the cover to the first Tales to Give You Goosebumps book.
 * One of the possible attractions the reader can ride, the Roller Ghoster, shares the same name of a Vampire Village ride minigame in the 2008 Goosebumps HorrorLand video game.
 * This is the only Give Yourself Goosebumps book to be a direct sequel to a previous Give Yourself Goosebumps book.