In a general sense, a trope is a moment when a word is used metaphorically or in another figurative manner. However, the more common understanding of the word trope is as a literary concept meaning the repetitive use of a word, plot device, theme, image, or figure by an author.
Specifically, in fiction, tropes are common phrases or literary themes that show up in multiple works of a genre or from a specific author.
Common Tropes[]
These are tropes that show up in virtually all Goosebumps books with very few exceptions.
- 12 Year Old Protagonist
- Sour Smell/Taste
- Landing Hard
- "Ooooooh"/Low Moan
- Chapter Cliffhanger
- Parents don't believe their kids
- Platonic relationships
- Annoying siblings
Secondary Tropes[]
Tropes that appear in most Goosebumps books, though there are more exceptions than the common tropes.
- "Thinks They're a Riot"
- Redheads
- Messy Room
- Animal villains
- Pinching others
- A main character's room is discovered to be in a state of disarray, typically done by the book's antagonist
Debatable Tropes[]
These tropes are not common enough to be accepted as tropes, they may simply be coincidences that they were included in multiple books. These may also be common literary tropes and are not exclusive to R.L. Stine's writing.
- Soup for Dinner
- "Their/his/her eyes burned into mine." - A super common R.L. Stine trope, used most extensively in Fear Street and Point Horror, but appears in Goosebumps, including "Welcome to Dead House".
- "Rasped"
- Using rasped to describe how a character speaks; used in place of "said"
- "Eyes flashed"