Many of our real-life Halloween plans have been disrupted by conditions outside of our control. However, staying at home doesn't mean you can't celebrate the Halloween season! And I would truly be remiss if I didn't provide another way to celebrate.
After some good old takin' ‘er easy, I'd like to kick off October right. To honor Spooky Month, I've gathered a ton of trivia relating to the original Goosebumps TV show! I can 100% GUARANTEE you've never heard this stuff before!*
Phantom of the Auditorium:
Many of the placeholder names seen on props are actually borrowed from cast members:
- Patrick Doyle (co-producer) is supposedly cast as The Father.
- Brent McGillivray (spelled as Brent Macgillivray) (first assistant art director) is cast as The Boyfriend.
- Alan Doucette (which looks like it's spelled as Allan Doucerre) (property master) is cast as Police Detective.
- Bernie Burford (production coordinator / production assistant) is mentioned in the old yearbook as the original Esmerelda.
Also, did you ever wonder where the exterior shots were filmed? The school looks pretty fancy. Well, it's the Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute.
It Came from Beneath the Sink:
Believe it or not, this episode uses the same location for exterior school shots as Phantom of the Auditorium.
The Girl Who Cried Monster:
The library always stuck out as particularly cool... But what if I told you there was more than one building used for the library in this episode? Believe it or not, a common "trick" in the TV industry is to shoot the interior and exterior shots in different locations. Thankfully, we've tracked down both:
My Hairiest Adventure:
The opening chase scene shows a street called Jumna Ave. I was able to find a street with this name in Ontario, but it looked absolutely nothing like the episode, so I'm a little lost. I did notice more crew members' placeholder names on many of the "For Sale" signs around town:
- Jennifer Desmyn Realty = Jennifer Desmyn, uncredited work for the art department
- Siegler Realty = Bill Siegler, co-executive producer
- McGillivray Realty = Brent McGillivray, first assistant art director
Also... One of the placeholder headlines for the "Evening News" was "Man Bites Dog!" Very odd.
Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns:
Spoiler alert: Remember the people who go missing? They're mentioned in a newspaper onscreen. You better believe they're named after real people:
- Sidney Iwanter, Vice President of Programming at Fox Kids Network
- Fiona Paterson, assistant editor
- Bernie Burford, production coordinator / production assistant
- Peter Light, film editing
The Blob That Ate Everyone:
- The scenes in the video shop obviously feature some real movies. The producers clearly did their best to obscure the title, however the cover for cult horror film The Leprechaun is clearly visible.
- There is also a massive X-Files poster in the video shop.
- When the main kids are sitting on a set of stairs near the start of the episode, did you ever wonder where that was? Well, now you know. However, Wikipedia informs me: "It has changed radically since 2018. Five apartment towers and a parkette are now under construction by Westbank Corp. Along this stretch, former homes that were once converted to art-related uses, retail, or restaurants have been demolished with facades preserved. Also gone is the Toronto landmark Honest Ed's department store which owned the former homes."
The Haunted Mask 2:
The school in this episode is pretty impressive. In real life, it was the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital. However, it's now designated as historical property and is part of a college campus.
The House of No Return:
Exterior shots taken at the James Avon Smith House.
My Best Friend is Invisible:
The exterior shots of the school were filmed at the York Mills Collegiate Institute.
Say Cheese and Die Again:
The exterior shots of the school were also filmed at the York Mills Collegiate Institute. Notably, the shots are mirrored. I could be mistaken, but I think grass was added to the shot in post. Also, a sign saying "Michael E. Morey Public School." (No clue if that's a real person.)
Say Cheese and Die:
You're probably thinking to yourself, "That factory was so cool, it changed my life. Where is that cool, cool factory? I want to shake its hand!" Odd sentiment. But here's the answer.
The Cuckoo Clock of Doom:
Michael gets an album by a group called "The Spheres." The cover art features a juggler. I don't have any insight to offer, I just thought it was amusing.
Cry of the Cat:
This episode gets meta.
- Amanda's script is for Goosebumps Cry of the Cat. Presumably this is just a copy of the show's actual script!
- Multiple Goosebumps signs are visible in the back hallways. For example, the HorrorLand welcome sign and the thumbs-up sign that was visible briefly in Attack of the Mutant.
- One tombstone in the pet cemetery scene mentions "David R. Beecroft" ...David Beecroft is a real actor. I can't figure out his connection to the show, though! (According to IMDb, he worked on more than one project with John Bayliss, who played Mr. Levy in Phantom of the Auditorium, so there is some connection here.)
- The newspaper clippings mention a Chase Johnson and a David Johnson, likely referencing C. David Johnson, who worked with John Bayliss on Street Legal.
Werewolf Skin:
The town of Wolf Creek is named after its creek... Wolf Creek. Wouldn't it be cool to know where that is? Tracking down the bridge in this episode reveals that Wolf Creek was portrayed by Serena Gundy Park!
Attack of the Mutant:
The school in this episode was unusually tall... That's because it's a factory in real life.
Thanks to some of the good people over on Reddit, I was able to find all the locations above, but the next location was something I found... I figured I would save the best for last. The crowning jewel of my hunt: finding the Masked Mutant's lair. I did my best to recreate the exact angle we see the tower at in the episode.
Sadly, though, the lot where the headquarter was no longer exists. In fact, the entire view is different. However, if you're dead set on standing where the Masked Mutants's headquarters were you might be in luck. As best as I can approximate, it would have been on the corner of Housey St and Queens Wharf Rd.
(*GUARANTEE NOT 100% GUARANTEED.)