Welcome to Dead House was the first book in the original Goosebumps book series. It was first published in 1992. Along with this, it was then rereleased in 2010 as the thirteenth book in the Classic Goosebumps series, featuring new artwork by Brandon Dorman.
The cover illustration of the original and 2010 reprint features an old, dark house at night, with the front door slightly ajar, and a strange figure illuminated in the window by an orange light.
Amanda and Josh think the old house they have just moved into is weird. Spooky. Possibly haunted. And the town of Dark Falls is pretty strange, too.
But their parents don't believe them. You'll get used to it, they say. Go out and make some new friends. So Amanda and Josh do. But these new friends are not exactly what their parents had in mind. Because they want to be friends...forever.
Plot
The Benson family takes their first trip to Dark Falls to meet with the local real estate agent Compton Dawes, and see their new home. Mr. Benson inherited a house that belonged to his late great-uncle that he didn't even know existed. Amanda Benson, her little brother Josh, and their dog Petey immediately sense that something is not quite right. Despite the fact that it is the middle of July, the entire neighborhood seems covered in an artificial darkness created by the shadows of massive, overhanging tree limbs. Dead brown leaves, shade, and shadows are everywhere. Then there is the creepy old house, that appears to have been built many years ago. It is an enormous, dark, antique home with two large bay windows on the second floor that look eerily like a pair of dark eyes staring down at the street below. While Josh proceeds to impatiently whine in protest over the family move and how tragic it is for him, Mr. Dawes welcomes the family into the home. Whilst exploring her new room, Amanda watches with amazement as she catches a glimpse of a boy standing in the doorway, before quickly disappearing down the hall.
Amanda feels much better after seeing her bedroom. She goes outside to tell Josh about it, but both he and Petey are gone. Mr. Dawes offers to provide directions while the family drive around town to find the missing pair. On the way Amanda finds it odd that there aren't any people in the houses or yards, or even on the street. Eventually, the group finds Josh trying to catch Petey amongst the gravestones of the Dark Falls cemetery. The kids' father Jack ends up catching Petey and putting him on a leash despite how frantic his behavior is. The family then drops off Mr. Dawes at his real estate office in Dark Falls, where he mentions to the Bensons that they can come back the following week to finalize the contracts for the house. After an eventful first visit, the Benson family leave Dark Falls and head back home to their old neighborhood.
Amanda's best friend, Kathy, comes over on the family's last night in their old house, reassuring Amanda that Dark Falls is only four hours away. The following morning is moving day, and it's a rainy, windy arrival in Dark Falls for the family at their new house. Amanda keeps seeing other children in her home and hearing strange sounds. Amanda and Josh start meeting the locals, such as Ray Thurston who seem friendly enough, but also seem a bit strange and off putting. Both Ray and a girl named Karen claim they used to live in their house.
Two weeks later, Petey goes missing and they can't seem to find him. That night, Josh comes into Amanda's room and theorizes that Petey went into the cemetery, just like last time. When they head out to check, they bump into Ray, who warms them about being out here so late. In the cemetery, they find gravestones with their new friends names on then, including Ray's. Ray confirms that it's his, and he is actually one of the living dead.
Once a year, they must have the blood from a freshly killed person to sustain their "living dead" existence for another year. They killed Petey because dogs always sense the living dead. Ray attacks Amanda but Josh saves her at the last moment, when he shines his light on Ray's face. This results in Ray disintegrating and becoming a pile of bones. Amanda and Josh run home but when they arrive, they are attacked by the dead children who explain that there is no dead great-uncle and that the letter sent to their parents was a trick to bring the Benson family to Dark Falls. Suddenly Mr. Dawes, the real estate agent, appears at the door and the dead children vanish.
He tells them that he has already found their parents and that he will take the kids to join their parents. Although Amanda and Josh think he's saving them at first, a gravestone reveals Mr. Dawes is also dead. He explains to the children that Dark Falls used to be a normal town years ago, but a yellow gas escaped from a nearby factory and spread throughout the town, transforming the citizens into the undead. Amanda and Josh manage to escape Mr. Dawes after Josh hits him on the head with his flashlight. It turns out the dead people crumble under light, and they knock down a tree to kill all of the living dead. Karen thanks Amanda for doing this before she dies. They rescue their parents and go home to quickly pack up.
As the Benson family is leaving Dead House, they see a new family on the driveway. Amanda notices that these people are being guided by someone that looks like Mr. Dawes. She brushes this off and tells one of the kids that she used to live in their house, and the Benson family drives away.
Welcome to Dead House is the most rereleased Goosebumps book. It has received four standalone reprints, was included as a story within the omnibuses of Monster Edition #1 and Hair Raising Collection, and is included in the Retro Scream Collection tin. Additionally, it appeared as one of three stories within Scholastic's Tales of Suspense for Boys omnibus (alongside Chasing the Falconers from On the Run and The Encounter from Animorphs).
Differences
In 2008, before the Classic Goosebumps series officially began, Scholastic printed Welcome to Dead House: Special Collector's Edition. It used Tim Jacobus' original artwork and came with a limited edition poster. This reprint features the same logo as books in the Classic Goosebumps series.
The gravestones in the Classic Goosebumps version were updated. Each character's date of birth and death were moved forward multiple years.
"Josh had hold of Dad's hand" is changed to "Josh had grabbed Dad's hand"
"trying to tug his hand out of Josh's grasp" is changed to "struggling".
"“Let go, Josh,” I said quietly, grabbing Josh by the shoulder" is changed, so that the second "Josh" says "him"
"dead flowerbed" is changed to "overgrown flowerbed".
"And my room was huge and had its own bathroom and an old-fashioned window seat where I could sit at the window and look down at the street" is changed to remove the second mention of the window, likely changed to avoid redundancy.
The sentence "Even a finished attic filled with old furniture and stacks of old, mysterious cartons we could explore" adds "There was" at the start, likely to make the sentence more complete.
"I took one more look at my closet, a long walk-in closet with a light in the ceiling, and wide shelves against the back wall" is changed to "I took one more look at my long walk-in closet, which had a light in the ceiling and wide shelves against the back wall"
"He was chasing after Petey" removes the "after"
"Even though it was the middle of the afternoon" is changed to "Even though it was the middle of the day"
"Blonde" is changed to "Blond"
"I hadn't screamed" is changed to "I didn't scream".
"big potluck dinner party" is changed to just "big party".
International releases
No: 1 Title:Welcome to Dead House Country:United Kingdom Language: English Release date: September 17, 1993 Publisher: Scholastic
No: 6 Title:La Maison Des Morts Translated title:The House of the Dead Illustrator: Jean-Michel Nicollet Country:France Language: French Release date: March 23, 1995 Publisher: Bayard Poche
Country: France Language: French Reprint ver.: 2 Release date: July 1998
Country: France Language: French Reprint ver.: 3 Release date: May 1, 2001
Country: France Language: French Reprint ver.: 4 Release date: March 10, 2011
Country: France Language: French Reprint ver.: 5 Release date: November 16, 2016
Illustrator: Oriol Vidal Country: France Language: French Reprint ver.: 6 Release date: 2023
No: 4 Title:La Casa De la Muerte Translated title:The House of Death Country:Spain Language: Spanish Release date: October 1, 1995 Publisher: Ediciones B
No: 2 Title:Edición Monstruo 2 Translated title:Monster Edition 2 Bundled with:Stay Out of the Basement Say Cheese and Die! Country: Spain Language: Spanish Release date: 1996 Publisher: Ediciones B
No: 1 Title:La Casa Della Morte Translated title:The House of Death Country:Italy Language: Italian Release date: June 1994 Publisher: Mondadori
Country: Italy Language: Italian Reprint ver.: 2 Release date: May 10, 2016
No: 1 Title:Willkommen im Haus der Toten Translated title:Welcome to the House of the Dead Country: Germany Language: German Release date: May 1, 1996 Publisher: Omnibus Verlag
No: 1 Title:Bem-Vindos à Casa da Morte Translated title:Welcome to the House of Death Country:Portugal Language: Portuguese Release date: 1997 Publisher: Abril
No: 1 Title:Το σπίτι των νεκρών Translated title:The House of the Dead Country: Greece Language: Greek Release date: 1995 Publisher: Κέδρος
No: 1 Title:De Dødes Hus Translated title:House of the Dead Country:Norway Language: Norwegian Release date: 1995 Publisher: Ex Libris forl.
No: N/A Title:Det döda Huset Translated title:The Dead House Country: Sweden Language: Swedish Release date: September 1, 2001 Publisher: Ritchers
No: 1 Title:De Dødes Hus Translated title:The House of the Dead Country: Denmark Language: Danish Release date: 2002 Publisher: Borgen
No: 3 Country: Denmark Language: Danish Reprint ver.: 2 Release date: December 21, 2014 Publisher: Egmont Publishing Kids AS
No: 1 Title:We Zijn Niet Alleen Translated title:We Are Not Alone Country:Netherlands Language: Dutch Release date: 1994 Publisher: Kluitman Alkmaar BV
No: 6 Title:Varjojen kaupunki Translated title:The City of Shadows Country:Finland Language: Finnish Release date: 2000 Publisher: Helsinki Media
No: 1 Title:Bun Venit în Casa Morților! Translated title:Welcome to the House of the Dead! Country:Romania Language: Romanian Release date: January 1, 2003 Publisher: Editura Rao
No: N/A Title:Добре дошли в мъртвата къща Translated title:Welcome to the Dead House Country: Bulgaria Language: Bulgarian Release date: 2009 Publisher: New Imprese Agency
No: 8 Title:добро пожаловать в мертвый дом Translated title:Welcome to the Dead House Country: Russia Language: Russian Release date: 1999 Publisher: Росмен Пресс
No: 1 Title:Bienvenidos a La Casa De la Muerte Translated title:Welcome to the House of Death Country:Mexico Language: Spanish Release date: October 1, 1995 Publisher: Scholastic
Country: Mexico Language: Spanish Reprint ver.: 2 Release date: April 1, 2004 Publisher: Scholastic en Español
No: 1 Title:Bienvenidos a La Casa De la Muerte Translated title:Welcome to the House of Death Country: Mexico Language: Spanish Release date: 1995 Publisher: Norma
No: 4 Title:La Maison de Saint-Lugubre Translated title:The House of Saint-Gloomy Country:Canada Language: French Release date: 1993 Publisher: Héritage
No: 8 Title:La Maison Des Morts Translated title:The House of the Dead Country: Canada Language: French Release date: November 9, 2004 Publisher: Scholastic
No: 7 Title:Bem-Vindo A Casa Dos Mortos Translated title:Welcome to the House of the Dead Country: Brazil Language: Portuguese Release date: January 1, 2006 Publisher: Fundamento
No: 2 Title:منزل الموتى Translated title:House of the Dead Country: Egypt Language: Arabic Release date: 1994 Publisher: Dar Nahdet Misr
No: 2 Title:خانه مرگ Translated title: Death House Country: Iran Language: Persian Release date: 1992 Publisher: Peydayesh
No: 2 Title:به خانه مردگان خوش آمدید Translated title:Welcome to the House of the Dead Country: Iran Language: Persian Release date: October 7, 2019 Publisher: Vida Publishing
Country: Iran Language: Persian Reprint ver.: 2 Release date: 2011
No:' 4 Title:我的新家是鬼屋 Translated title:My New Home is a Haunted House Country: China Language: Chinese Release date: 1995 Publisher: Shy Chaur Publishing
No: 1 Title:我的新家是鬼屋 Translated title:My New Home is a Haunted House Country: China Language: Chinese Release date: January 1, 2003 Publisher: Cite Publishing
Country: China Language: Chinese Reprint ver.: 2 Release date: July 30, 2015 Publisher: Shang Zhou Publishing
No: N/A Title:死亡古堡•神秘实验室 Translated title:Death Castle • Mystery Lab Country: China Language: Simplified Chinese Release date: 2003 Publisher: Relay Press
Country: China Language: Simplified Chinese Reprint ver.: 2 Release date: June 2008
No: N/A Title:死亡古堡•惊恐乐园 Translated title:Death Castle • Scary Paradise Country: China Language: Simplified Chinese Release date: January 1, 2013 Publisher: Relay Press
No: 1 Title:恐怖の館へようこそ Translated title:Welcome to the House of Terror Country:Japan Language: Japanese Release date: June 22, 2006 Publisher: Iwasaki Shoten
No: N/A Title:Chào Mừng Đến Với Ngôi Nhà Chết Translated title:Welcome to the Dead House Country: Vietnam Language: Vietnamese Release date: December 2006 Publisher: Văn Hóa Thông Tin Publishing House
No:3 Title:빈집의 숨바꼭질 Translated title:Hide and Seek of Empty House Country:South Korea Language: Korean Release date: July 1, 2014 Publisher: Gorilla Box
No:1 Title:บ้านนี้ผีชวนอยู่ Translated title:This House Is Haunted Country: Thailand Language: Thai Release date: September 1, 2004 Publisher: Nanmeebooks
No: 11 Title:La Casa De la Muerte Translated title:The House of Death Country: Spain Language: Spanish Release date: October 10, 2016 Publisher: Hydra
No: 17 Title:La Casa De La Mort Translated title:The House of Death Country: Catalonia Language: Catalan Release date: April 2017 Publisher: Hidra
No: 1-3 Title:Come Tutto È Cominciato Translated title:How It All Started Stories:Welcome to Dead House, Stay Out of the Basement, Monster Blood Country: Italy Language: Italian Release date: 2022 Publisher: Mondadori
No: 1 Title:Το σπίτι των νεκρών Translated title:The House of the Dead Country: Greece Language: Greek Release date: 2015 Publisher: Κέδρος
No: 1 Title:De Dødes Hus Translated title:House of the Dead Country:Norway Language: Norwegian Release date: 2023 Publisher: Cappelen Damm
No: 17 Title:добро пожаловать в мертвый дом Translated title:Welcome to the Dead House Country: Russia Language: Russian Release date: 2019 Publisher: Moskva
No: 3 Title:منزل الموتى Translated title:The House of the Dead Country: Egypt Language: Arabic Release date: January 1, 2017 Publisher: Nahdet Misr Publishing House
Differences
French:
There are a few renames:
Amanda is called "Anna."
Josh is called "Jimmy."
Petey is called "Pat."
Ray is called "Eric."
The town of Dark Falls is called "Tombstone."
The ending of the book has been altered. In this version, when Amanda goes to see the house for the last time, the family with the two boys does not show up and she simply whispers "I used to live in this house" to herself. Instead of seeing a figure that looks like Mr. Dawes, she instead sees something moving in the house, and tells herself that it is nothing because everyone in Dark Falls has passed on, before hopping in the car.
Adaptations
TV series
For the television adaptation, visit the episode page.
Button with Welcome to Dead House's as well as a few other books covers, from Creepy Co.
Trivia
Cover for Deadly Impulse which is similar to Welcome to Dead House
Amanda and Josh's father was mentioned by name in the book: Jack Benson. Their mother was referred to as Penelope Benson in the television episode, but it is unknown if that really was her name in the book.
Stine claims that this book may be too scary for kids, because he didn't have his funny elements yet, and he says that if he could rewrite the book, he would make it a little funny.
A follow-up to the book titled Happy Holidays from Dead House was planned for the Goosebumps Gold book series in the year 2000. However, both the book and the series were never released due to R.L. Stine's fallout with Scholastic.
First edition copies of the book do not feature a number on the spine.
At one point, Amanda has a dream where her family are all skeletons. A similar dream appears in Say Cheese and Die!
However, the dream sequence in this book is much more detailed in comparison. This being due to being an intentional addition by Stine and not something added in post due to Tim Jacobus' cover art.
The Classic Goosebumps reprint changes the back tagline to “Enter at your own risk!”.
The first word of this book is ‘Josh’, this book being the first Goosebumps book, and it’s first word being ‘Josh’ means that the first word ever in a Goosebumps book was ‘Josh’, and the first letter was ‘J’.
Legendary horror filmmaker George A. Romero once wrote a concept for a film adaptation of Welcome to Dead House. [1]
The cover artwork bears a resemblance to the cover art for Deadly Impulse by Carolyn B. Mason as Jacobus also did the cover artwork for that book three years prior in 1988.
Errors
Early in the book, Mr. Dawes offers to drive the Benson family around. The story suggests that Mr. Dawes is driving his own car; he even retrieves his hat from the trunk. After driving the family, Mr. Dawes stops by his real estate office and gets out, and the Benson family drives off with their car. Either Mr. Dawes had a car in or near the Benson's driveway (that he got his hat from), or R.L. Stine forgot that Mr. Dawes was not driving his own car.
When Mr. Dawes arrives at the house to lure the kids to the amphitheater, it is noted to be nearly 2 AM. By the time Mr. Dawes finishes driving the kids to the amphitheater, the sun is already coming up. This makes no sense.
Mr. Dawes' explanation of how Dark Falls became a town of the undead implies that he was one of the original townspeople transformed by the yellow gas. However, the death date on his gravestone is later than that of Karen's. Despite the dates being updated in later additions, this discrepancy remained unfixed.
For the television adaptation, visit the episode page.
