To whom it may concern

Horror and science fiction have always been a part of the television canvas, and constant attempts have been made over the years to produce classic entertainment. Some have fallen by the wayside, while others became mainstream phenomena. With “TV Terrors,” we take a look back at the many genre efforts from the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, exploring some shows that became cult classics, and others that sank in to obscurity.

This week, we revisit “Ghosts of Fear Street.“

Aired in 1998
Aired on ABC Television
Like most nineties kids who loved horror, RL Stine was the man to go to when I wanted good old fashioned genre fun. As a kid raised by a mom who was a grade A horror buff, I admittedly wanted something more adult, but until I was old enough to take out Stephen King books from the library, Stine was my guy. Also, for a kid who had to have his arm twisted to read back then, RL Stine introduced me to the joy of horror and storytelling with “Goosebumps” and the more mature “Fear Street” series. He showed me how fun reading is, and I’ve carried that love right in to adulthood.

Since the television adaptation of “Goosebumps” in 1995, RL Stine has been a consistent presence on youth oriented television and has introduced new generations to horror. While most of his TV ventures have been somewhat successful and acclaimed, not many remember one of the failed efforts, “Ghosts of Fear Street.”

A lot of people I talk to about the show don’t really remember anything about it, or that it even existed. Hell, there’s not even an IMDb page for it. However, I vividly remember sitting through this genre oddity and was surprised with how quickly it was wiped from the schedule. “Ghosts of Fear Street” aired on ABC Television on the tail end of their TGIF line up in 1998, and—well—it was only one half hour episode. A lot of the pilot looked like a rough draft for what the producers were probably planning for the series, even with a weird opening credits sequence of computer animated skeletons dancing, for some reason.


While other RL Stine series’ usually dabbled in the anthology format, “Ghosts of Fear Street” seemed to aim for a more consistent storyline with characters we would have been able to grow with, all of whom would come face to face with Stine-inspired tricks and bad guys. “Ghosts of Fear Street” is apparently based on the book series in name only and garners a very silly kind of tone that might turn off even avid RL Stine fans. The show was written by Karl Schraeder, the co-creator of cult series “Eerie, Indiana.” You’d expect a better quality pilot judging by that name, but “Ghosts of Fear Street” suffers from a rushed narrative at only twenty minutes total, and a tone that jumps from black comedy, to horror, to family comedy, family drama, science fiction, and even fantasy.

Christopher Rich plays PJ Murphy, an overly imaginative horror author who spins tales about bug kids that spin webs from their armpits for his three kids. When he and his family go to Fear Street to help their widowed grandfather, played by Red Buttons, pack up his home/bed and breakfast, they discover that his abode is filled with unusual artifacts. It’s not much of a shocker when the kids begin getting themselves into trouble around his house. The youngest son Mickey makes friends with an invisible dog, and the oldest daughter Kit befriends the weird neighborhood girl, Cricket (Azura Skye).

All the while middle child Joe has a confrontation with an older neighbor who can transform into a giant bug at will. After some wacky mishaps it turns out that entirety of Fear Street is weird, and that their neighbor who can turn into a bug was actually the childhood friend of the patriarch of the family, who kept him a secret all those years. If it seems like the pilot is aimless and absolutely bonkers, it’s not just you. The pilot goes in so many directions and doesn’t seem to hint at much of an arc beyond the family getting into trouble with weird artifacts, as well as trying to adjust to the oddball characters in the neighborhood.

By the end of the episode, dad decides he wants to move into the house to draw inspiration for his books, and the episode pretty much just ends there. Again, the episode is on the cheap side production wise, with a lot of the production obviously cutting corners for the sake of budget. I’m not sure what the point of an invisible dog would have been, but the series never took off nor has it ever been mentioned much beyond extremely nostalgic TV junkies like me… so who really knows.

RL Stine has had his name attached to much better TV projects like “Nightmare Room,” “Goosebumps,” and “The Haunting Hour.” In the end it’s a neat artifact of kids’ television from the decade, but I’d only suggest seeking out “Ghosts of Fear Street” if you’re morbidly curious, or a hardcore Stine fan.

Is It On DVD/Blu-Ray? No. You can however watch the pilot episode in its entirety on Youtube. Unless some company constructs an anthology of RL Stine based TV projects past and present and digs this up for a restored release, don’t hold your breath on a sharp HD version any time soon…