We’re Going to Fear Street, Baby!

Warning: Spoilers

Recently, I watched the Fear Street movies on Netflix. They were everything I could have wanted from a movie based on those novels: lots of gore, teenage dumb, and bad things happening to Shadysiders. Given, Shadyside really only had a Fear Street problem in the books (as far as I remember), but I’m okay with a liberal interpretation as long as a cheerleader goes into bread slicer.

That inspired me to go back through all of the Fear Street novels. I basically lived in the library as a kid, checking out 30-40 books at a time because there was no internet; the only hobby I was “allowed” to have involved low parental involvement and commitment. I tore through the available Fear Street novels and whatever else I could get my nerdy hands on.. While I blame Stephen King and Peter Straub novels and movies for my love of horror— and let’s be frank, cheesy plotlines and practical effects— R.L. Stine was giving us terrible plot twists when M. Night Shyamalan was still figuring out how to hold a pen.

I’m writing a summary for every Fear Street book, reading all of teenage fiction so you don’t have to. Reviews will be erratic; while I have library cards for every metropolitan area and the state library, not all books are available either because they are on hold or the library just doesn’t have a copy of them (in which case, thank god for Kindle). These reviews include a lot of sarcasm. It might seem that I hate R.L. Stine, but I love his work with every fiber of my being. It is some of the best trashy horror, low-key entertainment that exists. Don’t come for me.

If you want to read the spoilers early and ask questions, you can join my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/wuthering. You can also ask me to expound on certain plot points; I don’t promise those will be good since the main plot point of every Fear Street book is kids be dumb, yo. However, maybe I missed some complexity while a murderer throws every red flag out there, and the protagonists blithely walk into knives, chainsaws, and monsters.

Join me for bad decision island, teenage serial killers, and a thorough examination of what a shitshow it is to live on Fear Street!