1996 Topps Goosebumps is one of those rare instances where books directly influence a modern set of trading cards. That said, R.L. Stine’s franchise isn’t your typical literary franchises. Since the early 1990s, it has spawned dozens of books, several spinoffs, a hit TV series, two movies, several video games — and trading cards.
Not one of the most readily available sets of the era, it has been something of a sleeper. But as more kids who grew up having happy nightmares of Slappy and friends become adults, the set is starting to gain more recognition today, which has raised its value as well.
1996 Topps Goosebumps Checklist Details
Featuring 54 cards, most of the base set is devoted to the R.L. Stine young adult novels that got things going. This means illustrations on the front from a group of artists, piecing together multi-card arcs. A couple of subsets flesh out the backend of the checklist. There’s nine Ghoul’s Gallery cards that spotlight some of Stine’s greatest creations. Goosebumps on TV cards shifts focus to the franchise’s expansion The final card may be the most interesting in the product. On one side, it’s a checklist. That other features Stine himself.
Three insert sets are available in packs, each with 1:12 pack odds. Foil Stickers are the most basic with each of the six cards focusing on a different creepy creature. Glow-in-the-Dark cards encourage collectors to turn off the lights. Finally, there are six Monster Magic cards. Each has a portion of the front that is hidden. The image is heat sensitive and can be revealed simply by covering the spot with a finger.
Topps also did a factory box set for the release. In addition to the full 54-card base set, it has six Embossed Foil inserts that aren’t in packs.
A second set was in the works with Topps even releasing a promo card for the follow-up. However, it was never meant to be. Series 2 was cancelled.
1996 Topps Goosebumps Checklist
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Set size: 54 cards
Cards per pack: Hobby – 10, Retail – 8
Packs per box: Hobby – 36
Shop for 1996 Topps Goosebumps boxes and packs on eBay.
Base Set Checklist
54 cards.
Buy on eBay:
1 Amanda’s Dream
2 Circle of Doom
3 Death of the Living Dead
4 Terrible Tendrils
5 Mmm…Mmm…Good!
6 Double Dads
7 Ghastly Greetings
8 Tub of Terror
9 Sarabeth Sucked In
10 Curious Camera
11 Predictions of Peril
12 Evil Unleashed
13 Pyramid Plunge
14 Case Closed
15 Boiling Bath
16 Dangerous Disappearance
17 Floating Food
18 Reverse Reflections
19 It’s Alive!
20 Deadly Dummy
21 Et Tu, Slappy?
22 Monstrous Munchies
23 Run For Your Life!
24 Dinner is Served!
25 Snake Bite!
26 Bean Ball!
27 Raging River Rescue!
28 Just Passing Through
29 Mysterious Menace
30 FIRE!!
31 Terrifying Turnabout
32 Stuck!…Forever?
33 Floating Faces of Fear
34 Wishful Thinking
35 All Alone!
36 Free As A Bird
Ghoul’s Gallery
37 Giant Praying Mantis
38 Werewolf
39 The Phantom
40 Slappy the Dummy
41 Mummy
42 Cuddles the Hamster
43 Mud Monster
44 Haunted Mask
45 Plant Dad
Goosebumps on TV
46 Stay Out of the Basement
47 The Cuckoo Clock of Doom
48 The Haunted Mask
49 The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb: Snake
50 The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb: Mummy
51 The Girl Who Cried Monster
52 Camp Nightmare
53 It Came From Beneath the Sink
54 R. L. Stine / Checklist
Embossed Foil Checklist
6 cards.
Available exclusively in factory set and not in packs.
1 Reading is a Scream
2 The Haunted Mask II
3 Piano Lessons Can Be Murder
4 Stay Out of the Basement
5 Egg Monsters from Mars
6 How I Got My Shrunken Head
Foil Stickers Checklist
6 cards.
1:12 packs.
1 The Mud Monster
2 Slappy the Dummy
3 Curly: The Master of Scaremonies
4 Cuddles the Hamster
5 Prince Khor-Ru – The Mummy
6 The Horror
Glow-in-the-Dark Checklist
6 cards.
1:12 packs.
G1 The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb
G2 Welcome to Camp Nightmare
G3 Night of the Living Dummy
G4 One Day at Horrorland
G5 Ghost Beach
G6 The Barking Ghost
Monster Magic Checklist
6 cards.
1:12 packs.
M1 Monster Magic
M2 Mystical Mirror
M3 Menacing Mask
M4 Horrifyingly Huge Hamster
M5 Cursed Cuckoo
M6 Need a Hand?
Promo Cards Checklist
P1 Slappy
Series 2 (set never produced)
