Goosebumps season 1, episode 7 recap: “Give Yourself Goosebumps”

In the last episode of Goosebumps, the group of teens got an info dump of a backstory about how their parents were all involved in the death of Harold Biddle, before the ghost of Harold revealed himself. After the ghost disappears, the teens try to escape the Biddle house, only to discover that outside the house is an ominous black void.

They discover that they're trapped inside Biddle's notebook. The teens hope that their parents will realize that they're missing and come looking for them, but as time drags on, it's starting to look like nobody is coming.

Goosebumps season 1, episode 7 recap – Trapped in the alternate dimension

As they search the house, they discover Mr. Bratt is in the house as well. This is the real Mr. Bratt, not the body possessed by the ghost of Harold Biddle.

It turns out that he's been trapped for quite a while, ever since the ghost first possessed him back in episode 1. He tells them that there's no way to escape, but Isabella notices a distant light in the black void outside the house.

The group devises a plan to lower her to the light, using the curtains as a makeshift repelling system. Lowering Isabella down she lands in a hallway in the high school back in the 1990s.

As she explores the high school, she comes across the auditorium where the entire crowd is made up of people who have been turned into dummies. The world starts to collapse around her, and she frantically signals for the rest of the group to pull her up.

As they retrieve their friend, Mr. Bratt ends up getting thrown against the wall, something that ends up putting him momentarily back in control of his body in the real world. 

Goosebumps season 1, episode 7 recap – Back in the real world...

As the teenagers try to figure out a way out of the purgatory void, that is being trapped in the notebook, Nora is on her way to destroy Slappy the Dummy once and for all. Colin is thrilled that Nora is out of the mental hospital and thinks that this is the moment that they can start the next step of their relationship (since he's finally talked to Sarah).

But Nora is fixated on Slappy and won't talk to him about it. Colin is upset because his last relationship just fell apart, thanks to secrets and a lack of communication.

He goes to talk to Ben, Isaiah's father about it, but when he tries to talk about Nora running off with something that might be a puppet in a bag, Ben runs off too, leaving Colin more confused than ever. Ben meets up with Eliza, James' mother, and the two of them go to investigate the mine where they stashed away Slappy when they were teenagers.

Ben climbs down into the mine, and sure enough, the dummy isn't there. Before he can climb back out, a remaining copy of James shows up and drops the rope, trapping him in the mine.

Then James' copy tries to attack Eliza, but Ben escapes the mine in time. When the two of them turn on the James copy, it explodes.

After the copy of James explodes into goo, the two of them have to admit that Nora has been right this whole time. Back in the scrapbook, the group figures out that pain can put Mr. Bratt back in his body.

If he's back in the real world, he can get the notebook and write an escape route into it for the rest of them to escape back into the real world as well. Mr. Bratt gets punched in the face and he successfully grabs the book, but before he can start to write in it, things start to go wrong.

It turns out that even though Mr. Bratt is back in his body, the ghost of Harold is still in there as well, and the two of them struggle for control over the body. As they fight, the book goes flying and lands in a puddle where the ink starts to run.

Back in the purgatory, the teenagers watch as the world around them starts to disappear as the book soaks in the puddle, wondering what will happen next as the episode comes to a close. 

Goosebumps season 1, episode 7 recap – Justin Long gets a chance to shine

Justin Long is probably the most well-known actor who was cast in the show. But for the most part, he's kind of been a side character.

He's gotten some opportunities to show off his acting ability, playing a character who is clearly a kid trying to act like an adult. But most of the story has focused on either the group of teenagers or their parents, so Long hasn't gotten the most screen time. 

This episode feels like the one where we really get to see him getting to take control of a scene. Justin Long has to play three different people in this episode.

He's Mr. Bratt, trapped in the scrapbook, Mr. Bratt, thrown back into his own body, and Harold Biddle, the ghost that is possessing the body of Mr. Bratt. At times, Long has to switch between these characters rapidly, including one point where Mr. Bratt and Harold Biddle are existing in the same body.

It's a pretty cool thing to watch him pull off and do it in a way where you know exactly what each person is trying to do as they struggle for control.

What did you think of Goosebumps season 1 episode 7? You can watch Goosebumps season 1 on Disney Plus.