Nightmare Hour

Nightmare Hour
Author	R. L. Stine
Language	English
Genre	Horror fiction, Children's literature
Published	August 1999
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Paperback and Hardcover)
Pages	148
ISBN	0-06-028688-1

Nightmare Hour is a 1999 children's horror short stories collection by R. L. Stine. It is composed of 10 different short stories and was a New York Times bestseller from the year 1999 to 2000.

All but "Make Me a Witch" were made into episodes of The Haunting Hour television series. However, "Make Me a Witch" is similar to the "Intruders" episode.

Stories

"Pumpkinhead"
"Alien Candy"
"The Most Evil Sorcerer"
"Nightmare Inn"
"I'm Not Martin"
"The Black Mask"
"Afraid of Clowns"
"The Dead Body"
"Make Me A Witch"
"The Ghostly Stare"

Reception

Nightmare Hour was on the New York Times bestseller list from 1999 to 2000 and was awarded the Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Award for Best Horror/Mystery Book.

Sofrina Hinton from Kidsreads said "with its lavish illustrations and clever, direct storytelling and themes that speak to every one of us, NIGHTMARE HOUR is a worthy read for horror fans of any age". Maria Dolan from Amazon commented that "these are tales you'll be too scared to put down". Molly S. Kinney from the Library Journal stated "it's guaranteed to produce goosebumps".

Streaming adaptation

A film directed by Jem Garrard, titled R.L. Stine's Pumpkinhead and based on the short story, was released on Tubi in October 2025, with a sequel following in 2026.

References

1 2 (March 22, 2004.) "The Hatchery to Produce R.L. Stine Presents, DVD Series of Original Family Thriller Movies Based on Best-Selling Books Nightmare Hour, The Haunting Hour.". Goliath. Retrieved on December 5, 2010.
↑ Marcovitz, Hal. "R.L. Stine". Chelsea House Publishers, 2006. Retrieved on December 5, 2010.
↑ Hinton, Sofrina. "NIGHTMARE HOUR". Kidsreads. Retrieved on December 5, 2010.
1 2 "Nightmare Hour: Time for Terror". Amazon. Retrieved on December 5, 2010.
↑ "Inside Tubi's Plan to Build an R.L. Stine Cinematic Universe". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 19, 2026.

External links

[the_hatchery-1] 1 2 (March 22, 2004.) "The Hatchery to Produce R.L. Stine Presents, DVD Series of Original Family Thriller Movies Based on Best-Selling Books Nightmare Hour, The Haunting Hour.". Goliath. Retrieved on December 5, 2010.

[best-2] Marcovitz, Hal. "R.L. Stine". Chelsea House Publishers, 2006. Retrieved on December 5, 2010.

[kidsreads-3] Hinton, Sofrina. "NIGHTMARE HOUR". Kidsreads. Retrieved on December 5, 2010.

[amazon-4] 1 2 "Nightmare Hour: Time for Terror". Amazon. Retrieved on December 5, 2010.

[5] "Inside Tubi's Plan to Build an R.L. Stine Cinematic Universe". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 19, 2026.