Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask II Part 1

The main plot of the episode begins with our protagonist from the first episode, Carly Beth, and her best friend Sabrina, walking home after a Halloween party and discussing how great Carly Beth’s costume was [They’re in casual clothes and carrying their costumes, though. Not sure why they wouldn’t just wear them home?]. Carly Beth went as a two-headed version of herself using the plaster head her mum made last year, and judging by the quick glimpse in the bag Sabrina’s carrying, she went as a tiger.

It’s getting late [It’s after 10:00!!!] so the girls quicken their pace but quickly discover Chuck and Steve, Carly Beth’s bullies from last year [Except Steve is now played by the kid who played Michael from ‘The Cuckoo Clock of Doom’], hiding in the bushes trying to scare them. Carly Beth gets them first, and the boys complain that she was easier to scare last year. Steve wants know what happened to the super scary mask she wore last year because he wants to be scary for Halloween, and Carly Beth explains she ‘”got rid of it”‘ because it was evil, but none of her friends seem to believe the mask had really been taking control of her.

Steve begs to know where she got it from and when Carly Beth refuses to tell him, he snatches the plaster head from her hands and the boys play Piggy in the Middle with her until Sabrina intercepts. As the girls walk off, Carly Beth reveals to Sabrina that she buried the mask ‘”in a place where no-one will ever find it.”‘ We then jump to the cemetery, where the original Haunted Mask magically rises from it’s makeshift grave and floats away [Ooky spooky!].

Elsewhere, the ooky spooky shopkeeper man is burning the rest of the Unloved Ones in the shop’s furnace. He’s in a hurry for some reason [Why didn’t you do this last year?] and just as he’s about to burn the last one [A gross old man mask that I don’t think was there in the first episode], the floating OG green one arrives [How did it get inside? It has no hands to open the door?]. The mask verbally confirms Halloween has brought it back [Halloween’s not until tomorrow though!] and although the shopkeeper arms himself with a fire poker, the mask forces itself over his head and possesses him.

After school the next day, Steve [I guess he’s our protagonist now! I miss Carly Beth already :(] is all mopey, complaining to Chuck that it’s their “last chance to do something really scary”‘ because they’ll be too old for Halloween next year [You’re never too old! Don’t be stupid]. As they walk home, Steve laments that life passing them by and ‘”before you know it, you’re a drooling, disgusting old man”‘ right as they’re passing by an old man [Hahahaha. And it’s a double meaning too, because the Haunted Mask Steve finds later resembles a disgusting old man!].

Steve really wants to scare somebody this year, and lucky for them, the possessed shopkeeper appears in front of them before running off. Recognising the mask from last year, the boys chase him all the way to the now-ramshackle novelty store and find away inside through the open back door. Chuck quickly chickens out and runs off while Steve bravely ventures down to the basement, unaware he’s being watched by the shopkeeper [Just remember he’s possessed and wearing the OG mask until I say otherwise so I don’t have to mention it each time xox]. He quickly finds an old man mask, the last of the Unloved Ones, and decides it’s scary enough to fulfil his wishes tonight and takes it home.

At home, Steve puts the mask on in his room, unbothered by how it quickly seems to mould to his skin. He easily takes it off before his mum comes in to show him the pirate costume she’s made for him, and he doesn’t bother to tell her he won’t be wearing that lame thing.

Meanwhile at Carly Beth’s, she’s wearing the cute duck costume her mum made her last year, unaware of the shopkeeper watching from outside the window. He’s got his eyes on the plaster head, the symbol of love she used to defeat the mask last year. We also see Carly Beth’s brother Noah [Of “Gotcha gotcha gotcha!” fame, if you’ve seen my constant use of that gif] inside, revealed to be fine after wearing the mask only once at the end of the first episode, rather than the three times that would make it unable to be removed. Then Carly Beth heads off to meet Sabrina and her tiger costume who asks Carly Beth to do her hilarious duck walk [But then only watches half of it]:

Sabrina expresses how happy she is that Carly Beth’s having fun this year [Sabrina is gr8], and soon Chuck rocks up in his gangster costume. He’s on his way to meet Steve and mentions that he doesn’t know what Steve will be dressed as, but they’d found an old party store. Alarm bells ring in Carly Beth’s head and she demands to know if Steve went into the store, but Chuck tells her he didn’t [It seems like he just doesn’t think Steve went in there, even though they both entered the store??].

Elsewhere, Steve’s about to head out when his mum notices he’s not wearing his pirate costume. He’s not wearing the mask either, but has it smuggled in a bag, and lies that he’s putting on the pirate costume when he gets to Chuck’s. The family dog, Sparky, senses evil in the house and starts barking at Steve, and Steve manages to escape while Mum’s distracted by trick-or-treaters. A safe distance from home, Steve practically orgasms as he puts on the old man mask [The rest of his costume is apparently just his casual clothes he wore to school that day. At least Carly Beth had a trench coat!].

Sometime later, Steve hides behind some hedges as Chuck’s about to walk past and calls him over in a sickly old man voice [See, his fear of becoming a drooling old man is actually happening! Not that he even realises it yet]. Steve jumps out at him when he’s close enough, claiming ‘”There’s no Steve”‘ and that he’d taken Steve’s clothes. Chuck gets scared and tries to run away, but Steve takes off the mask to calm him down [Welp, that’s the second time, it won’t be coming off again, pal]. Steve makes Chuck promise not to tell anyone he stole it from the store [So I guess Chuck really did think Steve didn’t explore the place? Not sure why because he was literally heading downstairs when Chuck left lol], and Steve’s super excited to make tonight ‘”a Halloween to remember.”‘

He puts on the mask again to show it off to Chuck [Instead of just handing it to him to have a look at…?] and after some poking and prodding, Chuck comments that ‘”It feels like skin. Dry, old skin”‘ and asks how he’s doing that voice [A little throwback to Sabrina’s encounter with the OG Haunted Mask last year!], but Steve isn’t even aware his voice has changed. He then runs around and torments and steals candy from some nearby trick-or-treaters, which quickly tires him out. He decides ‘”Energy’s what I need”‘ and feasts on some of the candy [Can I have some energy too?].

Chuck’s not impressed with his antics and thinks Steve’s behaviour is disgusting, so Steve calls him a ‘”weak, stupid boy”‘ and mocks his fear. “‘Forget you”‘ says Chuck, abandoning Steve and heading in the other direction as Steve continues to terrify younger trick-or-treaters.

Chuck finds Carly Beth and Sabrina and tells them about the ‘”really creepy mask”‘ Steve had found and his change in behaviour. Chuck breaks his promise and tells the girls how Steve snuck into the store and took the mask before all three of them set off to find their friend, who Carly Beth declares is in ‘”major trouble.”‘

I can’t seem to find any clear divide as to where this episode ends and the next one begins, but around here is the usual length of an episode so let’s wrap up part 1 now! So far so good, but be sure to check out part 2 soon for my final thoughts on the both episodes as a whole!