All 160+ Fear Street Books in Order by R.L. Stine | Ultimate Guide
Even if you’ve never read a Fear Street novel by R. L. Stine, there’s a good chance you’re a huge fan of the Fear Street Netflix movies. How many books were used as the basis for the movie series? Read on to find out!
Fearsome and spooky go together like peanut butter and jelly. Since 1986, R. L. Stine has terrified kids, teens, and adults—even if that wasn’t his initial purpose.
More than 100 of the more than 400 books he has produced throughout the years are in the Fear Street series. To learn how to read the Fear Street volumes chronologically, continue reading.
Compared to Stine’s equally well-known Goosebumps series, the young adult horror fiction series Fear Street is significantly more savage and gory.
The books were as well-known at Scholastic book fairs, though. This will be your definitive guide to reading the Fear Street books in order, whether you’re trying to relive your youth or introduce someone to the series for the first time.
Who is R. L. Stine?
In 1943, Robert Lawrence Stine was conceived in Columbus, Ohio. He claims that as a child; he struggled with shyness, fear, and feelings of alienation. When composing his horror tales, he typically draws from these fear and anxiety-filled recollections.
When he was younger, Stine frequently felt most at ease at home in his room writing because of his shyness and fearfulness. At the age of nine, he discovered a typewriter in the attic of his family’s home, and his life was permanently altered.
Stine never intended to write horror, despite having a name that is now associated with children’s and young adult horror. This is true even though as a child, he devoured horror comics like The Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt, and The Witch’s Cauldron.
Because his mother wouldn’t let him bring the comics home, Stine would read them every Saturday while getting his hair cut at the barbershop.
However, Stine’s original goal was to publish humorous works. He started doing this in 1978 and has since written more than 100 joke novels under the pseudonym Jovial Bob Stine.
Stine still feels strongly about the parallels between laughing and being afraid, describing them as the same visceral feeling. But when Stine published Blind Date, his debut horror book, in 1986, it changed the course of literature forever.
The first Fear Street novel was written by Stine in 1989, just a few short years afterwards. It became the best-selling young adult series in history, claims his website.
Stine is one of the all-time best-selling authors, with more than 400 million books sold worldwide and 35 language translations.
The Series
Over the course of four decades, more than 160 Fear Street books have been published.
While R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series is aimed at a younger audience, Fear Street is aimed at a more mature audience. The fright, gore, and death levels have been increased. If you’re interested in learning more about the Goosebumps series, you can read this article in order.
With the continuation of the major series, the Fear Street series initially debuted in the late 1980s and ran through the 1990s.
During this time, other spin-off series that are set in the same little city were also released. After then, the series took a break, but Stine later made a comeback to Fear Street with new volumes in the 2000s.
The stories are set in Shadyside, an imaginary East Coast city in the United States. Danger always appears to be lurking on a specific street in this metropolis called Fear Street.
Shadyside’s adolescents can’t manage to avoid its clutches for very long and inevitably end up traversing its dark fear despite the horror stories that repeatedly come out of this street.
Every novel in the series usually follows a different individual and a different mystery. The only time this doesn’t apply is if a book has a direct sequel, which will be obvious from the title.
The books do, however, have a tendency to build upon one another even though each one features a fresh murder investigation or supernatural incident. The Fear Street volumes are published in the same chronological order as their publishing dates.
In the past 30 years, a lot of the Fear Street books have sadly gone out of print. As a result, it may be challenging to purchase all of the published Fear Street novels.
The recommended reading order, however, if you plan to attempt to read all 161 Fear Street novels, is by series.
Adaptations of Fear Street
With a 2021 Netflix adaptation, the Fear Street books by R.L. Stine have recently gained popularity again.
A Fear Street movie trilogy with weekly segments debuted on the streaming service in July 2021. Fear Street Part One (1994), Fear Street Part Two (1978), and Fear Street Part Three (1666) are the three films.
The movies borrow ideas from the entire series rather than adapting any one novel or novels. According to Stine, it was interesting to see how different authors approached his Fear Street universe.
As one might anticipate from the reference to the year 1666 in the title of the final volume, the adaptations have given Shadyside a 300-year history that goes all the way back to colonial times.
Stine claims that while the adaptations don’t stick closely to any one particular novel, they do capture the spirit of the books, which are about a cursed location inside a seemingly regular community. He adds that the movies are scarier than the books.
Sadie Sink, Maya Hawke, Kiana Madeira, Julia Rehwald, Olivia Scott Welch, and Benjamin Flores Jr. are the actors who appear in the films.
Order of the Fear Street Books
Let’s look at the books now, though. R.L. Stine claims that he wrote a Fear Street and a Goosebumps book every month during the 1990s Goosebumps and Fear Street mania.
That works out to a quick novel every two weeks.
As a result, there are a ton of Fear Street books, which might be a little overwhelming. The novels are arranged in this directory by series.
The ideal spot to start your reading adventure with Fear Street is with the original series, which ran from 1989 through 1997 and saw the publication of approximately 50 books.
Now, with these lists of the Fear Street books in chronological order, find — or relearn — some classic horror literature.
Fear Street Books in Order: Original Series
1. The New Girl (1989)
2. The Surprise Party (1989)
3. The Overnight (1989)
4. Missing (1990)
5. The Wrong Number (1990)
6. The Sleepwalker (1990)
7. Haunted (1990)
8. Halloween Party (1990)
9. The Stepsister (1990)
10. Ski Weekend (1991)
11. The Fire Game (1991)
12. Lights Out (1991)
13. The Secret Bedroom (1991)
14. The Knife (1991)
15. The Prom Queen (1992)
16. First Date (1992)
17. The Best Friend (1992)
18. The Cheater (1993)
19. Sunburn (1993)
20. The New Boy (1994)
21. The Dare (1994)
22. Bad Dreams (1994)
23. Double Date (1994)
24. The Thrill Club (1994)
25. One Evil Summer (1994)
26. The Mind Reader (1994)
27. Wrong Number 2 (1995)
28. Truth or Dare (1995)
29. Dead End (1995)
30. Final Grade (1995)
31. Switched (1995)
32. College Weekend (1995)
33. The Stepsister 2 (1995)
34. What Holly Heard (1996)
35. The Face (1996)
36. Secret Admirer (1996)
37. The Perfect Date (1996)
38. The Confession (1996)
39. The Boy Next Door (1996)
40. Night Games (1996)
50. Runaway (1997)
51. Killer’s Kiss (1997)
52. All-Night Party (1997)
52. The Rich Girl (1997)
53. Cat (1997)
54. Who Killed the Homecoming Queen? (1997)
55. Into the Dark (1997)
56. Best Friend 2 (1997)
57. Trapped (1997)
Fear Street Books in Order: 2010s Relaunch
58. Party Games (2014)
59. Don’t Stay Up Late (2015)
60. The Lost Girl (2015)
61. Can You Keep a Secret? (2016)
62. The Dead Boyfriend (2016)
63. Give Me a K-I-L-L (2017)
Super Chiller Series
64. Party Summer (1991)
65. Silent Night (1991)
66. Goodnight Kiss (1992)
67. Broken Hearts (1993)
68. Silent Night 2 (1993)
69. The Dead Lifeguard (1993)
70. Bad Moonlight (1994)
71. The New Year’s Party (1995)
72. Goodnight Kiss 2 (1996)
73. Silent Night 3 (1996)
74. High Tide (1997)
Super Chiller: Cheerleaders Series
75. Cheerleaders: The First Evil (1992)
76. Cheerleaders: The Second Evil (1992)
77. Cheerleaders: The Third Evil (1992)
78. Cheerleaders: The New Evil (1992)
79. Cheerleaders: The Evil Lives! (1998)
The Fear Street Saga Trilogy
80. The Betrayal (1993)
81. The Secret (1993)
82. The Burning (1993)
99 Fear Street: The House of Evil Series
83. The First Horror (1994)
84. The Second Horror (1994)
85. The Third Horror (1994)
Ghosts of Fear Street Series
86. Hide and Shriek (1995)
87. Who’s Been Sleeping in My Grave? (1995)
88. The Attack of the Aqua Apes (1995)
89. Nightmare in 3-D (1996)
90. Stay Away From the Treehouse (1996)
91. Eye of the Fortuneteller (1996)
92. Fright Knight (1996)
93. The Ooze (1996)
94. Revenge of the Shadow People (1996)
95. The Bugman Lives! (1996)
96. The Boy Who Ate Fear Street (1996)
97. Night of the Werecat (1996)
98. How to Be a Vampire (1996)
99. Body Switchers from Outer Space (1996)
100. Fright Christmas (1996)
101. Don’t Ever Get Sick at Granny’s (1997)
102. House of a Thousand Screams (1997)
103. Camp Fear Ghouls (1997)
104. Three Evil Wishes (1997)
105. Spell of the Screaming Jokers (1997)
106. The Creature from Club Lagoona (1997)
107. Field of Screams (1997)
108. Why I’m Not Afraid of Ghosts (1997)
109. Monster Dog (1997)
110. Halloween Bugs Me (1997)
111. Go to Your Tomb – Right Now! (1997)
112. Parents From the 13th Dimension (1997)
113. Hide and Shriek II (1998)
114. Tale of the Blue Monkey (1998)
115. I Was a Sixth-Grade Zombie (1998)
116. Escape of the He-Beast (1998)
117. Caution: Aliens at Work (1998)
118. Attack of the Vampire Worms (1998)
119. Horror Hotel 1 (1998)
120. Horror Hotel 2 (1998)
The Cataluna Chronicles
121. The Evil Moon (1995)
122. The Dark Secret (1995)
123. The Deadly Fire (1995)
Fear Park Series
124. The First Scream (1996)
125. The Loudest Scream (1996)
126. The Last Scream (1996)
Fear Street Sagas
127. A New Fear (1996)
128. House of Whispers (1996)
129. Forbidden Secrets (1996)
130. The Sign of Fear (1996)
131. The Hidden Evil (1997)
132. Daughters of Silence (1997)
133. Children of Fear (1997)
134. Dance of Death (1997)
135. Heart of the Hunter (1997)
136. The Awakening Evil (1997)
137. Circle of Fire (1998)
138. Chamber of Fear (1999)
139. Faces of Terror (1999)
140. One Last Kiss (1999)
141. Door of Death (1999)
142. The Hand of Power (1999)
Fear Hall Series
143. The Beginning (1997)
144. The Conclusion (1997)
New Fear Street Series
145. The Stepbrother (1998)
146. Camp Out (1999)
147. Scream, Jennifer, Scream! (1999)
148. The Bad Girl (1999)
Fear Street Seniors Series
149. Let’s Party (1998)
150. In Too Deep (1998)
151. The Thirst (1998)
152. No Answer (1998)
153. Last Chance (1998)
154. The Gift (1998)
155. Fight Team, Fight (1998)
156. Sweetheart, Evil Heart (1998)
157. Spring Break (1999)
158. Wicked (1999)
159. Prom Date (1999)
160. Graduation Day (1999)
Fear Street Nights Series
161. Moonlight Secrets (2005)
162. Midnight Games (2005)
163. Darkest Dawn (2005)
Return to Fear Street Series
164. You May Now Kill the Bride (2018)
165. The Wrong Girl (2018)
166. Drop Dead Gorgeous (2019)
A List of the Fear Street Books in Order
Let’s look at the summaries for the first 10 Fear Street novels in chronological order now that you are familiar with all of R. L. Stine’s released Fear Street books.
If it has been a while since you read these books, the summaries will help you remember what happened or will indicate whether you should add them to your list of books to read.
1. The Sleepwalker
One week after she starts her summer job on Fear Street with old Mrs. Cottler, Mayra Barnes begins to sleepwalk, waking up in the dead of night not knowing where she is. Mayra becomes even more terrified when she discovers Mrs. Cottler may be a witch…
Is the old woman casting spells on Mayra? To add to Mayra’s horror, she is being followed by a menacing stranger who seems to recognize her — but she’s never seen him in her life!
Mayra’s sleepwalking is leading her into more and more peril. She soon realizes she must take action. She must find out what is happening to her — or she may never leave Fear Street alive!
2. Halloween Party
The invitation arrived in a black-bordered envelope. Inside, the card showed a coffin with the inscription “Reserved For You.”
It was perfectly fitting for an all-night Halloween party on Fear Street. But Terry and his girlfriend Niki wondered why they had been invited. They barely knew Justine Cameron, the beautiful and mysterious transfer student who was throwing the party.
The party was well underway when the lights went out. That’s being expected at a spooky Halloween party. But when the lights come back on, there was that boy on the floor with the knife in his back.
Just a Halloween prank? Maybe. Maybe not.
For Terry and Niki, trick-or-treating has turned to terror. To their horror, they realize that someone at the costume party is dressed to kill!
3. Missing
What would you do if your parents didn’t come home, didn’t call, left no note? At first, Mark and Cara Burroughs aren’t terribly alarmed. Their parents have stayed out late before.
But then other things start to go wrong. Mark’s girlfriend Gena breaks up with him and suddenly disappears. The police don’t seem at all interested in finding Mark and Cara’s parents. And their mysterious cousin who boards with them seems to be spying on their every move!
When murder strikes, Mark and Cara learn their terror is only beginning. Someone wants them to disappear too! But why? The answer lies deep in the Fear Street Woods. But will they live long enough to find it?
4. Ski Weekend
“Red” Porter was a stranger they’d met on their ski weekend. But Ariel Munroe, Doug Mahr and R. L. Stine and his girlfriend Shannon Harper were grateful he was there when they set out for home on the icy roads.
Thank heaven for Red! He spotted the hilltop lodge when they were stranded by the blizzard. He took charge when they stumbled into strange surroundings, scared, tired, and looking for refuge.
But can he save them when their refuge becomes a trap? Suddenly their hosts are acting very sinister.
Doug’s car is gone. The phones are dead. And the house is full of guns. If they steal one, maybe they can escape! Until a shot is fired and the real terror begins…
5. The Surprise Party
It’s been a year since Evan died in the Fear Street woods. A year since Ellen moved away, and “the gang” split up.
Meg Dalton felt as if she’d lost her best friends. Everyone changed. Even her boyfriend Tony was acting moody, and strange.
But when she heard that Ellen was returning for a visit, Meg had the answer: She’d bring them all together again with a surprise party for Ellen!
That’s when the terror began… the phone calls… the threats… the bizarre acts of violence. “Cancel the party — or else,” the whispered voice on the phone told her.
Meg was scared and with good reason. Whoever wanted the party stopped would try anything — even murder! But why? The dark Fear Street woods held the answer…if Meg dared to discover the truth!
6. Haunted
Melissa woke up screaming. The prowler was at her window…or was he? The recent headlines about a Fear Street prowler had everyone on edge. Her father now kept a loaded pistol in his bedroom. That made it even more frightening — and real.
Then the haunting began: her new car driving as if someone else had taken control; her birthday presents ripped open by unseen hands; an invisible force trying to push her out the bedroom window.
Out of the shadows of her bedroom came a menacing figure. Who was he? Did he really come from beyond the grave? And why had he come to kill her? If Melissa doesn’t solve the mystery fast, these questions will haunt her — to death!
7. The Stepsister
Emily wants to like her stepsister, but it hasn’t been easy. As soon as Jessie moves in, she takes over Emily’s room, steals Emily’s clothes, and lies to everyone. Then Emily picks up Jessie’s diary and learns a horrifying secret. Is Jessie really capable of murder?
Emily tries to tell her parents, but no one believes her.
So it’s up to Emily to expose the real Jessie — if she can stay alive.
8. The New Girl
The new girl is as pale as a ghost, blonde, and eerily beautiful — and she seems to need him as much as he wants her. Cory Brooks hungers for Anna Corwin’s kisses drown in her light blue eyes. He can’t get her out of his mind. He has been losing sleep, ditching his friends… and everyone has noticed.
Then as suddenly as she came to Shadyside High, Anna disappears. To find a cure for his obsession, Cory must go to Anna’s house on Fear Street — no matter what the consequences.
Anna may be the love of his life…but finding out her secret might mean his death.
9. The Wrong Number
It begins as an innocent prank when Deena Martinson and her best friend Jade Smith make sexy phone calls to the boys from school. But Deena’s half-brother Chuck catches them in the act and threatens to tell their parents unless the girls let him in on the fun.
Chuck begins making random calls, threatening anyone who answers. It’s dangerous and exciting. They’re even enjoying the publicity and the uproar they’ve caused. Until Chuck calls a number on Fear Street.
To his horror, Chuck realizes he has called the wrong number. The jokes are over when murder is on the line. The murderer knows who they are and where they live — and they have nowhere to call for help.
10. The Overnight
“Nothing bad will happen,” Della O’Connor assures her friends in the Outdoors Club. So what if their advisor can’t go on the overnight to Fear Island — won’t it be more fun with no adults around?
But it’s no fun at all when Della gets lost in the woods, and the dangerous stranger appears, whispering threats, driving her to a violent act.
Suddenly all of her friends are involved, prisoners in a conspiracy of silence, trying to conceal the terrible truth. But someone saw what Della did. And he’s threatening them all, forcing them back to Fear Island to find the evidence they forgot to bury…
Conclusion
The ideal method to read the Fear Street volumes is in chronological order, as shown above. These books are traditional YA horror books. Additionally, R. L. Stine is the ideal predecessor and complimentary writer to a fellow horror king: King, Stephen
When you were younger, did you read the Fear Street novels chronologically? Are you starting to read the books for the first time or did it ignite your passion for reading? Tell us in the comments section below.
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