Zach (Dylan Minnette) and his mother Gale (Amy Ryan) have just moved to Madison, Delaware via New York, though for Zach it may as well be Nowhere, Deleware. Gale's landed a new job as a vice principal at the local high school. Zach meets his new neighbor, Mr. Shivers (Jack Black), and it's not a cordial introduction. Zach is bluntly told to stay on his side of the fence and keep away from Shivers' daughter Hannah (Odeya Rush). One evening, Zach believes he hears a struggle in the neighbors' house. He call the cops, but Shivers blames the ruckus on his surround sound system. Nevertheless, Zach and his new social outcast friend Champ (Ryan Lee) sneak in to investigate. Inside the house, they discover dozens of original Goosebumps manuscripts, the acclaimed childrens' Horror stories. But they're not simply bound pages. When opened, their most terrible creatures -- abominable snowmen, werewolves, aliens, an oversized Praying Mantis, even an evil puppet -- come to life and wreak havoc on Madison. Now, Zach, Champ, and Hannah, along with Shivers, who reveals himself to be none other than Author R.L. Stine himself, must find a way to stay alive and return the creatures from whence they came.