Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel

Give Yourself Goosebumps #27

by R.L. Stine

The reader can choose from more than twenty different endings to the terrifying tale that begins with the reader and friends checking into the Dead Hotel--where the guests are all ghosts--after breaking down on a deserted highway.

Genres: Horror, Childrens, Fiction, Gamebooks, Fantasy, Choose Your Own Adventure, Thriller

140 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.

http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check Out Time At The Dead End hotel is a book that I've always wanted to read as a kid. But never got around to it. I've always wanted to read that book as I was going on a trip or something. But being an adult you realize it's a lot harder to do. Check Out Time At The Dead End Hotel starts off with you and two friends and one of their moms going to Washington DC for some school trip and having car trouble along the way getting stranded in the process. On the side of the road you run across this hotel.The hotel is named hotel Morte and when you first get there you immediately get a choice of either order a room service or ordering a pay-per-view movie. Don't choose the room service. So you order the pay-per-view movie you get this guy popping up on the TV screen.he looks ghostly all that good stuff. And he simply tells you that Hotel Morte is full of ghosts and all the doors are locked and you can't escape. So then you get this phone call from a guy named Drew mortograth I think I spelled that right. anyway he tells you that he's the only other human in the hotel and he can get you out if you find him.So your objective is to go through every door and try to find Drew. And when the guy said there's a lot ghosts in this book there are a lot of ghosts in this book there's ghosts dogs, t a ghost with weird hair ,a smelly ghost ,a lady with a knife in her chest and more. Their is also a room full of skeletons.One of the best endings in this book for me was the reference to the Give Yourself Goosebumps book Scream Of The Evil Genie, which I thought was really cool. I love when they do that.And one of the worst endings was one of those I Live In Your Basement type of endings that I do not like.But as for negatives, unfortunately it breaks my heart to say that this book had a lot of negatives. Their is really no sense of dread or anything in this book . I understand it's a Give Yourself Goosebumps so you don't really have time to build up the dread.But it's like the third choice you are already there with a ghost. Also the navigation through this book is a pain. I literally had to go on the Goosebumps Wiki to see where to go to find the smelly ghost again, because I only found him one time. Other than that this book was just fine .I'll give it a three out of fivw stars.It wasn't great, but it was okay.

[Tiffany Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Checkout Time at the Dead Hotel
My Story
The car breaks down right outside the Dead Hotel (aka The Bates Hotel). The desk clerk (Norman) informs you there’s only one room left. It’s 1313. The room looks normal enough. Mom leaves to find snacks and sodas. Do we order room service or rent a movie? I say order room service. We order a butt load of food and when it comes there’s a cart BUT no one pushing it. HMMM! Maybe it’s remote controlled BUT we heard a knock. We shrug it off and pig out. And shortly after are sick as dogs and about to throw up. A ghost appears in the bathroom and says you’ll all be ghost soon. The food was spiced with “a special ingredient” but before it kills us we’ll be sick for some hours.

If you decide to watch tv. A ghost reaches his hand through the television, turns the volume up, and then tells us we’ve checked into a haunted hotel and basically, we’ll be there forever! NIIICE! Now my first thought is get our stuff, try to find Mom, and get the hell outta there. BUT we soon find out that all the doors are locked so there’s no point trying to escape. And eerily all the staff and visitors are ghost. And the man says he’ll take care of our mother. (umm what does he mean “take care of”?) There’re some mints on the pillow that say SWEET DREAMS FROM HOTELMORTE! Wisely we decide not to touch them. I think it’s pretty apparent what the food at this hotel does (it’ll be lights out forreal). But we’re dared to eat it and we’re about to but the phone ring. There is NO WAY I’m eating that mint. I answer the phone-tho who could it be because no one knows we’re here-? The person on the other end says his name is Drew (already my radar goes up and I don’t trust him. LONG STORY for another time). He tells us whatever we do don’t fall asleep – (hmm maybe this is Freddy AND Norman run this hotel. Wouldn’t *that* be a pairing?) He says he has a key and the room number he’s in is… but there’s a scream and the phone hung up (he’s probably now dead or vanished. Wouldn’t surprise me either way. Wouldn’t surprise me either if he lied and is a ghost). We decide to split up, look for him, meet back in a hr. If not come up with another plan. There’s a ghost in the elevator (the theme song from Uninvited an old Nintendo game is playing in my head). It’s carrying a chain. We take off running down some stairs with the Bloody Baron (because he has a Clink Clink sound) hot on your heels. You find Jamie-he’s stolen the ghost’s chain-. But on the next floor you find something else. A large ghost dog. The ghost dog disappears through a exit door. I continue to look for Drew (tho honestly, I’m not sure why in either version real or fictional). We have this idea that we need to search all the rooms (umm idk because how many rooms does this hotel have? And is it anything like the one on AHS?) But we think if we can steal “Norman’s” keys. But “Norman” might very well be Drew. Do I decide to act crazy or steal the key? I decide to act crazy. We jump on the couch and start “monkeying” around but step on a biting ghost. When you look up Jamie’s vanished. GREAT! As your battling the biting ghost a newspaper comes toward us and swats at our head. Then everything in the lobby starts to attack me! Jamie shows up and I finally escape the invisible fight club. Do we take the stairs or the elevator? THE KEY IS TAKING THE STAIRS. If you do you end up in your room. You get another call that tells you to meet them in the dinning room. There’s a brochure that tells about all the deaths in Room 402. If you go in there the room starts to bleed. You might have to flip back but there’s a refridgator full of clam juice. If you go to the dining room there’s a lady in a red silk dress who’ll “claim” she’s Drew but there’s also a kid. You have to decipher which is really Drew. And it’s the kid. You have to ask them both what their favorite drink is. (Thus, the refridgator comes into play). The kid will tell you his history that the room is cursed and he’s the only one that the ghost won’t attack. Even if you don’t meet the ghost with the new check out time, the old one will work. You’ll escape and find yourself back on the bus. You’ll wake up and the teacher will tell you they never stopped at a hotel and have been driving all this time.

I take the elevator (it’s quickest). But Jamie and I aren’t the only one’s in the elevator. A girl materializes and says she’ll take us to Drew. 82 or 47 She wants us to come to her room. She tells this story about how she was like us and got sucked in by the ghost but she wants to help. (DON’T GO WITH HER! She’ll lead you to her room that’s filled with sleep stuff). But she takes Jamie, as you escape and get off the elevator. You hear a cry that sounds like Moira. The cry leads you to a basement filled with BONES. Skeletons on top of each other. Moira is in the room. She’s was chased by two ghost-one an old lady with a knife sticking out her chest-. Moira gets this thought that if you touch the bones they’ll tell you a way out. She does and a voice tells her that there’s a door beneath. I touch them myself but it’s a trap. They topple, bury me, and the old woman and young boy appear. There really is a door and they leave through it. They can only leave if someone replaces them. SUCKAS!

Rating 10 I LOVED this one! I just finished the Bates Motel series in October and I can see how this book discreetly draws from that. Also from an old game I used to play called Uninvited. This unfortunately wasn't one of the GYG books I owned but it's definitely one I plan to purchase!

[Camelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've spent my whole afternoon flipping through the pages and reading all the endings and I really enjoyed reading this book as I love books that let you choose what to do next.
I escaped from the hotel in various ways, dead in a few ways as well. But the only thing is it doesn't give me any goosebumps .

[Arda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars because I’ve realized I don’t like the “choose your own ending” lol.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my absolute favorite gyg books. It’s in a hotel which is automatically creepy and it has a lot of awesome endings. Very fun and packed full of adventure and danger. Highly recommend!

[Kecia Nongthombam · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are always so fun

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my thirtieth Give Yourself Goosebumps read, and it turned out to be a pleasant read for a black-spine book. I wanna preface this by saying that most of the black-spine GYGs that I’ve read aren’t great, but aren’t bad. Thankfully, this broke the chain as the second great black-spine at long last—but not without it’s issues. First compliment goes to the sheer amount of great endings. Some GYGs have crap endings, some have mediocre endings, and some (like this book) have plenty of really good endings. 19 in fact, though I’m on the fence about a few. But overall, good endings as well as scares. There’s some nice horror moments here and a few genuinely disturbing depictions of ghosts and blood, and it even touches upon the fear of sleep, where if you fall asleep in this hotel, you potentially won’t wake up in your own body (to keep it vague enough without being a spoiler lol). There’s a few good jokes throughout, and the story is generally a good time with consistent pacing throughout. As for criticism, I’ll say that Drew Mortegarth was super underwhelming for being hyped up the whole book as this person you need to find to help you. They contribute nothing and are more of a plot device to keep you moving forward, even though that already exists: the three other people you came here with are missing and you need to find them. Such wasted potential. Also, there’s a really dumb thing involving… uh… dwarves to be less specific. Super weird and I wasn’t for it. Overall, 9/10. A great read.

[Ekata]

this was a lot of fun (i am assuming it was more fun for a 9-y/o me, of course) and vvv confusing, but well i guess that adds on to the fun. not really scary but some of the 'twists' are so bizarre that it legit cracked me up. XD

[Nachtblume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mein erstes Abenteuerspielbuch! Die verschiedenen Wege sind super unterhaltsam, spannend und lustig. Ich freue mich schon auf den Rest!

[Ansh J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books of R.L stine in his "choices" books edition.
Engaging and interesting.
You can read this book again and again.

[Rashu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am I too old to discover Goosebumps / Give Yourself Goosebumps series at 21?? It was an enjoyable read. Wish I had read them in my younger days!

[fanboyriot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the atmosphere of this one, the creepy hotel vibe was great. The paths were so fun to read through.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's some pretty good advice to be gained from this book. If you're ever out on the highway looking for somewhere to stay for the night, do not stop at any out-of-the-way place called Hotel Morte, or anywhere with a name that sounds remotely like it. No respectable hotel would be use such a name, and only bad things happen in any Goosebumps book whenever one brushes aside early warning signs.

You and your friends Jamie, Moira and B.J. are riding in a car on a class trip to Washington, D.C. when B.J.'s mother's vehicle starts showing signs of automotive distress. Though you're already lagging well behind the cars of the other kids going on the trip, you have to stop to figure out what the problem might be, and by this time it's too late to continue driving tonight. B.J.'s mother pulls up to a gigantic, old-fashioned-looking hotel to spend the night, and while the staff is a little on the strange side and the cavernous interior of the building makes it feel eerily empty, you don't have much choice but to stay.

It sure doesn't take long for things to hit the fan once B.J.'s mother leaves you and your friends in your room to go search for snacks to tide you over for the night. Within moments the cold, menacing atmosphere of the hotel commences pressing in on you, forcing you to flee your room as ghosts emerge and begin their pursuit. You have a lot of options for evasion in this empty hotel, but what are the chances that any of them will ultimately lead you to an escape route? If you stick with Jamie and try to figure out the full story behind the Hotel Morte, you may eventually come across the answers you seek if you survive long enough, but even after you've learned the truth behind the hotel's ghostly curse, you may have only the tiniest window of time for which to plan your one shot at escape. Or you might find an extra ally or two in some surprising places, but be careful before trusting anyone with your life, even if they seem trustworthy or familiar. Especially, perhaps, if they seem trustworthy or familiar...

As you wind your way through the eerie, unoccupied hallways of Hotel Morte, praying that you'll bump into people you know and not ghosts who would take the opportunity to instantly strip you of your life, you must stay focused on making the best decision at any given moment, even if it seems small and relatively inconsequential. Making good choices may not always lead you into a better situation, but poor ones are almost certain to place you on the path of doom, and too many bad decisions will eventually put your life beyond the point of recovery. The odds are against you from the start, not knowing what's really going on while trapped in a hotel full of mysterious, malicious ghosts, so tread carefully as your story progresses. There aren't many completely positive Ends to this book, but you can make it to one of them if you're smart, resourceful, have a good memory and are lucky enough to avoid any concealed deathtraps.

There are some clever storylines in Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel, mostly seen in a couple of endings that go places one wouldn't expect them to go. R.L. Stine is good at using bits of continuity from other Goosebumps books to form plot twists that will bring back memories for ardent fans of the series. While not everything about this book necessarily fits together perfectly, it is nonetheless an entertaining read and a good diversion for the Halloween season, and I'm glad that I own a copy of it. It's a safe bet that Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel is a gamebook I'll be reading again in the future. A high degree of re-readability because of the many divergent story paths they contain is one of the great things about gamebooks, and this one is certainly effective in that aspect. I would probably give it the full two stars.

[Bhakta Kishor · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the interesting allegations that came out during the lawsuit drama between the publisher and R L Stine’s team back in those days was that the Goosebumps books utilized ghostwriters as the author’s to-write list grew longer and longer amidst tight deadlines. Whether or not that allegation was true, Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel is an anomaly in the Give Yourself Goosebumps line: it only has one route instead of the usual two, and you actually have to make the correct choices and remember the right details in order to get the best happy ending. The puns are minimal; whoever wrote this thing actually assumed that this one is a real gamebook, heh.

[Gaurav Bhatia · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a good book.its short summery is:- You and friends BJ Matson, Moira O'Neil, and Jamie Kaplan are on a school trip to Washington D.C., until your car breaks down. You and your friends check in a hotel called Hotel Morte on the side of an abandoned highway. The hotel turns out to be inhabited by ghosts and the only way out is to locate the only other human resident named Drew Mortegarth, who claims to hold the key to your exit.
A solution to Into the Jaws of Doom is included in the back of the book. There is only one storyline in this book.

[Claude · Rating 5 out of 5]

M-Tear did quite like this book. It was very cool!

She tried several times to make it out od Hotel Morte (Dead Hotel) alive. Yeah, she failed miserably! ;-)

She would recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of mysteries, the Goosebumps series, fans of R. L. Stine in general and people who like 'Choose Your own Adventure' books.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of junction pages make this a little annoying. By the time all threads have been followed there's a sense of not having read much of a vook at all, although there are 135 pages of text. The usual Goosebumps feel is here and Sean liked this pretty well.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN AWESOME BOOK !!!

[Dhiraj Kumar Bora · Rating 3 out of 5]

spooky, as always.

[Monali Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

super

[Sayan Das · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best goosebumps gamebook I have read so far.... Most of the endings were gripping... It is recommended to every gamebook lovers