The chilling premiere of Goosebumps unfolds with a scene of a young boy returning to his home, descending into the eerie basement, and settling down to pen his thoughts into a mystical journal as twilight descends. Later that eerie evening, the eerie chime of a bell echoes through the air, prompting him to investigate, yet he discovers no one at the door. As he ventures back inside, the bell tolls once more, leaving him to confront an empty threshold once again. Just as he steps back into the safety of his abode, the door slams shut behind him with a thunderous crash, heralding a cascade of chaos as items begin to tumble and the lights flicker before plunging into darkness. Tragically, his fate is sealed when he confines himself to the basement, where a careless spark ignites the carpet, leading to his untimely demise.
The narrative then shifts to the contemporary setting, where James and Isaiah attempt to procure groceries from Nora's store but are thwarted by a malfunctioning credit card machine. Their efforts foiled, they exit the store to witness Lucas, daringly launching himself from the rooftop with his skateboard, only to suffer a painful mishap that leaves him with broken teeth.
As the day progresses, James and Isaiah head to the basketball court, where Isaiah arrives with the entire football squad, igniting the crowd's enthusiasm with an inspiring speech. However, mid-oration, Lucas attempts to strike Isabella, interrupting the momentum. At this crucial juncture, Allison enters, presenting them with a mischievously edited party invitation, revealing the prank of a troll.
Following this surreal encounter, James and Isaiah cross paths with Sam, and James greets him with a mixture of trepidation and camaraderie. Meanwhile, Isaiah is summoned to the principal's office and receives a daunting ultimatum: he will be benched for Friday's game unless he achieves an A on the history test scheduled for the following day.
Later that day, Mr. Bratt arrived to inspect his house and forged a new acquaintance with Ben. Intrigued by the enigma of the basement, he insisted on an immediate tour. Attempting to prize open the lock with a crowbar, he unfortunately sustained a nick on his hand. After their departure, the door became animated; the trickle of blood creeping up its surface unlocked it with a eerie defiance.
That same afternoon, Isaiah stumbled upon his parents arguing over whether to trust his scholarship prospects. He sat down depressed, when Margot came over and tried to dispel the gloom for him. He made a request to her, hoping that she could provide him with the answers to the exam. Margot hesitated but reluctantly agreed.
The next day, Margot assisted Isaiah in navigating through the test, but he was promptly whisked away by Allison after finishing. As night descended, they found themselves at the novel venue. Their conversation about the basement incident was interrupted by a sudden blackout, followed by the basement door creepily swinging open on its own accord. Just in time, Margot arrived and courageously proposed to accompany Isaiah into the depths to locate the fuse box.
With resolve, Isaiah ventured down alone and stumbled upon a camera. Unexpectedly, the door slammed shut behind him, startling everyone above. Jumping back to his senses, he snapped a picture of Allison and another of Margot. Moments later, the lights flickered back to life, yet strangely, Isaiah hadn't discovered the elusive fuse box.
They pressed on with their preparations, and the guests began to arrive just before the party was set to kick off. During the festivities, Lucas attempted to charm Margot, much to the disdain of Allison, who scolded Isaiah for befriending her. Embarrassed and insulted that Isaiah hadn't shared Margot's presence with her, Margot took her leave, informing Isaiah of her departure.
Suddenly, Mr. Bratt stormed in, dispersing the guests with threats of police involvement. Allison, lost in the commotion, wandered into the woods. Her eyes caught a bizarre figure in the distance, and she broke into a frantic run. To her terror, he seemed to materialize before her, burning away into nothingness. Allison stumbled and collapsed, her scream echoing through the night. Heeding her cry, Isaiah rushed to her aid.
The next day, Isaiah meets James, but unfortunately, Mr.Bratt shows up, calling out for Isaiah. Mr. Bratt gives the bag to Isaiah and agrees not to tell his parents about the party if Isaiah could tell everyone to keep away from his house. Mr.Bratt also makes his acquaintance as his English teacher.
Isaiah notices the two photographs taken from the camera in which Margot is in distress. Later in the hallway, Margot sees a strange boy standing. She begins to choke while the students walk out of the classrooms. Isaiah rushes in and gives Margot a shot from her bag.
He realizes the moment represents the photograph taken with the camera. Isaiah rushes to tell James about it, but James takes the camera and takes a picture of Isaiah with it instead. The photo shows Isaiah lying brutally injured on the football field.
Frightened, James rushes to seek help from Margot. Initially, she thanks him for saving her life but pushes him away as he approaches her for his own needs.
Returning home, Isaiah decides to break and burn the camera, thinking it will solve the problem. He proceeds to go for the match and gives a spectacular performance in the first round. However, during half-time, he opens his locker and sees the camera lying there.
Extremely frightened, he does his best to sit the match out but is forced to play. He then begs his teammates to protect him, but they do not understand what is going on. Just as the match begins, he sees everyone turn into the strange boy and the field light on fire.
He manages to take the ball and make a run for it, pushing through the opponent’s defence. He makes it halfway through but ends up having a bad fall and fracturing his arm. The medical team arrives and carries him to the hospital.
Later on, once his arm was encased in plaster, he inquired about the anticipated recovery period from his father. Though fortunately, he had emerged victorious in the game, the recovery process was projected to span eight months, inevitably causing him to miss out on the scholarship opportunity. His dad reassured him, vowing to discover a way to cover the tuition expenses. As they exited the room, Lora whispered urgently to Ben that she had spotted Bittle, suggesting he had returned with a vengeful agenda, hinting at more incidents in the near future. That very evening, Mr. Bratt's fireplace flickered and died, leaving him in darkness, whereupon he beheld Bittle. In an eerie transformation, Bittle dissolved into a wisp of smoke and seeped into Mr. Bratt's very being.
