From short story to shared universe
Tubi is treating R.L. Stine’s horror shorts as franchise infrastructure, not one-off holiday fare. The ad-supported streamer and Front Street Pictures have a three-picture deal that began with October 2025’s Pumpkinhead, continued with Pumpkinhead 2 on October 9, and moves next to Afraid of Clowns.
Tubi Vice President of Original Scripted Content Josh Van Houdt says the bet made sense because Stine works as “a brand himself” and Tubi’s 110 million monthly active users span a wide demographic mix. The goal is to connect nostalgic 40-plus readers with their Gen Z kids through gateway horror.
What the early numbers show
The first test was viewership, not just completion. Per Van Houdt, Pumpkinhead spent two weeks in Luminate’s Top 10, which he calls “really good for us” given the platform charts frequently but rarely holds that long. That tells Tubi the mixed-age audience exists.
- 110 million monthly active users on Tubi.
- Two weeks in Luminate’s Top 10 for Pumpkinhead.
- Three-picture deal with Front Street Pictures, plus The Babysitter in development.
Designing a horror lane that can scale
Garrard and Van Houdt wanted a middle lane between comedic Goosebumps films and animated titles like Coraline. They referenced Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and 1980s creature features with younger protagonists, while avoiding a period piece. The result is an off-time setting with tube TVs and landlines but modern band references, aimed at keeping a ’90s feel without seeming dated.
The content boundary was family-friendly but not bloodless in a conventional way. Van Houdt says standards and practices told the team they could do “vegetable gore, but not regular gore” at TV-14, so the Pumpkinhead films lean into pumpkin guts rather than blood.
What comes next
Pumpkinhead 2 introduces Cassandra Peterson as a witch named Cassandra and ends by teasing a villain from Afraid of Clowns. Garrard will write and direct the third film; it will have a different cast and story, while remaining connected to the Redhaven world. The Babysitter, adapted from Stine’s Point Horror title, shifts into YA territory and will be directed by Trevor Calverley, with Garrard writing and executive producing.
Stine notes that a babysitter is a natural horror character because she is away from home and vulnerable. The team is developing the film as a standalone, but four books exist if demand warrants. More Point Horror titles may follow at various points in the year, not just Halloween.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
