Something weird happened when I was reading A Night in Terror Tower. Here’s an account of my harrowing experience, transcribed in the midst of finishing the book and writing the synopsis.
This might actually be the most confused I’ve ever been by a Goosebumps book, and that’s saying a lot. Bear with me a second as I puzzle this out.
I’ve been to London, and I’ve been to the Tower of London, and I don’t recall anyone ever referring to any particular part of the Tower of London as Terror Tower. I did some research, and my memory was, for once, fairly reliable; this is not a term anyone other than R.L. Stine has ever applied to the Tower of London.
This is my guess: Stine assumed the name “the Tower of London” might confuse his target audience, as the Tower of London is not actually a single tower. Rather, it’s a sprawling site with a hill set aside for beheading, a variety of differently sized chambers and halls, beefeater housing, crows with their wings clipped, et cetera, et cetera. Admittedly, it is confusing if you have no knowledge of the Tower or its history, and the term “Terror Tower” does summarize the general idea of a torture megaplex pretty well.
Also, a friend of mine took this picture of me and a raven when I was at the Tower three years ago.
I hope this all makes up for the way I quit writing about Goosebumps books for an entire month.
Things That Go Bump 