Goosebumps star Sam McCarthy was rather creeped out by the ‘insane’ level of detail the production team went to for the new season of Disney+ and Hulu’s iconic horror series.
The beloved spooky books for kids by RL Stine have been brought to chilling life once more following the revived TV series in 2023 for a new instalment titled The Vanishing.
This time, twins Devin (played by McCarthy) and Cece (Jayden Bartels) investigate supernatural goings-on when they move back with their dad, eccentric botanist Anthony (David Schwimmer).
Taking inspiration from Stine’s Stay Out of the Basement, Devin and Cece are warned not to go prying into Anthony’s vast collection of flora and fauna, which the stars revealed was even more impressive than it looked.
“So, there was this plant in there. It’s not that exciting…” McCarthy began in an exclusive interview with Screen Time.
The Vanishing takes inspiration from Stay Out of the Basement -Credit:DISNEY
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However, Bartels chimed in: “Well, to you it was!”, to which McCarthy agreed “To me, it was insane.
“There was this little plant in there that looked like… I can’t describe it. Imagine like a mushroom, but without the mushroom head. Just, like an alien.
“But, I thought it was a fake plant. I was looking all over these things, like, ‘These are fake plants!’”
Fans might usually expect some level of trickery when it comes to TV production, especially considering the sheer number of plants on display.
Showrunner Rob Letterman and the design team clearly went above and beyond for The Vanishing, though, as the co-stars claimed every single one of the plants were real.
Every plant in Anthony’s basement was actually real -Credit:DISNEY
“All of them were real!” Bartels confirmed. And McCarthy went on: “I wouldn’t push my nail into a real plant, but I was just like, ‘Oh it’s plastic’ and then it was alive! I was like, ‘Oh my God’.”
Bartels then joked: “And that’s the take you see in the show, they just used the real thing.”
“We weren’t rolling on it,” her co-star admitted. “But we should have been.”
“He was very entranced by it,” Bartels added, and McCarthy agreed: “I wanna know what those are called.
“If they didn’t scare me I’d want one in my house, but they scared me too much.”
Strange plants aren’t the only frightening features of the new series taking over streaming sites this week, so be on the lookout for plenty more ghosts and ghouls this Friday.
Goosebumps: The Vanishing premieres Friday, January 10 on Disney+ and Hulu.