Photo of R.L. Stine

R.L. Stine

Goosebumps cast a spell upon children by transforming even the most reluctant students into avid readers. Despite the fact that almost every book has a different collection of characters, the series has one common element that kids can’t get enough of: THE AUTHOR!

However believable his plots seem to his readers, Stine insists he has never lived one of his stories. “I’ve never turned into a bee – I’ve never been chased by a mummy or met a ghost. But many of the ideas in my books are suggested by real life. For example, one Halloween my son, Matt, put a mask on and then had trouble pulling it off. That gave me the idea for The Haunted Mask.”

Although he never experienced terror first hand, he did enjoy reading about it. “When I was a kid, there were these great comic books called )Tales From The Crypt_ and The Vault of Horror. They were gruesome. I discovered them in the barbershop and thought they were fabulous. I used to get a haircut every Saturday so I wouldn’t miss any of these comic books. I had no hair at all when I was a kid!”

His ideas came from two sources: his memory and his imagination. “When I write, I try to think back to what I was afraid of or what was scary to me, and try to put those feelings into books.” He also keeps a tribal mask and a skeleton hanging in his writing studio to provide eerie surroundings. Although he handles the writing by himself, Stine says he gets “lots of help from my editors, my readers, and my friends.”

Kids reading Goosebumps may be looking for a scare, but the laughs they get are no accident. Before he was R.L., he was Jovial Bob, author of such works as 101 Silly Monster Jokes, and Bozos on Patrol and editor of Bananas magazine. His ability to know what kids will laugh at , as well as what will frighten them, makes the Goosebumps series all the more enjoyable for his readers.

Stine started writing when he was 9 years old! He would write stories and jokes on an old typewriter and hand them out at school. “The teacher would grab them and take them away,” Stine says, “but I kept doing it.” He wrote for his high school newspaper in Columbus Ohio. After graduating from Ohio State University, he moved to New York City, where he worked on a variety of writing jobs.

Although his books are fun and exciting, writing them is serious stuff. He treats writing “…like a job.” To unwind after work he enjoys playing the pinball machine conveniently located in his own apartment.

For aspiring authors, Stine feels reading is as important as writing. He offers this advice: “If you want to be a writer, don’t worry so much about writing. Read as much as you can. Read as many different writers as you can. Soak up the styles. You can learn all kinds of ways to say things.” As a boy he read Norse legends, Greek myths, Edgar Allan Poe and baseball stories. “And Mad Magazine changed my life” His favorite thriller? Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury.

Books by R.L. Stine

  • A Shocker on Shock Street

    A Shocker on Shock Street

  • Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls

    Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls

  • Attack of the Jack!

    Attack of the Jack!

  • Be Careful What You Wish For

    Be Careful What You Wish For

  • Be Careful What You Wish For...

    Be Careful What You Wish For...

  • Creature Teacher - The Final Exam

    Creature Teacher - The Final Exam

  • Creepy Creatures

    Creepy Creatures

  • Deep Trouble

    Deep Trouble

  • Deep Trouble II

    Deep Trouble II

  • Escape From Shudder Mansion

    Escape From Shudder Mansion

  • Goosebumps Hall of Horrors: Why I Quit Zombie School

    Goosebumps Hall of Horrors: Why I Quit Zombie School

  • Goosebumps HorrorLand Box Set

    Goosebumps HorrorLand Box Set

  • Goosebumps: House of Shivers 2: Goblin Monday

    Goosebumps: House of Shivers 2: Goblin Monday

  • Goosebumps: House of Shivers: Scariest. Book. Ever.

    Goosebumps: House of Shivers: Scariest. Book. Ever.

  • Goosebumps Most Wanted: The 12 Screams of Christmas

    Goosebumps Most Wanted: The 12 Screams of Christmas

  • Haunted Halloween Movie Novel

    Haunted Halloween Movie Novel

  • HorrorLand: Creep from the Deep

    HorrorLand: Creep from the Deep

  • HorrorLand: Dr Maniac Vs Robby Schwartz

    HorrorLand: Dr Maniac Vs Robby Schwartz

  • HorrorLand: Escape from HorrorLand

    HorrorLand: Escape from HorrorLand

  • HorrorLand: Heads, You Lose!

    HorrorLand: Heads, You Lose!

  • HorrorLand: Help! We Have Strange Powers!

    HorrorLand: Help! We Have Strange Powers!

  • HorrorLand: Little Shop of Hamsters

    HorrorLand: Little Shop of Hamsters

  • HorrorLand: Monster Blood for Breakfast!

    HorrorLand: Monster Blood for Breakfast!

  • HorrorLand: My Friends Call Me Monster

    HorrorLand: My Friends Call Me Monster

  • HorrorLand: Say Cheese - And Die Screaming!

    HorrorLand: Say Cheese - And Die Screaming!

  • HorrorLand: Slappy New Year!

    HorrorLand: Slappy New Year!

  • HorrorLand: The Scream of the Haunted Mask

    HorrorLand: The Scream of the Haunted Mask

  • HorrorLand: The Streets of Panic Park

    HorrorLand: The Streets of Panic Park

  • HorrorLand: The Wizard of Ooze

    HorrorLand: The Wizard of Ooze

  • HorrorLand: Weirdo Halloween

    HorrorLand: Weirdo Halloween

  • HorrorLand: Welcome to Camp Slither

    HorrorLand: Welcome to Camp Slither

  • HorrorLand: When the Ghost Dog Howls

    HorrorLand: When the Ghost Dog Howls

  • HorrorLand: Who's Your Mummy?

    HorrorLand: Who's Your Mummy?

  • How I Learned to Fly

    How I Learned to Fly

  • I Am Slappy's Evil Twin

    I Am Slappy's Evil Twin

  • It Came From Ohio - My Life as a Writer

    It Came From Ohio - My Life as a Writer

  • Let's Get Invisible!

    Let's Get Invisible!

  • Monster Blood

    Monster Blood

  • Monster Blood

    Monster Blood

  • Night of the Living Dummy

    Night of the Living Dummy

  • Night of the Living Dummy

    Night of the Living Dummy

  • Night of the Living Dummy 2

    Night of the Living Dummy 2

  • Night of the Living Dummy III

    Night of the Living Dummy III

  • One Day at Horrorland

    One Day at Horrorland

  • One Day at HorrorLand

    One Day at HorrorLand

  • Piano Lessons Can Be Murder

    Piano Lessons Can Be Murder

  • Planet of the Lawn Gnomes

    Planet of the Lawn Gnomes

  • Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo

    Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo

  • Please Don't Feed the Vampire!

    Please Don't Feed the Vampire!

  • Return of the Mummy

    Return of the Mummy

  • Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes

    Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes

  • Revenge of the Living Dummy

    Revenge of the Living Dummy

  • Say Cheese And Die!

    Say Cheese And Die!

  • Slappy Birthday to You

    Slappy Birthday to You

  • Son of Slappy

    Son of Slappy

  • Stay Out of the Basement

    Stay Out of the Basement

  • Terror Trips

    Terror Trips

  • The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena

    The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena

  • The Blob That Ate Everyone

    The Blob That Ate Everyone

  • The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb

    The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb

  • The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb

    The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb

  • The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb

    The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb

  • The Ghost Next Door

    The Ghost Next Door

  • The Ghost of Slappy

    The Ghost of Slappy

  • The Haunted Car

    The Haunted Car

  • The Haunted Mask

    The Haunted Mask

  • The Haunted Mask

    The Haunted Mask

  • The Haunted Mask

    The Haunted Mask

  • The Headless Ghost

    The Headless Ghost

  • The Movie Novel

    The Movie Novel

  • The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight

    The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight

  • The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

    The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

  • Vampire Breath

    Vampire Breath

  • Vampire Breath

    Vampire Breath

  • Welcome to Camp Nightmare

    Welcome to Camp Nightmare