Stine, R. L. (1943-…), became one of the best-selling children’s authors in history with his novels of suspense and horror. Stine, an American, wrote most of the children’s paperbacks that became best sellers during the middle and late 1990’s.
Stine writes the “Goosebumps” novels for younger readers and the “Fear Street” series for older children. His books tell stories of ordinary young people who unexpectedly encounter the supernatural, the terrifying, and the unusual. In many of the books, the young characters must find a way to defeat evil forces, which can range from ghosts or monsters to insane killers. Many of Stine’s supernatural stories occur during such commonplace activities as a trip to a store, a family’s move to a new house, or a high school homecoming weekend.
Robert Lawrence Stine was born in Bexley, Ohio, on Oct. 8, 1943. His first book of horror fiction was Blind Date (1986). Its success led Stine to begin his “Fear Street” series, which started with The New Girl (1989). In 1992, he began his “Goosebumps” series with Welcome to Dead House. In 2000, Stine started a series called “The Nightmare Room,” beginning with Don’t Forget Me! and Locker 13. Stine began a series called “Mostly Ghostly” with Who Let the Ghosts Out? (2004). He returned to his “Goosebumps” stories in 2008 with a new series called “Goosebumps HorrorLand.” That series began with Revenge of the Living Dummy. In 2017, Stine introduced the “Goosebumps SlappyWorld” spinoff series, starting with Slappy Birthday to You. The series featured the “Goosebumps” character Slappy the dummy. In 2019, Stine began a graphic novel series called “Just Beyond” with the book Scare School.
With children’s illustrator Marc Brown, Stine has collaborated on picture books for young readers, including The Little Shop of Monsters (2015) and Mary McScary (2017). Stine has also written a horror novel for adults, Red Rain (2012). He wrote the memoir It Came from Ohio!: My Life as a Writer (1997, with Joe Arthur; 2015, revised and expanded by Susan Lurie).
