
R. L. Stine - Biography
Robert Lawrence Stine (born October 8, 1943), known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The Nightmare Room series. Some of his other works include a Space Cadets trilogy, two Hark gamebooks, and dozens of joke books. R. L. Stine's books have sold over 400 million copies as of 2008.
Biography
Stine was born in Columbus, Ohio on October 8, 1943 to Anne Stine, a homemaker and Lewis Stine, a shipping clerk. He began writing at age 9 when he found a typewriter in his attic, subsequently beginning to type stories and joke books. He graduated from The Ohio State University (OSU) in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. While at OSU, R. L. Stine edited the OSU humor magazine, The Sundial, for three out of his four years there. He later moved to New York City to pursue his career as a writer. He wrote dozens of humor books for kids under the pen name Jovial Bob Stine and created the humor magazine Bananas.
In 1986, Stine wrote his first horror novel, called Blind Date. He followed with many other novels, including The Babysitter, Beach House, Hit and Run, and The Girlfriend. He was also the co-creator and head writer for the Nickelodeon Network children's television show Eureeka's Castle, original episodes of which aired as part of the Nick Jr. programming block during the 1989 to 1995 seasons.
In 1989, Stine started writing Fear Street books. Before launching the Goosebumps series, Stine authored three humorous science fiction books in the Space Cadets series titled Jerks in Training, Bozos on Patrol, and Losers in Space. In 1992, Stine and Parachute went on to launch Goosebumps. According to Forbes List of the 40 best-paid Entertainers of 1996-97, Stine placed 36th with an income of $41 million for the fiscal year. His books have sold over 400 million copies worldwide as of 2008, landing on many bestseller lists. In three consecutive years during the 1990s, USA Today named Stine as America's number one best-selling author. Among the awards he has received are the 2002 Champion of Reading Award from the Free Public Library of Philadelphia (that award's first year), the Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Award for Best Book-Mystery/Horror (three-time recipient) and the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also received three times). During the 1990s, Stine was listed on People Weekly's "Most Intriguing People" list, and in 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records named Stine as the best-selling children's book series author of all time. He won the Thriller Writers of America Silver Bullet Award in 2007. His stories have even inspired R. L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse, 4D movie-based attractions at SeaWorld San Diego and Busch Gardens Europe.
Also produced was a Goosebumps TV series that ran for four seasons from 1995–1998 and three video games; Escape from HorrorLand, Attack of the Mutant and Goosebumps HorrorLand. In 1995, Stine's first novel targeted at adults, called Superstitious, was published. He has since published two other adult-oriented novels; The Sitter and Eye Candy.
In the first decade of the 21st century, Stine has worked on installments of five different book series, Mostly Ghostly, Rotten School, Fear Street, The Nightmare Room, Goosebumps Horrorland and the stand-alone novels Dangerous Girls (2003) and The Taste of Night (2004). Also, a direct-to-DVD movie The Haunting Hour Volume One: Don't Think About It, starring Emily Osment was released by Universal Home Entertainment on September 4, 2007.
Personal life
On June 22, 1969, Stine married Jane Waldhorn, who became an editor and writer and formed Parachute Press with Joan Waricha on April 1, 1983. Their only child, Matthew, was born on June 7, 1980 and works in the music industry.
Bibliography
Original series
Space Cadets
- Jerks-in-Training
- Losers in Space
- Bozos on Patrol
Goosebumps
Goosebumps Series 2000
- Cry of the Cat
- Bride of the Living Dummy
- Creature Teacher
- Invasion of the Body Squeezers, Part I
- Invasion of the Body Squeezers, Part II
- I Am Your Evil Twin
- Revenge R Us
- Fright Camp
- Are You Terrified Yet?
- Headless Halloween
- Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls
- Brain Juice
- Return to HorrorLand
- Jekyll and Heidi
- Scream School
- The Mummy Walks
- The Werewolf in the Living Room
- Horrors of the Black Ring
- Return to Ghost Camp
- Be Afraid; Be Very Afraid!
- The Haunted Car
- Full Moon Fever
- Slappy's Nightmare
- Earth Geeks Must Go!
- Ghost in the Mirror
Give Yourself Goosebumps
- Escape from the Carnival of Horrors
- Tick Tock, You're Dead!
- Trapped in Bat Wing Hall
- The Deadly Experiments of Dr. Eeek
- Night in Werewolf Woods
- Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter
- Under the Magician's Spell
- The Curse of the Creeping Coffin
- The Knight in Screaming Armor
- Diary of a Mad Mummy
- Deep in the Jungle of Doom
- Welcome to the Wicked Wax Museum
- Scream of the Evil Genie
- The Creepy Creations of Professor Shock
- Please Don't Feed the Vampire!
- Secret Agent Grandma
- Little Comic Shop of Horrors
- Attack of the Beastly Baby-sitter
- Escape from Camp Run-for-Your-Life
- Toy Terror: Batteries Included
- The Twisted Tale of Tiki Island
- Return to the Carnival of Horrors
- Zapped in Space
- Lost in Stinkeye Swamp
- Shop Till You Drop...Dead!
- Alone in Snakebite Canyon
- Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel'
- Night of a Thousand Claws
- Invaders from the Big Screen
- You're Plant Food!
- The Werewolf of Twisted Tree Lodge
- It's Only a Nightmare
- It Came from the Internet
- Elevator to Nowhere
- Hocus-Pocus Horror
- Ship of Ghouls
- Escape from Horror House
- Into the Twister of Terror
- Scary Birthday to You
- Zombie School
- Danger Time
- All-Day Nightmare
Give Yourself Goosebumps Special Edition
- Into the Jaws of Doom
- Return to Terror Tower
- Trapped in the Circus of Fear
- One Night in Payne House
- The Curse of the Cave Creatures
- Revenge of the Body Squeezers
- Trick or...Trapped!
- Weekend at Poison Lake
Fear Street
- The New Girl
- The Surprise Party
- The Overnight
- Missing
- The Wrong Number
- The Sleepwalker
- Haunted
- Halloween Party
- The Stepsister
- Ski Weekend
- The Fire Game
- Lights Out
- The Secret Bedroom
- The Knife
- The Prom Queen
- First Date
- The Best Friend
- The Cheater
- Sunburn
- The New Boy
- The Dare
- Bad Dreams
- Double Date
- The Thrill Club
- One Evil Summer
- The Mind Reader
- Wrong Number 2
- Truth or Dare
- Dead End
- Final Grade
- Switched
- College Weekend
- The Stepsister 2
- What Holly Heard
- The Face
- Secret Admirer
- The Perfect Date
- The Confession
- The Boy Next Door
- Night Games
- Runaway
- Killer's Kiss
- All Night Party
- The Rich Girl
- Cat
- Fear Hall: The Beginning
- Fear Hall: The Conclusion
- Who Killed The Homecoming Queen?
- Into The Dark
- Best Friend 2
- Trapped
New Fear Street
- The Stepbrother
- Camp Out
- Scream, Jennifer, Scream
- The Bad Girl
Fear Street Super Chiller
- Party Summer
- Silent Night
- The Goodnight Kiss
- Broken Hearts
- Silent Night 2
- The Dead Lifeguard
- Cheerleaders: The New Evil
- Bad Moonlight
- The New Year's Party
- Goodnight Kiss 2
- Silent Night 3
- High Tide
- Cheerleaders: The Evil Lives
Cheerleaders
- The First Evil
- The Second Evil
- The Third Evil
- The New Evil
- Evil Lives!
The Fear Street Saga Trilogy
- The Betrayal
- The Secret
- The Burning
Fear Park Trilogy
- The First Scream
- The Loudest Scream
- The Last Scream
Cataluna Chronicles Trilogy
- The Evil Moon
- The Dark Secret
- The Deadly Fire
99 Fear Street: The House of Evil
- The First Horror
- The Second Horror
- The Third Horror
Cataluna Chronicles
- The Evil Moon
- The Dark Secret
- The Deadly Fire
Fear Park
- The First Scream
- The Loudest Scream
- The Last Scream
Fear Street Sagas
- A New Fear
- House of Whispers
- Forbidden Secrets
- The Sign of Fear
- The Hidden Evil
- Daughters of Silence
- Children of Fear
- Dance of Death
- Heart of the Hunter
- The Awakening Evil
- Circle of Fire
- Chamber of Fear
- Faces of Terror
- One Last Kiss
- Door of Death
- The Hand of Power
Fear Street Seniors
- Let's Party
- In Too Deep
- The Thirst
- No Answer
- Last Chance
- The Gift
- Fight Team, Fight
- Sweetheart, Evil Heart
- Spring Break
- Wicked
- Prom Date
- Graduation Day
Fear Street Nights
- Moonlight Secrets
- Midnight Games
- Darkest Dawn
Ghosts of Fear Street
- Hide and Shriek
- Who's Been Sleeping in My Grave?
- The Attack of the Aqua Apes
- Nightmare in 3-D
- Stay Away from the Tree House
- Eye of the Fortuneteller
- Fright Knight
- The Ooze
- Revenge of the Shadow People
- The Bugman Lives!
- The Boy Who Ate Fear Street
- Night of the Werecat
- How to Be a Vampire
- Body Switchers from Outer Space
- Fright Christmas
- Don't Ever Get Sick at Granny's
- House of a Thousand Screams
- Camp Fear Ghouls
- Three Evil Wishes
- Spell of the Screaming Joker
- The Creature from Club Lagoona
- Field of Screams
- Why I'm Not Afraid of Ghosts
- Monster Dog
- Halloween Bugs Me
- Go to Your Tomb — Right Now!
- Parents from the 13th Dimension
- Hide and Shriek II
- The Tale of the Blue Monkey
- I Was a Sixth-Grade Zombie
- Escape of the He-Beast
- Caution: Aliens at Work
- Attack of the Vampire Worms
- Horror Hotel Pt. 1: The Vampire Checks in
- Horror Hotel Pt. 2: Ghost in the Guest Room
- The Funhouse of Dr. Freek
Mostly Ghostly
- Who Let the Ghosts Out?
- Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?
- One Night in Doom House
- Little Camp of Horrors
- Ghouls Gone Wild
- Let's Get This Party Haunted!
- Freaks and Shrieks
- Don't Close Your Eyes!
Rotten School
- The Big Behenchod Barf-Off!
- The Great Smelling Bee
- The Good, the Bad and the Very Slimy
- Lose, Team, Lose!
- Shake, Rattle and Hurl!
- The Heinie Prize
- Dudes, the School is Haunted!
- The Teacher from Heck
- Ready, Set... Ghost!
- Party Poopers
- The Rottenest Angel
- Basic In-Stink!
- Punk'd and Skunked
- Battle of the Dum Diddys
- Got Cake?
- Night of the Creepy Things
- Calling All Birdbrains
- Dumb Clucks
- Ready set ghost!
The Nightmare Room
- Don't Forget Me!
- Locker 13
- My Name is Evil
- Liar Liar
- Dear Diary, I'm Dead
- They Call Me Creature
- The Howler
- Shadow Girl
- Camp Nowhere
- Full Moon Halloween
- Scare School
- Visitors
The Nightmare Room Thrillogy
- Fear Games
- What Scares You the Most?
- No Survivors
Goosebumps HorrorLand
- Welcome to Horrorland: A Survival Guide
- Revenge of the Living Dummy
- Creep from the Deep
- Monster Blood for Breakfast!
- The Scream of the Haunted Mask
- Dr. Maniac vs. Robby Schwartz
- Who's Your Mummy?
- My Friends Call Me Monster
- Say Cheese and Die...Screaming!
- Welcome to Camp Slither
- Help! We Have Strange Powers!
- Escape from HorrorLand
- The Streets of Panic Park
- Welcome To Horrorland: A Survival Guide
- When the Ghost Dog Howls
- Little Shop of Hamsters
- Heads, You Lose!
- Weirdo Halloween
- The Wizard Of Ooze
- Slappy's New Year!
- The Horror at Chiller House
- Claws!
- The Night of Giant Everything
Hark
- Badlands of Hark
- Invaders of Hark
Dangerous Girls
Both story were re-released in 2010 under the name Bitten.
- Dangerous Girls
- The Taste of Night
Stand-alone novels
- The Adventures of Shrinkman
- The Beast
- The Beast 2
- Broken Date
- Curtains
- Eye Candy
- How I Broke Up With Ernie
- It's the First Day of School... Forever
- Phone Calls
- The Sitter
- Superstitious
- Three Faces of Me
- When Good Ghouls Go Bad
- Zombie Town
Anthologies
- Beware! (edited by Stine)
- The Haunting Hour
- The Nightmare Hour
- Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- Even More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- More and More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- More and More and More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- Goosebumps Triple Header, Book 1
- Goosebumps Triple Header, Book 2
Short stories
- The Spell
- Dead of Night
- The Head-Start
- Lucky at Cards
- The Kid Behind the Door
- The Terror After School
- Do Some Damage!
- Curse of the Smiling Mummy
- Can You Keep a Secret?
- The Vampire Club
- My Worst Nightmare
- The Wrong Room
Non-fiction and Jovial Bob Stine books
- 101 Vacation Jokes
- 101 Wacky Kid Jokes
- 101 Silly Monster Jokes
- The Absurdly Silly Encyclopaedia and Fly Swatter
- Amazing Adventure of Me, Myself and I
- Blips: The First Book of Videogame Funnies
- Cool Kids' Guide to Summer Camp
- Doggone Dog Joke Book
- Don't Stand in the Soup
- How to Be Funny
- It Came From Ohio!: My Life As A Writer (autobiography)
- Miami Mice
- Pork and Beans: Play Date
- The Sick of Being Sick Book
- You Know It's Going to Be A Long School Year When...
- My Secret Identity
- Pigs' Book of World Records
- Jovial Bob's Computer Joke Book
- Cow Jokes From Cowifornia To Mooscow
- Cow Jokes: A New Mooliniuem
Movie novelizations
- Ghostbusters II Storybook
- Spaceballs: The Book
- Big Top Pee-Wee
- Eyes Wide Shut
- Wrath of the Zombies
Zachary Blue books
- The Jet Fighter Trap
- The Protectors: The Petrova Twist
Picture books
- Gnasty Gnomes
Contributions to other series
Crosswinds
- Broken Date
- How I Broke Up With Ernie
Masters of the Universe
- Demons of the Deep
Twist-a-plot
- The Time Raider
- Golden Sword of Dragonwalk
- Horrors of the Haunted Museum
- Instant Millionaire
Find Your Fate
- Indiana Jones and the Curse of Horror Island
- Indiana Jones and the Giants of the Silver Tower
- Indiana Jones and the Cult of the Mummy's Crypt
- James Bond in Win, Place or Die
- Indiana Jones and the Ape Slaves of Howling Island
Find Your Fate Junior: Golden Girl
- Golden Girl and the Vanishing Unicorn
Wizards, Warriors and You
- The Forest of Twisted Dreams
- The Siege of the Dragonriders (as Eric Affabee)
- Challenge of the Wolf Knight
- The Dragon Queen's Revenge (as Eric Affabee)
- Cavern of the Phantoms
- Attack on the King (as Eric Affabee)
G.I. Joe: Find Your Fate
- Operation: Star Raider (as Eric Affabee)
- Operation: Deadly Decoy
- Operation: Mindbender
- Serpentor and the Mummy Warrior
G.I. Joe
- Siege of Serpentor
- Jungle Raid (as Eric Affabee)
Horror High
- Fatal Kiss
- Grave Intentions
- Deadly Rumours
Point Horror
- Blind Date
- Twisted
- The Babysitter
- Beach Party
- The Boyfriend
- The Babysitter II
- The Girlfriend
- The Snowman
- Beach House
- Hit and Run
- The Hitchhiker
- Halloween Night
- The Babysitter III
- The Dead Girlfriend
- Call Waiting
- Halloween Night II
- I Saw You That Night!
- The Witness
- The Babysitter IV
External links
- Official site
- Official International R.L. Stine Fansite
- R. L. Stine at Fantastic Fiction
- Writers Talk video Interview

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