R.L. STINE Biography - Writers

 
 

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R.L. STINE

Robert Lawrence Stine (born October 8, 1943), sometimes known as R. L. Stine, is       
a novelist and writer for teens. Born in Columbus, Ohio, he is the author of           
dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps       
series. The plots of his books usually involve naive teenagers or preteens who         
fall into situations having to do with the supernatural or the occult. He is           
often called the Stephen King for young adults.                                       
                                                                                       
Stine is a 1965 graduate of The Ohio State University. During his years at Ohio       
State, he was renowned locally by the name of Stine, the editor of the campus         
humor magazine, The Sundial.                                                           
                                                                                       
Under the "Hammering Hank" name, Stine has written a number of humor books for         
young readers, some of which are "instruction manuals" such as How to be Funny         
and Don't Stand in the Soup.                                                           
                                                                                       
In addition to the "Goosebumps" books, he also created a line of books called         
Fear Street, which was aimed at a more adult audience. He also created a Ghost         
of Fear Street series which was aimed more so at young teens as opposed to Fear       
Street. Stine later published the Mostly Ghostly and Nightmare Room books, also       
targeted towards a younger audience, as well as Invaders of Hark, a Choose Your       
Own Adventure-type book. Goosebumps remains his most popular series.                   
                                                                                       
During the '90s, Stine's Goosebumps series became a popular live-action children's     
television show on the Fox Network.                                                   
                                                                                       
Many of the later volumes of Stine's series were written by ghostwriters rather       
than by Stine himself.                                                                 
                                                                                       
Stine also wrote for Junior Scholastic Magazine and the Nickelodeon's Eureeka's       
Castle (Battley is said to have been modeled after his son, Matt).