R. L. Stine has been scaring kids for generations. But he has a few rules on writing horror for young readers.
“The kids have to know that it’s a fantasy,” he said on a March 10 video call with Mirror Indy. The reader has to know it could never happen, and if I establish that, then I can get pretty scary.”
If you go
2026 Marian McFadden Memorial Lecture with R.L. Stine
🗓️ 7-8 p.m. Thursday, March 19
📍 Madam Walker Legacy Center, 617 Indiana Ave.
🎟️ Sold out, but there is a waitlist available
On March 19, Stine will talk with Mychal Threets, host of Reading Rainbow, during the annual Marian McFadden Memorial Lecture at the Madam Walker Legacy Center. Stine will sign books after the discussion. Tickets are sold out, but there is a waitlist.
The Columbus, Ohio, native has sold over 400 million books. The success has led adaptations of dozens of his novels into television series and films — most notably the “Goosebumps” movie franchise featuring Jack Black; Netflix’s “Fear Street” trilogy; and “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series.”
The 82-year-old doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon. His latest horror novel, “Nightmare on Nightmare Street,” released last month.
Ahead of the event, the author talked with us about the world of teen horror, a genre he never set out to do. He also shared the story behind his infamous lone typing finger and a creepy basement that fueled his childhood fears.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What was your biggest fear as a kid?
I was afraid of everything. I was just a fearful, shy kid. We had a big freezer down in the basement that we kept meat in. And my dad — we had a creepy basement — would say, “Go down and bring up a roast.” This freezer was shaped like a casket. I’d have to open the lid and I knew, always knew, there’d be a body lying there, some frozen body. But things like that. I guess I had too much imagination.
What is it like watching your books go from books to TV series or adapted into movies?
I don’t think about it when I’m writing. I just like writing the books, but it’s a wonderful thing that, especially once in a while, they turn out to be good. I’ve been very lucky; the original Goosebump series from the ’90s still holds up all this time. They did a really nice job.
The two Goosebump movies with Jack Black playing me, you know, I had no input on those films. They both turned out to be really good. They don’t want the writer around. They want to do their own movie.
Other things, not so much, but, you know, it’s not something I think about.
You didn’t initially want to get into horror — you did a lot of writing for a humor magazine. Why did you transition to teen horror?
I never planned to be a scary writer. It’s embarrassing. It wasn’t my idea. I was funny. I was jovial Bob Stine for years, and I always just planned to be funny.
Who gave you the idea to write horror books?
I was having lunch with a woman named Jean Feiwel, who was the editorial director at Scholastic and my friend. She said, “I need someone to write a teen horror novel.”
She just had a fight with a guy who wrote them. She said, “You could write a good teen horror novel; go home and write a book called ‘Blind Date.’” I didn’t know what she was talking about. What’s a teen horror novel?
But at that point in my career, I never said no to anything. So I went running to the bookstore to see Lois Duncan and Christopher Pike and all these people writing teen horror, so I could figure it out. And I write “Blind Date.” It was a No. 1 bestseller. Then, I wrote a second thriller called “Twisted.” Another No. 1 bestseller. I thought, forget the funny stuff. I’ve been scary ever since.
I read that you only type your books with your left index finger. Do you still do that?
I never learned how to type, and I’m totally left-handed. (Shows left finger on the Microsoft Teams meeting call.) Look, it’s totally bent. This is what I sacrificed for my art. The finger’s ruined.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
