This Guest Post was written by Holly Smith
I entered the Music Box Theatre with anticipation. I was there to see the first episode of the Goosebumps TV show and hear author R. L. Stine speak. I remembered seeing the Goosebumps books at my elementary school library and book sale with their ooze-dripping covers. I always felt like they were forbidden for me, which just intrigued me all the more intrigued. I never read too many. That feeling of daring to go against what the adults in my life thought I should read was too much for me. But now I'm an adult, and I have complete agency over the media I choose to consume.
I entered the theatre, took in the old glamor of the starry ceiling, and settled in for a spooky evening of watching the first episode of the 2023 anthology horror TV series Goosebumps titled "Say Cheese and Die!”
Without giving too much away, “Say Cheese and Die!” sets up the death of a teenager named Harold Biddle in what appears to be a supernatural house fire. Then it flashes forward decades as a new owner of the Biddle house moves in. After teens at the local high school use the house for an illicit Halloween party, odd things begin to happen. Star quarterback Isaiah finds a camera in the basement of the Biddle house—exactly where Harold died. At first, he has fun with the vintage Polaroid camera, but then he notices that the photos predict peril when he looks at them. The episode ends by hinting that some of the teens’ parents know more than they’re saying.
Perhaps needless to say, but I was intrigued. I have now binged the whole first season on Disney+.
The Deep Shudders
After cheers from the audience subsided, R. L. Stine was announced. He came out with Chicago Tribune journalist Chris Borrelli who conducted the interview.
Stine discussed his life as a reader. At first, he only read comic books. At the barbershop he frequented, they sold horror comic books. When Stine’s mother discovered that he had bought these, she threw them out. Stine continued that he ended up getting incredibly frequent haircuts so he could visit that barbershop and read the comics.
When Borrelli asked where Stine got his ideas, Stine joked, “Anything an author will tell you in answer to that is garbage.” He elaborated that he thinks of the title first and often pays homage to other series such as The Twilight Zone. However, if he has an idea, but can’t think of a good title, he throws out the book.
In reflecting on the scariness of Goosebumps, Stine shared, “The trick to Goosebumps and most of my books are that they’re almost all written in first person.” A very close point of view is how to truly be scary, Stine elaborated and, “I mean, obviously, I like scaring kids.” Although Stine readily admitted to this, he did add that readers will never witness a kid dying in Goosebumps (though teens do die in his series that are intended for older readers). Furthermore, he said he hates when parents tells him that their kids have had nightmares after reading a Goosebumps book. “They’re supposed to just get the deep shudders,” Stine explained.
Bringing Back That Feeling of Panic
Stine went on to say that a lot of kids like to be scared while knowing the scary stuff is contained in a book they can read from the safety of their homes. “Kids are really smart and they know if they’re ready for scary stuff,” added Stine before jokingly saying, “I think violence is good for kids.” To explain himself, Stine emphasized again that kids are smart and know the difference between fictional and real violence. However, Stine said, kids need an outlet, and he has found that fans of Goosebumps often identify with the monsters.
“I was a very fearful child and very shy,” divulged Stine, adding that he liked to write in his room. While he admitted that being a fearful child was a difficult way to grow up, he shared that it helped his writing—and not just because he started when he was nine. In Goosebumps, Stine said he “could bring back that feeling of panic,” that he often felt as a child.
Stine was clear that he doesn’t try to teach his young readers anything and instead seeks to entertain. “The only moral is run!” he joked before explaining that he thinks kids should get to read whatever they want, educational or with deep moral meaning or not.
“I didn’t want to go Goosebumps—that’s the kind of businessman I am,” quipped Stine. Although initially resistant to creating a scary series for seven to twelve-year-olds, he was eventually convinced, publishing Welcome to Dead House in 1992.
For those who think Goosebumps might be over and done with, Stine said he still writes about three of them a year—and that’s on top of short stories called Stinetinglers and graphic novels for BOOM! Studios. All told, Stine has written over 300 books.
With his signature sense of humor, Stine joked, “I’m going to be 112 and still writing for 10-year-olds.”
Holly Smith is a communications specialist with a history in publishing and the bookstore world. Now she tackles book and literary event reviews one at a time. You can read more of her book reviews at Holly Reviews, Bookman!.
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