Q&A: R.L. Stine, master of frighteningly fun novels for kids has a new work: 'SlappyWorld #17'

Next month, author R.L. Stine’s hair-raisingly popular series of horror novels for young people, “Goosebumps,” will celebrate its 30th anniversary.

“Welcome to Dead House” — the frighteningly formidable first book in the series aimed at youngsters ages 7 of 12 — was published by Scholastic in July of 1992.

Stine, a 78-year-old native of Bexley and graduate of Ohio State University, could rest on his laurels, but instead, he keeps producing new works in a bibliography that now numbers more than 330 titles. Currently ongoing is the “Goosebumps” spinoff “SlappyWorld,” about a ventriloquist’s dummy called Slappy the Dummy.

On Tuesday, the latest “SlappyWorld” novel, “SlappyWorld #17: Haunting with the Stars,” will be published by Scholastic. The publisher will bring out a new hardcover book documenting the “origin story” of the nefarious doll, “Slappy, Beware!,” on Sept. 20.

To reflect on his position as the millennial generation’s chief inducer of spine tingles, Stine — whose initials stand for “Robert Lawrence” and who currently lives in New York — recently spoke by phone with The Dispatch.

Question: Did you think “Goosebumps” would have this kind of staying power?

Stine: I never had any idea. The truth is, when we started “Goosebumps,” back in 1992, I was very reluctant to do it. No one had ever done a scary-books series for 7- to 12-year-olds, and I was afraid it would mess up my audience for “Fear Street.” I was already doing the older, teen series. That’s the kind of businessman I am: I didn’t want to do “Goosebumps.” I said, “OK, all right, let’s try two or three of them.”

Q: Between 1992 and 1997, you wrote 62 books in the series, right?

Stine: In the first group, and then we changed the name to “Goosebumps 2000,”and we did 20 or so of those. We keep changing and refreshing it.

Q: At the peak of the original series, what kind of writing pace did you keep?

Stine: One a month. How did I do it? I don’t know. I was writing a “Goosebumps” book every month and a “Fear Street” novel every month. One every two weeks. I was a lot younger. I didn’t get out much.

Luckily, I had really tough editors. My wife was a “Fear Street” editor for many years. She was a real tough editor. I couldn’t get away with anything. They made sure I didn’t repeat myself. That was their job. How would you like to be married to your editor? The one thing we ever fought about were plots.

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Q: During your youth in central Ohio, what did you read?

Stine: I read only comic books. I didn’t read books. . . . My friends and I all carried around a big stack of comic books. When I was a kid, there were these scary EC Comics (series) “Tales from the Crypt” and “The Vault of Horror,” these really ghastly comic books that were scary and funny at the same time. I loved them, and they were a very big influence on me.

I grew up in Bexley, and my mom dropped me off at the Bexley library on Main Street. I was like 9 or 10. The librarian was waiting for me and she said, “Bobby, I know you like comic books. I have something else I think you will like.” She took me to a shelf of Ray Bradbury stories, and those changed my life. I couldn’t believe how great they were. They were so beautifully written and so imaginative and all had great twist endings. Ray Bradbury turned me into a reader. Then I started reading all kinds of science fiction and fantasy. It was a like a big moment: this librarian really changed my life.

Q: Bradbury (the author of “The Martian Chronicles,” “Fahrenheit 451,” and other classics) is a Midwesterner, too: He was from Waukegan, Illinois.

Stine: I’ll tell sort of a self-aggrandizing story. I met him only once, and he really was my idol. We were at the L.A. Times book festival, and I spotted him in a publisher's booth eating a hot dog. My wife said, “Go over to him, introduce yourself.” I was shy. I said, “I can’t.” She said, “Go over, he’s so important to you.” I walked up to him, and I was shaking. I was like a kid. I was so nervous. I shook hands with him, and I said, “Mr. Bradbury, you’re my hero!” And he turned around . . . and he said, “Well, you’re a hero to a lot of other people.”

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Q: You began writing when you were about 9. What prompted that?

Stine: I was a very shy kid and a very fearful kid, and I think I just liked being in my room all day, typing, making my own stories. I had no idea why it appealed to me so much. My parents didn’t understand it at all. My mom would be outside my door, saying, “What’s wrong with you? Go outside and play.” The worst advice I ever got, right? “Stop typing and go play.”

Q: By the time you entered Ohio State University, were you settled on writing as a profession?

Stine: In those days, every college had a humor magazine, and Ohio State had a comedy magazine called The Sundial. I just wanted to work on The Sundial, and I ended up being editor of it for three years in a row. And that’s all I did in college — this humor magazine.

Q: Take us up to current times. You’re in the midst of “SlappyWorld.”

Stine: Slappy is so popular. It’s actually in my contract that every other book has to be about Slappy. I don’t really get it. I don’t know why people think he’s so scary. I like writing him, because he’s like an insult comedian. It’s like writing Don Rickles or something. He’s just so insulting to everybody, and nasty, so that’s fun to write. But I don’t really understand why people are so scared of him.

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Q: Why do you think young readers like to be scared?

Stine: With my books, I think what they like are the twists and surprises, and that they’re also funny. They know, when they read it, (it’s) never going to get too scary (or) go too far. I think that’s really important for them. It’s like a roller coaster ride — the twists and turns, a lot of screams and laughing, and then it lets you off safe. Every book has a happy ending, every single one.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Author R.L. Stine has a new work, 'SlappyWorld #17' due out June 28