{"id":111611,"date":"2025-11-02T16:20:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T16:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/111611\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T16:20:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T16:20:08","slug":"step-inside-r-l-stines-spooky-goosebumps-room-this-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/111611\/","title":{"rendered":"Step inside R.L. Stine’s spooky ‘Goosebumps’ room this Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2013 You might think of the author of \u201cGoosebumps\u201d<\/a> as the unofficial mayor of Halloween, but R.L. Stine<\/a> never cared much for the holiday.<\/p>\n

Yet, you wouldn\u2019t know that stepping into his home office. From the entrance, Stine\u2019s apartment is unassuming, save for some killer hardwood floor paneling. But step down the hall and you\u2019re in a Halloweentown of his own design.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an odd mixture of office supplies and the spooky memorabilia that got Stine his fame \u2013 a giant plastic cockroach opposite a desk where he writes his novels. Slappy the Dummy dots the office in many forms from masks to dolls, but there\u2019s also a practical bin labeled \u201cmail + stuff to deal with.” He has a life-size skeleton that his Scholastic publishers sent him for a big \u201cGoosebumps\u201d bestseller list milestone. He assembled the pieces himself, he grumbles, so one of the knees is backward. On the walls hang posters of his cover artwork. The ceiling and walls are connected with spidery shelving brackets, decorated in the same style as the black webby legs of his desk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spend spooky season with \u2018Goosebumps\u2019 author R.L. Stine<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a rainy day in New York, the dreadful kind of sideways pour that gives Stine\u2019s office an even spookier glow. His rambunctious puppy, Lucky,<\/a> stumbles into the office with a towel in his mouth after a failed attempt to dry him off post-walk. On Halloween night, Stine will pass out candy and books to a small group of kids in his building. They mostly take the candy, he tells USA TODAY.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone thinks it\u2019s my favorite holiday, but I\u2019m always working on Halloween,\u201d he says. Just last week, he traveled to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, which was decked out in \u201cGoosebumps\u201d green<\/a> to commemorate the author.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t ask him to dress up on Halloween.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about me is I\u2019m no fun,\u201d he jokes in his signature deadpan humor. \u201cI\u2019ve never been any fun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stine\u2019s childhood Halloween memories feel like something out of \u201cA Christmas Story\u201d \u2013 he wanted a scary costume, but his parents got him a fuzzy yellow duck suit. His family was poor, he couldn\u2019t afford a new costume every year. Duck it was.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was horrible,\u201d Stine says. It did give him some inspiration, though, and became a part of his story \u201cThe Haunted Mask.\u201d Future Halloweens would also inspire this book \u2013 one year, his son tried on a green rubber Frankenstein mask and couldn\u2019t get it off. In \u201cThe Haunted Mask,\u201d<\/a> a young girl gets a mask stuck on her face and begins to turn evil.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s tugging and tugging, and I thought \u2018What a great idea,\u2019\u201d Stine says. \u201cI should have helped him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

R.L. Stine on keeping things just scary enough<\/p>\n

Generations of readers have grown up spooked and intrigued<\/a> by \u201cGoosebumps.\u201d Stine has written books for all ages, including adults, but the 7-11-year-old range is his favorite.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the last time in their lives they’ll ever be enthusiastic,\u201d he says. \u201cThey want to know you. They want to read you. They want to meet you. They want to buy stuff. They wear your shirts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catering horror to a younger demographic is all about knowing where to draw the line. Stine keeps his scares fantastical. He won\u2019t touch divorce, abuse, drugs or other real-world problems. He wants kids to know that \u201cGoosebumps\u201d can\u2019t really happen in real life.<\/p>\n

He isn\u2019t so much of a scaredy-cat now, but Stine was as a kid. He can clearly recall a freezer in his parents\u2019 basement that resembled a coffin and gave him the heebie jeebies. Remembering that \u201cfeeling of terror, that feeling of panic\u201d helps him in his writing<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really, seriously, a fearful child, was very shy and just afraid of a lot of things. I think that’s why I stayed in my room writing. It was safe, and I’m building my own world.\u201d Stine says. \u201cI would ride my bike around the neighborhood and come back in the evening, and I always thought something was lurking in the garage, thought something was waiting. I’d throw my bike into the garage, go running into the house. It’s a terrible way to be a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later in adulthood, he had a recurring dream that someone was chasing him. But when he started writing horror instead of joke books, the dream disappeared.<\/p>\n

\"play\"<\/p>\n

The ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ film left R.L. Stine asking one question<\/p>\n

Acclaimed author R.L. Stine chats with USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa about the Netflix film adaptation of his book, “Fear Street: Prom Queen.”<\/p>\n

What is R.L. Stine doing now?<\/p>\n

Stine has not retired and has no plans to. In fact, he says he\u2019s busier than ever. His wife has Alzheimer’s, so he says writing is a \u201cgratifying\u201d escape from day-to-day life.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s currently working on a new adult thriller book, something he swore he\u2019d never do again. But he has a hard time saying no, he says. His wife used to have to coach him to say \u201cI\u2019ll get back to you\u201d instead of \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, he’s had to adjust to becoming a figure of nostalgia for adults who read \u201cGoosebumps\u201d when it first published. Maybe when he garners too many generations of readers, he\u2019ll throw in the towel.<\/p>\n

\u201cA kid raises their hand now, \u2018Are you going to retire?\u2019 No one used to ask me that! Shut up. No one had ever asked me,\u201d Stine says. \u201cHere\u2019s when I quit \u2013 this is it for me. Somebody comes up to the table and they say \u2018My grandmother loves your books.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the scariest book?: Horror authors pick the most terrifying<\/a><\/p>\n

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY\u2019s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram<\/a>, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter<\/a> or tell her what you\u2019re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n