Yesterday was author R.L. Stine’s 72nd birthday! However, as we all know, the party doesn’t really get started until the weekend, so let’s begin the celebrations today! After all, this is the man who is responsible for creating Goosebumps, the young adult horror series that a great many of us, including myself, grew up on. The seemingly endlessly creative author has written hundreds of books, which in turn have sold hundreds of millions of copies around the world, ensuring that no child is safe from the nightmares that he has created.
I remember being a part of the Goosebumps book club at my local Barnes & Nobles growing up. Additionally, I had all of the original Goosebumps stories and slowly began working my way into the Fear Street series, which quite literally gave me nightmares. And here’s a funny story: I almost got suspended from school because I was caught reading his adult novel Superstitious. I was in 6th grade and my teacher looked over my shoulder to see what I was reading only to find that there was a passage about someone getting a blowjob. Let’s just say she didn’t think it was appropriate that a 12-year old read something like that.
Coming back to the point, I don’t think that there are many readers or staff on Bloody-Disgusting that haven’t been affected in some way by Stine’s books. They were so ubiquitous that it’s almost impossible to imagine a world where he didn’t spook us in some way, shape, or form.
So, for that, we wish R.L. Stine a very happy birthday and all the success with the upcoming Goosebumps movie, which comes out October 16th!
