He’s the author of more than 300 books – a staple read for most people now in their late 20s – and likely one of the few great multi-genre writers that can boast he’s never been at a loss for material.
"I hate to say a number because then I have to go take a nap," the glib writer says on the baffling quantity of volumes he has turned out during his lengthy career. "I’m just here typing... I’m a machine – I’m a writing machine."
Stine never designed to be scary writer. In fact, he started writing in the comedic vein. Up until the age of 9 or 10 Stine only read comics, until discovering fantasy/sci-fi/horror author Rae Bradbury’s books. He sites Bradbury as one of his greatest influences, saying Bradbury’s books are what turned him into a real reader before he studied English at the Ohio State University.
"I wrote a hundred joke books before I got scary," Stine says. "I never planned to be scary; I always planned to be funny."
Indeed, Stine once penned under the name Jovial Bob Stine; heading the Scholastic humour magazine Bananas and putting out funny paperbacks. Then in 1986 he scribed his first horror novel, Blind Date, and three years later he started writing the well-known Fear Street books.
"I never sit down and just start writing," Stine says on his paramount ability to stave off writer’s block. "I think a lot of people think that’s how you write a book...
I do an amazing amount of planning first."
Before Stine sets out on a new novel he already knows how it’s going to finish; how every character will act and what motivates them to do so.
"I have my ending...I did a 30 page outline first," he explains. "So I’ve done all the hard work so the writing is just easy. I’ve done all the thinking. I know everything that’s going to happen in the book...I can just enjoy it and enjoy the writing."
The Ohio-born author does the bulk of this work in his New York City apartment, his King Charles pooch Minny by his side.
"She’s sweet," he says. "She keeps me company during the day here."
In this atmospheric writing room a three-foot long cockroach also makes its residence, a human skeleton is set on display, and a ventriloquist dummy of the author’s own person watches on.
"It’s pretty scary," Stine says of this dummy, which was made to do an intro on the Goosebumps television series that aired in the mid to late ’90s. "The dummy was a little better than me."
The cadence of his tone is happy, articulate, and tongue in cheek. He reminds me of a less hyper Woody Allen, but he has often been toted the Stephen King of children’s books.
"One magazine once called me – this is terrible – a literary training bra for Stephen King," Stine shares. Ironically, the two have never met.
"I do all the book festivals...[King] never leaves Maine."
Stine says, though he knows many of his counterparts loathe making their appearance at writers’ conferences and expos, he has learned to quite enjoy them.
"I have a good time," he says. "It’s great to see my fans."
Having spanned numerous decades with his Fear Street and Goosebumps series, this fan base can run the gamut.
"When I do a book signing now I get 7 year olds...and 25 year olds...and people bringing their kids," he says. "I’m nostalgia to them...it took me a while to get used to that... but at the same time it’s really lucky, isn’t it?"
And it could be that these kids will in turn be bringing theirs. A Midsummer Night’s Scream is the author’s latest book, but he is still writing both new Goosebumps and, after a 15 year hiatus, a new Fear Street book. Stine says his Twitter feed was inundated with fans asking him to bring it back, so he acquiesced.
"I’m killing off more teenagers...everyone enjoys that," he jests.
As the title would suggest, his latest novel is a haunted twist of a Shakespearean classic.
"Nothing like stealing from Shakespeare, right?" he says. "I took parts of the plot, but I turned it into...a horror novel."
Just as Goosebumps enters into its 22nd year of publication, its first feature length film has been confirmed, and is slated for release in March 2016.
"Did you know we started filming a Goosebumps movie on Monday?" Stine asks me during our conversation mid-April. "It has been 20 years in the making. I’m a character in the film... Guess who plays me?"
None other than comedy king Jack Black does!
"We’re like twins, Jack and I. We’re like twins," that sarcastic, smiling voice says, describing having had lunch with Black not that long ago. "I think he just flew in [from LA] so he could look at me, figure me out."
The premise is awesome. R.L. Stine is a grumpy, retired writer. All of the monsters have escaped from his books, so the kids who love reading them plot to find him and petition the author to write one more book that will round up the monsters on the fiction lam.
Stine says that a Goosebumps movie has been in the works for the last 20 years, and he is ecstatic that now it is finally happening.
"It’s going to be a lot of work this movie," he says, describing the monsters and special effects that will be involved in the film which is being shot in Georgia.
He is likely hoping that the movie glitz will allure his son, Matt Stine, to the theatre, as it is his son’s claim to fame that he has never read a single one of his father’s 300-plus books.
"Out of making dad nuts," Stine states as his son’s motive. "He brags about it."
However the younger Stine now maintains his father’s busy website, so "he’s sort of forced to keep up with things."
Stine sites his son as a music guy, currently working with artist David Bern on a musical in New York.
"He’s having the time of his life; he loves it."
On the opposite track, Stine’s wife has likely read more of her husband than anyone.
"My wife is actually my editor. Can you imagine that? It’s a nightmare! It’s all we fight about is plots!" he animates. "She’s really tough."
Jane Waldhorn has her own publishing company, Parachute Press. Her eye is obviously keen as Stine has sold over 400-million copies of his books to date.
"Those were the days – the ’90s," he recalls. At one time they were shucking four million Goosebumps off the shelf per month.
The Calgary Expo will have been Stine’s first trip out to western Canada, though his current TV show, The Haunting Hour, films in Van-City. As for what he will put out next, expect nothing less than volumes upon volumes of more titillating horror.
"I always have a few new books."
