R. L. Robert Lawrence With his horror stories of bloodied blades and whistling ghosts, Stine gave children goose bumps and scared teenagers from sleeping through dark, stormy nights. Stine, known as the “Stephen King of children’s literature,” has written hundreds of horror tales for children and teenagers. His writings have sold over 400 million copies worldwide, making him one of the most successful authors in modern literature. He began writing at the tender age of nine, having been a keen reader of many genres of books from boyhood. He disliked being outside even as a child, preferring instead to create stories and jokes on his typewriter. When he was younger, he decided to become a writer, but his early writings were nothing like the horror novels for which he would later become famous. He began his writing career by creating a humorous magazine called ‘Bananas’ and publishing joke books for children. He wrote under the pen name Jovial Bob Stine as a humourist. After abandoning his day job, he began writing full-time and debuted in the horror genre with the well-received novel ‘Blind Date.’ He jumped right into creating horror fiction after discovering his expertise, eventually launching the immensely successful ‘Goosebumps’ series.
Childhood and Adolescence
Lewis Stine and Anne, his Jewish parents, raised him in Ohio. His father worked as a shipping clerk, while his mother was a stay-at-home mom. He has two brothers and sisters.
When he was nine years old, he discovered an old typewriter in the attic and began typing up stories and gags. He disliked school and was a below-average student.
He didn’t want to play outside as a kid; all he wanted to do was type out jokes and stories on his typewriters, which he did for hours at a time.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from The Ohio State University in 1965. He was the editor of the university’s comedy journal, ‘The Sundial,’ during his time there.
The career of R.L.
He moved to New York City after college to pursue a literary career. He got a job working on children’s publications at Scholastic, Inc. He used to create children’s funny novels under the pen name Jovial Bob Stine in his spare time.
In the mid-1970s, he founded the ‘Bananas’ humor magazine for children and teenagers. Between 1975 and 1984, Scholastic Press published 72 issues of the magazine.
He was compelled to start writing full-time after losing his job at Scholastic due to a company restructure. During this time, he began to dabble in the horror genre.
In 1986, he published his debut horror novel, ‘Blind Date.’ Readers liked it, so he followed it up with ‘Twisted’ (1987) and ‘The Baby-Sitter’ (1988). (1989).
He began writing the ‘Fear Street’ series of books in 1989. It was a teen horror series about teens who were confronted by evil forces such as ghosts, killers, and other nefarious people. ‘The New Girl’ was the first novel in the series.
Fear Street was a very popular series with the punch line “where your greatest fears reside,” and it evolved to encompass nearly 100 novels that sold over 80 million copies.
He was the co-creator and chief writer of the children’s television show ‘Eureka’s Castle.’ During the 1989 to 1995 seasons, the show aired on Nickelodeon Network.
In 1992, he began the ‘Goosebumps’ series. Children’s horror literature follows young characters who are confronted with frightening situations. The series became enormously popular, with more than 300 million books sold worldwide.
The novel’s success generated a four-season television series called ‘Goosebumps,’ which aired from 1995 to 1998. It also sparked the development of three video games.
In the new century, the prolific author began work on numerous other book series, including ‘Mostly Ghostly,’ ‘Rotten School,’ ‘The Nightmare Room,’ and the novels ‘Dangerous Girls’ (2003) and ‘The Taste of Night,’ as well as the books ‘Dangerous Girls’ (2003) and ‘The Taste of Night’ (2004).
Based on his eponymous children’s story, a horror fantasy film titled ‘The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think about It’ was released in 2007. Alex Zamm directed the film, which stars Emily Osment and Tobin Bell.
Stine’s Major Projects
He has been dubbed the “Stephen King of children’s literature” for his horror fiction series “Goosebumps.” The bestselling series has been translated into 32 languages, with individual works appearing on numerous bestseller lists, including The New York Times Bestseller List.
Achievements & Awards
He has won the Disney Adventures Kids’ Choice Award for Best Book-Mystery/Horror three times.
In 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records proclaimed him the best-selling children’s book series author of all time.
Personal History and Legacy
In 1969, he married Jane Waldhorn. She went on to work as an editor and writer, eventually founding the Parachute Press with a partner. Matthew is the couple’s only child.
Estimated Net worth
R.L. Stine has a net worth of $200 million as an author, screenwriter, and producer in the United States. Stine is most known for her horror-themed children’s and young adult books, including the “Goosebumps” and “Fear Street” series.
He is one of the most successful authors of the previous several decades, with more than 330 novels to his credit and more than 400 million copies sold worldwide. R.L. Stine, also known as Eric Affabee and Jovial Bob Stine, has been dubbed the “Stephen King of children’s literature” and “one of the best-selling authors in history.”
Trivia
During the 1990s, he was named America’s No. 1 best-selling novelist three times in a row by ‘USA Today.’