Goosebumps author R.L. Stine really wanted to write comedy

Jack Black (far left) plays author R. L. Stine in the the new film, Goosebumps, which also stars (from left) Odeya Rush and Dylan Minnette.

Mention the name “R.L. Stine”, and most people will envision scenes of horror. Sinister creatures lurking in the shadows. Evil ventriloquist dummies. Monster blood and haunted masks. His bestselling Goosebumps and Fear Street horror series, after all, have been scaring readers for generations.

It’s difficult to believe, therefore, that Stine never wanted to become a horror writer. Instead, when he started, Stine wanted to write comedy: he created a humour magazine called Bananas, and wrote many joke books for kids under the name “Jovial Ben Stine”, among other things.