Kidsday interviews R.L. Stine
Author R.L. Stine with Kidsday reporters (l) Mateo Orellana, Olivia Valle, Lucia Chrysler and Colin Carroll, age 11, all from Our Lady of the Hamptons School in Southampton, at the Barnes and Noble Book Store in Carle Place. (April 17, 2012) Credit: Newsday/Pat Mullooly
We met R.L. Stine, one of our favorite authors, at the Barnes & Noble in Carle Place recently.
Do you prefer writing by yourself or with a partner?
When I first started writing, my wife, Jane, and I wrote funny books together, but it always ended up in fights. So we decided maybe we shouldn't write books together. No, I like writing by myself. My dog is there, too, but I write by myself. It's more fun for me. That's an interesting question. No one ever asked me that before.
Why do you like to scare kids?
I love scaring kids. That's my job. Somebody has to scare kids, right? Turns out it's me. I don't know. When I first started out writing these books, I didn't know like why people liked them. And I'd go to schools, I'd visit schools, and I'd say to the kids, "Why do you like these books?" And every time, they'd said, "I like to be scared." Every time. And then I'd say, "Well don't you think they're too scary?" And the kids always say, "Not scary enough." Always.
What author scared you when you were a kid?
When I was a kid, there were these really creepy comic books called "Tales From the Crypt" and "The Vault of Horror," and they were disgusting, bloody comic books. Horrible things. I loved them. And my mom wouldn't let me buy them. She said they were trash, and she said I couldn't bring them into the house. They had them at the barber shop and -- this is true -- I used to go every Saturday morning and get a haircut so I could read these comic books. I had no hair when I was a kid. None. But I was very well read.
Do you have a lot of nightmares?
I have no nightmares. I don't have any. I have the most boring dreams you could imagine. The other night, you know what I dreamed? I dreamed I was making a baloney sandwich. Really. One night, I dreamed I was eating a Snickers bar. I have really boring dreams. And I've never gotten a story idea from a dream ever. Not once.
Have you ever written any books that weren't scary?
Yes. A few years ago, I did a funny series. I always wanted to be funny. I didn't really want to be scary. I didn't plan on it. And I did a series of books called "Rotten School," which was out a few years ago, and it was about a really rotten boarding school and all the rotten kids and horrible rotten teachers, and I did 16 of those books, and it was just funny. I didn't scare kids for awhile.
Out of all your books, who is your favorite character?
I have a lot of them. Slappy, the Evil Dummy I think is my favorite one to write. Carly Beth in "The Haunted Mask." Have you ever seen that one? That's one of my favorites. Carly Beth is a girl at Halloween time she puts on this green rubber mask and she can't get it off. It sticks to her face and it becomes part of her skin and it turns her evil.
What is the question that you've never been asked?
Ask me. I'm not going to tell you. What's the question I'm asked all the time? What question am I asked more than any other questions? What does R.L. stand for? Really boring. Robert Lawrence, my boring name. Kids always expect something really creepy right? And it's just my name.
