The series almost didn’t happen!

It’s been 30 years since R.L. Stine wrote his first horror novel, titled Blind Date. Since then, he’s created entire horror series, including the Goosebumps books, which had a run that lasted from 1992-1997. The Goosebumps series has remained popular, even among the current generation of youngsters, as it comes in forms that include the ’90s TV series, which is available for steaming on Netflix, and the film that was released last year. You can currently get your R.L. Stine fix on Discovery Family Channel, which is airing R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour at 5 p.m. ET/4 CT, and R.L. Stine’s Mostly Ghostly at 9 p.m. ET/8 CT on Halloween. BuzzFeed recently spoke with Stine, who divulged some little-known facts about the Goosebumps series.

David Bertozzi & Charlotte Gomez for Buzzfeed

The Goosebumps series was inspired by R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series.

Goosebumps wasn't Stine's first time doing horror, he says: “I was already writing the Fear Street books and my editor said, ‘Why don’t we try doing a scary series for 7- to 12-year-olds? Nobody has ever done it before.’”

Pocket Books

Initially, Stine didn’t want to do Goosebumps.

The Fear Street books were geared toward teenagers, which meant it would be a fairly significant change for Stine. "I didn't want to do it," he said. "I thought it would screw up Fear Street. I thought the Fear Street audience would say, 'Oh look, he’s doing younger stuff, it’s not as cool.' I resisted doing Goosebumps. How dumb was that?”

Scholastic

He came up with the name “Goosebumps” randomly, while reading a TV Guide.

“At the bottom of the page there was an ad, and it said, ‘It’s goosebumps week on channel 11.’ I just stared at it. I knew it was the perfect name.”

Scholastic

---

View Entire List ›