The stairs creaked as I walked up them. There were spider webs all over the walls and ceilings. A low moaning was coming from down the wall. I pushed open the door very slowly. And then I screamed.
Cliffhangers like that have kept kids awake late at night as they read books like “The Haunted Mask” and “Night of the Living Dummy.”
R.L. Stine, who goes by Bob, has written over 50 books in his best-selling “Goosebumps” series during the ‘90s.
Stine grew up in Bexley and graduated from the high school in 1961. He then went to the Ohio State University to be an English major but didn’t spend much time studying.
“I was the editor of the humor magazine at OSU,” Stine said. “That’s mostly all I did at college. I never went to class.”
After leaving OSU, Stine said he moved to New York. While in New York, Stine spent many years working for humor magazines and writing joke books.
“My first books weren’t scary; they were funny,” Stine said. “An editor suggested I do a scary book for teenagers. I wrote my first teen book called ‘Blind Date,’ and it was a best seller. I realized that kids liked to be scared. I’ve been scary ever since.”
According to Stine’s website, he has sold over 300 million books.
Junior Chris Hammond said he liked the “Goosebumps” books and TV shows.
“Being little, the suspense and horror factors were really great,” Hammond said.
Today, Stine said he is reviving his series with 12 new “Goosebumps Horrorland” books that will feature some characters from the previous “Goosebumps” books.
Stine also said, although he had wanted to be a writer from a young age, going to Bexley helped start his career.
Stine was on The Torch and wrote a humor column called “Stine’s Line” that appeared in each issue.
“There were teachers [at Bexley] who really encouraged me to start writing,” Stine said. “Writing on The Torch was the first time I was ever published and that was very exciting for me.”
Stine said that as a child he spent much of his time writing.
“When I was a kid in Bexley, I was a very fearful kid,” Stine said. “I was afraid of lots of stuff. That’s probably why I spent a lot of my time in my room typing.”
Bexley also makes appearances in some of the books he has written, Stine said.
“All my ‘Goosebumps’ and ‘Fear Street’ books take place in a very suburban environment,” Stine said. “I live in [New York City] now, so I think back to the look of Bexley. I’ve kind of used Bexley in all those books as the setting, even though they have different names.”
Hammond said he sees connections between the books and the school.
“The book about the vampire teacher and the monster librarian really reminded me of Bexley,” Hammond said.
Stine said his Bexley past shows up in a few books.
“We lived on North Columbia near the train tracks,” Stine said. “We used to trick or treat at the governor’s mansion. Whenever I write a trick-or-treating scene, like in ‘The Haunted Mask,’ I think back to doing it with my brother. I have to remember what it was like in Bexley.”
Though Stine now lives in New York City, he said he occasionally visits Bexley and makes sure to stop at his favorite restaurant.
“When I was younger, we used to hang out at Rubino’s,” Stine said. “Whenever I come to Columbus, I immediately go back there.”
He added that his view of his hometown has not changed after becoming a famous author.
“Bexley never changes,” Stine said. “No one ever remodels their house. The same stores and the library are still there. Nothing changes in 50 years. It’s like a time warp.”
Hammond said that he is glad Stine grew up in Bexley.
“I like to write, so it gives me inspiration to know that a writer of that popularity went here,” Hammond said. “It shows that great talent can come from anywhere.”
Junior Eric Sachs, who owned about 20 “Goosebumps” books and read many three or four times, was not as excited to learn about the author’s origins.
Sachs added that he discovered that Stine was from Bexley by reading his autobiography, “It Came from Ohio!”
“I think it’s an interesting fact, but where a writer is from to me is inconsequential,” Sachs said. “It’s more about what he writes.”
He does, however, think that Stine’s books reveal something about his hometown.
“I think it proves that Bexley is dangerous for the human psyche,” Sachs said.
Published April 2008. Digitized 2025.
