Meeting the Man Behind the Nightmare Room

Tracy interviews R.L. Stine in his New York City apartment.

TFK Kid Reporter Tracy Rodrigues has a creepy conversation with R.L. Stine

On my way into New York City the day I was scheduled to interview R.L. Stine, I felt a rush of excitement and nervousness. I couldn't believe I was interviewing the man whose books my teachers had read to me in first and second grades. I've always been a big fan of the Goosebumps series, Fear Street, and the Nightmare Room. I think R. L. Stine is a great writer that works wonders with kids' imaginations.

On the Way to Meet R.L. Stine
I obviously expected R. L. Stine to be dressed in black and not too friendly because of his frightening image. I also expected his apartment to be deeply mysterious and look very creepy and haunted. R.L. Stine was waiting for us near his door, in fact all in black! He told us his wife told him to wear black because, if he didn't, it just made him look like some kid's father. It also makes him look scary.

When I first sat down in R.L. Stine's apartment, I felt so awkward. His apartment is huge! It's full of comfy couches and expensive paintings. I was worried about what he thought of me, though I tried not to show it! I didn't even know when to start interviewing because I didn't know if he wanted to chat first or get right down to business.

Is this the real R.L. Stine? A Stine look-alike sits next to piles of "Goosebumps" books.

Terrifying Television
I asked him all types of questions from goofy to informative to even a few holiday-related questions. My favorite question from the bunch would have to be when I asked him, “How does it feel to be a part of kids' WB's first-ever-live-action series?” He responded, “I feel happy to terrify kids.” Just in case you didn't know, R. L. Stine is doing a live-action series called the Nightmare Room for the kids' WB. It premieres on Saturday, September 29, 2001. Stine says his participation is not much. He says he just reads the scripts. Some episodes will be based on his books, but some are created just for the television series. Stine also revealed that there will be special guest stars on some of the episodes.

As he answered my first two questions, I cut him off because I thought he was finished, and that made me feel really embarrassed. Towards the middle of the interview, I calmed down a lot. Then I started thinking about the time. Had I asked too many questions, or was there still time for more? I guess I was really dazed, because when I checked the time later I had had almost an hour with him!

These cereal boxes in R.L. Stine's office are inspired by his creepy books.

Mounds of Goosebumps Books
After the interview, he took me to his office to autograph some books for me. His workspace is Goosebumps mania except for a few pictures of his wife and son Matthew, who has never read a single one of his dad's books! R.L. Stine says when he was younger, Matthew used to ask his father to put his friends in the books. “He does it just to make me crazy,” Stine says. R.L. Stine has a copy of almost every book he's written. Right now there are only a few Nightmare Room books on R.L. Stine's shelf, but I'm sure he'll have it filled up in no time.

Some of his collectibles include: a Dracula cereal box with Goosebumps marshmallows; a Goosebumps clock; a mini-replica of himself; a skeleton, and a dog cage for his adorable dog, Nadine. When I asked R.L. Stine if he had put Nadine in any of his books he told me no because she just isn't scary enough.

R.L. Stine is a really nice and down-to-earth kind of guy, and I think people make him look scarier than he really is just for the sake of his books. After the interview I felt surprised because almost everything I assumed was wrong!