Bexley native R.L. Stine comes home for Halloween
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This Halloween season, Central Ohio's spookiest son took center stage in a return to his birthplace.
Why it matters: Bexley native R.L. Stine, 82, can sometimes fly under the radar as one of our most famous exports.
- He's sold over 400 million "Goosebumps" books and inspired countless adaptations.
Driving the news: Stine (known as "Bob" to people around him) made a rare visit home for Halloween last week for a meet-and-greet with fans and a sold-out talk at the Main Library.
- The event was the culmination of the city's "Get Goosebumps" campaign this fall, with bars, bookstores and other establishments celebrating Stine's work.
Before the talk, the city unveiled a ceremonial renaming of Grant Avenue to "R.L. Stine Way" outside the library.
Flashback: Stine has been doing this a long time.
- His first horror novels were released nearly 40 years ago, with "Fear Street" and "Goosebumps" books gaining popularity in the early '90s.
- By the late '90s, he was making Forbes' best-paid entertainers list and producing the "Goosebumps" TV series.
He still loves the work, and says if he's ever out of the public eye for too long, he "starts to crave it."
- "I've always had fun with this," he told reporters before his talk. "I don't get this attention at home, right? I've had a very busy fall. Somehow I said yes to everything, and I still have two or three more cities to go. But I'm the author who likes it. I really enjoy getting out and seeing the kids. It's fun for me."
Between the lines: Perhaps his unwavering enthusiasm is rooted in his modest Central Ohio upbringing.
- Stine was born in 1943 on the outskirts of Bexley, where he lived for 22 years before leaving for New York upon graduation from Ohio State.
During his trip, Stine went back to his childhood home — along with a camera crew — and was blown away.
- "It was so strange today to go back to that house. I hadn't been there for like 50 years. It was so tiny. The whole house was like the size of a bathroom."
The bottom line: Stine carries himself like a man who's been having fun toying with the fears (and laughs) of young readers for four decades.
- "I love being a bad influence on all your kids," he told the crowd with a smile.