1 00:00:00,766 --> 00:00:01,433 - [Blonde Woman] Hello. 2 00:00:01,433 --> 00:00:02,566 - [Host] Hi. 3 00:00:02,566 --> 00:00:04,166 - I have an 8-year-old daughter who, 4 00:00:04,166 --> 00:00:07,033 due to your fantastic work with 5 00:00:07,033 --> 00:00:08,433 Slappy the Dummy, 6 00:00:08,433 --> 00:00:11,000 is terrified of dolls (laughing). 7 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,833 And so I'm just curious as to how you handled 8 00:00:13,833 --> 00:00:15,866 your own children's fears and things like that, 9 00:00:15,866 --> 00:00:17,000 things that go bump in the night. 10 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:18,200 What did you do? 11 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:19,033 - You have a son. 12 00:00:19,033 --> 00:00:20,500 - I have a son. 13 00:00:20,500 --> 00:00:22,200 And he was (laughs), 14 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,900 that's a, no one ever asked me that question. 15 00:00:25,900 --> 00:00:28,900 My son Matt, his claim to fame is that he 16 00:00:28,900 --> 00:00:30,500 never read one of my books. 17 00:00:30,500 --> 00:00:31,966 (audience laughing) 18 00:00:31,966 --> 00:00:34,866 No, he bragged about it, he bragged about it. 19 00:00:34,866 --> 00:00:36,033 - How old was your son 20 00:00:36,033 --> 00:00:37,133 when you started writing - He was 12. 21 00:00:37,133 --> 00:00:38,366 - The Goosebumps books. 22 00:00:38,366 --> 00:00:39,866 - 12, he was the right age, he was good. 23 00:00:39,866 --> 00:00:41,700 - [Host] He just didn't wanna, he just didn't go there-- 24 00:00:41,700 --> 00:00:44,466 - No dad, his dad hasn't had anything to say so far. 25 00:00:44,466 --> 00:00:45,766 Why should he, he did it, 26 00:00:45,766 --> 00:00:47,100 you know he did it to make me crazy. 27 00:00:47,100 --> 00:00:48,400 - Right. 28 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:49,233 - He'd bring them into his friends-- 29 00:00:49,233 --> 00:00:50,500 - He's every son, ever. 30 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:51,666 - Yes, that's right. 31 00:00:51,666 --> 00:00:52,933 - Yeah. 32 00:00:52,933 --> 00:00:54,533 - So, I can't really answer that question. 33 00:00:54,533 --> 00:00:56,433 And he was a pretty fearless kid. 34 00:00:56,433 --> 00:00:57,800 Well he's a New York City kid. - He never got afraid of the 35 00:00:57,800 --> 00:00:59,400 dark or anything like that? 36 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,000 - [Bob] What? 37 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:01,833 - He was never afraid of the dark or anything like that? 38 00:01:01,833 --> 00:01:02,733 - No. 39 00:01:02,733 --> 00:01:04,000 He's a city kid. 40 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:05,800 When you grow up in New York city, you're tough. 41 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,566 - [Blonde Woman] Well, that's true, we live in the country. 42 00:01:09,566 --> 00:01:11,200 - I didn't really understand the whole doll thing. 43 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,533 I write these Slappy books, and I have to, 44 00:01:13,533 --> 00:01:16,733 next year we're doing, I'm doing four books called 45 00:01:16,733 --> 00:01:18,566 Goosebumps Slappy World. 46 00:01:18,566 --> 00:01:19,400 - [Blonde Woman] Oh God. 47 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:20,233 - 'Cause he was so, 48 00:01:20,233 --> 00:01:21,066 yeah, tell him not to-- 49 00:01:21,066 --> 00:01:22,500 - So this is like the-- 50 00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:23,966 - [Blonde Woman] You wrote 'em just for my kid. 51 00:01:23,966 --> 00:01:24,633 - Like the cross-over television series, right? 52 00:01:24,633 --> 00:01:25,533 Merging the two. 53 00:01:25,533 --> 00:01:26,466 - Right. 54 00:01:26,466 --> 00:01:28,866 But, they grow out of it. 55 00:01:28,866 --> 00:01:30,100 - [Blonde Woman] Yeah, I hope so. 56 00:01:30,100 --> 00:01:32,833 - My nephew Sam, he was like nine I guess, 57 00:01:32,833 --> 00:01:36,133 and he was terrified of Goosebumps, terrified. 58 00:01:36,133 --> 00:01:37,833 And I used to send him books. 59 00:01:37,833 --> 00:01:40,666 And I'd say, Sam, I think you'll like this one, 60 00:01:40,666 --> 00:01:42,966 it's not too scary. 61 00:01:42,966 --> 00:01:44,800 I picked one out, you know, wasn't too scary. 62 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,800 And he called me up and he said, "Bob, you know where 63 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:50,400 "this book is going, right in the garbage." 64 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:52,766 (laughing) 65 00:01:52,766 --> 00:01:54,300 Right. 66 00:01:54,300 --> 00:01:55,000 - [Blonde Woman] All right, well thank you very much. 67 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:56,000 - [Bob] Yes. 68 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:57,266 - Mam. 69 00:01:57,266 --> 00:01:59,233 - Well, I just wanted to say that I myself 70 00:01:59,233 --> 00:02:02,600 have never liked anything scary, always been terrified, 71 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,333 can't watch scary movies to this day. 72 00:02:04,333 --> 00:02:05,600 But I love your books, 73 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,733 and I don't know what it is but they're amazing. 74 00:02:08,733 --> 00:02:11,133 And, as a child, it was just really, 75 00:02:11,133 --> 00:02:12,633 was able to get into it. 76 00:02:12,633 --> 00:02:15,400 But my question for you is, what is your favorite? 77 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:16,733 Do you have a favorite of all the books that you've written? 78 00:02:16,733 --> 00:02:17,566 - Of all of them? 79 00:02:17,566 --> 00:02:18,800 - Of all of them, yeah. 80 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:20,166 - You know it's very hard, I guess 81 00:02:20,166 --> 00:02:21,666 The Haunted Mask. - With so many to pick from. 82 00:02:21,666 --> 00:02:24,366 - The Haunted Mask, that's my best Halloween story. 83 00:02:24,366 --> 00:02:27,433 About Carly Beth who pulls the mask down over her face 84 00:02:27,433 --> 00:02:31,233 and it sticks to her face and turns her evil. 85 00:02:31,233 --> 00:02:33,433 I'm very proud of that book, it's a good-- 86 00:02:33,433 --> 00:02:37,233 (audience laughing) 87 00:02:37,233 --> 00:02:38,466 - Excellent, thank you. - That's my favorite. 88 00:02:38,466 --> 00:02:39,300 - Thank you. 89 00:02:39,300 --> 00:02:40,133 - Nice. 90 00:02:40,133 --> 00:02:40,966 - Good. 91 00:02:40,966 --> 00:02:42,800 - Miss Lava. 92 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,266 - Thanks for coming back to Austin. 93 00:02:46,266 --> 00:02:48,066 It may not be necessary now, 94 00:02:48,066 --> 00:02:50,766 but when you started this whole direction, 95 00:02:50,766 --> 00:02:53,133 did you find, or did you even think about, 96 00:02:53,133 --> 00:02:55,966 whether you were writing for parents, for their children, 97 00:02:55,966 --> 00:02:57,466 or were you writing for the children? 98 00:02:57,466 --> 00:02:58,666 - Very interesting. 99 00:02:58,666 --> 00:02:59,933 Good question. - Yeah that's good. 100 00:02:59,933 --> 00:03:03,033 It turned out parents enjoyed reading them 101 00:03:03,033 --> 00:03:06,533 to their kids, which was a lucky thing. 102 00:03:06,533 --> 00:03:09,666 But no, I only thought about the kids. 103 00:03:09,666 --> 00:03:10,966 I didn't think, and you know, 104 00:03:10,966 --> 00:03:13,800 parents in Goosebumps are useless. 105 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:14,733 (audience laughing) 106 00:03:14,733 --> 00:03:15,933 - [Miss Lava] That's true. 107 00:03:15,933 --> 00:03:18,733 - The parents never believe the kids, ever. 108 00:03:18,733 --> 00:03:20,733 They never believe what's going on, 109 00:03:20,733 --> 00:03:23,666 and they're usually totally absent. 110 00:03:24,833 --> 00:03:27,633 The idea of a Goosebumps book is that the kids 111 00:03:27,633 --> 00:03:30,600 have these horrible, terrifying problems, 112 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:32,700 and they have to solve them on their own. 113 00:03:32,700 --> 00:03:33,833 - That's kinda like Peanuts. - They have to use their 114 00:03:33,833 --> 00:03:35,466 own wits to solve them. 115 00:03:35,466 --> 00:03:38,300 And their parents are no help at all in these books. 116 00:03:38,300 --> 00:03:40,333 - Right, have you ever had parents complain about 117 00:03:40,333 --> 00:03:42,600 the portrayal of parents in these books? 118 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:44,100 - Not about that. 119 00:03:44,100 --> 00:03:46,366 I have parents complain about the subject matter. 120 00:03:46,366 --> 00:03:49,000 The whole idea of horror for kids. 121 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:51,000 Especially in the early days, 122 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:52,333 there were a lot of complaints. 123 00:03:52,333 --> 00:03:53,133 Now-- 124 00:03:53,133 --> 00:03:53,966 - [Host] Less so now. 125 00:03:53,966 --> 00:03:54,933 - Less so now. 126 00:03:54,933 --> 00:03:56,300 - Sir, last question right here. 127 00:03:56,300 --> 00:03:57,400 - Thank you so much for coming to Austin. 128 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:58,900 I grew up in Calcutta, in India, 129 00:03:58,900 --> 00:04:01,200 and book fairs were my favorite time of the year 130 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,966 when I could save up money and buy the Goosebump books. 131 00:04:03,966 --> 00:04:04,900 - Oh nice. - (muffled) are still 132 00:04:04,900 --> 00:04:07,033 one of my favorite experiences. 133 00:04:07,033 --> 00:04:08,500 - [Bob] Thank you. 134 00:04:08,500 --> 00:04:11,133 - Have you ever thought of like building scary characters 135 00:04:11,133 --> 00:04:13,100 that span across multiple books 136 00:04:13,100 --> 00:04:15,166 rather than having the stand-alone books? 137 00:04:15,166 --> 00:04:16,533 - Building a what? 138 00:04:16,533 --> 00:04:17,866 - In other words recurring characters, 139 00:04:17,866 --> 00:04:19,333 book to book to book. 140 00:04:19,333 --> 00:04:21,400 - I do everything hard for myself. 141 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:24,566 I start over again with every book. 142 00:04:24,566 --> 00:04:26,200 We did a continuing story, 143 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,966 we did a thing called Goosebumps HorrorLand. 144 00:04:28,966 --> 00:04:31,466 Which was a 19-part story, and 145 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,066 which I find really hard to do, continuing. 146 00:04:35,066 --> 00:04:36,866 And it was the same characters. 147 00:04:36,866 --> 00:04:40,400 But, I don't know, I like the whole anthology approach, 148 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,233 sort of like The Twilight Zone where every single story 149 00:04:43,233 --> 00:04:44,900 is different. 150 00:04:44,900 --> 00:04:46,866 It's harder I think, 'cause I have to get a whole new 151 00:04:46,866 --> 00:04:49,166 cast of characters every time. 152 00:04:49,166 --> 00:04:50,866 But, I enjoy that more. 153 00:04:50,866 --> 00:04:54,233 I haven't really thought of doing a series, 154 00:04:54,233 --> 00:04:55,733 continuing series. 155 00:04:55,733 --> 00:04:57,166 - You could imagine though that in the way that we now 156 00:04:57,166 --> 00:04:58,433 have these episodic series, 157 00:04:58,433 --> 00:04:59,666 we had somebody who was on a show that's 158 00:04:59,666 --> 00:05:01,600 on a streaming service here before. 159 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:03,366 You could imagine some kind of a series that 160 00:05:03,366 --> 00:05:05,400 you created specifically for one of these services 161 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,200 that indeed had characters that recurred over a 162 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:09,533 finite number of-- 163 00:05:09,533 --> 00:05:10,366 - Yeah. 164 00:05:10,366 --> 00:05:11,600 - That might be good. 165 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,066 - Yeah, that would be interesting. 166 00:05:13,066 --> 00:05:13,600 - But not something you're thinkin' about doing? 167 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:15,066 - No. 168 00:05:15,066 --> 00:05:15,900 - [Man Asking Question] Thank you. 169 00:05:15,900 --> 00:05:17,133 - Well there you go. 170 00:05:17,133 --> 00:05:17,933 - I'm there with Slappy the Dummy. 171 00:05:17,933 --> 00:05:18,733 - Slappy the Dummy. 172 00:05:18,733 --> 00:05:19,966 (audience laughing) 173 00:05:19,966 --> 00:05:21,233 I think ending with - That's my character. 174 00:05:21,233 --> 00:05:22,700 - Slappy the Dummy is a good one, don't you? 175 00:05:22,700 --> 00:05:23,766 We're so fortunate to have had R.L. Stine here. 176 00:05:23,766 --> 00:05:24,833 Please give him a big hand. 177 00:05:24,833 --> 00:05:25,666 - Thank you. 178 00:05:25,666 --> 00:05:26,500 (audience applauding) 179 00:05:26,500 --> 00:05:27,600 Thank you very much.