Goosebumps author reveals which book in the series is ‘really bad’

Prolific novelist R.L. Stine knows that not every book can hit the mark, including his own.

The 81-year-old author, known for writing teen horror titles, has admitted he has some “really bad” books in his best-selling Goosebumps series.

“They can’t all be great,” Stine acknowledged in a new interview with People ahead of the Netflix premiere of Fear Street: Prom Queen, an adaptation of his 1992 book of the same name.

“There’s an early one called Go Eat Worms! — it’s a terrible book,” he said of the 21st title in his classic, best-selling saga.

Published in 1994, Go Eat Worms is about a worm-loving boy named Tom, who enjoys torturing his sister with the slimy animals. That is, until they start appearing in places they shouldn’t, like in his homework and meals.

It would later be adapted into a season two episode of the original Goosebumps TV series, which aired on the Fox Kids Network from 1995 to 1998.

Throughout his decades-long career, Stine has published over 300 books. He began writing under the pen name Jovial Bob Stine, releasing his first novel in 1978, titled How to be Funny. After coming out with several more titles, including Complete Book Of Nerds (1980) and Don't Stand in the Soup (1982), he eventually transitioned into writing under his real name in 1986, with his first novel, Blind Date.

By 1989, Stine had launched his Fear Street series, which is made up of a total of 51 books. The Prom Queen is the 15th novel in the series, and follows five beautiful Prom Queen candidates at Shadyside High, who are brutally murdered one by one.

Netflix’s new film, based on the book, stars India Fowler (Lori Granger), Fina Strazza (Tiffany Falconer), Ella Rubin (Melissa McKendrick), Ariana Greenblatt (Christy), and Ilan O’Driscoll (Linda Harper) as the five leads.

Directed by Matt Palmer, Fear Street: Prom Queen debuts on Netflix on Friday.

The streamer’s release is just the latest in a string of screen adaptations of Stine’s work.

So far, there have been several feature films made based on his work, including 2015’s Goosebumps and its 2018 sequel, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, both of which starred Jack Black as Stine; the Mostly Ghostly movie series; and 2023’s horror comedy Zombie Town. In 2021, Disney also released a one-season series, Just Beyond, based on Stine’s popular multi-book series.