While the horror genre continues to evolve onscreen, the stories of R.L. Stine are spooking audiences of a whole new generation.
In Goosebumps: The Vanishing, Season 2 of the Disney+ anthology adaptation from Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller, the author’s works come to life onscreen once again in a whole new setting, the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn.
“I’m shocked by it,” Stine told Deadline. “I have a superstition. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, in a suburb, so most of the Goosebumps books take place in the backyard, a suburban backyard, which I think most kids can identify with.”
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Still, the beloved children’s book scribe says the new season of Goosebumps “looks nice” after filming in Brooklyn and Queens.
Largely inspired by Stay Out of the Basement (1992), Stine’s second entry in the Goosebumps series, The Vanishing follows twins Devin (Sam McCarthy) and Cece (Jayden Bartels) as they spend the summer with their botanist father Dr. Brewer (David Schwimmer), who remains obsessed with his mysterious experiments in the basement.
Meanwhile, the siblings and their friends unravel a dark secret behind the disappearance of their uncle, Dr. Brewer’s brother, 30 years before when they were kids.
This season also takes inspiration from Goosebumps books The Haunted Car, Monster Blood, The Girl Who Cried Monster, The Ghost Next Door and Welcome to Camp Nightmare.
And while the setting has changed, one thing remains consistent in Stine’s page-to-screen adaptations.
“The parents in Goosebumps are always useless,” he noted. “This is a real thing, they don’t believe the kid or they’re not there or they don’t help, and I love that [Schwimmer’s] useless too. The kids have to solve their own problems. They have to use their own wits to get out of whatever the mess is, and the parents never help.”
Below, Stine tells Deadline about entrusting Letterman and Stoller with Goosbumps: The Vanishing, all episodes now available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
DEADLINE: Most of your books all take place in small town America. So, how do you feel about this season moving to Brooklyn?
R.L. STINE: I’m shocked by it. I have a superstition. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, in a suburb, so most of the Goosebumps books take place like in the backyard, a suburban backyard, which I think most kids can identify with. I’ve never set a book in New York ever, it’s sort of a superstition with me. But then they went ahead and they shot in Brooklyn and Queens, and there they are in New York. And it looks nice.
DEADLINE: I think it’s still captures the kind of neighborhood spirit of kids on the block.
STINE: It does, probably because it’s Brooklyn. And kids can pick kids can picture New York now better than before, I think. I always thought they they couldn’t really imagine what New York is like, but now there’s so much stuff set in New York, I don’t think it’s a problem.
DEADLINE: David Schwimmer does a really good job of playing a scary Dr. Brewer.
STINE: And useless. I was just saying, the parents in Goosebumps are always useless. This is a real thing, they don’t believe the kid or they’re not there or they don’t help, and I love that he’s useless too. The kids have to solve their own problems. They have to use their own wits to get out of whatever the mess is, and the parents never help.
DEADLINE: Tell me a little bit about working with Rob Letterman and his grasp of your work, building upon your writing.
STINE: I know Rob from the first Goosebumps movie, he directed the first film. So, I spent a lot of time with Rob. We had a great time. I like him a lot and have a lot of respect for him. And that first Goosebumps movie, I thought was wonderful. He really took it very seriously and was very thorough. You know, I had that little cameo at the end of the first Goosebumps movie where Jack [Black] walks by and he’s playing me, and I say, “Hello, Mr. Stine.” He says, “Hello, Mr. Black.” We walk off in that little cameo. Rob shot that 25 times. I’m Mr. One Take. I was done, right? And Rob shot he shot that 25 times. If I had to work like this, I’d kill myself. Because Rob likes a lot of coverage.
DEADLINE: I loved that movie and I loved seeing this kind of continued partnership with the two of you.
STINE: Rob really got Goosebumps and I was so happy when I saw he was going to work on the series.
DEADLINE: Tell me a little bit about how this season kind of builds upon your work. I know Stay Out of the Basement is the main inspiration.
STINE: I can’t go beyond that. I haven’t seen anything beyond that. And I love the way they take the story and just elevate the scares, they’ve elevated the age of the kids. They’re teenagers now, but it means they can make the stuff a lot scarier. You can’t really do a lot of that with 11 and 12-year-olds. So, I’m pleased by it.
DEADLINE: And it’s just funny for me, seeing it go from the book to the ’90s show, with that ‘Stay Out of the Basement’ episode, to now this version, which is much darker.
STINE: Much. I know. That scene where the tendrils are coming out of his arm, in the beginning of the second one, that’s amazing. That is horrifying, and it’s great because everyone can feel it. When you do something with skin and with the body and something like that, everyone watching can feel it.
DEADLINE: I also really appreciate how this show kind of connects each story from your books and strings them together.
STINE: Yeah, it’s done a really good job from what I’ve seen in the first two [episodes] of blending this stuff.
DEADLINE: Is there any story that you’re excited to see adapted to the screen or any that you hope to see in the next season maybe?
STINE: Well, they’ve kind of done my favorites. They did The Haunted Mask in the first season, and they’ve done all the Slappy stuff in the first season, so they’ve kind of done it. At some point, I would like to see maybe some of the newer Goosebumps. You know, I’m still going. I just signed on to write six more books, six more Goosebumps books. So I’d love to see some of the newer stuff. There’s Goosebumps House of Shivers, that’s what it’s called now. It just came out called Goblin Monday, which is my first goblin book. I’d love to see that adapted.
DEADLINE: I guess you haven’t made it this far in the series yet, but it does seem like it’s gearing up to Welcome to Camp Nightmare in the finale, so I’m excited to see how they handle that.
STINE: Yeah, me too. I wrote that about my son’s camp. I hated his camp. I went up for Visitors Day, I didn’t want to get out of the car. So, that’s how I wrote that book.
DEADLINE: Do you feel like maybe kids have become so desensitized to horror over the years that your books have taken on a new role at this point?
STINE: I don’t agree they’re desensitized. And I think they still need this kind of escape. It’s a very scary world for kids now, a much scarier world. And I think they need — this is escape for them, this kind of horror. Kids are really smart. They know the difference between real horror and fantasy horror. So no, I don’t think they’re desensitized.
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