In 1986, Stine wrote his first horror novel, called Blind Date. Recurring features included "Hey – Lighten Up!", "It Never Fails!", "Phone Calls", "Joe" (a comic strip by John Holmstrom), "Phil Fly", "Don't You Wish.", "Doctor Duck", "The Teens of Ferret High", "First Date" (a comic strip by Alyse Newman), and "Ask Doctor Si N. Taylor, Bryan Hendrix, Bill Basso, and Howard Cruse).
Stine was editor and responsible for much of the writing (other contributors included writers Robert Leighton, Suzanne Lord and Jane Samuels and artists Sam Viviano, Samuel B. Bananas was written for teenagers and published by Scholastic Press for 72 issues between 19, plus various "Yearbooks" and paperback books. Stine wrote dozens of humor books for kids under the name Jovial Bob Stine and created the humor magazine Bananas. He later moved to New York City to pursue his career as a writer. While at OSU, Stine edited humor magazine The Sundial for three years. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Stine said that he remembered reading the Tales from the Crypt comic books when he was young and credited them as one of his inspirations. Stine began writing at age nine, when he found a typewriter in his attic, subsequently beginning to type stories and joke books. Stine was born on Octo in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Lewis Stine, a shipping clerk, and Anne Feinstein. As of 2008, Stine's books have sold over 400 million copies.
Some of his other works include a Space Cadets trilogy, two Hark gamebooks, and dozens of joke books. Stine has been referred to as the " Stephen King of children's literature" and is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly and The Nightmare Room series. Robert Lawrence Stine ( / s t aɪ n/ born October 8, 1943), sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor.