Stinetinglers

Stine, R.L. Stinetinglers: All New Stories by the Master of Scary Tales

August 30th 2022 by Feiwel & Friends

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

I'm always amazed by R.L. Stine's writing, and by the fact that he excels at everything from goofy second grade level horror like Goosebumps to firmly Young Adult horror like You May Now Kill the Bride. I not so secretly hope that he will write a straight historical novel, since he includes so many good details, and if there is ever a series of horror board books issued, I'm sure they will be a product of his pen. 

Of course, scary short stories are a slam dunk from this author, whom I have seen billed as "the Stephen King of children's literature". I am only allowing this because King's first book (Carrie) was published in 1973, and Stine's first horror novel (Welcome to Dead House) didn't come out until 1992. I don't remember how many times I've had to replace his anthologies like Fear and Scream and Scream Again. My students frequently "lose" these. 

There are ten different stories, all prefaced with a brief explanation of what inspired Stine to write the tale. I think that Alex from White's Gravebooks would find this a very helpful collection to jump start his creative process! There's a boy who sneaks a look at gifts, breaks a watch, and gets stuck in time... right before dinner one evening. That's definitely a nightmare for perpetually hungry tweens! There's a babysitter who has to endure "little monsters" that are more monstrous than she envisioned, and a basketball player whose skin is loose. I could have written that one, only it would have involved nightmares about my teeth being loose or having cavities. 

There are cautionary tales about ghosts haunting cars, having a doppleganger, and a particularly... ooky tale about being afraid of bugs! Throw in a library book that writes its own story (with a shout out to Ray Bradbury!), making monsters as a craft, and the story that lends itself to the creepy cover art and includes needle sharp talons, and there's plenty to make the strongest reader's skin crawl. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go write a scary story about fighting vampires with my tomato stakes, inspired by the time I read Charlie Higson and Darren Shan books back to back and dreamed that the sump pump in my garden was really zombies. Combine that with the fact that David Lubar's Check Out the Library Weenies taught me that I could fight vampires with tomato stakes, and I think we have a winner!