An eerie hush has fallen over the halls of Scholastic. Employees are nervously busying themselves, jumping out of their chairs at every little noise, cowering under their desks, whispering in the hallways, paralyzed with fear...why? R.L. Stine is coming to Scholastic on Thursday, and everyone is TERRIFIED. 

Ok, I'm only kidding. If anything, we're unanimously thrilled to have him! But can you blame us for being a little scared? The guy tells some pretty scary stories... That said, please join us on Thursday for a live chat with the scare master himself! Full details below. 

Trick or Tweet with R.L. Stine

• Thursday, October 30th, from 2:00—3:30pm ET
• Live chat, Q&A, scary stories, Goosebumps trivia, jokes, and a giveaway! 10 lucky winners will receive The 12 Screams of Christmas! 
• Follow along at #Goosebumps on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and all of our new Goosebumps social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr)! 

With Halloween just ten days away, there’s no better way to get into the holiday spirit than to put on your coziest sweater, grab a mug of hot apple cider, and revisit the character that gave you the ultimate case of the heebie-jeebies!

I was never a big fan of clowns growing up, no matter how many tricks performed or balloon animals offered, and that fear was solidified in me after I read Stephen King’s IT in middle school. Pennywise the Clown was utterly horrifying. The way he would appear out of nowhere to terrify and attack little kids (and adults!) was inconceivable to me! I was positive that everyone in that book was a goner for sure, because Pennywise was so evil! 

I wasn’t the only one frightened by Pennywise when I was younger ... check out this list of characters that terrified our OOM staff (and still scare us a little to this day)!

Megan: My favorite scary character is The Teacher from the Black Lagoon; she scares me because she slithers!

Brittany: I was only seven years old when [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone] came out, and I remember being pretty terrified of Voldemort and what he had done to Harry’s family. When I got too scared, I would have my dad read ahead to tell me if there were any more scary parts and exactly how scary they were. Voldemort is the ultimate scary character, in my opinion.

Chris: The topiary in The Shining is terrifying! You never see it moving, but every time you look back at it, it's just a little closer to you...

Kristen: The clown from IT was the first character I found truly terrifying in a book. I never really understood the fear of clowns thing until I read this book – in fact, I never finished it because it gave me nightmares! Mission accomplished, Mr. King.

Nadia: I was scared of the witches in the book The Witches, by Roald Dahl! The description of the witches terrified me, and has stayed with me years and years later: bald heads they hide with wigs, claws for hands, and toeless feet! (I don’t know why, but the toeless feet disturbed me the most.)

Alex: I have to go with Slappy, the ventriloquist doll from the Night of the Living Dummy in the GoosebumpsTM series by R. L. Stine. I can still vividly remember the cover of the book with Slappy and the text, “He walks. He stalks…” What a classic scary character of my youth!

Who is your favorite scary character? Did any of our favorites scare you too? Tell us in the comments!

This year, October 30th—not the 31st—is hands down the scariest day of the year. (Why the day before Halloween and not Halloween itself?) Because Goosebumps author and scare master R.L. Stine will be taking over our social media accounts for a live chat!

From 2-3:30pm ET, he'll be taking the reigns on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and all of our new Goosebumps social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr)! He's going to have his hands full. Join us and bring your questions! He'll also be sharing scary stories, Goosebumps trivia, jokes, and giving away Goosebumps books to fans. 

Follow along at #Goosebumps. See you there! 

We're wishing Goosebumps author R.L. Stine a very happy birthday today! It may be his special day today, but we're celebrating the man behind the scariest series ever created all month long with #31DaysOfGoosebumps. Every day from now until Halloween, we're posting Goosebumps-themed content—from trivia to quizzes to fun facts about the series—across our new Goosebumps channels! If you haven't already, give us a follow on Facebook (Official Goosebumps), Twitter (@Goosebumps), Tumblr (goosebumps.tumblr.com), and Instagram (@official.goosebumps). 

Plus, on October 30 from 2-3:30pm EST, R.L. Stine will be "trick or tweeting" with fans by taking over our social media accounts for a live chat! Stine will share jokes, trivia, videos and images, plus answer questions from participants, who will also have a chance to win your favorite Goosebumps books. Join us!

In honor of R.L. Stine's birthday, we've got some fun facts to share with you about the frightfully awesome series and the man who has been scaring generations of kids. 

• Goosebumps is one of the best-selling children’s series of all-time—with more than 350 million English language books in print, plus an additional 50+ million international copies in print in 32 languages.
• Goosebumps was named the world's bestselling book series of all time in the 2003 Guinness Book of World Records.
• R.L Stine started writing when he was 9-years-old.
• Before he became known as R.L. Stine he used the pen name "Jovial Bob".
• It takes R.L. Stine only 10 days to write a Goosebump book!
• R.L. Stine replaces his keyboard every 6 months because he types so much!

Last week after work, I took the train from Manhattan back to Jersey City and popped into my local independent book store, Word, for a talk and Q&A with my favorite author growing up, R.L. Stine. As I mentioned in my Bookprint, Goosebumps^TM was the first series I connected with as a young reader. Growing up, I couldn’t get enough of Stine’s scary stories. I amassed nearly all of the original Goosebumps books before my pre-teen eyes wandered toward other authors, so when I heard R.L. Stine was going to be speaking less than 10 minutes away from my house, I knew I had to be there.

As I grabbed a seat in the front row about an hour before start time, I noticed most of the people already waiting were around my age – late 20s, early 30s. But then, slowly but surely, the room began to fill up, not only with other adults, but with young boys and girls clutching stacks of Goosebumps and Rotten School books.

Suddenly, 15 minutes before the event was supposed to start, I heard a bunch of little kids sitting behind me begin to murmur excitedly. R.L. Stine was here! As employees prepped the stage, Mr. Stine walked around the room, greeting all the young children individually and shaking hands with parents. You could tell that everyone, no matter how old, was a huge fan and super excited to see him in person.

As he took the stage, Stine commented that although he was in Jersey City to promote his newest Fear Street book, he would be giving a kids talk instead, since there usually aren’t as many little ones at his events. (This made all of us “old people” in the audience laugh quite a bit.) Stine shared with the audience the kind of fan mail he gets (“Dear R.L. Stine – Do you have hair?”), told us a “true” ghost story, talked about casting the Goosebumps movie (he wanted to be portrayed by Morgan Freeman), and answered everyone’s questions before the time was up.

Finally it was time for the signing. I ended up in the first group along with all the eager kids who had been sitting behind me. I held back and let them get in line in front of me, and I watched them frantically pull books out of backpacks and decide which ones to get signed. Although I was totally playing it cool, inside I was just as excited and nervous as them. I was finally going to meet the author that set the stage for my passion of reading!

I watched kid after kid adorably pose for photos. Stine signed every book placed in front of him, and shook hands with excited parents – some of whom even brought their old-school copies of his books! When it was my turn, I shook his hand, introduced myself, and we briefly chatted about our respective careers at Scholastic. (Did you know R.L. Stine used to write Scholastic’s humor magazine?) It lasted only a few minutes, but it was AMAZING.

Seeing R.L. Stine at Word showed me just how long an author’s work can stick with you. I’m nearly 30 (shh!), and I was just as thrilled to meet Stine as the elementary and middle school kids that were there. I also found it interesting to see how R.L. Stine continues to write new stories for today’s kids, while still remaining a literary hero for people my age – no doubt due to his warmth, humor and passion for telling scary stories.

You can all the latest updates on R.L. Stine (including in-person events) via his personal Twitter account @RL_Stine, and be sure to follow @Scholastic and @Goosebumps all October long for the #31DaysofGoosebumps!

Hi everyone! My name’s Gina and I’m a Producer in the Corporate Communications department here at Scholastic. My job consists of creating content for our various blogs, and helping our websites run smoothly and stylishly! As far back as I can remember, I’ve loved to read. My parents introduced reading to me at an early age, and nearly every night after my mom or dad finished reading a book to me I begged for “just one more!” One of my favorite feelings in the world is opening a hardcover book for the first time, hearing the spine crack and peeling apart the pristine pages. Below, you’ll find the top five books (or, in some instances, series) that made an impression on me so far and stuck out on my literary journey!

The Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine

I don’t remember exactly when the Goosebumps books entered my life, but as soon as they did I became immediately obsessed. During the school year I scooped up every title though the Scholastic Reading Club. During the summertime, I didn’t play outside; I bugged my parents to take me to the B. Dalton (remember B. Dalton?! RIP B. Dalton) at my local mall so I was never without the newest book. I proudly stacked these books on my shelves in my childhood bedroom. Goosebumps introduced me to horror stories – which even now I just can’t get enough of!

The Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz

Okay, listing this series as part of my Bookprint is cheating a little bit. The short stories that make up these books are memorable, sure, but not nearly as much as the pictures. (Run a Google Image search if you dare!)

The pictures in these books are what nightmares are made of, which is why I loved them so much. Nothing holds my attention more than a story leading up to impending doom. Just last year when it was announced that new reprints of the books would not feature Stephen Gammell’s creepy imagery, I scoured eBay with the help of my now-husband for older copies to rebuild my collection. While R.L. Stine’s stories laid the foundation for my interest in horror, the Scary Stories books helped my passion for the genre grow, eventually leading me to Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

I connected with Harriet M. Welsch instantly. She was just so cool. From her picky eating habits to just being super noisy about everyone and everything around her, Harriet felt like a kindred spirit. Not only did she have what adults perceived as a crazy hobby, but she also was snotty and wasn’t perfect – just like a lot of kids. Harriet gets knocked down quite a few pegs in her story, but she learns important lessons about friendship and being true to oneself along the way – lessons that remain important even in adulthood. (And, on a more superficial note, who didn’t want their own spy route and top secret notebook after finishing this book? I know I did.)

Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman

In high school, I fell in love with John Cusack. Whether he was an unemployed kick boxer with a heart of gold, a hit man with a heart of gold, or a record store owner with a heart of gold (albeit tarnished), it didn’t matter to me; any John Cusack would do. In high school I also couldn’t figure why the boys I had crushes on rarely performed any John Cusack-esque romantic gestures. In the opening essay of this book, Klosterman explains the concept of “fake love” and just how much John Cusack has ruined modern dating, finally unlocking in my brain the idea that, “No Gina, you will never date John Cusack.”

The book goes on to deconstruct a number of films, TV shows and musicians, introducing to me the idea that popular culture does matter, can be measured and analyzed, and can be an important tool for understanding the world. As someone obsessed with even the dumber aspects of pop culture, this was a revelation to me.

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Suzann

Before there was Jackie Collins, there was Jacqueline Suzann. Probably the first romance novel I ever read, I got completely sucked into the glamorous lives of Anne, Neely and Jennifer – which made each of their falls all the more devastating.

On the few occasions I tried to read other romance novels, none of them stuck – nothing to me compares to this one. As a personal tradition, try to I re-read this book every year.

There you have it – the books that inspired me and have stuck with me over the years! I think they’re quite the eclectic collection. What books do you keep on your shelves?

October means Halloween, and Halloween means creepy, spooky, scary… Goosebumps! In honor of the holiday, Goosebumps is celebrating ‘31 Days of Goosebumps’ on our social media platforms. That’s FIVE TIMES more daily content! Scholastic is launching a new Goosebumps website and three new Goosebumps social media channels – making it easy to get goosebumps wherever you are.

Your new landing page for all things Goosebumps is goosebumps.scholastic.com.  Play games, find out what kind of monster you are, and take a blast to the past by reading our book summaries of classic stories.

For daily content featuring monsters, trivia, and fan favorite #ThrowbackThursday, follow the hashtag #31DaysOfGoosebumps on Facebook (Official Goosebumps), Twitter (@Goosebumps), Tumblr (goosebumps.tumblr.com), and Instagram (@official.goosebumps). So start following, retweeting, and sharing and give your community goosebumps!

It's a scary day for Goosebumps fans! We're happy to announce that fans in Canada, the UK, and Australia will now find the hit Goosebumps television series available on iTunes for the first time ever. All 74 episodes in the series are ready for download in those regions. Check out the Goosebumps page for more information about the series. The TV series is a great way to gear up for the Goosebumps feature film that will be released in 2015, starring Jack Black!

Goosebumps has amazing fans all around the world -- more than 350 million books in 32 languages have been sold worldwide, and there are new titles planned for release through 2015.

So tell us, Goosebumps fans -- where are you reading your favorite scary series?

Jack Black as R.L. Stine? Yep!

Production has begun on "Goosebumps," directed by Rob Letterman and produced by Deborah Forte and Neal H. Moritz, to be released in March 2016! In the film, based on the bestselling Goosebumps™ series by R.L. Stine, "upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door.  But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach's comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R. L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series.  It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange… he is a prisoner of his own imagination – the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books.  When Zach unintentionally unleashes the monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, it's suddenly up to Stine, Zach, and Hannah to get all of them back in the books where they belong." (Source: Yahoo!)

Want to read more? The news is being covered extensively, including by:

• Variety
• CinemaBlend.com
• Flicks and Bits

Stay tuned to the Official Goosebumps Facebook page as additional movie details are revealed in the coming months!

Drumroll, please!

Scholastic Reading Club and Book Fairs just released its “Give the Gift of Reading” 2013 holiday guide. 

One of my favorite memories as a kid was getting the latest Goosebumps books for Christmas. As a child of the '90s I was spoiled with such great books including The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, The Magic School Bus and more.  Hopefully, this guide will give your kids the same joy I had opening up a new book during the holidays.

The Scholastic Give the Gift of Reading Guide 2013 (go to www.scholastic.com/holidaygifts)

#1: Read Aloud Traditional Stories With a Twist

AGE RANGE: (Toddler – 2nd Graders) 

Reading aloud is an ideal way to have some quality family time during the season and all year long – and it comes with great benefits for children. Fairy tales are the perfect read-aloud genre. Pick these attention-grabbing books that turn your favorite classics upside-down - guaranteed to be a family favorite.  

Holiday Picks:

• Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella by Jan Brett (Putnam)
• The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf by Mark Teague (Orchard Books/Scholastic)
• Santa Claus and the Three Bears by Maria Modugno, illustrated by Jane Dyer and Brooke Dyer (HarperCollins) [Holiday Specific Read]
• Pete the Cat Saves Christmas created and illustrated by James Dean, story by Eric Litwin (HarperCollins) [Holiday Specific Read]

#2: Get Funny to Foster Independent Reading

AGE RANGE: Kindergarteners – 2nd Graders

Pick books that will make kids erupt with laughter. Books that showcase humor help first-time readers equate reading with fun and enjoyment. Try these soon-to-be classics.

Holiday Picks:

• Elephant and Piggy: I’m a Frog by Mo Willems (Hyperion)
• Fly Guy Presents: Sharks by Tedd Arnold (Scholastic)
• Splat the Cat: Blow, Snow, Blow by Rob Scotton (HarperCollins)

# 3: Introduce Fantasy

AGE RANGE: 3rd - 6thGraders

Fantasy ignites the imagination in all of us. Select books that transport a child into another world. This genre will boost reading confidence and stamina through fast-paced and compelling tales.

Holiday Picks:

• Notebook of Doom: Day of the Night Crawlers by Troy Cummings (Scholastic)
• Geronimo Stilton: Kingdom of Fantasy: The Volcano Fire by  Geronimo Stilton (Scholastic)
• The Special Edition Harry Potter Box Set by J.K. Rowlingwith artwork by Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)

#4: Choose Inspiring Underdog Stories for Tweens and Teens

AGE RANGE: Middle School and up

Wherever you turn, these characters are everywhere! From a fun story of a middle-school aged boy facing hard-knocks, to a group of teenage gods on earth fighting evil, to a young woman living in a dystopian world, these books will be hard for your tween and teen to put down this holiday.

Holiday Picks:

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney(Abrams) 
• The Heroes of Olympus: House of Hades by Rick Riordan (Hyperion)
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic) - for mature teen readers (ages 12 and up),

Happy holidays from Scholastic Reading Club and Scholastic Book Fairs.