Who's Afraid Of R.L. Stine?

By David Hill Illustrations by Glynis Sweeny

On a recent Saturday afternoon, I found myself in the children's department of a Barnes & Noble bookstore in Denver, listening to a group of kids talk about . . . shrunken heads. Actually, they were discussing How I Got My Shrunken Head, book No. 39 in R.L. Stine's mega-popular Goose-bumps series of horror books for children. The 15 or so kids, who appeared to be 8, 9, and 10 years old, sat on two long benches, clutching soon-to-be-purchased copies of Goosebumps titles while Carol Wagstaff, the store's merchandising manager, presided over the monthly gathering. Most of the children's parents had disappeared to other parts of the store.

How I Got My Shrunken Head is typical fare from Stine, who last year sold more books than any other American author. In it, a short, chubby 12-year-old named Mark describes his adventures on the fictional island of Baladora, where he attempts to rescue his missing Aunt Benna from the evil Dr. Hawlings. It's a sort of Raiders of the Lost Ark for kids, complete with red ants, quicksand, a tiger, and a shrunken head whose eyes glow.

Wagstaff read passages from the book, then asked a few questions about the plot and characters, such as, "What did Mark bring with him to the island?" Fifteen hands shot up in the air; the kids knew just about every little detail of the book. Skipping ahead to the end, Wagstaff read a section in which the shrunken head actually talks. Hearing this, one boy was so excited he couldn't contain himself. "Oh, cool!" he said, as the other...