R.L. Stine, author of the “Goosebumps” series and one of the best-selling children’s authors of all time, will visit PennWest Clarion as part of the historic Mary L. Seifert Cultural Series. Stine will speak at 6 p.m. March 25 in the Marwick-Boyd Fine Arts Center auditorium. The presentation is free and open to the public; tickets are not needed.
His “Goosebumps” series of children’s horror novels, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, has more than 400 million books in print in 32 languages.
Stine’s other popular children’s book series include “Fear Street,” (recently revived as a feature film trilogy), “The Garbage Pail Kids,” “Mostly Ghostly,” “The Nightmare Room” and “Rotten School.” Other titles include: “It's The First Day of School Forever,” “A Midsummer Night's Scream,” “Young Scrooge,” “Stinetinglers,” and three picture books, with Marc Brown: “The Little Shop of Monsters,” “Mary McScary” and “Why Did the Monster Cross the Road” (July 4, 2023).
The “Goosebumps” TV series was the number-one children's show in America for three years. The episodes can still be seen on Netflix. More recently, R.L.’s anthology TV series, “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour,” won the Emmy Award three years in a row as Best Children's Show. His newest Disney+ TV series is “Just Beyond,” based on his graphic novels for BOOM! Studios. Two “Goosebumps” feature films starring Jack Black as R.L. Stine were released in 2015 and 2018. The first film became the number one film in America. The “Fear Street” movies all reached number one on Netflix.
In addition to the public presentation, earlier in the day Stine will speak to students from area school districts, then meet with a small group of local educators.
He lives in New York City with his wife Jane, an editor and publisher.
Mary L. Seifert ’46, whose rich family history with PennWest Clarion can be traced to 1907, possessed and encouraged a passion for learning. She graduated with education degrees in secondary social studies and geography and a minor in English from Clarion State Teachers College, then taught for 35 years and retired from Edison Junior High in West Mifflin School District.
As an investment in young people, she chose to endow a culture and lecture series to provide the university community with cultural experiences that inspire learning through thoughtful discussions. All Seifert Series events are free and open to the public.
For information about Stine’s presentation, contact Brian Hoover, associate director of Student Engagement, at 814-393-2356 or bhoover@pennwest.edu.