Highly regarded for his ability to scare through the printed word, the reputed Stephen King of children's literature never intended to frighten or treat children with terror-filled tales. In an interview with NPR, he revealed being a horror author wasn't at all in his plans but being a funny novelist was.

Stine got into writing early. "I started when I was 9. I don't know. I was this weird kid. I found a typewriter, I dragged it into my room and I would just stay in my room, typing - typing out funny stories and little comic books," Stine revealed.

He spent most of his college years writing humor magazines and eventually established his own magazine, which he called Bananas. "You know, I always wanted to be funny. I never planned to be scary," the author admitted.

Bananas was in publication by Scholastic for an entire decade. He was living his "life's dream" but this was only an experience short-lived.  Years later, he realized that what he had in mind when growing up isn't exactly the same thing he thought he'd find himself enjoying doing today.

So when his time in the industry spiralled to an end he wasn't prepared for, Stine remember thinking that "I'd just coast the rest of my career. I had no idea what was in store for me." Little did he know, he was about to get his big break.

An editor came up to him to write a horror story. It had a title already - "The Blind Date." The book was a massive success, much to Stine's surprise and delight. "And I thought, forget the funny stuff, the kids want to be scared! So I've been scary ever since," he shared.

Now, Stine, who CBC says has sold more than 400 million books, hopes to frighten kids around the world but not necessarily "terrify" them. He always tries to balance the story, especially one that he thinks is too intense, with a lighter, funny element to keep the tales kid-friendly.

This is also where the "Goosebumps" movie, which was released just days ago, is grounded upon. Jack Black played the role of Stine in the film, "a more sinister version" of him that is. Familiar characters like the evil ventriloquist dummy Slappy, the abominable snowman and lots of killer lawn gnomes.