Goosebumps Author R.L. Stine Debunks Rumors of Editing Older Books for Sensitivity

By Patrick Cavanaugh

The works of author Roald Dahl have come into the spotlight in recent weeks as outlets reported that several of his classic children's books are being rewritten to utilize more inclusive language, resulting in rumors that Goosebumps author R.L. Stine would be embracing a similar update, though Stine himself has recently shot down those rumors. Publisher Scholastic detailed that several reprints of his books earned some updates years ago in hopes of incorporating more inclusive language to avoid language that could  "negatively impact" young readers. In clarifying the reports, Stine may have even implied that those initial changes weren't shown to him.

In response to various tweets about the changes, Stine shared, "This story is false. I have never changed a word in a Goosebumps book." In another tweet, Stine added, "The stories aren't true. I've never changed a word in Goosebumps. Any changes were never shown to me."

Based on these remarks, it's unclear if Stine was merely referencing these recent reports when saying that changes were never shown to him or if he was referring to the changes that were made by Scholastic years ago.

"For more than 30 years, the Goosebumps series has brought millions of kids to reading through humor with just the right amount of scary," Scholastic's statement reads, per Deadline. "Scholastic takes its responsibility seriously to continue bringing this classic adolescent brand to each new generation. When re-issuing titles several years ago, Scholastic reviewed the text to keep the language current and avoid imagery that could negatively impact a young person's view of themselves today, with a particular focus on mental health."

Some of the changes in the reissues include Bride of the Living Dummy swapping an attack as being called a "love tap" to being referred to as a magic spell, while the book Don't Go to Sleep! has been updated so that the book Anna Karenina is no longer referred to as "girl's stuff" and is now referred to as "not interesting."

Following the outcry about the edits to Dahl's books, publisher Penguin confirmed that it would be making both the original novels and the revised editions available to readers, with those initial books falling under the "The Roald Dahl Classic Collection" banner.

Related:

A new TV series inspired by Goosebumps is being developed for Disney+.

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