My first reading excitement when I was a kid were the EC horror comics, such as Tales From the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. They were a combination of horror and humor that I think was very influential on my writing. When I was nine or ten, a librarian introduced me to Ray Bradbury stories. I was amazed by them.…

Thank you so much.

I think of a title first, then a basic premise. Then I write a very complete chapter-by-chapter outline of every book. Before I start to write, I know everything that's going to happen in the book.

Yes.

When I write horror for kids, I want them to know it can't really happen. When I write horror for adults, I want them to believe it COULD happen.

The cell phone has ruined a lot of horror and mystery plots. You can no longer do a story where someone is getting menacing phone calls. That person just needs to read the screen to see who is calling. Plot ruined. Having a phone and a camera with you has destroyed many horror plots I used to write.

Thank you. Yes, kids enjoy a good scare as much as adults. (Luckily for me!)

People point this out to me constantly. I'm pleased they've selected those letters.

Never. I outline each book. I know what's going to happen.

From everywhere. I was always THINKING!

My son took guitar lessons, and the book was originally called Guitar Lessons Can Be Murder. Then, everyone told me that guitars aren't scary at all. So I changed it to a piano.

I've been very lucky in TV, Mike. I was very proud of the Goosebumps show. I thought it portrayed the books really well. I'm also proud of my newer TV series, The Haunting Hour, which has won the Emmy for best children's show two years in a row.

I should have bought catsuit stock—shouldn't I! So glad you enjoyed Fear Street. Did you know that I've revived the series after a 20-year hiatus? The brand-new Fear Street book is called Party Games.

I have two favorite GB books: The Haunted Mask and The Cuckoo Clock of Doom.

Yes. As an experiment, I put an UNHAPPY ending on a Fear Street book called The Best Friend." The kids absolutely HATED that book. They demand happy endings.

I've never tried to be respectable. Not sure what that would be like. I've written a few adult books— Red Rain was published last year— but I don't think it made me more respected as an author. I would never use a pseudonym because I'm just too egotistical(!)

I've learned that kids are very smart. They know if they are ready to read something or not ready. Kids who think they are not ready, don't read my Fear Street books.

You don't need a question. Thank you for the lovely note. It means a lot to me.

When I wrote the scene of the cheerleader locked in the shower room with all the showers blazing hot, I didn't know how she would die. Would she boil or asphyxiate? I had to call a doctor, who said she's asphyxiate but begged me not to tell anyone that he had helped me!

I'm totally left-handed and I do type with one finger—not even two. I've written 300 books with the pointer finger of my left hand—and it's totally bent and ruined!