R.L. Stine’s ‘Little Shop of Monsters’ and ‘Rotten School’ headed to the screen

More books by R.L. Stine, whose “Goosebumps” and “Fear Street” series inspired the nightmares of a whole generation, are headed to the screen. Stine’s picture book “The Little Shop of Monsters” and his book series”Rotten School” are set to be adapted into animated on-screen content.

It’s not clear whether the books will be in television or film format, the Hollywood Reporter reports. Splash Entertainment, the Los Angeles-based animation studio, will produce and develop the projects.

“Thanks to Yvonne Bernard, Lookout Entertainment and Splash Entertainment, ‘The Little Shop of Monsters’ will soon be open for business,” Stine said. “[Illustrator] Marc Brown and I had great fun dreaming up the craziest monsters ever. We can’t wait to see them all come roaring to life in this new series. And I’m looking forward to school being in session with my most rotten book series, ‘Rotten School,’ onscreen for the first time too.” “The Little Shop of Monsters,” published in 2015, is Stine’s first picture book. Kirkus Reviews praised the book, writing, “Readers are sure to visit this shop again and again for its fantastical creatures and its slightly sinister tone.”

The comic “Rotten School” book series, published from 2005 to 2008, follows a group of fourth-graders living in a boarding school dormitory. Unlike much of Stine’s most famous works, the books aren’t horror-themed. Books in the series include “The Big Blueberry Barf-Off!,” “The Teacher from Heck” and “The Good, the Bad and the Very Slimy.”

Stine started his career as a humor writer before publishing his first horror novels in the 1980s. In 1989, he debuted the first book in his “Fear Street” series, which quickly became popular among young adult readers. He launched his “Goosebumps” series of children’s horror books in 1992. The books, with titles like “Monster Blood,” “Piano Lessons Can Be Murder” and “Say Cheese and Die!” became a publishing phenomenon and a staple of school book fairs.

Stine’s books have been adapted for the screen before. “Goosebumps” formed the basis for a 1990s television series, and spawned two film adaptations starring Jack Black as a fictionalized version of Stine. “Fear Street” has been adapted into a film set for release next year.

In a 2015 interview with The Times, Stine discussed his work, saying that children like to be scared by his horror fiction. He also commented on the unusually large body count in his books.

“Well, we started out we would only kill one a book. Then it lost control,” he said. “Then we’d be killing two or three in a book. We’ve killed hundred of teenagers. Everyone loves it. They love it when you kill teenagers.”