To be a kid of ’90s was to be tucked under the covers way past the hour Mom told you to go sleep, devouring stories about demented clowns, creepy puppet people and teen murders on the beach in the books of R.L. Stine.

Now 72, the children’s author of hundreds of Goosebumps and Fear Street titles did a Reddit AMA, where he talked about his early writing days, the creepiest book he read as a child, and the Goosebumps film, which is out on Blu-ray and DVD today.

Here’s what he learned about the prolific horror master:

He started out by writing books that were funny, not scary, but those titles didn’t take off.

In the 1970s, he created the zany humor magazine Bananas, and wrote under the name Jovial Bob Stine.

In the ’90s, he wrote one Goosebumps or Fear Street book every two weeks.

Cell phones have become a modern plot-killer.

As a kid, writing helped him feel safe.

Those fears later shaped his stories.

The scariest book he read as a child?

Goosebumps was almost called something else. (Kidding.)

He once hung out with fellow teen thriller author Christopher Pike.

He got a kick out of being played by Jack Black in the Goosebumps film.

His writing advice: Don’t look back.

Also, make an outline.

And always keep readers asking, “What happens next?”

Next up for the author: comic books?

See the full discussion with R.L. Stine in the original Reddit thread.