Goosebumps’ R.L. Stine Admitted to Stealing the Plot of Stephen King’s “Scariest” Novel
Mainer and author Stephen King has a way with words when it comes to writing horror novels. Many of his novels have turned into movies as well as TV series. There is no denying that King is the king of horror novels.
It is not new that great authors influence others when it comes to ideas and writing. However, it is rare that a best-selling author will admit to stealing another's plot multiple times, but it does happen on occasion and this is proof.
According to Dreadcentral.com, in a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment, children's author, R.L. Stine, shared not only what he believes is the scariest Stephen King novel ever written but also admits to using its premise multiple times.
R.L. Stine is known for his children's horror series Goosebumps, and his books could honestly be called the Stephen King for children. With over 60 books, Goosebumps has been adapted into two movies as well as back in the '90s it became a TV series. Dreadcentral.com states that Stine's Goosebumps series earned over $400 million and became the second most successful series of children's books of all time.
Of course, with over 60 books in the series, Stine used others' work and experiences as inspiration. One Stephen King novel, however, became the inspiration for a few of Stine's series. The novel that Stine claims to be the "scariest book" and used for inspiration was Pet Sematary.
During Stine's interview with Yahoo Entertainment, he stated, "One thing I do as a writer is that I come up with the ending first so that I can keep readers from guessing it. I do a complete outline of every book, but I always try to get the ending before I write Chapter One. Because then I know how to fool the reader. Rod Serling and Agatha Christie were huge influences that way. I can’t tell you how many Agatha Christie plots I’ve stolen! I think Stephen King’s scariest book is Pet Sematary, and I’ve stolen that premise four or five times."
Pet Sematary was first published in 1983. It is about a grieving parent that would do anything to bring back his child that passed away. According to Entertainment, even King claimed that it is one of the most disturbing novels that he has written. Apparently, King found the novel to be so disturbing that he himself wishes that he had never written it.
Luckily for us, Stephen King did write this terrifying novel and we even have received multiple movies to enjoy.