Bananas was written for teenagers and published by Scholastic Press for 72 issues between 19, plus various 'Yearbooks' and paperback books. Stine wrote dozens of humor books for kids under the name Jovial Bob Stine and created the humor magazine Bananas. He later moved to New York City to pursue his career as a writer. Stine edited the OSU humor magazine The Sundial for three out of his four years there. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Stine said that he remembered reading the popular/infamous Tales from the Crypt comic books when he was young and credited them as one of his inspirations. According to the documentary Tales from the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television, R.L. Stine began writing at age nine, when he found a typewriter in his attic, subsequently beginning to type stories and joke books. Stine was born on Octo in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Lewis Stine, a shipping clerk, and Anne Feinstein.

As of 2008, Stine's books have sold over 400 million copies. Some of his other works include a Space Cadets trilogy, two Hark gamebooks, and dozens of joke books. Stine has been referred to as the ' Stephen King of children's literature' and is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly and The Nightmare Room series. Robert Lawrence Stine ( / s t aɪ n/ born October 8, 1943), sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor.

Night Games by R.L. Stine