R.L. Stine and the return of teen horror
From CNN:
Author R.L. Stine is returning to the evil street that made him famous in the 1990s, and fans are looking forward to the new ways he’ll terrorize Shadyside High School teenagers on “Fear Street.”
Stine, 70, is the author of more than 300 novels for children and teens, including the much-loved “Goosebumps” and “Fear Street” series. The latter was a major hit, selling 80 million copies and building a fan base that for years has been asking him to revive the spooky series.
Stine announced a few weeks ago that he has signed on to write three “Fear Street” books, beginning with “Party Games” in October 2014. The premise: When Shadyside High School senior Brendan Fear has a birthday party at his parent’s summer house on Fear Island, things go from bad to worse.
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The definition of teen horror can be difficult to pinpoint, especially as new authors broaden the range of topics contained within the genre. In the broadest sense, it embodies the disturbing, imaginative manifestations of fear and dread, life-or-death situations, thrilling surprises and a loss of control, authors and literary observers say.
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Horror novels by Stine, Christopher Pike and Lois Duncan emerged as a salve to the 1970s and 1980s’ “problem novels” that dealt with divorce, drugs and alcohol abuse. In the early 2000s, authors began began weaving elements of horror into fantasy, such as the “Harry Potter” series. Horror was the umbrella genre that gave birth to popular subgenres such as paranormal and dystopian, Scully said.
“The whole thing happened because of Twitter,” Stine said.
Link to the rest at CNN and thanks to Joshua for the tip.