R.L. Stine has been writing horror novels for teens for forty years now, but it seems like only recently that some of his classic titles have been given the film treatment. Netflix had a hit during the pandemic with a trilogy of Fear Street movies, followed by Fear Street: Prom Queen last year, while Tubi has had hits with two Pumpkinhead movies. Now, Tubi is turning one of his most iconic franchises into a film series, with an adaptation of his 1989 classic, The Babysitter, coming in 2027.
The Babysitter will be directed by Trevor Calverley and written by Pumpkinhead’s Jem Garrard, and has the following synopsis:
“Desperate to earn enough money for a prestigious writing program, sixteen-year-old Jenny takes a babysitting job despite a prowler terrorizing girls across town. When threatening phone calls begin and a dangerous fugitive surfaces in town, Jenny grows suspicious of everyone around her as the danger begins closing in.”
The Babysitter was a successful series for Stine that started in 1989 and ran for four instalments, ending in 1995. It was Stine’s first really successful horror novel for young adults, with him publishing the first Fear Street novel soon after.
Stine’s books were iconic to young horror lovers such as myself. They sold them through Scholastic, which sent us a flyer every month. We could order books from it and have them delivered to class. I remember his novel Beach House being controversial, and some busybody teachers at my elementary school tried to have all of Stine’s books banned, even writing to parents about how inappropriate they were. One teacher even banned them in her class, but couldn’t prevent us from ordering them through Scholastic, and she’d throw a fit every time one was delivered.
Man, I spent a lot of money on R.L. Stine that year—although I must admit that, by that time, I was into Stephen King, so Stine’s books were pretty tame to me. Even so, he’s a giant in the gateway horror genre, paving the way for many young horror fans to move on to scarier stuff as they get older.
Are you looking forward to The Babysitter? Let us know in the comments.
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