R.L. Stine Is Revising 'Goosebumps' Books To Make Them Culturally Sound - Here's Why It Is A Good Thing

Anyone who is a Millennial no doubt had a huge Goosebumps phase as a child. The children's spooky book series ran from 1992 to 1997 and the series author, R.L. Stine, released a total of 62 books in the original run. That doesn't even include all of the spin-off book series and the series meant for older kids, like the Fear Street books.

Now, with that said, Millennials have also seen a lot of their childhood memories and favorites be brought to attention as adults for... well, not really passing the vibe check. Outdated language and insults, insensitive scenarios, racism, and more are all things that have come to light as we have aged. Media of the 1990s and even the 2000s has been scrutinized, often for good reason, and we've seen a lot of changes - such as Roald Dahl's books being revised to omit insensitive language.

Goosebumps is no exception as it was just announced that R.L. Stine has been personally making revisions to his previous books to replace outdated language, stereotypes, and ethnic situations. For example, in the book Say Cheese and Die - Again!, schoolgirls had "crushes" on the headmaster. Now, those schoolgirls won't be looking at their headmaster in that way. In the book Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns, a character was described as an African-American who strutted when he walked and acted cool like "the rappers on MTV videos." Now, this character's ethnicity is removed and his demeanor is simply described as a kid who struts and acts real cool.

With the current political climate in the United States and the criticism of "woke culture," a lot of people are already writing this off as ridiculous. They are claiming that people are too sensitive these days and that the past is the past. While that might apply to some, I don't personally see the harm in going back and recognizing that what was said and/or done wasn't really the right thing. Stine going back to make these edits himself shows me that not only does he recognize that the era in which the books were written was different, but that to continue to appeal to future generations you have to get with the times.

Edward Read once said:

"I believe no one writing, thinking, or acting on could do so without taking account the limitations on thought and actions imposed by."

In other words, we have all said and done things that we wish we wouldn't have said or done. I don't think writers are much different and I'm sure that authors with an abundance of published work look back from time to time and wish they wouldn't have written something. R.L. Stine obviously found ways to improve on his own work and if he wants to update them to show his support for equality and to include language that includes more audience members, I say kudos to him.

With more inclusivity in any form of media, more people see themselves in these stories. By removing biases and harmful language, you don't point out someone, make them the butt of jokes, or imply that who they are is villainous or part of a problem. It's really that simple. It isn't about censorship or anything like that.

So far, Stine has made over 100 edits to over a dozen books and it sounds like he's just getting started. Goosebumps publisher, Scholastic, stated that these revised titles will be sold as edited e-books. In other words, your original Goosebumps books might have suddenly just become a coveted collectors item. You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

What was your favorite 'Goosebumps' book? Let us know in the comments below!