Stine was born on October 8, 1943 in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Lewis Stine, a shipping clerk, and Anne Feinstein. He grew up in Bexley, Ohio. He comes from a Jewish family. He began writing at age nine, when he found a typewriter in his attic, subsequently beginning to type stories and joke books. According to the documentary Tales from the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television, R.L. Stine said that he remembered reading the popular/infamous Tales from the Crypt comic books when he was young and credited as one of his inspirations. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. While at OSU, R. L. Stine edited the OSU humor magazine The Sundial for three out of his four years there. He later moved to New York City to pursue his career as a writer.

On June 22, 1969, Stine married Jane Waldhorn, an editor and writer who later co-founded Parachute Press in 1983. The couple’s only child, Matthew (born June 7, 1980) works in the music industry.

In 1986, Stine wrote his first horror novel, called Blind Date. He followed with many other novels, including The Babysitter, Beach House, Hit and Run, and The Girlfriend. He was also the co-creator and head writer for the Nickelodeon children’s television series Eureeka’s Castle, original episodes of which aired as part of the Nick Jr. programming block during the 1989–1995 seasons.

In 1989, Stine started writing Fear Street books. Before launching the Goosebumps series, Stine authored three humorous science fiction books in the Space Cadets series titled Jerks in Training, Bozos on Patrol, and Losers in Space. In 1992, Stine and Parachute Press went on to launch Goosebumps.

Also produced was a Goosebumps TV series that ran for four seasons from 1995–1998 and three video games; Escape from HorrorLand, Attack of the Mutant and Goosebumps HorrorLand. In 1995, Stine’s first novel targeted at adults, called Superstitious, was published. He has since published three other adult-oriented novels: The Sitter, Eye Candy, and Red Rain.

Among the awards he has received are the 2002 Champion of Reading Award from the Free Public Library of Philadelphia (that award’s first year), the Disney Adventures Kids’ Choice Award for Best Book-Mystery/Horror (three-time recipient) and the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards (also received three times). During the 1990s, Stine was listed on People Weekly’s “Most Intriguing People” list, and in 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records named Stine as the best-selling children’s book series author of all time. He won the Thriller Writers of America Silver Bullet Award in 2007, and the Horror Writers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. His stories have even inspired R. L. Stine’s Haunted Lighthouse, 4D movie-based attractions at SeaWorld (San Antonio and San Diego) and Busch Gardens (Williamsburg and Tampa).

In the first decade of the 21st century, Stine worked on installments of five different book series, Mostly Ghostly, Rotten School, Fear Street, The Nightmare Room, Goosebumps Horrorland and the stand-alone novels Dangerous Girls (2003) and The Taste of Night (2004). Also, a direct-to-DVD movie The Haunting Hour Volume One: Don’t Think About It. Starring Emily Osment, the film was released by Universal Home Entertainment on September 4, 2007 and was successful enough to spawn a spin-off, anthology, TV series R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour

Both were re-released in 2010 under the name ‘Bitten. ISBN 978-0060530808

In 2014, Stine brought the Fear Street books back to life with his novel Party Games ( ISBN 978-1250066220). The release of the Fear Street novel Give Me a K-I-L-L took place in 2017 ( ISBN 978-1250058966). Jack Black portrayed a fictionalized version of Stine in the 2015 film Goosebumps, while Stine himself made a cameo appearance in the film, playing a teacher named “Mr. Black”. In the film’s sequel, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018), Stine had another cameo, as Principal Harrison, while Black reprised his role as Stine in several scenes.

In 2019, Stine appeared on an episode of the children’s TV series Arthur. In “Fright Night,” which aired in the 23rd season of the show, Stine voices Bob Baxter, the uncle of main character Buster Baxter. In the episode, Bob is shown to moonlight as a writer of scary stories, alluding to his real-life career as the author of the Goosebumps series.