The Bullseye Halloween Spooktacular: R.L. Stine, Andy Daly, and Elvira

Episode notes

R.L. Stine, creator of Goosebumps

(Photo by Macmillan Publishers)

R.L. Stine has written over 200 Goosebumps books, the series of kids horror books, selling millions of copies. His books have inspired TV shows, movies, and even video games. He’s written about ventriloquist dummies that come to life, haunted garden gnomes, and even wrote a book about giant hamsters. 

Stine can never resist a good title. Say Cheese and Die, Werewolf Skin, and Go Eat Worms are just a few that stand out from his Wikipedia page. When we last talked to him a couple years ago, Stine had just published a compilation of short horror stories for kids, titled: StineTinglers. It’s a collection of 10 short horror stories for kids that’s out now. 

R.L. Stine talked about how the phenomenon that is Goosebumps came to be. He shares how he comes up with the storylines for each book and how he got into writing children’s horror. Plus, he talks about his time as a comedy writer for a magazine during college.

Andy Daly on “The Song that Changed my Life”

(Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Comedy Central)

Every now and then we find a guest with a story about a song they love. We call it “The Song that Changed my Life.” This time around, we have comedian and actor Andy Daly. You may have seen him on Mad TV, Eastbound and Down, or The Good Place. Andy has a special Halloween treat: he’s talking about the Monster Mash, by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers.

You can also listen to Andy’s podcast Bonanas for Bonanza. It’s all about the classic TV show Bonanza. 

Mistress of the Dark, Cassandra Peterson

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Next up on the show: Cassandra Peterson, but you probably know her better as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark–probably the most famous Halloween character since Dracula. 

For over 40 years, Peterson rocked the giant wig, the tailored black dress and glossy black nail polish. She’s appeared on countless TV shows, had her own movie. She’s performed live at theaters and amusement parks for years.

Where’d it all start? Back in 1981. Peterson had just been hired to host the spooky B-Movie TV show Movie Macabre. In those late night episodes, sprawled out on a red velvet couch and wearing all black, Cassandra Peterson became Elvira.

Back in 2017, Cassandra joined Jesse to talk about her career as Elvira and the character’s impact on her fans.