The acclaimed children's horror author R.L. Stine has been accused of succumbing to the demands of "woke culture" after reports emerged some of his popular Goosebumps books have been "sanitized," The New Daily reported Tuesday.
But, according to Stine himself, he never changed a word to his oeuvre.
Responding to fans on social media, Stine vehemently refuted such reports, stating, "This story is false. I have never changed a word in a Goosebumps book."
Not only did Stine outline he never altered any of his past works, but in responding to another fan, the author adds he was never even shown such edits.
"Lindsey, the stories aren't true," Stine wrote on Twitter. "I've never changed a word in Goosebumps. Any changes were never shown to me."
The British newspaper, The Times, wrote last week that Stine was working with his publisher Scholastic on the edits to use more inclusive language and to remove or alter phrases related to "mental health, weight, or ethnicity," a claim that now appears to be false.
The Times reported the changes included replacing words such as "plump" with "cheerful" and "crazy" with "silly." This followed a similar controversy surrounding proposed edits to Roald Dahl's and Ian Fleming's best-known books.
While The Times did reference some changes made to Goosebumps books in 2018, Scholastic, the publisher behind the popular series, said the changes were made as part of a rerelease.
"For more than 30 years, the Goosebumps series has brought millions of kids to reading through humor with just the right amount of scary," the publisher said, according to Deadline.
"Scholastic takes its responsibility seriously to continue bringing this classic adolescent brand to each new generation. When reissuing titles several years ago, Scholastic reviewed the text to keep the language current and avoid imagery that could negatively impact a young person's view of themselves today, with a particular focus on mental health."
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