R L Stine

Ryan Grabow has read every one of the 37 scary stories that make up R.L. Stine's wildly popular Goosebumps series. Not just read them, devoured them. That much was clear as the Port Hueneme fifth-grader easily answered trivia questions about the quirky plots and sinister characters that litter each of the youth-oriented books. "What was the name of the haunted house in No.

There's something lurking in the shadows. Something under the bed. Every child knows that is where the wild things are, and this is where great stories start. The hunt for creepy crawlies and boogeymen delivers a good jolt of adrenaline, and that makes it monstrous good fun. Writers have been stirring up frights since the Brothers Grimm. From Maurice Sendak's children's classic "Where the Wild Things Are" to R.L.

"Meet the Authors," a four-part series of programs featuring writers of young adult literature, will begin Tuesday with an appearance of the writing duo behind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "The Watchers Guide 2" books. Nancy Holder and Jeff Mariotte will speak at 7 p.m. at the Newport Beach Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave. Holder has written numerous romances and horror novels and more than 100 short stories.

Here's the rundown on guests and topics for this weekend's public-affairs programs: TODAY "Saturday Journal": David Mastio of USA Today, 5 a.m. C-SPAN. "Today": Mark Fuhrman; breast cancer; author Alex Witchel ("Girls Only"), 6 a.m. (4)(36). "Evans & Novak": 2:30 p.m., repeats Sunday, 7 a.m. CNN. "John McLaughlin's One on One": U.S. sanctions against Cuba, 2:30 p.m. (28). "Tony Brown's Journal": roots of music, 3:30 p.m. (28).

It elicited "bah humbugs" from Charles Dickens' Scrooge. Strangers in the market ask if you're ready for it. Pundits pontificate that it's too commercial. The media bombard us with images of merry families feasting, gift-giving, singing carols, worshiping. It's jingle bells time.

Here's your chance to tell friends that you have stomped on the L.A. Lakers' center. The "Shaquille O'Neal Presentational Manhole Cover" is being offered at an auction of sports memorabilia next month in New York City. Bidding starts at $100 for the ornamental steel lid, which is two feet in diameter. It bears Shaq's name as well as the Warner Bros. trademark. But, please, no jokes about recent Warner Bros.' movies like "The Postman" and "Mad City" going into the sewer.

Laura Bush joins actors, writers and a former British prime minister in pitching her favorite books for the annual "Who Reads What?" list, out in time for National Library Week.

When Candace Frazee of Pasadena told me that TV personality John Walsh ("America's Most Wanted") interviewed her about her Bunny Museum, I feared some misfortune had befallen the shrine. Had a bad guy made off with some of her bunny items? I was especially worried about the Elvis-shaped water pitcher with a rabbit head that's labeled "Elvis Parsley." But, no. Walsh has a new TV talk show, and he's trying to lighten up a bit.

EVER wonder why most of us are afraid of snakes or why we jump when there's a loud noise? A new exhibition developed by the California Science Center explains that those reactions are among the many ways our brains and our bodies help keep us out of harm's way. "Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear" (not to be confused with R.L. Stine's popular children's book series, "Goose Bumps") explores the ways our bodies respond to a perceived threat.