Comparing humor and scare tactics.

Author R.L. Stine is one of the bestselling authors of all time. His Goosebumps series of horror children's books has sold over 400 million copies.

But horror wasn't his first act. Stine spent the first twenty years of his career writing children's joke books.

He found that scaring people is easier than making them laugh.

"Everyone has different senses of humor, but we all share the same fears," he said. "Children are afraid of the dark, getting lost, and arriving at a new place. These fears never change."

Everyone has different personalities and tastes, but emotions—especially fear and greed— are often universal.

Excerpted from Morgan Housel Feb 2023