Christopher Pike wrote around 50 books to entertain and scare teenagers from the late ’80s and through the early 2000s. Before he was a bestselling author of young adult fiction, Pike (whose real name is Kevin Christopher McFadden) had quit college and worked various jobs like house painting and computer programming.

His earliest efforts in writing was adult mystery and science fiction, then he moved on to teen thrillers based on a suggestion from his editor. Pike’s first work in this new genre was 1985’s Slumber Party, about a group of teens who are faced with violent events during a ski weekend. It was an instant hit and launched his successful career.

He had two books published a year later and by 1990, another four books. Pike wrote two dozen thrillers for young adults throughout the ’90s. They include Bury Me Deep, Monster, The Immortal, The Visitor, and The Grave. His popular series have included Chain Letter, Final Friends, Remember Me, and The Last Vampire.

Outside of teen fiction, he wrote books for a younger audience. His Spooksville series featured two dozen books that were published in the mid-’90s. Among his adult novels was the 1990 hit Sati.

Pike was popular at the same time as Goosebumps and Fear Street author R.L. Stine, though his books were often considered more mature. It’s been noted that Pike’s books are the segue between Stine’s books aimed at those in the early teens and Stephen King’s horror for adults.

Pike’s novel Fall Into Darkness was adapted into a TV movie, starring Jonathan Brandis (SeaQuest 2032) and Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). Pike’s The Midnight Club about a group of terminally ill teenagers who gather at midnight to tell scary stories was adapted as a TV series on Netflix. In the show, the teens make pact that whichever of them dies first will try to contact the others from beyond the grave.