Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark

This book was ok. More for kids than adults. Definitely a quick read. There's no way I can review each story since they are so short...literally one or two pages. The first couple I didn't like because they were stories to tell and scare your friends. The rest of the stories were okay. My favorite

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was the white satin dress. In conclusion, not a scary book to me and it would be better for teens to read it.

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Wonderful book; old-fashioned scary stories. Would be amazing to read by flashlight or candle-light.

TOO scary for a four year old, unfortunately. We got through the first story ... in the light, no less ... and I was instructed to take it back to the library. :)
We'll have to read it a few years

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from now.

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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, illustrated by Stephen Gammell

Thirty scary stories, all culled from the riches of American folklore, are presented in this classic collection, first published in 1981, and a perennial favorite with young readers every since. The selections are divided into five

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sections by editor and reteller Alvin Schwartz, and are accompanied by Stephen Gammell's deliciously creepy illustrations.

The first section - "Aaaaaaaaaaah!" - is devoted to "jump stories," or stories meant to be told aloud to great effect, with surprising conclusions (usually a shriek or the grabbing of an arm) that will frighten the listener into jumping. Here we find tales like the Virginian story of The Big Toe, in which a human toe is used in soup by those who find it, only for its original owner to come looking for it. Also included in this section is Old Woman All Skin and Bone, a traditional poem/song found in both England and America. The musical notation for the song appears on the accompanying page with Gammell's spooky illustration.

The second section - "He Heard Footsteps Coming Up the Cellar Stairs..." - includes ghost stories and tales of other strange happenings. Here we have The Thing, a Nova Scotian tale in which two friends are followed home by a skeleton, in an apparent foreshadowing of the death of one of them. Here too is the Virginian story of The Haunted House, in which the ghost of a young woman murdered by her lover leads the local pastor to her corpse, and to her killer.

The third section - They Eat Your Eyes, They Eat Your Nose - includes all kinds of spooky stories, about witches, graves, and worms eating your corpse. Included is the Kentucky mountain tale of A New Horse, in which a farm hand is ridden like a horse every night by a witch, only for the farm hand to turn the tables on his tormentor in a gruesome way. This selection appears to be Euro-American, but celebrated African-American children's author Virginia Hamilton tells a very similar story in her Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny, so perhaps there were many variants of it. Also included in this section is the "Indian" story of The Wendigo, in which a Euro-American hunter's Indian guide is slain by that fearsome monster of the north. Although utilizing a figure from Native American lore, this seems more of a story from the Euro-American perspective, as indicated by both the narrator and the sources provided.

The fourth section - Other Dangers - includes stories that, at the time of telling in 1981, were more recent in their origin. Here are urban legends like the Midwestern tale of The White Satin Evening Gown, about a young woman poisoned by the embalming fluid found on the dress she wore to a dance. Here too is The Babysitter, collected in Pennsylvania, in which a babysitter and her charges are badly frightened by a series of phone calls, that are eventually revealed to be coming from the same house in which they are staying.

The fifth and final section - also entitled "Aaaaaaaaaaah!" - presents another round of "jump stories," although this time they are meant to provoke laughter, as much as fright. Here we have selections like The Viper, also collected in Pennsylvania, in which a man's accent causes misunderstanding and fear. Also included is Wait Till Martin Comes, a traditional African-American folktale from the American South, in which a man flees from a group of cats, who presumably mean to harm him once the eponymous Martin arrives.

I read this book numerous times as a young girl, always with a delightfully shivery appreciation of both the stories and the nightmarish illustrations, and have been meaning to reread it and its sequels every Halloween season for years. Having finally managed to accomplish this goal, I discovered two surprising things. The first is that the publisher recently reprinted the books (in 2010, I believe?) with new artwork done by Brett Helquist, and that this has largely outraged fans. While I have no problem with looking at new illustrations, I can definitely say that Stephen Gammel's original artwork is a masterpiece of creepiness, and is part of what made this book so memorable. I'm glad the Helquist exists, for more sensitive young readers, but I stand by the Gammell, which I prefer. It's worth noting, moreover, that the Gammell illustrations have frequently been challenged by book banners, here in the states, so I'm glad that HarperCollins have made them available again! The second thing I discovered, which I somehow missed in my youthful reading, was that this was really a folktale collection! It's not that this is at all hidden information - it's in the sub-title of the original edition, and there are copious notes regarding origin and source material for each tale, but I seem to have breezed by all of that when a girl. However that may be, it was a welcome discovery, and I appreciated those notes, and the extensive bibliography, which contains many books familiar to me, and some unfamiliar. Most of the stories appear to be Euro-American in origin, but there are a few African-American ones, as well as a single selection from Canada.

I enjoyed my rereading of this greatly, and look forward to picking up the two sequels, and to tracking down some of the books mentioned in the source notes. Recommended to readers who enjoy scary stories, as well as to folklore enthusiasts with a particular interest in ghost stories and other tales of terror.

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this book scared the living crap out of me when i was a little kid, yet i read it over and over and over and over again.

I've owned the third book for the longest time, I practically know every story within it. But as for the collection, its a must read, must own. Its basically the three stories he wrote compact behind one cover, if you don't own them all, by this.

This is my first experience with Schwartz and the Scary Stories trilogy and I wasn't really sure what to expect as I actually picked this up as part of my reading list off of the American Library Association's list of most frequently challenged books (from 1990-2000). In some small way, I can see

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how this book (and the two others) get challenged by parents...there are some gross, gruesome, frightening, and creepy stories in this book...but (you knew it was coming...right) really, what's here, for the most part is pretty tame. For kids 8-12, this might be their first introduction to what (for most older children, adolescents and adults) are pretty standard, traditional campfire stories and urban legends. Further, they are the tamest and least embellished versions I think I've ever seen, so there is little actual gore. Probably the most frightening thing in this book are the illustrations...they are done in a style that is truly evocative of the theme...this is something that I really enjoyed about the book. Each illustration makes you squirm a bit, but then you look back and find yourself looking even more closely to pick out the details of each barely there illustration!

There are 29 stores covered in this book, all drawn (as the title indicates) from American Folklore (even some of the more contemporary ones like the hook and high beams), so it's a nice wide swath of scary folklore cut from the cloth of the American oral storytelling. In the first part of the book nearly every tale is by necessity one that should be told out loud around a campfire (as they require screaming, jumping at, or grabbing someone to "get them" at the end of the story). As the book progresses, more and more of the tales stand alone as reading material...but really each is just a bare-bones minimum of the story without any embellishments and are probably best enjoyed orally (also around a campfire or in a dark room with candles or flashlights) and embellished...having a group of kids take one story each and memorize it and tell it to the group would be a wonderful activity that Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark would lend itself to quite well!

Overall, Scary Stores to Tell in the Dark is a fine introduction to the oral tradition of folklore and urban legend. This book would make a fine addition to the library of anyone who regularly deals with kids in groups (particularly outdoors, like boy or girl scouts) and/or for group story telling...this book would provide a wonderful jumping off point for kids to learn a legend, folktale or urban legend well enough to tell out loud without reading and to encourage embellishment or discuss other versions (activity for older kids who are more familiar with the stories given and the many variations that are around). I give it four stars, as the text itself is rather uninspiring as a cover to cover, stand alone read...the illustrations are what saves it from getting three stars and as I said above, it's best use is as an introduction to folklore and/or as a way to increase one's repertoire of stores to frighten children with in those times and places where campfires, candlelight and flashlights rule the darkness!

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Tons of great scary stories to tell to older children. There are a few about ghost's and some that are slightly funny, but my favorite is the poem about the herse. A quick easy read, with very scary artwork that might frighten the little ones. There is also a section that tells where these stories

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came from.

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A collection of short stories, poems, and activies with truly frightening illustrations! This is not for the younger set, but will utterly delight (and frighten!) pre-teens. A true classic!

I purchased this book as one that I fondly remembered from childhood. I don't know for certain how many times my brother and I checked this out from the public library, but it was a lot. The stories in it are fun and the artwork is fantastic. As a matter of fact, even though I remember most of the

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stories from reading them before, it's the artwork that lodged this book into my head so firmly. Although all black and white, the images are spooky and gruesome. Exactly what an impressionable pre-teen needs to be sufficiently creeped out!

The stories themselves are usually 1 to 2 pages each and are still fun. While they wouldn't scare the bejeepers out of me today, I can see why I was drawn to them as a child. The last section of stories is also fun as they are in the same line as the spooky tales, but are intended to be humorous and silly.

All in all this is a fun book for kids of all ages and I really was glad that I went ahead and purchased one of my childhood favorites.

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this book will make you shiver and scream, it will make you look behind you to check if anyones there. please i warn you DO NOT read this book in the DARK. its very chillingley scary.

I recommend this book to people who like Horror.

I read this book in the 4th grade and when I was older I bought it online because it is one of the few books I remember reading as a child. I love it, I think it is a classic but I should warn you that little children may find it scary. I was terrified to go to bed after I would read stories out of

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this book as a child. But most of them are funny, and have a surprise ending so it is the kind of book that is good to read around a campfire or family night at home to your children. My favorite is Toe Soup!
The other reviewers are correct the artwork in this book is creepy, so that should be considered when buying this for young children!

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The illustrations are scarier than most of the stories in this one. I enjoyed rehearing some stories that were popular at camp when I was growing up.

this book has frighting stories that will make you shiver and want to scream, it makes look up from the book and check if anyones around you, please i will warn you dont read this book in the dark.

This is the viper book! I read this in elementary school and still remember a lot of the stories.

I remember reading this (and the rest of the books in this "series") when I was younger. We would do it in groups, in the huge coat closet of my fourth grade classroom with the lights off and the shades down during recess, and we'd read them aloud and say, "Oh, this doesn't scare me!" but inside

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were quaking.Great nightmare fuel, at the very least, and certainly good to send a shiver up your spine and watch for strange shadows and reflections in the mirrors...

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Some are great and creepy, some a strange and weird, some are good but nothing else. The entire series is pretty good, though.

this book is very scary beacse all the storyies are not just ghosts they arte every thing scary

scarry ghost stories with several gory illustrations. Deemed too scarry for young children 8 and under/ 3rd grade. listed on Banned Book List.

Alvin Schwartz has gathered together some of the scariest stories from folklore, sure to make you gasp in fear! Perfect reading for the Halloween season, or whenever you feel the need for a fright! Two other volumes are also available. Challenged/banned for: gives children nightmares; unacceptably

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violent; references to evil, the occult, the devil.

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Scary stories for little kids. Not appropriate for young kids, may scare them a lot. I think the stories are funny. The story of the Big Toe reminded me of The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. This could be used to introduce horror stories.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz is an excellent collection of horror stories children may tell each other for fun. The author does a good job of telling the stories in such a manner that children may easily memorize the narratives. It is written in a natural vernacular style so

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that it sounds like if someone is telling the scary story. It is written in such as way that it imitates oral traditions such as noting when the teller must jump up and grab the person next to them for a climatic ending to the story. In addition, it gives different endings to the scary stories so that some endings are scarier than others. In this way the story teller can adjust the level of horror for each particular audience. If the audience is too young, the ending does not need to be so dramatic. However if the teller wants to terrify the listeners, he may choose the scarier ending. This book is an excellent choice for Halloween time, and could easily be used as part of a Halloween holiday display. The book also includes scary illustrations throughout the book. This is a “fun” book that supports the oral tradition of children telling spooky stories for entertainment purposes.
Ages: 5th grade and Up

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Telling these to students in a darkened library has them at the edge of their seats (and some curled up against the back walls) even in 2013, when it seems like even my elementary school students are watching The Walking Dead and World War Z. The illustrations by Stephen Gammell are every bit as

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good, adding a macabre element that will live kids' skin crawling. These are must-haves for every library, sure to fly off the shelves year round, but particularly at Halloween time.

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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a collection of folk tales and scary stories passed down to other generations. The book tells short stories that have to do with everything from ghosts to monsters that will give the listener chills while reading them. I really liked this book even thought it

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might not be appropriate for all children because of the scary nature of the stories. Each story was told in a very entertaining way and the text even wrote notes for the reader to do while reading this story to other people. For example, in one story, the text is written like a poem and towards the end of the story there is a not for the reader telling him to "Jump at your friends and scream: AAAHHHH!" I really thought this was a great way to get the reader and the audience involved and engaged in the stories that were being told. I also really enjoyed the different type of writing styles that were throughout this book. While some stories were written in the traditional story format other were in poem format or were written in verses of songs. The different types of writing styles that were in this collection of stories really made it interesting for the reader and also when they were reading the stores to their friends. The illustrations that were throughout each story were really well done and added a lot to the 'creepiness' of each story while also giving readers a little help if they had trouble picturing something that the story was talking about such as zombies. Although this book did not have an overall message because it was a collection of different folktales, the theme of the book was all scary stories that were intended to make children be more careful when doing this like walking through the woods or meeting strangers like some of the stories suggested in the book. I really enjoyed reading this book and thought that this would be a very enjoyable book for children to read if they were not afraid of scary things.

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