Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Collected from Folklore and Retold by Alvin Schwartz (and a Scary Story of My Own!)
Seriously, who has not read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Collected from Folklore and Retold by Alvin Schwartz? I have very vivid memories of reading this book in elementary school and it scared me half to death! The story that I remember most clearly is the story of the young couple who go park up above the city when a prisoner is on the loose. The radio says he has a hook for a hand and the girl gets scared when she hears scratching on her door. She begs her date to take her home and when he goes around to open her door, the hook is on the handle. That story has never left me.
I could not help revisiting this book in Halloween spirit and it was great fun. I think the illustrations by Stephen Gammell freaked me out more than the stories. They were just plain creepy. That illustration shown here is enough to give you nightmares. Alvin Scwartz divides the stories into “jump” stories, ghost stories, scary stories about all kinds of things, more recent scary stories, and scary stories meant to make you laugh.
I thought the more recent scary stories were the scariest because they involved the possibility that it could actually happen to you. Who remembers the story of the babysitter who kept getting calls saying “I’m going to come and get you” only to find out that the calls were being placed from upstairs? Believe me, I remembered that story especially when I was babysitting late at night.
Or the story of the girl in the car who was being followed by a truck who kept clicking on and off on his high beams? She drives home scared and frantic only to find out that there was a man in her back seat with a knife and every time he tried to unknowingly overpower her the driver would flash his beams. Writing that just gave me the chills. Maybe if it wasn’t so late at night and dark while I was typing this all out.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a fun and scary book meant to scare kids of all ages. A great resource for the next time you need a great story to tell. Maybe next year for Halloween I’ll read More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
What is your favorite scary story? Or scarier still, one that you believe to be true?
I’ll start off by sharing a story that happened to my older siblings before I was born, completely true. I’ll let my older sister, Leisa, tell you the story. Here is the beginning of that story, click over to her blog to read the rest of the story!
My parents had gone out for the evening. My friend and I were co-babysitting by younger brothers and sister. We were sitting in the basement, watching the Miss America pageant. We had one set of stairs, and at the top of those stairs was a door that opened to the garage.
Suddenly, we heard the door from the garage open and then close. We heard someone walk through the kitchen to the living room, down the hall, and into my parent’s bedroom. We heard them open the drawers and begin rummaging through them.
My friend and I glanced fearful glances at each other, but didn’t want to alarm my siblings. But they heard it as well. David, my younger brother,said, “Leisa, someone’s upstairs.”
My thoughts: my siblings always told me that the police searched the entire house except the attic (easily accessed by a stairwell in the garage). The entire time that we lived in that house I was terrified of the attic when it was dark. I was positive he was still up there ready to get me. I hated to walk by that stairwell. And to think that I wasn’t even born yet and this story scared the dickens out of me!
How about you, do have a scary story?
Category: Book Reviews, Fiction, Middle Readers
Tags: banned, halloween, Q-T Author, Q-T Title
Enjoy this post? Then subscribe to receive updates in your favorite reader or by email.
This book (and its sequels) terrified the snot out of me when I was in junior high and our Reading teacher would read it aloud. Just thinking about the story about the streamers hanging from the trees is giving me shivers. Eek!
on October 31st, 2008 at 6:33 pmThese books used to scare the crud out of me!! The illustrations alone were enough to give me nightmares. I hadn’t thought about them in quite a while, but when I was reading Coraline last week the illustrations reminded me of these books a little. Ewwww–gives me the chills just reading your descriptions!
on November 1st, 2008 at 7:00 amOh! The one with the trucker flashing his high beams always got me. To this day I check my back seat before I get in the car because of that story! Seriously.
on November 1st, 2008 at 6:01 pmDid the story about the girl who had a spider lay eggs in her face come from ones of these books? That story also freaked me out.
There is a show called Urban Legends, which has covered all of these stories. I remember reading the book when I was younger and being SO scared. I still am a wimpy when it comes to scary stuff. I won’t go to see scary movies in the theaters and only at home during the day. HA!
The last scary movie I saw was The Blair Witch Project at the drive-ins. I used to go backpacking and camping all the time and I don’t think I have been since. My husband says it was not scary a all but I was terrified. I’m such a wimp.
on November 1st, 2008 at 7:15 pmNicki – They read this to you in school? I haven’t read the streamers story, it must be in the second or third book.
Trish – The illustration that I posted just gives me the chills looking at it again. Yikes!
Jeanette – If it did it wasn’t in this first book, perhaps the others? I’ll wait until next Halloween to find out!
Jenn M. – Blair Witch Project would be creepy to watch in drive-in because your kinda outside. What if somebody was outside the car window?
on November 2nd, 2008 at 12:28 amI’ve heard those stories so many times but I didn’t realize that they were in a book. I need to check something and I’ll be right back…I’m back. My kids checked out this book from the library just today and my 7 year old was reading it to my 5 year old. I didn’t realize what it was. I’m not sure I want them to read that hook story. That one gives me the creeps so bad. Luckily, I don’t think they got very far and the first few stories aren’t very scary.
on November 2nd, 2008 at 12:45 amKim – You’re up late too! The first few stories are mostly jump stories. The last section is okay because they are funny stories. The ones in the middle would probably scare a five and seven year old. Funny that they just got it today.
on November 2nd, 2008 at 12:50 amYeah, in seventh grade right before Halloween! At the time, I thought it was cool, in retrospect, I’m a little appalled. We also talked about the rumor (possibly created by our Reading teacher) that our school was haunted by a bunch of dead nuns (It had been a Catholic high school), and our teacher organized a “field trip” to the “haunted” basement of the school, which was wonderfully creepy, with the giant boiler and rows of old desks and general basement stuff.
on November 2nd, 2008 at 8:47 amNatasha- We were all outside at the drive-ins in lawn chairs. The drive-in is surrounded by a open field area. I still think I am a wimp!
on November 3rd, 2008 at 4:18 pmI don’t think I’ve read all of these but I know I read a whole bunch of them! They were my favorite when I was growing up. Nope no scary story that I can think of
on November 6th, 2008 at 12:56 pmNicki – Creepy!
Jenn M. – That’s even creepier! There is no way I could have watched that movie like that!
Ladytink_534 – I’ve only read the first volume. Next Halloween I’ll get my hands on the others.
on November 6th, 2008 at 9:54 pmcool and creepy i said i who be going crazy
on November 28th, 2008 at 12:50 pmi was pretty scared when i read it the first time i had nightmares for 3 weeks.
on February 9th, 2009 at 5:20 pmthis book is soooo awesome i read it a long time ago though but when i read the book and i finnished it within that same day that night when i went to bed i had a night mare that all the thing that happened in the book happened to me
on April 16th, 2009 at 3:01 pmThese books and stories take me back to grade school, they were the ony thing that durring reading time would keep me interested…
on September 3rd, 2009 at 10:49 am