Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - The Audio Books!

I wasn't aware of their existence until several years ago, but apparently the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series was also released in the form of audio books!  I can't imagine being much more terrified by this series, but if I had this in my possession back when I first discovered these books, I probably would never go to sleep again.  Knowing my younger self all too well, I just know I would have listened to this in my Walkman on some dark night only to end up a sweaty, sleepless mess huddled beneath my Jurassic Park bed-sheets.

George S. Irving (the voice of the Heat Miser from "A Year without Santa Clause" and the narrator of the original Underdog cartoon) alternates between kooky and creepy as he reads Alvin Schwartz's tales of terror.  Accompanying the scary stories is awesome synthesizer music created by Blane & DeRosa, the company that apparently produced the audio books.

The audio book version of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark unfortunately omits several of the stories from the original book.

The recording of More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is presented unabridged.

Scary Stories 3:  More Tales to Chill Your Bones is also unabridged.

I can't take the credit for creating the videos below, which appropriately feature the original illustrations, but I gladly thank whoever did!

Sit back, turn out the lights, and enjoy...  If you dare!

Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones

The last book in Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell's  "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" is "Scary Stories 3:  More Tales to Chill Your Bones".

Interestingly, this book was printed much later than the previous entry.  While it was only a three year wait between the first and second book, the third installment in the series came almost a decade later.  Perhaps after scarring the kids of the 80's for life Schwartz and Gammell decided to wait for a bit before messing with the next generation.

Whatever the reason for the hiatus, Schwartz and Gammell fell right back into their ghoulish groove and delivered yet another great collection of scary stories and disturbing illustrations.  Once more, Schwartz focused on the retelling folk tales and urban legends.  I recall that the stories in this particular book weren't my favorites, but there are certainly some standouts including, "Just Delicious", "Bess", "Harold", "The Dead Hand", and "The Dream".

Of course there are a few infamous stories, such as "The Red Spot" and "Sam's New Pet" which are mostly memorable because of their gross-out factor and jarring illustrations.  (See below).

Then there are some stories that are unique to the series due to the fact that they are based on factual accounts, a first for Schwartz.  "The Trouble" is a retelling of an account of a family haunted by poltergeist activity that was actually published in The New York Times and other newspapers in the 50's.  Apparently, "Maybe You Will Remember" is based on a true story in which government officials, in order to avoid panic, covered up the death of a girl's mother when it was found out that she was a carrier of the plague.

As always, however good the stories were, Gammell stole the show his amazingly creepy artwork.  Once again, the shadowy, sinewy illustrations for each tale are visceral nightmare-scapes depicting notable moments from a story, or - much more terrifying - surreal and disorienting representations that fit a story's general nightmarish mood.  While Gammell's artwork is instantly recognizable, it is interesting to see how his style has changed through the years which each book.

"Harold" is the story of a scarecrow that comes to life.  My wife hates this one, but mainly because of one detail in the story, a part in which the scarecrow climbed on the roof and "trotted back and forth, like a horse on its hind legs." I'm not sure what kind of visual she gets from this part, but she says that it is disturbing to her for whatever reason.

Above is the illustrations for "The Red Spot" which is the particularly gross and disturbing as it tells of a girl who has the misfortune of a spider laying its eggs in an open sore on her face as she sleeps which develops into a mysterious boil, only for the eggs to hatch all at once later on and erupt from her face at the end of the story...  Yeah, terrifying stuff!

Below is the illustration for "Sam's New Pet".  This story is about a boys pet dog which his parents bring back with them from Mexico.  In a twist ending, it is discovered that the dog is not quite what it seems, but younger readers are more perplexed by the fact that the illustration depicts some kind of nightmarish creature that surely no one would confuse for a dog!

As I've said before, the Scary Stories series holds a special place in my memories as being one of my first exposures into the horror genre.  Unfortunately, there will likely be no more entries into the series as author Alvin Schwartz passed away in 1992.  Even still, the Scary Stories series remains hugely popular among those that grew up with the books and those that are just discovering them for the first time!

Support a Scary Stories Documentary!

Director and producer Cody Meirick is working to create a documentary on the infamous children's book series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark!

Meirick hopes to examine the books as never before by delving into their origins and examining their cultural impact.  According to the film's Indiegogo site, the ambitious documentary will explore a variety of topics, including:

• the history of gothic children's folklore
• the publication history and spread of the Scary Stories series and its illustrations
• censorship and the challenging of children's literature
• artists inspired by the illustrations
• the role of storytelling for children's literature
• the history of illustrations in gothic children's literature
• origins of specific tales told in the books
• the life of Stephen Gammell's artwork over the years
• the journey Alvin Schwartz took to find and compile the stories

As good as the whole thing looks up to this point, I was particularly encouraged by the fact that Meirick and his team have the full support and endorsement of author Alvin Schwartz's family and hope to reach out to illustrator Stephen Gammell for his involvement in the project.  The folks behind this film definitely seem to have the passion and respect for the material!

The production team has already completed a number of interviews with and collected preliminary footage, but needs help putting together the funding to complete the film and release it as a full-length documentary.  

As you know, these books are very special to me having fostered my love for reading at an early age (as well as my affinity for all thinks creepy and macabre).  It should come as no surprise that I would love to see this documentary get fully funded and released.  If this is something you are likewise interested in, I encourage you to check out the film's website and pitch video.  Finally, swing by the Indiegogo page and consider making a contribution!

More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

The second book in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series was the appropriately titled "More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark".  Once more, writer Alvin Schwartz and illustrator Stephen Gammell joined forces to scare the ever living daylights out of young children everywhere.  

This entry in the series is in the forefront of my memory for some reason.  I'm not sure that the stories were any more frightening than those found in the previous collection.  However, there were a few that struck a chord with me and lingered in my mind as I struggled to find sleep with the covers pulled over my head.   Particularly memorable tales from this collection include "The Window", "The Voice", and "Sounds" - all of which were stories that involved characters laying in bed or attempting to sleep as terror strikes!  

As always, Gammell's artwork left the biggest impression.  In my opinion, this collection is the best of his work for the whole series with his trademark monochromatic drawings seeming to be more polished and deliberate in this collection. 

While many of the illustrations in the first book were literal translations of Schwartz's descriptions found in the text, this time around Gammell seems to make a more abstract effort on several of the stories.  The illustration for "Oh Susannah!" is a perfect example as the fever dream of an image presented by Gammell appears to have nothing to do with text.  As a child, I was convinced that the publisher had made some mistake!  The incongruity makes the story all the more upsetting.  Looking back now, I have to wonder if that was the point!

Sweet dreams!!!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

I remember it vividly, despite being in first grade and about age 6 at the time.  It was the most coveted book in our small elementary school library.  I remember so many times coveting the book, envying my classmates that had already checked it out themselves.  Demand for this book was so high that sometimes students would check it out even multiple times before the librarian caught on and prohibited the practice. 

Every chance I got, I would always make my way to that bookcase in the back of the school library on the very bottom shelf.  So often I would leave that corner in disappointment, having found its place on the shelf vacant, yet again.  But this time was different.  There it was.  Finally.  It was mine.  Even though I was too terrified to even dare flip through the pages, I couldn't wait to get home and begin reading...

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.  

The title, for me, still inspires simultaneous feelings of glee and apprehension.  Written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell, the original book would go on to become a collection of three with the addition of More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Scary Stories 3:  More Tales to Chill Your Bones.  

To 6 year-old me, they served as extremely potent nightmare fuel.  Case in point:  The illustration for the story of The Thing. I'll never forget seeing that image for the first time and literally dropping the book to run to the other side of the room...

That lip-less mouth and those sunken,piercing eyes haunted me for years.  To this day, that unholy creature stalks my nightmares and any time something goes bump in the night, I am convinced that it is this face that is watching and waiting for me in every darkened hallway.  Even though I have viewed the image countless times, it still manages to send shivers down my spine!

The stories for the books were "collected from folklore and retold by" Schwartz.  Despite being very old stories that have been told time and time again to countless generations, at that time in my childhood they were very fresh and very terrifying.

As good as the stories were, what this series will always be remembered for is the illustrations!

Stephen Gammell, using ink and water, so perfectly created a disturbing and haunting series of drawings that the images were burnt into the consciousness of the children who read them. The pictures are so hideously disturbing and yet so captivating and surreal and ethereal that throughout my life I have been inspired by Gammell's work.  

With such terrifying images presented to such a young audience, it's little wonder that this series was so controversial (Personally, I was unaware of this until just a few years ago and having been exposed to these at a young age, I was quite surprised when I discovered this fact).  Apparently the books were heavily challenged by parents at the time of their initial publishing and were actually banned from libraries in several states.

No doubt, however, the books did manage to "warp" the minds of countless youths.  I was delighted to find that my wife had had similar experiences with these books in her elementary years as well. In fact, on one of our first dates we bought a treasury collection of the three books.  

The legacy of horror continues...