About

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a series of children's books composed of original horror stories and variations of traditional folktales. Since its original publishing, it has become notorious for its often gorey contents and frightening images.

Origin

In 1981, Alvin Schwartz published the first book, drawing heavily from local myths and urban legends when writing his stories. He later followed with More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark in 1984 and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones in 1991. Stephen Gammell illustrated the sometimes unrelated pictures.

Spread

The book series almost immediately gained notoriety for its disturbing stories and illustrations, resulting in them becoming immensely popular among its intended demographic. Moral guardians, however, were less than pleased, placing Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark on the top of the challenged books list for seven straight years.

Related Events

Art Change Controversy

In 2011, a 30th year anniversary addition of the books were released, but with Brett Helquist as the artist instead of Stephen Gammell. Fans almost immediately expressed outrage at the change, saying that the new images weren't as effective or scary. The fact that the original books were taken off the shelves only increased the backlash. The anger eventually subsided when Scholastic put the books with the original art back in stock.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Movie

In 2013, CBS Films announced that a movie was in production, with the writers of Saw developing the story. They have been confirmed to have been replaced by John August in 2014. Guillermo De Toro revealed that he would be producing and possibly directing the movie in 2016.

Various Images