Published 1981–1991 Number of books 3 | Language English Publisher Harper Country United States of America | |
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Genres Horror fiction, Children's literature Books Scary Stories to Tell in the, More Scary Stories to Tell in the, Scary Stories 3 : More Tal | ||
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a series of three children's books written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. The titles of the books are Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981), More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1984), and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones (1991).
Contents
Overview
Schwartz drew heavily from folklore and urban legends as the topic of his stories, researching extensively and spending more than a year on writing each book. The first volume was published in 1981, and the books have subsequently been collected in both a box set and a single volume. There is also an audiobook version of each book, read by George S. Irving. The audiobooks are presented in unabridged format with the exception of a handful of missing stories from the first book.
This series is listed as being the most challenged series of books from 1990–1999 and seventh most challenged from 2000–2009 by the American Library Association for its violence. The surreal, nightmarish illustrations contained within are also a frequently challenged component of the original books.
To celebrate the books' 30th anniversary in 2011, Harper Collins re-released the books with new illustrations from Brett Helquist, the illustrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events. This has come under severe criticism from fans of Gammell's illustrations, citing that they are not as effective or as scary as the originals.
Film adaptation
CBS Films acquired the rights to the series, with the intent of producing it as a potential feature film. It was announced in 2014 that writer John August will pen the film.
