Have you ever heard of a childrens book series being so terrifying, people throughout the country have created groups targeting its removal? The film release of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has caused many to reminisce about the book series that inspired the movie, while others are still trying to remove the horrifying images from their memory.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a 2019 horror film directed by Andr vredal.
The screenplay was adapted by Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman, from a screen story by the well-known producer, Guillermo del Toro. The film takes place in a fictional American small town named Mill Valley in the year of 1968.
Unlike most small towns, Mill Valley is plagued by the creepy stories of the infamous Bellows family. Legend has it the young Sarah Bellows lived such a traumatic & tortured life that she turned these experiences into a series of scary stories, written in a book with childrens blood.
After a night of exploring the haunted Bellows home, a group of teenagers discover the book in Sarahs tomb. The stories are all-too coincidental and begin to play out into the lives of these teenagers in strange & mysterious ways. The stories featured in the film were actually inspired by a series of books written many years ago.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a childrens series of three collections of short horror stories, 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). They were written by Alvin Schwartz and originally illustrated by Stephen Gammell.
Drawing heavily from folklore & urban legends, Schwartz used these themes as the topic of his stories. Influencers for the series include Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, Mark Twain, Joel Chandler Harris, Bennett Cerf, and Jan Harold Brunvand.
Schwartz spent a year writing each book of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, the first volume being published in 1981. The books had collectively sold more than seven million copies as of 2017, and appeared on numerous childrens bestseller lists.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is known as a cultural touchstone for a generation for many; however, they have also been the subject of criticism from others who consider them inappropriate for children.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark initially faced criticism as it was listed by the American Library Association as the most challenged series of books from the 1990s, making the list again in the 2000s and then again in 2012. The majority of the complaints centered around the disturbing subject manner & the so-called violence it portrays.
Although the original charcoal & ink artwork by Gammell has been singled out for praise, the ghoulish images have also been a subject of criticism. Parents find the stories unsuitable for young children as many of them feature frightening topics such as murder & disfigurement.
During an interview conducted by the Chicago Tribune in 1993, many had much to say regarding the controversial material in Schwatrzs Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Why are we subjecting our children to this kind of violent material? Seattle mother of two, Sandy Vanderburg, asked.
If these books were movies, theyd be R-rated because of the graphic violence. Theres no moral to them. The bad guys always win. Vanderburg recounted the plot of Just Delicious, one of the featured stories about a woman who steals the liver of a corpse and feeds it to her husband. Thats sick, Vanderburg concluded.
Another interview conducted by the Argus Press in 1995 also discussed the gruesome material found in the books. Right away I thought of Jeffrey Dahmer, concerned parent Jean Jaworski mentioned, explaining her shock when she read Wonderful sausage, written in the second book of the series.
The story tells a Sweeney Todd-esque tale of a man chopping his wife up to make into a sausage. This was way past being scary.
Jaworski, like many concerned parents, appealed to her local library to remove the books. Supporters of this potential ban included local parent groups and Concerned Women for America while the defenders have included the American Library Association & The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books.
Defenders of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark have claimed they are actually beneficial to the middle school target audience as the stories can help children deal with reality by putting faces on what theyre afraid of.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is still published and can be found in school libraries. Fortunately for critics, the 30th anniversary edition replaced the original nightmarish images for less scary illustrations by illustrator, Brett Helquist, known for his work in A Series of Unfortunate Events.
However, this replacement greatly offended the supporters of the original book who hailed the creepy & dark images by Gammel.
Regardless if it is loved or hated, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark remains popular even forty years after publication making it a horror classic. I dont see Scary Stories going out any time soon, recounted an anonymous librarian. Its something as a rite of passage for kids and their librarians who have to talk to the scared kids parents.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has stirred up so much tension surrounding the grim images & stories it is no wonder horror fans all over have gravitated towards them. If black & white illustrations were able to cause so much fear, imagine what these stories portrayed in action could do? In fact, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has received positive feedback.
So where do you place in all of this? Are you a supporter or a critic? Be sure to check out Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark to find out for yourself!
See more here:
'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark': The controversial books inspiring a film - Film Daily
- A True Story Inspired The Horror Movie Open Water - SlashFilm - June 20th, 2024
- Horror Movies In Theaters This Weekend - FANGORIA - June 20th, 2024
- 'Lumina' Trailer - Alien Abduction Horror Movie Crash Lands in Theaters This July - Bloody Disgusting - June 20th, 2024
- The First Trailer For NOSFERATU Will Be Released This Weekend in Theaters GeekTyrant - GeekTyrant - June 20th, 2024
- 10 Best Horror Movies Of 2024 - Screen Rant - June 20th, 2024
- 20 Horror Movie Villains With Motives You'll Understand - The Pryor Information Publication - June 20th, 2024
- This Korean Horror Film Is One of the Scariest Movies of 2024 - CBR - June 20th, 2024
- Zazie Beetz Shines in Muschiettis Scary Movie They Will Kill You - Digital Chew - June 20th, 2024
- Scary Summer: Five Aquatic Horror Movies to Stream This Week - Bloody Disgusting - June 20th, 2024
- This Lovecraft Adaptation Has Some of the Best Practical Effects Ever in a Horror Movie - Collider - June 20th, 2024
- Forget Ghost Ship, Wes Craven Gave Us the Best Horror Opening - CBR - June 20th, 2024
- Nicolas Cage's New Horror Film Debuts With Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score and Stunning Reviews - CBR - June 20th, 2024
- Stephen King Called This Classic Scene the Scariest Moment in Horror History - Collider - June 20th, 2024
- Dark R-Rated Supernatural Horror Mystery Thriller One Of The Best In Years, Stream Without Netflix - Giant Freakin Robot - June 20th, 2024
- Kyra Sedgwick on Finding Freedom in Directing, Plans to Make a Horror Movie With Her Family, and That One Time She Was Jealous of Kevin Bacon -... - June 20th, 2024
- 'Circles' - Sequel to the 2015 Horror Movie 'Circle' in the Works - Bloody Disgusting - June 20th, 2024
- Sequel to one of the best horror movies of the decade gets amazing first trailer - Joe UK - June 20th, 2024
- 20 Most Anticipated Horror Movies Of 2025 - WhatCulture - June 20th, 2024
- Everything You Need to Know About the Alien: Romulus Release Date - Geeks World Wide - June 9th, 2024
- The Watchers Review: Dakota Fanning Horror Movie Is Heavy on Exposition - TheWrap - June 9th, 2024
- Mike Flanagan Promises His Exorcist Movie Will Be 'Really Scary' - MovieWeb - June 9th, 2024
- Isolated Horrors: Appreciating the 2012 Horror Movie 'ATM' - Bloody Disgusting - June 9th, 2024
- Star of new horror movie The Watched says it features things she's never seen in a film before - Gamesradar - June 9th, 2024
- New horror movie The Watched was inspired by one of the best supernatural thrillers and a very divisive 2009 horror - Gamesradar - June 9th, 2024
- Horror Movies in 2024 - Cineworld - June 9th, 2024
- This new horror movie told mostly from the killer's POV may not be destined to be a classic, but its innovation is very ... - Gamesradar - June 9th, 2024
- Best of the scariest: The top 10 horror movies of all time - Popverse - June 9th, 2024
- This Divisive 2024 Horror Movie With 91% On Rotten Tomatoes Is Finally Streaming - Screen Rant - June 9th, 2024
- The Watchers - Plugged In - June 9th, 2024
- The 6 Best Sci-fi and Horror Movies to Watch on Peacock for Pride Month 2024 - Syfy - June 9th, 2024
- Under Paris: Netflix has delivered one of the best shark movies ever made - The Guardian - June 9th, 2024
- 100 mins of unrelenting intense overwhelming dread say fans as new horror movie is SO scary people are le... - The Sun - June 9th, 2024
- New follow up to 'grotesque' Netflix horror movie that left viewers 'bothered for days' is on the way - LADbible - June 9th, 2024
- Munjya review: Dinesh Vijans latest horror-comedy is neither scary nor funny, goes downhill after 30 minutes - The Indian Express - June 9th, 2024
- 'In a Violent Nature': How this innovative Canadian horror movie hacked its way to success - Toronto Star - June 9th, 2024
- The 25 best Korean horror movies of all time, ranked - Entertainment Weekly News - June 9th, 2024
- Alien: Romulus Is Making Xenomorphs Scary Again And Its About Time - Giant Freakin Robot - June 9th, 2024
- 31 Friendly Creatures From Fantasy/Horror Movies And TV Shows - MSN - June 9th, 2024
- Best Horror Movies Of 2024 (So Far) - Time Out - May 20th, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies If You Loved The Strangers - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- The Smartest Horror Movie Heroes, Ranked - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- 15 Horror Movies So Controversial They Got Banned - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- Before 'Psycho,' This Is The Twisty Horror Thriller Hitchcock Wanted to Make - Collider - May 20th, 2024
- 10 Most Rewatchable Horror Movie From Each Year of the 2010s - Collider - May 20th, 2024
- Jaws and Hitchcock's Psycho inspired new horror movie The Strangers: Chapter 1, as director explains its lack of gore - Gamesradar - May 20th, 2024
- The monsters that made me: Growing up disabled, all of my heroes were villains - Polygon - May 20th, 2024
- Shocking Horror Movie The Coffee Table Is Earning Raves From Stephen King. Its Director Wants Audiences to Suffer and Hate Me - Variety - May 20th, 2024
- Netflix fans freak out over 'insanely scary' horror film that found its way into the top 10 - Daily Mail - May 20th, 2024
- 10 Best So-Bad-They're-Good Horror Movies of the '90s, Ranked - Collider - May 20th, 2024
- Making Sense of I Saw The TV Glow's Tragic and Terrifying Ending - TIME - May 20th, 2024
- New Horror Movie With 21% RT Score Nearly Triples Budget At The Box Office In Just 10 Days - Screen Rant - May 20th, 2024
- Sting director says he's "kind of remaking Alien" with the giant spider horror movie - Gamesradar - May 20th, 2024
- How Scary Is The Strangers: Chapter 1? It's R-Rating Explained - Screen Rant - May 20th, 2024
- New Upcoming Horror Movie Gives Five Nights At Freddy's 2 Its Biggest Rival After $291 Million Success - Screen Rant - May 20th, 2024
- 10 Impossible Horror Movie Kills (and the Visual Effects Behind Them) - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- 10 Most Satisfying Horror Movie Reveals - WhatCulture - May 20th, 2024
- Stephen King Reviews Horror Movie With 88% RT Score: "You Have Never Seen A Movie As Black As This" - Screen Rant - May 20th, 2024
- Wolf Man Producer Reveals If the Horror Movie Is Part of Universal's Dark Universe Franchise - CBR - May 20th, 2024
- Nicolas Cage is set to take on another horror movie, this time about Jesus? - Gamesradar - May 9th, 2024
- Horror Tips from Director Jeff Wadlow and the Set of 'Imaginary' - No Film School - May 9th, 2024
- Upcoming horror movie amps up its marketing by having crazed killers pop up all over the nation - Gamesradar - May 9th, 2024
- This Upcoming Horror Movie Is The Best Chance Of 2024 Beating Five Night's At Freddy's Box Office - Screen Rant - May 9th, 2024
- Abigail Lands on Digital Platforms 2 Weeks After Theater Release: How to Stream the Horror Movie Online - Billboard - May 9th, 2024
- Stephen King Praises 'Scary' and 'Gross' Horror Movie With Near-Perfect Reviews - CBR - May 9th, 2024
- 'Mind Body Spirit' Review: A Horror Movie That Puts a Yoga Twist on 'Hereditary' - Collider - May 9th, 2024
- Nicolas Cage Is Taking on a New Horror Movie of Biblical Proportions - Collider - May 9th, 2024
- Daylight horror: 12 movies that are still scary with the lights on - The A.V. Club - May 9th, 2024
- How To Watch Tarot: Is the Horror Movie Streaming or in Theaters? - TheWrap - May 9th, 2024
- Mind Body Spirit Review: A Found Footage Horror Film With Something To Say About The Influencer Age - Screen Rant - May 9th, 2024
- This Unexpectedly Great Horror Movie Reboot With 80% On Rotten Tomatoes Is Now Streaming & I Wish I Saw It In ... - Screen Rant - May 9th, 2024
- The horror movie so realistic its director was arrested for murder - JOE.ie - May 9th, 2024
- 'Tarot' Scares Up a Bleak Weekend at the Global Box Office - Collider - May 9th, 2024
- Insane 2024 horror movie with a twist hits 95% on Rotten Tomatoes - Dexerto - May 9th, 2024
- 10 of the Most Disturbing 2024 Horror Movies You (Probably) Haven't Heard Of - Dread Central - May 9th, 2024
- EXPOSURE: This Short Film Will Make You Want To Throw Your Security Cameras In A Dumpster - FANGORIA - May 9th, 2024
- 5 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including 'Abigail' at Home - Bloody Disgusting - May 9th, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies Streaming This Month Will Make Your Skin Crawl (May 2024) - SlashFilm - May 9th, 2024
- This Surreal Horror Movie on Max Is One of the Most Influential Films Ever - Collider - May 9th, 2024
- The 30 best classic horror movies of all time - Entertainment Weekly News - March 16th, 2024
- The 23rd Spring, Is Jeepers Creepers Coming Back To Michigan? - 102.5/104.9 The Block - March 16th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero