In the quest for new information about Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of the 1981 collection of frightening children’s stories and folktales, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, there are few prizes and very little new information. Reports that “the story follows a group of young teens who must solve the mystery surrounding sudden and macabre deaths in their small town” suggest something along the lines of recent coming of age hits like Stranger Things, IT, and other popular pop culture tales of teens and pre-teens fighting off the evils of the world while most adults stand idly by.
With that in mind, below are some possible stories from the original volume that may fit the mold and find their place in del Toro’s vision of the greatest scary kid’s book of my generation:
Photo Source: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz: Harper Trophy, taken by Crystal Spears from The Game of Nerds
The Big Toe
The first story of the book is a jump-scare tale to be told around campfires and in whispers in the dark with a surprise ending and an image of a toe growing out of the ground that I have never been able to forget. A scene with a young child digging in the garden certainly fits the theme of young teens in their small town . . .
Photo Source: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz: Harper Trophy, taken by Crystal Spears from The Game of Nerds
The Girl Who Stood on the Grave
In this tale of the sordid activities of teenage boys and girls at parties, including a trip to the cemetery and the unfortunate stabbing of the hemline of a dress. This seems like a great scene to set up a dichotomy between belief in reality and a belief in . . . stranger things! (see what I did there?! I’ll see myself out —->)
Photo Source: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz: Harper Trophy, taken by Crystal Spears from The Game of Nerds
The Hook
Because if it isn’t, what’s the point? It’s the necessary tale of the kids that get away.
Photo Source: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz: Harper Trophy, taken by Crystal Spears from The Game of Nerds
The White Satin Evening Gown
A necessarily frugal young woman turns fashion victim in the worst way in this tale of unrealized possibilities and affections. This image has haunted me since childhood and I would be thrilled to see a dynamic shot like this of a death dress in black and white.
While many other stories in this volume and the series fit the bill, the ones above are personal favorites. Below I’ll include a few other images from the first volume of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark so that we can daydream together about the creepy things that messed us up in the best way possible when we were kids.
Photo Source: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz: Harper Trophy, taken by Crystal Spears from The Game of Nerds
Photo Source: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz: Harper Trophy, taken by Crystal Spears from The Game of Nerds
Photo Source: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz: Harper Trophy, taken by Crystal Spears from The Game of Nerds
