More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Scary Stories

by Alvin Schwartz, Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)

All those who enjoyed shuddering their way through Alvin Schwartz's first volume of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark will find a satisfyingly spooky sequel in this new collection of the macabre, the funny, and the fantastic.

Is it possible to die -- and not know it? What if a person is buried too soon? What happens to a thief foolish enough to rob a corpse, or to a murderer whose victim returns from the grave? Read about these terrifying predicaments as well as what happens when practical jokes produce gruesome consequences and initiations go awry.

Stephen Gammell's splendidly creepy drawings perfectly capture the mood of more than two dozen scary stories -- and even a scary song -- all just right for reading alone or for telling aloud in the dark.

If You Dare!

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Paranormal

100 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 1984

About the author

Alvin^Schwartz
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Alvin Schwartz was the author of more than fifty books dedicated to and dealing with topics such as folklore and word play, many of which were intended for young readers. He is often confused with another Alvin_Schwartz, who wrote Superman and Batman daily comics strips and a novel titled The Blowtop.

For Batman - See: Alvin^^Schwartz https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Justin Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second volume of scary stories compiled/adapted from folklore and legend is significantly scarier and more adult than the previous volume. I was going to include my list of favorites when I realized I loved every story in here except one or two which were still good.

What I love most is that Schwartz takes time at the end to explain his sources for the legend and offer supplemental reading suggestions for those interested. The list of books include many from academia. What people don’t realize about Scary Stories is that it’s an extremely scholarly project. It doesn’t surprise me at all that it took a full 3 years between volume 1 and 2 because of the massive research involved. It took another 7 years before the third book was released and of course there hasn’t been any more collections since.

Schwartz deserves much praise for his dedication to folklore and attention to quality. The slim volumes of utmost quality serves the vision much better than a mediocre thick collection, which is unfortunately the structure of competing collections. Combined, of course, with Gammell’s iconic illustrations, there’s not a finer book of campfire tales yet. While the first collection has some true classics, I think I prefer volume 2 because of the way it raises the scares a notch.

On to volume 3!

[Mischenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is featured on Halloween Reads for Children @ https://readrantrockandroll.com/2017/...

Here's another scary story collection that’s perfect for this time of year. Some of these are downright horrifying, but so much fun.

A few of our favorites are: Something was Wrong, The Cat’s Paw, Ba-Rooom!, which includes the simple sheet music we enjoy playing on the piano, Wonderful Sausage, and One Sunday Morning.

One of my favorite sections in the book contains the sources which explain the tales, adaptations, retellings and even different variations. Some even have a little history with them which explains where these tales were heard and when. The illustrations by Stephen Gammell are perfect and never disappoint!

5*****

[Tina Haigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another collection of spooky tales, Scary Stories 2 is not quite as good as the original but I love it anyway. I really only remembered a few stories from this one, so most of the stories were new to me this go around.

This is a very beloved book from my childhood, along with it's prequel and sequel. I'm still not entirely sure why I love something so much that gave me several serious complexes that continue into adulthood, but I guess I'm just twisted like that.

I chose to reread these books due to the Scary Stories movie that came out recently. Needless to say the stories didn't scare me like they did when I was a kid, but I still found that I was a little creeped out going to the bathroom in the dark, so to me that's a win for any book or movie, because fiction doesn't scare me easily.

It's filled with mostly creepy short stories, with a chapter dedicated to spooky yet humorous stories to make you laugh instead. This edition has newer pictures, but the original illustrator's drawings are intensely creepy, and unmistakably recognizable. It's perfect for kids 10 - 12, teens 13 - 15, or people 16+ that scare really easily and can't handle hardcore horror.

[☾❀Apple✩ Blossom⋆｡˚ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book as much as the first one. I found the stories dull and the narration uninteresting. However, there were a couple of them which I really liked, and I also think that it might be due to me reading this book for the first time as an adult (whereas the first one was a childhood memory). I still admire the work of collection and study of folk tales and urban legends that stays behind it, so I am definitely checking out number three. After all, this series is a classic!

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories truly are the perfect Halloween reads! It just feels right reading them during the spookiest month of the year. While I did still thoroughly enjoy this second collection of stories, I do find it lacks a bit of oomph compared to the first. It doesn’t grab me in the same way that the first instalment does, it’s missing that teeny little something extra. It’s still such a fun read though, I felt like I kid again while between its pages and that’s a feeling I always cherish while reading! I have to mention the illustrations as well, they are just so on point and I’m loving the new art. The original art will always be my favourite but the new illustrations are still pretty damn stunning!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz was a favorite of my oldest son when he was younger. We read the stories out loud to each other, and even his friends. We talked about what made a story scary, how to tell a great ghost story and the basics of acting and public speaking. My son is now almost 30 years old and he still remembers these books. Before he left to serve in the Navy, he brought me used copies that matched the ones he owned as a kid. As part of my personal challenge this year to read books off my own shelves and to read more of what I personally enjoy, I am re-reading these books. I'm enjoying the stories, and also thinking about a little boy that grew into a pretty awesome man. As my son is stationed thousands of miles away in Japan and I haven't 'seen him in two years, I can think fondly of him as I read these books that he so thoughtfully brought to me before he left home.

More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is the second book in the series. As in the first book, the tales are gathered from folklore. There is a notes section and list of sources in the back of the book. The 28 stories are accompanied by awesome bizarre artwork by Stephen Gammell. The artwork really makes this book something special. The stories vary from jump scares and scary situations to humor and even a song.

A great collection of kid-friendly horror!!

[Maliha Tabassum Tisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

➸ 3.5 stars

Stories I liked most:
• The bed at the window
• The bride
• The drum
• The dead man's hand
• The little black dog

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you think Alvin Schwartz was done with horror after his 1981 breakthrough, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? He was only getting started on what would become a legendary trilogy. He sets the stage for More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark with an introduction to the origins of creepy tales and why humans pass them down, one generation to the next. Learning to cope with fear strengthens us as we venture into a world filled with real threats.

The book launches with "Something Was Wrong". John Sullivan can't remember why he’s wandering downtown, but everyone is afraid of him. The sad truth may be more than he can bear. In "The Wreck", Fred and Jeanne meet at a high school dance, but courtship isn't in their future. A ghost can seem every bit as alive as a flesh-and-blood human. "One Sunday Morning" follows a woman named Ida to church, but the pews are packed with ghosts. Ida will have to be quick to escape with her life. Three fisherman take shelter from a storm in a ramshackle house in "Sounds", and are terrified by what sounds like a spectral murder upstairs. "A Weird Blue Light" tells of a ghost ship in 1864 Galveston Bay with a crew of bloody, rotting ghouls some insist were the spiritual residue of pirate Jean Lafitte's ship."Somebody Fell from Aloft" visits a ship sailing for England. A sailor named McLaren is attacked by a ghost wanting justice for a murder committed years ago. "The Little Black Dog" tells of a man named Billy who slew his rival, then killed the man's dog when it growled at him in grief over its master's death. For the rest of his life Billy complained he saw the dog everywhere, and he died mysteriously with traces of a dog nearby. "Clinkity-Clink" is a jump scare tale about a corpse buried with silver dollars on the eyes. When the gravedigger steals them, will the corpse rise to confront him?

Our next section kicks off with "The Bride". A woman playing hide-and-seek on her wedding day tucks herself into a trunk in the attic, but gets locked inside for years. How gruesome will the end reveal be? "Rings on Her Fingers" introduces Daisy, pronounced dead after a lingering coma. A grave robber digs up the casket to steal her jewelry, but Daisy wasn't actually dead, and it may be the thief who meets his maker. "The Drum" follows two young sisters, Dolores and Sandra, who meet a girl playing with a drum that has built-in animatronics. They beg her to give them the drum, but she demands in return they perform acts of disobedience toward their mother. When they do, the girl demands they take it further. How long before Dolores and Sandra's mother considers them beyond reform and leaves forever with their little brother Arthur? It's a chilling warning of where greed takes us. In "The Window", Margaret is attacked by a creature of the night. When her brothers find out its secret identity will they end the menace? "Wonderful Sausage" is the story of Samuel Blunt, a butcher who kills his wife and grinds her into meat he then sells without disclosing the signature ingredient. He perpetuates the food source by murdering others, but what will his fate be when the treachery is exposed? It's a powerful caution about how deep depravity can go after we violate that first taboo and venture into areas that are off limits for good reason. "The Cat's Paw" relates the experience of Jed Smith, who catches a cat taking meat from his smokehouse. He fires his gun at it, but the severed paw turns into a human foot. The perpetrator is a witch. "The Voice" shows us a girl named Ellen in bed, stalked by a ghostly presence. Ellen screams, but when her father comes running, the menace is gone. Was this a sleep paralysis incident?

Contemporary living is the theme of the next section, this book's scariest. "Oh, Susannah!" finds two college girls, Susannah and Jane, at their apartment. Susannah arrives home late and tries to get right to bed, but Jane's humming bothers her. Next morning the humming resumes, too early for childish games. Susannah drags herself out of bed to confront Jane, but the reality of her situation is horror beyond belief. "The Man in the Middle" is about a girl named Sally alone on a subway when three men board. One man seems drunk, but as the guys with him leave, the disturbing truth dawns on Sally. After a Mrs. Briggs hits a cat with her car in "The Cat in a Shopping Bag", she places it in a bag to bury later, but the bag is stolen by a woman with retail store theft on her mind. She has no idea the gross piece of "merchandise" she's picked up, but the woman she stole from is ready to drive the lesson home. "The Bed by the Window" is about three elderly men in a nursing home unable to leave their beds. Their only link to modern life is the window, but only one of them is close enough to look out. Are such sights worth killing for? If George gives in to his dark side, he'll find that what he lusted after is an apparition that vanishes at his fingertips. "The Dead Man's Hand" takes place at nursing school. The girls all resent Alice, who is tops in the class. They smuggle a cadaver hand into her room and tie it to the pull chain for the light. The human psyche is fragile, and once broken, there's no gluing its fragments back together. "A Ghost in the Mirror" describes the children's game of conjuring Bloody Mary or another haint. "The Curse" is the story of a college fraternity whose members die one by one over the years after invading a spook house. Only one is still alive, but for how long...?

Section last is a debriefing for the traumas we've read so far, comprised of humorous scary stories. "The Church" features a man named Larry seeking refuge in an abandoned building during a storm. Lightning reveals he's surrounded by ghosts, but is the situation what he perceives? "The Bad News" introduces Leon and Todd, who love baseball and speculate all their lives whether the game is played in heaven. When Todd dies, Leon waits for a ghostly visit, but Todd has bad news to break. In "Cemetery Soup" a woman walking among gravestones sees a bone she'd love to season her soup with. The original owner isn't pleased; will he wreak vengeance on the careless cook? "The Brown Suit" begins with a widow asking the funeral home undertaker to change her husband’s clothes for his funeral. The undertaker agrees to oblige her, but the macabre shortcut he takes is a shock. "Ba-Rooom!" reproduces an Irish song about death, and "Thumpity-Thump" shows us a family who moves to a new house where a poltergeist chair reveals a murder committed on the premises. Not wanting to risk being accused of the crime, they pack up and skip town for good.

More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark nearly equals the book that came before, and is a virtually flawless wedding of Alvin Schwartz's literary artistry and Stephen Gammell's hellish illustrations that lingers in the mind as few books can. The greatest stories are "The Bride", "The Drum", "Wonderful Sausage", "Oh, Susannah!", "The Bed by the Window", "The Dead Man's Hand", and "The Brown Suit", an assortment that lifts Schwartz and Gammell to the top of the juvenile horror mountain. There's never been anything like the Scary Stories trilogy and the impact it had on generations of youth.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

True story, one that I’m almost ashamed to share since it will most likely make me look like an asshole and a horrible father, but what the hell, full disclosure:

I read one of the stories in Alvin Schwartz’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” to my (at the time) 6-year-old daughter. I thought (at the time) that it was one of the less scary ones. It’s the one about the kid who finds a big human toe in his backyard and keeps it in his nightstand. At night, he hears a voice calling out, “Where’s my toe?”, and as he sinks deeper and deeper under the covers, the voice keeps getting closer and closer, until, eventually, he hears the voice right next to his bed. At this point (according to the book, as Schwartz occasionally adds audience participation), the reader grabs the listener’s toe and screams, “YOU’VE GOT IT!”

So, I did. And my daughter freaked out, and not in a good way. She screamed and then started crying and then hit me and said, “I hate you, daddy!” and I felt horrible (really, I swear). She wouldn’t talk to me for almost half the day.

Still, despite the trauma that my wife insists I cruelly inflicted upon our daughter, I have to say that it’s a testament to the power of a good scary story.

If it can bring the listener to tears, make them hate you, and make your wife think you are a monster, then it’s a pretty damn good scary story.

(I know. I expect to get some shit for this...)

[Larisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imma scare the kids on Halloween with these stories

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t quite as good as the first one. The stories weren’t particularly scary, and often ended abruptly. But it’s still an interesting collection.

Language: Clean
Sexual Content: None
Violence/Gore: Gory pictures. Descriptions of bodies and body parts, not graphic but possibly disturbing.
Harm to Animals: Cats and dogs killed in variety of ways. One dog deliberately shot.
Harm to Children: None
Other (Triggers): Ghosts, murder, vengeance

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

SCARY STORIES PART TWO!

After reading the first book “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” I just had to read up on the sequel, “More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” which is also written by Alvin Schwartz along with illustrations by Stephen Gammell. “More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” is a continuation of the first book and we are introduced to more spine-tingling tales from this fantastic series as you will definitely be sitting on the edge of your seats after you read this collection of scary stories!

Just like the first book, this book basically contains a collection of scary stories to tell in the dark and they include:

One Sunday Morning



A young woman named Ida decided to go to church on Sunday morning and when she made it to the church, she started to realize that the people at the church were not normal as she saw one of her friends, Josephine Kerr, attend the service, even though she died a month ago…

The Little Black Dog



Billy Mansfield was fighting a man named Silas Burton, who was an enemy of his family and when Billy knocked Silas off his horse, he ended up killing Silas along with his black dog when the dog started barking at Billy. Unfortunately after that incident, Billy starts noticing a strange black dog following him around…

The Bride



A minister’s daughter just got married and after the wedding ceremony, she decided to play hide and seek and she hid inside a trunk in the attic. Unfortunately, the lid of the trunk dropped on the daughter and locked her inside the trunk and everyone at the wedding ceremony did not even know that she is missing!

Once again, I was blown away by this collection of scary stories from the creative retellings of Alvin Schwartz! Alvin Schwartz has done a brilliant job at retelling these ancient scary folktales as each story is just as creepy and intense as the last story and the twist endings are enough to make you scream! I loved the way that Alvin Schwartz provided an eerie atmosphere to each story as it makes the audience feel scare for the characters and the supernatural activities that surround them and it really brought out the creativity of this book. I also loved the fact that Alvin Schwartz took the time to research the various folktales dealing with horror and I loved the fact that Alvin Schwartz provided a bibliography section at the end of the book so that way you would be able to go back and check the original sources of these tales! I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection, but my most favorite stories would have to be “The Bride,” “The Little Black Dog,” “One Sunday Morning,” “Wonderful Sausage” and “The Cat in a Shopping Bag.” Stephen Gammell’s illustrations are as usual, eerily and brilliantly done as the artwork is truly frightening to look at and the black and white colorings of the illustrations really bring out the creepy feel to the stories. There is much creepy imagery in this book, but probably the scariest image in this book was of the skeletal bride in “The Bride.”

Just like the first book, this book might be too scary for small children since there are stories about characters being killed and haunted by supernatural forces. Also, what always made this series so scary for small children is the fact that the illustrations are truly scary and small children might not be able to get through this book because of the scary illustration. As for why I took off half a point from the rating, I felt that this book was using the same structure that was used in the first book such as in stories like “Cemetery Soup” where the character always steal something from the dead and something haunts them at the end.

Overall, “More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” is just another addition to your “Horror Books for Children” shelf that you just got to check out! I would recommend this book to children ages eight and up since the often spooky content in this book is too scary for small children.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

Although the stories are very tame, the illustrations are gorgeous, and the strong wave of nostaligia made this an awesome reread.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a child, I used to love reading Alvin Schwartz's scary story books! There was nothing more fun than going to the library during the summer and getting my fix of creepy stories and macabre artwork by Stephen Gammell. I recently picked up a copy of this book as a testament to my childhood nostalgia to see if the stories held up to the test of time. I'm glad to say that they did! While written for children, the stories definitely gave me a few chills as an adult. The artwork is still just as creepy, although I'm not quite as scared to look at it now. The tales are based on folklore and legends, so you or your children may have already heard many of them before. Yet, there is nothing quite like the way that Alvin Schwartz tells them.

This is definitely a book I'd recommend picking up for children who love scary stories, or for those of us who loved these stories as a child! Don't forget to read them when the sun is out and the lights are on, though. Otherwise, you might start seeing things in every corner or hearing things in every room!

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found a copy online.

This was fun - a collection of creepy urban legends from the US. It was largely spoilt for me because I knew, or could guess, the punchline from most.

To get the most out of these stories, they have to be told around a campfire in the night. If the story teller is skilled, he/ she can frighten the hell out of people.

[Malice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta es una segunda recopilación que sigue el mismo esquema del anterior libro del autor, con muchas más leyendas urbanas, cuentos de fantasmas y aparecidos, también se va con cinco estrellas.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugh. This one brought me right back to my childhood. I feel like all my friends had copies of these books.

Some of these stories do manage to still be creepy all these years later. There were a couple that fell flat but otherwise I enjoyed them.

I do think the experience is enhanced by being able to share and spook friends in the dark. But what can you do. Hopefully my daughter can bring them along to a sleepover some day and spread the joy…

Or terror.

But mostly joy. 😂

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to LOVE these books when I was a kid. They seem kind of silly when I reread them as an adult but as a child I remember being terrified by some of the stories and illustrations in here.

[Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a kid, my older sister covered my window with a blanket and invaded the fort I had under my bed to scare the ever-loving shit out of me by reading stories from this– wait, did I already tell this story? In any case, that’s how vividly the memory has been etched into my brain, along with all the nights I spent awake under my covers, listening for the sound of the old woman’s clinking money from “Clinkity-Clink.” This, along with the melting faces from Piano Lessons Can Be Murder (also my sister’s influence) and the dead thing in the pool episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? (that one was all me) made up my childhood nightmares. I bet a lot of people have similar experiences, which is how you know you’ve made it into the canon of children’s horror. There’s nothing quite like the things that frighten us when we’re young. What were yours? (I know you remember.)

I like this collection as much as the first one and, in some ways, a little more. I found the stories more straightforwardly spooky, more ghostly and full of dead things, whereas the original has a couple chapters dedicated to funny or spoken-word stories that don’t have quite the same impact on page. They’re also less familiar, at least on my end, without the urban legends that my generation is so familiar with–except for “The Wreck,” of course, which is a version of my favorite ghostly hitchhiker. The version I knew of “The Bed by the Window” didn’t have murder in it. “Clinkity-Clink” and “The Bride” haunted my childhood memories, and “Somebody Fell from Aloft” is a creepy revenge story. As always, Stephen Gammell’s black and white illustrations are nothing short of chilling and a necessary element to these books, and I enjoyed Schwartz’s notes on the collection at the end. All in all, it’s just as worthwhile as the first, and I’m looking forward to the next.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

[Rebel Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love all of these stories. And it just so happens to be Halloween season, so, let's face it, this is a must read. The illustrations are to die for - literally. And, even though I read these as a young child, I got to read it with my daughter, which was absolutely perfect!

[Rachel (Into a Story) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A re-read. Gotta give it 5-Stars for childhood nostalgia!

These stories are pretty disturbing and the illustrations are terrifying. They’re creepier than the first book.

No wonder my 8-year-old self was filled with anxiety all the time! 😆

As an adult, I enjoyed the story origins in the back of the book.

Love these.

[Kim Friant · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars— Ivan and I went to see Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark in the theater when it came out. We saw the preview and were intrigued so we watched it. I enjoyed it enough that I decided to get the books and read them. I think they’re such good books to introduce horror to kids! Obviously, it varies from kid to kid, but these books definitely work on the creepy side without being ridiculously scary. I read thru all 3 books in about an hour and found them engaging and chilling. I won’t go so far as to say that they scratched the horror itch, they were too mild for that. But, for the audience they were written for, they’re perfect. The illustrations also added to the reading and made it even more fun. I absolutely recommend these books to read to your kids when they want to be scared. Excellent story collection!

[Danny Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
Pues que puedo decir, son historias sencillas que no dan nada de miedo, un libro que podría funcionar más a lo infantil, algunas historias me parecieron tan aburridas y absurdas que no me ocasionaron nada, algunas otras me dieron risa y algunas si, me gustaron, un libro sencillo para leer una historia de vez en cuando tal vez, corto y rápido de leer.

Si les gusta lo de terror, definitivamente no lo lean.

[exorcismemily · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We tell scary stories to have fun."

These stories are still fun, but this collection is my least favorite of the series. I adore the illustrations as usual, but I feel like some of these stories didn't totally make sense. There are also so many dead animals 😑.

My top 5 stories were The Wreck, Wonderful Sausage, The Curse, The Church, and The Brown Suit.

[Matthew W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book (and the other books in the "Scary Stories" series) had a huge influence on me as a child. May future generations of children also be influenced by the "Scary Stories" books!!

[Дарья · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are wonderful.

[Valeria Cardoso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historias cortitas de terror para niños. Me gustó más que el primero. Lista para iniciar el último libro de la trilogía.

[Sophie Isabelle Gaumond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm, je regrette plus que d'habitude de m'être débarrassé de ma veilleuse Ikea en forme de coeur il y a une vingtaine d'années (surtout que j'ai stress eat deux ficellos en lisant, donc c'est sûr que je fais des cauchemars pas d'allure).

[Cameron Chaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reread via audiobook. Classic!

[Sesana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still love these books. They're still pretty spooky, because the stories are archetypal. Some things are always scary. For the target audience, this will likely be their first exposure to most of these archetypes. And nostalgia helps those of us who read these years ago. The stories are nice and short, perfect for telling around a campfire or at a sleepover.

The original art by Stephen Gammell is horrible and I love it. I always did. It was a pleasure to be horrified by it. The newest edition has replaced the art with art by Brett Helquist, which is creepy but not nearly as nightmare inducing as the original. Sigh.