Even More Scary Stories for sleep-overs

Scary Stories for Sleep-overs #4

by Q.L. Pearce, Boyd Gaines, Alan B. Ury

In the tradition of Goosebumps, the Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs series features roller-coaster plots, taut pacing and realistic characters who happen to be plagued by very surreal situations.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Childrens, Fiction, Anthologies, Young Adult

60 pages, Audio Cassette

First published August 25, 1994

About the author

Best selling author and expert on all things that go bump in the night, Q. L. Pearce began her career as a writer and editor in 1985 with Lowell House / Roxbury Press in Los Angeles. She has since written more than one hundred and twenty books for children, including eight collections of scary stories for middle grade and film tie-in books for the Fox animated film Titan AE and the Universal animated series Land Before Time. Q believes strongly in the value of scary books for young readers. When asked what credentials she has which qualify her as an expert in this area she replies, "I was a child once. That was very scary."

Reviews

[Jason Harlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

When author Q.L. Pearce conjured up the tales included in this anthology, she really brought her A-game. Going into this, I was expecting boring re-hashes of old urban legends and wive's tales with a few illustrations here and there, so I wasn't at all familiar with the format. I think the format this series utilized works well because the stories actually have substance and they're long enough to not be insulting but not short enough to not be boring. My only gripe with this was that some of the stories were kinda dull, and when they ended it felt like a dud. Technically this did get worse as it went on because the first story (which follows a boy named Juan who receives a spooky flute) is by far the best and the last story was definitely my least favorite, and that's usually grounds for a low rating. But this was overall enjoyable enough to warrant a 4/5 from me. Definitely check this out if you like stuff like this.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still have neurosis and phobias from this. That's the biggest compliment I can give to a children's scary stories book!

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Q. L. Pearce and illustrator Dwight Been are responsible for some of the strangest—and darkest—kids horror material I’ve ever seen (mostly Miss Pearce). I knew going into this that these weren’t gonna hold back, and that sentiment held up well when this book has the balls to kill kids. To be fair, these are hooked more on shock than building up a genuine plot, as do most short stories of the horror genre, but it’s a bit jarring (in a good way) to see some kids get slimed (quite literally for the final story) in kids’ media. This is my first venture into this series, and this was a pretty good test of the waters—and it has one of the better cover arts in my opinion. Internal art was passable, nothing crazy. Here are my ratings and reviews per story:

The Tune of Terror - 10/10.
Short and sweet, extremely dark, and some disturbing imagery. Could’ve merited a full book.

The Shape of Fear - 6/10.
Outside of the villain’s ending monologue feeling a bit odd and the reveals being a bit hard to believe, it’s a fine Werewolf quickie.

Feast of the Hungry Ghosts - 4.5/10.
It’s just mid. Kids disrespect tradition involving feeding the dead; it goes about as well as you’d expect. Ends right as things get interesting so it feels like a waste of time.

The Invitation - 6/10.
Pretty predictable vampire tale. Nothing too special here, could’ve been a lot better. Great setup though.

Camp Colby - 8/10.
A dark delicacy alike to the first story but is mostly build-up, plus the reveal with Tim was pretty foreseeable. Very good though.

The Pact - 6.5/10.
This one had two great elements; I felt the twist ending the moment they made the pact in question and the swamp monster (yes, the one on the cover) could play into this wonderfully. But it felt more like two ideas slammed together for no reason. It’s okay, had great potential.

By Any Means - 8/10.
I loved the ending and this one was on the shorter end for the stories here. Good stuff, just didn’t have much payoff.

The Power of the Mind - 9/10.
Whilst I dislike that there wasn’t at least some redemption arc for the villain here (you’ll know if you’ve read it), everything else was great. Also, bonus points for being a Gargoyle story. One of very few in this genre lol.

Family Reunion - 10/10 👑.
HERE is the peak. This one had some elements I adored (predilected horror in a guise of serenity, body horror, and some more spoiler-y stuff) and was the best example of this story trope I have ever seen. Phenomenal short story, easily the highlight so far.

Nightmare on Sugar Dome - 7/10.
Feels like a morbid parody of “Better Off Dead.” Pretty good but predictable, as per usual.

Danger Island - 10/10.
This was a massacre and one of the deaths is my literal worst nightmare. Dark and awesome note to leave off on, easy second best.

Overall, 7.5/10. Three of these are definitely worth a read, those being Family Reunion, The Tune of Terror, and Danger Island. Other than that, it’s mostly just okay with some better/worse ones in there. Side note: I read this alone. Would this have been a ten had I read this at a sleepover? I guess we’ll never know since I’m friendless LOL.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am officially hooked on this series. I've been on a lightly spooky story kick for a couple of weeks, and I'm totally having fun reading these story collections for kids. Nice to read just for pure entertainment!

This collection (there are several Scary Stories for Sleep-overs books) gathers 11 more creepy tales for kids. I used to love reading stories like this with my friends in the summertime. We would sit outside in the yard with a flashlight and have a great time. Loved reading similar stories to my own kids as well! Great for spooky season, summer break or anytime! And....the tales are fun for adults, too. I enjoyed every single one! Some are a bit cheesy, but isn't that part of the fun?

My favorite story from this book is a fun variation on the summer camp tale: Camp Colby. Campers are warned not to go in the abandoned mine near camp because it's dangerous. So what do they do? They go in the mine, of course.

The artwork by Dwight Been is wonderful and adds to the creepiness of the stories.

[Justin Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is the G.O.A.T., Scary Stories for Sleepovers is the honorable runner-up.

I reread this childhood favorite on a slow day, subbing at a library and enjoyed it as much as I did as a kid. While not as creepy or detailed as Alvin Schwartz, the drawings by this volume's Dwight Been were deliciously nostalgic for me. My favorite story was, and always has been, The Tune of Terror. Utterly horrifying story for a preteen kid!

[Xavier Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable but not bad

[Mike MacDee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume makes up for the lackluster delivery of the previous one, Still More, and has a number of memorably spooky tales. It still doesn't live up to Pearce's first outing as the series' author, but it's still a lot of fun.


The Tune of Terror has a classic campfire tale vibe, centered on a boy who plays with a flute made out of the arm bone of an executed horse thief, who returns from the grave to reclaim it. Each time he plays the flute, it draws the dead man to the sound. Pretty unnerving, and would feel right at home in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which had a lot of similar, if much shorter stories.

Feast of the Hungry Ghosts is a decent one about a couple of Chinese-American kids who scoff at the ghostly legends of their ancestors...and quickly regret it.

Camp Colby was a pretty creepy one about dead miners who will do anything to feel alive again. The illustration is creepy as hell, too -- one of Dwight Beens best drawings in the series.

The Pact isn't too terribly scary, but it is kind of touching.

Danger Island is one of those stories that isn't necessarily good, but burns itself into your memory anyway. I mentioned it in my review of the first volume: three friends visit the island of a scientist who was developing giant plants, but his carnivorous specimens got way out of hand. The kids try to flee the island and are gruesomely devoured one by one.


While still not the best entry in the series, it's a definite must-have. Even if the stories didn't necessarily keep me awake at night, I still remember them fondly.

[2Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

it wa not that scary it was wired

[2 Gabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty good, but most of the stories have the same ending as goosebumps: the main character dies at the end.

[Thom Haslam · Rating 2 out of 5]

haha.. it makes me laugh how I was so into books like this when I was in elementary school.