Still More Scary Stories for Sleep-overs

Scary Stories for Sleep-overs #3

by Q.L. Pearce, Dwight Been (Illustrator)

How does one of the horrifying tales of Matthew's Terror Society suddenly turn real? Why does the power Hannah asked for turn against her? And are those slimy creatures really Diane's friends? If you're fearless enough to find out, then Still More Scary Stories for Sleep-overs is for you!

With strange spells that conjure up legendary creatures, a baby-sitter who's really out of this world, and adventurous kids seeking thrills and chills, each bone rattling tale will have you trembling until the last page! Make any camping trip or slumber party a night of fun and fright - or read Scary Stories alone . . . if you dare!

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

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1993

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

[Christy Roberts]

I read this for Winterween for prompt of book written more 5 years ago. Also fits horror prompt as well. Got 2.5 rating on story graph. Did love the artwork.

I liked 5 of the 11 stories here.

The Storm and The Snow Cave got 5 stars

Night of the Kii-Kwan, Portrait of Evil, and All the Time In the World got 4 stars the rest of stories got either 2 or 1 star rating.

Maybe If I was younger, but I thought some the kids here were selfish and cruel. Other stories ended and you were left wondering how would end.

[Julie]

Love, love, love scary story collections for kids! I've been hooked on books like this since I was a kid and ordered similar books a couple times a year on paper forms handed out by my teacher. :) I wish I still had some of the books I ordered or ones I bought for my kids over the years! But at least I can get a dose of nostalgia when I have lucky finds in used book shops, thrift stores or by borrowing for a couple hours on Open Library.

I looked Q L Pearce up to see if any of the books in this series are still available for purchase. I didn't find this series available in ebook or new paperback formats, but she does have an ebook called Spine Chillers on Amazon. The rest appear to be OOP. Used copies of the Stories for Sleep-Overs books are available online, but watch for ridiculous prices. Sellers seem to have the idea that every old paperback is a "collectible" and have inflated the prices so much that it's ridiculous. I troll garage sales, thrift shops, used book stores and sometimes find some treasures. Haven't come across any copies from this series yet though. If you do - I highly recommend grabbing them if scary stories are your thing. These books are fun to read!

I definitely see the value of these stories for reading to kids during scary season - or any time! They make for lovely writing prompts, or read-aloud opportunities. At home, books like this are fun bedtime reading stories for kids who don't get overly scared. And....of course....they are wonderful stories for sleep-overs!

As an adult, this story collection and others like it are just completely entertaining and fun to read. Brain candy. No heavy themes, no nakkie bits, no spurting blood.....just light spooky fun. Sometimes it's just incredibly enjoyable to read a story just because it's fun to read.

This collection gathers up 11 spooky tales suitable for middle grade or junior high kids (and adults!). My favorite story from this collection is: The Evil Portrait. The story is a tale of an evil dead man who comes back to bring terror to the living. Great story! I liked all the tales in this collection. They are well-written and not just parodies of classic stories.

I love the illustrations by Dwight Been. Just awesome!

[Jason Medina]

I've always loved reading these books filled with multiple stories. Anthologies are fun and interesting. The content stays fresh. There's always something new to read, until you reach the end. It's nice when the stories also feed my mind and give me ideas for my books. I think a young reader will enjoy this book, even if most of the stories end bleakly. One thing I truly enjoyed about them. I get bored with the usual happy endings.

[Danice]

Books of scary stories like this one, bring back so many childhood memories. I recall the excitement of finding a book like this one at the school library. They were hugely popular. I enjoyed this book. The variety of stories touched on every realm of scary.

[Shane]

Another solid outing of fun scary stories.

[Patricia Atkinson]

it has a lots of stories to keep teenagers up at night to think about not the best horror stories i ever read but they all cant be winners

[Mike MacDee]

This entry is the first really weak installment of the Sleepovers series, which is unfortunate being only the third volume. Most of the stories are lacking in substance or general quality, and the themes feel more like the silly sort of shit you'd find in a Goosebumps book: cursed sneakers, alien babysitters, and ghostly cowboys to name a few. I get the impression that the editor told Pearce to "tone it down" a bit for the sake of the poor widdle tykes reading the series. I also get the impression that after this entry, they said "fuck it" and went back to producing scares. For a little while, anyway.

There are only two stories I find noteworthy: The Storm, and The Slime Mutants of Clear Lake.

The Storm does a phenomenal job creating a palatable atmosphere of dread and creepiness that really gets inside your bones, despite the otherwise upbeat ending, which actually seems to work without being too corny.

Slime Mutants is the one readers probably remember the most, since it is vaguely connected to the slimy monster on the front cover. I mentioned this story in my review of the first Sleepovers: a teacher takes his class to Outdoor Ed at Clear Lake, where they discover algae that hideously infects them like the Thing and converts them into gibbering, murderous lunatics. The kids panic as the algae rapidly spreads throughout their skin and innards, and the lead girl's terrified flight from the things that used to be her friends gets pretty hairy.

It's worth having for a couple of the stories therein, and for the sake of being a completist, but don't expect much from this volume. The follow-ups are much better.