Rating: Summary: Scary Stories Review: If you like scary stories you will like this because it is scary. The book I am reading has dead people in it. Dead people come alive and kill people. Then they would eat that person. Some of the dead will just walk away. Then, the person who sees that dead person freaks and dies. The ghost of the dead person will just walk away. Finally when one the guys or girls run so fast they bump right into the ghost or the dead person and just kill that person who bumps into them.
Rating: Summary: IT WAS FUNNY Review: SCARY STORYby ALVIN SCHWARTZ THE BOOK IS A GOOD BOOK. IT TELLS ABOUT A LOT OF DIFFERENT SCARY STORIES. FOR INSTANCE THE FIRST SCARY STORY WAS CALLED BOO MEN. IT WAS ABOUT THREE MEN WHO DIED IN THERE HOME.THEN CAME BACK TO HONT AND KILL THE PEOPLE LIVING IN HIS HOUSE.I WOULD Recommend THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT'S FUNNY AND IT'S A GOOD HALLOWEEN BOOK.
Rating: Summary: more scary stories to tell in the dark Review: i love that book it my forvite and ilove your books alot and thank you for ever thing
Rating: Summary: These are REALLY good books... Review: When I got the first book, I think I was around 8 or 9 years old which gave me a big disadvantage reading them and looking at the pictures without being scared. The pictures are the best Iv'e seen, really, I'm not exaggerating. The way he makes those weird web-like things around the edge of some of the objects make it a lot better for some reason. And the pictures alone would scare the crap out of me. I'm older now, but still, I'm afraid of a few of the pictures. Like the one in "The White Wolf", "The Thing", "One Sunday Morning", Oh Susannah!", and "The Red Spot". I could name more but that would be too much typing. Everytime I look at those pictures I get a chill that stays there till I either cover the picture up, turn the page, or close the book. And the stories are great, all of them are great. My favorites are "The Bed By the Window", "Something was Wrong", "The Thing", "The Man in the Middle", and a few others. All I have to say about them is if your under the age of 9, just don't look at the pictures, heh.
Rating: Summary: Long Live Stephen Gammell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Review: Forget Alvin Schwartz!!! The stories in these books are merely collected from folklore. They're nothing but old campfire tales. They are told in a very basic format that didn't invoke any feelings of fear in my little 12 year old mind back in good old '92. Hey, I even think there was some sort of appendix in the back that provided more real-world explainations of some of the stories or where the old folklore came from. H.P. Lovecraft said that the greatest fear is fear of the unknown. I'll say that the stories alone would have given these books maybe three stars. It's the pictures. They are so beautifully crafted and surreal. You can't quite make out the details, yet at the same time, everything that is rotten or dilapidated stands out right away. I have never seen the style anywhere else, not in any art book, not in any museum, not in any history book, nothing!!! Stephen Gammell is truly an artist. I don't care about all those artists that slap a bunch of shapes together and then give it some fancy name. So the style's original, but TRUE art is what envokes real EMOTIONS in us, whether it's music, movies, or pictures. Music is often celebrated for its technical complexity. Well that is worthless if I don't FEEL anything when I listen!! It's the same with these pictures. I could look at Picasso all day and not feel a thing, but all I have to do is pick up one of these three books without even reading the stories and I already know great art when I see it. Contained within these volumns is a world where the eyeless, skinless dead emerge from the night-mist half-rotten with long hair flying. Even the living people in these pictures look diseased. Even now, the pictures in these books make me afraid to be alone. Never in my life have I experienced such gripping trepidation. Have you ever SMELLED fear? It's like old copper. Bow down to the all-powerful Stephen Gammell. Actually, I will say that there are some stories that do scare me without the aid of the pictures. There is one in the first book about heads falling down the chimney. You hear a voice approaching in the woods, and then down it comes. The Window in the second book has gotten me afraid of dark windows at night, and the picture to that one? Oh boy, weeeeeee!!!!!!! All in all, get this book for the sheer art contained therein. Warning though: 9 years old is too young. The pictures present a problem, because since they are in a book written for children, they could be classified as child-abuse.
Rating: Summary: Death,Chaos,Frozen Stardust Review: I remember this book and its sequel well,not sure if I read the third one.As a kid I loved it yet it brought me into a world of dread.I know I slept with the light on at times.I do not know why these books have been so etched into my subconscious.They definitely have.Alot of todays kids are fans of GooseBumps.Nothing at all scary about those.The pics and stories are usually comical.These books are entirely different.They are like party invite cards from beyond the veil of death.Some of the stories are old and well known.The stories alone do not make them frightening it is the illustrations with the stories.Even if you are an adult and love horror check these books out!The illustrations could give all of you nightmares.So when you see them think of how a kid would feel looking at them.They are more scary than alot of images in horror movies. Ahhh but to describe the illustrations.Ever seen the silent German Expressionist film Nosferatu?If so you know that it is scarier than any vampire flick now.He has a Demonic rodent look.It gave you the feeling of being in a nightmare.Being in a world which you have no control.Well that is the effect of these illustrations.If Salvador Dali and Max Ernst ever were to see these books they would love them.The illustrations are all black and white.Many leering and decaying corpses.Everything distorted by mist amorphous shapes which you can make slight details on emerging from the fog.I remember the illustration to one of the stories called "Oh Susanna",I have not seen anything like it.It is worthy of an art gallery.It creates feelings of dizzines and a transcendent euphoria if you were to sit and stare at it.Utterly horrible yet you are hypnotized as it strikes you with its venom.As I said if you are a fan of late German Expressionism or Surrealism you will cherish this book.Is it suitable for kids?Yes older ones and ones that can handle this sort of thing.Regardless of that you need not be a kid to enjoy this.... In conclusion if you love horror as much as I do BUY THIS BOOK!You will not be disappointed.
Rating: Summary: The best book of Scary Stories to hit the shelves Review: I guess I picked up the first 2 books in 3rd grade, around 91 or 92, I dunno. I read these books over and over, every night for awhile, until I moved in with my dad when I was 11. When I moved back with my mother at 14, I was looking through my old stuff, when I see "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" plus its 2 sequals! "Woah!" I say "My 3 favorite childrens books!" I read them all out again in the space of about 2 hours...I read fast. Though I did not get the chill I used to, the stories are still excellent! Stephen Gammells illustations are down right eerie, and thats good, for they bring out the true horror in some tales. As a child, I was scared to death of the picture of the skeleton in "The Haunted House", the scariest thing that ever entered my innocent lil mind LOL. My favorite stories are: "Me-ti-do-tee-Walker", "Wait til Martin Comes", "Harold", and "The Attic", but I love all of them, "Wait til Martin comes" being my personal favorite. Im just the kind of person to think.."What would happen if Martin came?" or "What was in that guys attic?" Oh well, I recommend these books to anyone who wants a good scare, or likes to read creepy folk-lore. To bad I can't find more on some of the folk-tales on the net...Oh well, see you later, and do whatever it takes to get a copy of this book!
Rating: Summary: It's the illustrations man... Review: they freaked me out when I was a kid, and they still freak me out. They're just so whispy and macabre and bizarre/gothic. Atmospheric. A perfect accompaniement to the stories, which are also pretty scary in their own right. Some mention was made of the stories ending abruptly. I always found that to be all the more creepy. When things aren't fully explained, well, that's just unnerving. A solution takes away from the mystery and makes for happy dreams at night. And who wants happy dreams when you're reading a book of ghost stories?
Rating: Summary: Scary as heck! Review: This, along with the other two books in the series, is a classic. Alvin Schwartz's tales are so simple yet so deviously scary, and Gammell's dark, surreal illustrations greatly enhance them. Actually, some of the illustrations are midly disturbing...(what IS that thing coming up the stairs in "The Voice"?) Once you've read at least a couple of them, you'll start to realize just how scary the world is...(for instance, "The Girl who Stood on a Grave", "The Red Spot", and "No Thanks"). So give them a try...you won't be dissapointed!
Rating: Summary: Great little thrillers Review: When i was in elementary school, I would get this book,and the sequels, from the library and renew them until the end of the year. Thats how good they are. This one in particular. The drawings to this day give me shivers, and are perfectly gothic in nature. For young preteens and younger, this will give pleasurable shivers and creepies, and plenty of nightmares. Gives children a reason to read. I've noticed that even young adults enjoy this book; though it is in easy kiddie writing, it is very enjoyable and entertaining. ... i love the pictures. Recommeneded to any adult out there who wants their children to read. This book will always stay a favorite for me.
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