TRADITIONAL LITERATURE - Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schwartz, Alvin. 1981. SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK – 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0064401707

PLOT SUMMARY
Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a collection of sometimes funny and oft times frightening stories, songs, and poems. Comprised of tales collected from American folklore, the volume is divided into five chapters. The text is accented throughout by the drawings of Stephen Gammell. Schwartz sets the stage by introducing a bit of history and reasoning surrounding the telling of scary stories, even referring to a famous storyteller from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. The collection begins with a set of “jump stories” whose sole purpose is to allow the reader to suddenly frighten listeners at the end of the story. The next chapter consists of ghost stories and includes some truly bone chilling tales such as The White Wolf in which a ghostly wolf returns from the dead to take revenge on the hunter who has killed many of his kind. A miscellaneous collection of stories, songs, and even an activity can be found in the third chapter. Chapter four has the reader journey through a series of realistic horror stories much like the contemporary urban legends that surface every now and again. The fifth and final chapter of the book aims to provide some comic relief with stories that at first seem frightening, but in the end provide a good belly laugh. Of this type, The Viper and Wait Till Martin Comes are truly clever. For those interested in origins and further information regarding the tales included in the book, Schwartz provides extensive additional information in the form of notes, sources, and a bibliography.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Schwartz brilliantly introduces his collection of scary stories by emphasizing the fact that they are meant to be told and better yet, to be told in the utter darkness of night. He goes on to elaborate upon how this telling should unfold: “. . .the best way to speak is softly, so that your listeners lean forward to catch your words, and to speak slowly, so that your voice sounds scary.”

The multitude of stories that follow range from silly to downright creepy. For example, in The Viper the reader is led into the suspense of an old widow woman being plagued by phone calls from a man calling himself the viper. The viper issues seeming threats to the old woman of his imminent arrival, building the element of dread. In the end, tension high, the viper does turn up on the doorstep of the woman. . . . .with bucket and cloth in hand, declaring, “I am the viper. I vish to vash and vipe the vindows.” This story illustrates Schwartz’s ability to set foreboding and chilling tones for his stories, regardless of how he chooses to convey the ending. In another story, The Haunted House, Schwartz’s gift for imagery unfolds as he tells the macabre story of a ghost trying to avenge her own murder. A vivid picture of a gruesome and morbid spirit is painted: “She had no eyeballs, but there was a sort of blue light way back in her eye sockets.”

Adding to the menacing effect of the book are Stephen Gammell’s charcoal drawings. Simply turning the page to the ghastly image of a corpse with sunken eye sockets is enough to unnerve any reader, let alone reading the story that accompanies the drawing. Gammell’s use of a loose, sketchy style and his shadowing are excellent compliments to Schwartz’s dark stories. A final critical note about the book deals with the placement of the chapter containing amusing tales. Schwartz’s choice to place this chapter at the end of the book shows his sensitivity toward the subject at hand. He chooses to provide readers with a sense of comedy to end their experience, thus lightening the otherwise ominous feelings created by reading the other stories.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
* Buckeye Children’s Book Award
* Arizona Young Readers’ Award
* HORN BOOK REVIEW: “Traditional ghost tales, contemporary folklore, and chilling stories with surprise endings. . . . superb illustrations!”
* NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY REVIEW: “A fine collection of short tales to chill the bones of young and old.”

CONNECTIONS
*After reading this book with children, discuss the various elements of the stories that make them scary such as setting, suspense, the unknown, gore, pursuit, imagery, and the power of suggestion. If students can explain these concepts, but cannot put technical terms to them, use the opportunity for vocabulary building. Have students point out specific examples of each element from the stories in the book.
* Use these elements to create Venn diagrams showing the similarities and differences between the stories.
*Once students understand the elements behind the horror genre, let them try their hand at writing a scary story themselves. After writing, let students read their stories aloud to each other. Talk about what techniques can be used to make the oral presentation more effective.
*Other children’s book collections of scary stories or ghost stories:
1) Carus, Marianne. 13 SCARY GHOST STORIES. ISBN 0439340217
2) Krovatin, Christopher. THE BEST GHOST STORIES EVER. ISBN 0439574269
3) Dowswell, Paul & Tony Allan. TRUE GHOST STORIES. ISBN 0794502741
4) Kelley, Amy. SPOOKY CAMPFIRE STORIES. ISBN 1560448679