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mehsi's review
4.0
A spooky anthology with stories from various pretty well-known authors. I really had fun reading it and flew through the pages.
I have to say that I think it is hilarious how I am not a fan of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark I just love all these tribute books that are popping up. The tribute books do know how to tell a story, don’t just build it up and then suddenly the story is over, and they just weren’t scary. I know I read the book when I was an adult, but hello I grew up with Goosebumps, with Fear Street, with other horror stuff that scared the crap out of me, SStTitD just wasn’t anywhere in the league of those and I know as a kid I would have been really disappointed with it as well.
Back to this book, this one features 35 stories that feature haunted houses, social media and dolls, witches, murder, and much much more. Some of the stories are quite short others are much longer. I definitely loved reading them and with the excerption of a couple stories most felt like complete stories that often scared the wits out of me! Haha, definitely not the book to read at night but that is when I read it. One of my favourite stories would definitely be the Pretty Girls Make Graves, OH BOY. I loved how most of the stories had a scary ending, something to leave you screaming or something that scared the wits out of you.
Oh, and the Green Grabber? That one could have used an extra subtitle (something like x time later at x place), as I thought the story was over after x happened but instead it continued. That had me looking on the internet if something was wrong with my ecopy. But all I could find is that it was correct.
I loved the various authors that participated in this book and was happy to see several names that I recognised.
I do wonder why several stories were about naughty kids and them getting killed/murdered/in trouble/losing their legs for something naughty. I mean every kid does something naughty in their lives. That is how kids are. Even adults can be naughty. Why is it such a bad thing? I mean, given that most of the naughty things meant staying out late or calling someone a jerk it seemed too much, too excessive.
There were at least two stories that really had me wondering why they were added (I may have one or two more but these two really stood out in my eyes). One is the Sam’s closet story and the other is the story about someone rapping on the tent. Both weren’t that scary but were decent to read, but than had the most anticlimatic and horrible ending ever. They are in the midst of all the spookiness, ghosts, whistling in a graveyard, and it just doesn’t feel right to have them in here. I would have rather had two other stories that were scary.
The illustrations varied from OK to WOW to NOPE NOPE NOPE flips Kindle closed. Haha. I really want to check out more of the illustrations by this illustrator.
All in all, if you want some spooky and scary stories? Be sure to check out this book!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I have to say that I think it is hilarious how I am not a fan of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark I just love all these tribute books that are popping up. The tribute books do know how to tell a story, don’t just build it up and then suddenly the story is over, and they just weren’t scary. I know I read the book when I was an adult, but hello I grew up with Goosebumps, with Fear Street, with other horror stuff that scared the crap out of me, SStTitD just wasn’t anywhere in the league of those and I know as a kid I would have been really disappointed with it as well.
Back to this book, this one features 35 stories that feature haunted houses, social media and dolls, witches, murder, and much much more. Some of the stories are quite short others are much longer. I definitely loved reading them and with the excerption of a couple stories most felt like complete stories that often scared the wits out of me! Haha, definitely not the book to read at night but that is when I read it. One of my favourite stories would definitely be the Pretty Girls Make Graves, OH BOY. I loved how most of the stories had a scary ending, something to leave you screaming or something that scared the wits out of you.
Oh, and the Green Grabber? That one could have used an extra subtitle (something like x time later at x place), as I thought the story was over after x happened but instead it continued. That had me looking on the internet if something was wrong with my ecopy. But all I could find is that it was correct.
I loved the various authors that participated in this book and was happy to see several names that I recognised.
I do wonder why several stories were about naughty kids and them getting killed/murdered/in trouble/losing their legs for something naughty. I mean every kid does something naughty in their lives. That is how kids are. Even adults can be naughty. Why is it such a bad thing? I mean, given that most of the naughty things meant staying out late or calling someone a jerk it seemed too much, too excessive.
There were at least two stories that really had me wondering why they were added (I may have one or two more but these two really stood out in my eyes). One is the Sam’s closet story and the other is the story about someone rapping on the tent. Both weren’t that scary but were decent to read, but than had the most anticlimatic and horrible ending ever. They are in the midst of all the spookiness, ghosts, whistling in a graveyard, and it just doesn’t feel right to have them in here. I would have rather had two other stories that were scary.
The illustrations varied from OK to WOW to NOPE NOPE NOPE flips Kindle closed. Haha. I really want to check out more of the illustrations by this illustrator.
All in all, if you want some spooky and scary stories? Be sure to check out this book!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
rereader33's review
4.0
October Spooky Reads Challenge
Prompt: read a novel with a "spooky" title
This was really good! As with a lot of collections, some stories were gems while others just meh, but overall this was a super enjoyable read. And adult horror writers should take some notes cuz they are getting they're asses beat by middle grade stories! Seriously folks, STEP UP YOUR GAME!!!!
Loved this collection, highly recommend, please read it especially for October.
Prompt: read a novel with a "spooky" title
This was really good! As with a lot of collections, some stories were gems while others just meh, but overall this was a super enjoyable read. And adult horror writers should take some notes cuz they are getting they're asses beat by middle grade stories! Seriously folks, STEP UP YOUR GAME!!!!
Loved this collection, highly recommend, please read it especially for October.
rjdenney's review
3.0
3 STARS!!!
I’ve had a big issue for the past couple of years with Middle-Grade horror being too light and even though I think this is classified as YA because of mentions the use of curse words and alcohol, these felt like they were purposefully written for children but watered down EVEN more, which I hate. If you’re going to write any type of horror, whether it’s MG, YA, or Adult, if you’re aim isn’t to scare the crap out of someone, what’s the freaking point?
I understand these were written as a tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, but Scary Stories… was pretty damn gruesome, the illustrations were twisted and gory, and a lot of the stories were pretty scary. I’d say out of the 35, a good 10 were actually spooky and none managed to SCARE me (my 10 yr old cousin listened to the audio with me and said none scared her at all).
I know I might seem like I’m being a little hard on this collection but like I said, if you’re going to write horror, your aim better be to scare someone, especially kids because the ones that LOVE horror, want to be scared. I’ve written 2 MG horror novels, with a third one on the way, and so in this instance I know what I’m talking about. Anyway, if you’re looking for Soft Horror, this is perfect for you. If you’re looking to be scared, read the original Scary Stories Treasury. Also what the hell was R.L. Stine's story??? I was legit sitting there like wtf is this LOL
***Stand out stories for me:
The Tall Ones
The Garage
Tag, You're It
The Neighbor
The Bottle Tree
Whistle by the Graveyard
The Weeping Woman
The Knock-Knock Man
***update*** I just checked and this supposedly is marketed as YA & MG, but I still stand by what I said. I said what I said. lol
– R.
I’ve had a big issue for the past couple of years with Middle-Grade horror being too light and even though I think this is classified as YA because of mentions the use of curse words and alcohol, these felt like they were purposefully written for children but watered down EVEN more, which I hate. If you’re going to write any type of horror, whether it’s MG, YA, or Adult, if you’re aim isn’t to scare the crap out of someone, what’s the freaking point?
I understand these were written as a tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, but Scary Stories… was pretty damn gruesome, the illustrations were twisted and gory, and a lot of the stories were pretty scary. I’d say out of the 35, a good 10 were actually spooky and none managed to SCARE me (my 10 yr old cousin listened to the audio with me and said none scared her at all).
I know I might seem like I’m being a little hard on this collection but like I said, if you’re going to write horror, your aim better be to scare someone, especially kids because the ones that LOVE horror, want to be scared. I’ve written 2 MG horror novels, with a third one on the way, and so in this instance I know what I’m talking about. Anyway, if you’re looking for Soft Horror, this is perfect for you. If you’re looking to be scared, read the original Scary Stories Treasury. Also what the hell was R.L. Stine's story??? I was legit sitting there like wtf is this LOL
***Stand out stories for me:
The Tall Ones
The Garage
Tag, You're It
The Neighbor
The Bottle Tree
Whistle by the Graveyard
The Weeping Woman
The Knock-Knock Man
***update*** I just checked and this supposedly is marketed as YA & MG, but I still stand by what I said. I said what I said. lol
– R.
kaelaceleste's review
4.0
Oh I really had fun with this!
I loved [b:Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark|1325218|Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark|Alvin Schwartz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440189576l/1325218._SX50_.jpg|145600] as a kid - probably one of my earliest exposures to anything creepy and definitely one of the contributing factors that sparked my love for horror as an adult. So many of these stories were a delight in that they just GOT the assignment. They managed to capture that vibe of the originals really well and even though this was clearly meant for younger (than me) readers, I really think there's something in here for every horror fan to enjoy.
SO many good ones, (35 stories in all!) it was hard to narrow down my favorites...so here's a few that I thought best captured the tone and spirit of the original collection:
The Funeral Portrait
The Carved Bear
The Bargain
The Open Window
The Umbrella Man
Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board (maybe my fav of all)
In Stitches
The Bottle Tree (wait maybe this is my fav)
Pretty Girls Make Graves
I just really enjoyed reading this, it made me feel like a creeped-out little kid again and I highly recommend for fans of the original :)
I loved [b:Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark|1325218|Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark|Alvin Schwartz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440189576l/1325218._SX50_.jpg|145600] as a kid - probably one of my earliest exposures to anything creepy and definitely one of the contributing factors that sparked my love for horror as an adult. So many of these stories were a delight in that they just GOT the assignment. They managed to capture that vibe of the originals really well and even though this was clearly meant for younger (than me) readers, I really think there's something in here for every horror fan to enjoy.
SO many good ones, (35 stories in all!) it was hard to narrow down my favorites...so here's a few that I thought best captured the tone and spirit of the original collection:
The Funeral Portrait
The Carved Bear
The Bargain
The Open Window
The Umbrella Man
Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board (maybe my fav of all)
In Stitches
The Bottle Tree (wait maybe this is my fav)
Pretty Girls Make Graves
I just really enjoyed reading this, it made me feel like a creeped-out little kid again and I highly recommend for fans of the original :)
michellewords's review
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I put this anthology on my TBR for three reasons. Reasons 1 & 2: R.L. Stine, the king, of middle grade horror AND Christopher Golden, my all time favorite author, each have a short story included in this book. Reason 3: It's a tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Could this anthology be more perfect? I tell you, "NAY!"
One of my favorite, unexpected things about this book are the wonderful illustrations at the beginning of each story. The illustrations are done by its editor, Jonathan Maberry, and the runny ink looking pictures are very much in the Alvin Schwartz vein and they each contribute to the stories in such a delightful, creepy way.
I rounded this up to five stars because I will recommend this anthology to everyone/anyone I see in the near future. It's got fun, creepy vibes free from language, excess gore, or any sexual content. That's because it's geared for 8-12 year olds, but don't let that discourage you from reading it.
It's a solid collection with a mixed bag (in a good way) of different types of spooky, creepy, and scary stories. There's 35 (!) stories in this book and I guarantee there's at least one that you will LOVE.
A few of my favorites include: The Funeral Portrait, Jingle Jangle, The Painted Skin, The Open Window (Christopher Golden, of course), The Ghost in Sam's Closet (R.L. Stine coming in clutch with some creepy, yet lighthearted fun), and The Golden Peacock.
LOVED this wonderful anthology and highly recommend to anyone who likes a little creepy vibe in their lives.
One of my favorite, unexpected things about this book are the wonderful illustrations at the beginning of each story. The illustrations are done by its editor, Jonathan Maberry, and the runny ink looking pictures are very much in the Alvin Schwartz vein and they each contribute to the stories in such a delightful, creepy way.
I rounded this up to five stars because I will recommend this anthology to everyone/anyone I see in the near future. It's got fun, creepy vibes free from language, excess gore, or any sexual content. That's because it's geared for 8-12 year olds, but don't let that discourage you from reading it.
It's a solid collection with a mixed bag (in a good way) of different types of spooky, creepy, and scary stories. There's 35 (!) stories in this book and I guarantee there's at least one that you will LOVE.
A few of my favorites include: The Funeral Portrait, Jingle Jangle, The Painted Skin, The Open Window (Christopher Golden, of course), The Ghost in Sam's Closet (R.L. Stine coming in clutch with some creepy, yet lighthearted fun), and The Golden Peacock.
LOVED this wonderful anthology and highly recommend to anyone who likes a little creepy vibe in their lives.
word_wandering's review
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
whatthe_didijustread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
tiffanyann's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0