Customer Reviews

Scary Stories Boxed Set

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Folklorist Alvin Schwartz displays his knack for carrying on the tradition of storytelling and genuine folklore with these three volumes of "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," here in a special boxed set. Award-winning illustrator Stephen Gammell's wonderfully chilling pencil drawings go along perfectly with Schwartz's selection of spooky folklore, using a writing style that is delightfully shiver-inducing, sounding as if the story is being told straight from around the camp fire or in a kid's unlit bedroom. These three volumes are essential for keeping the folklore tradition alive.

I personally think the reading level for these books that's given is a bit low. Any sensible adult reading one of these books at nighttime, or outdoors around a campfire, or anywhere for that matter, could easily be frightened out of their wits. These books are by far the best scary stories books I have EVER read. They've been handy for me since I was very young and I have always loved them...and not just for Halloween. I didn't know there was a boxed set, but ah well, owning them is a must.

The stories in these books are genuinely terrifying, but I can't come up with the right word to describe the illustrations. Let's just say that I still can't look at them without feeling a shiver. When Stephen Gammell decided he was going to make pictures for a SCARY story book, he really didn't mess around. I could not recommend these books more, for telling around campfires, for reading to classes at Halloween, for just generally freaking yourself out. They are quite amazing that way.

I read these books about 15 years ago and I must say to this day they are still among the scariest I've ever read. In fact I'd almost NOT suggest letting little children read them. The stories are short and truely frightening. The only suggestion that I have is that you do actually read the books. I have yet to hear the audio CD but I intend to get it in the near future just to have on hand. The reason for this is the pictures. The drawings done for these books are utterly horrifying. In 15 years I STILL have trouble looking at some of them. And better yet, they are burned into my memory. If your a parent, I'd suggest flipping through the pages first to see if you're okay with the stories themselves...but the pictures as well (as the pictures can really pack a punch, nightmares all around).

I got this collection for my 10 year old niece who was having a slumber Party.She and her friends like to sit around and each take turns reading a story.The stories in the box set are great. Some just alittle scary and some real scary.One of her favorite's was called Clinkity -clink.It's about an old lady who dies they put sliver dollar coins over her eyes.The gravedigger steals them buries her and goes home.Yet when he gets home she's there seeking revenge.This is a good set for a slumber Party,also a campfire,a rainy day or as my niece says anytime.

If you love to be alone during thunderstorms, believe that you hear footsteps on the stairs, and know that it's not just the wind outside, then these are for you. Should you not believe in the supernatural, you think again after reading the stories contained in this collection.
I read them for the first time when I was in elementry school, yet the combination of Schwartz's storytelling and the Gammell's macabre illustrations still leave me with a deep-seated need to leave the light on when I go to bed.
Though not for young children, these books are perfect for pre-teens and on, and I would suggest buying the whole set because once they read the first one, they are going to want more. (Just don't be suprised if they want to sleep in your bed on a dark and stormy night.)

I remember when I got the first book of the series. I was little and looking through some old books my brother wanted to give away. I found it and kept it, although I didn't read it for a long time, the cover scared the b'geezus out of me. When I did read it, around the third grade or so, I loved it. It frightened the heck out of me and gave me nightmares. The most fun I had out of the book was sharing it with people, friends, cousins, ect. When I bought the rest of the series, everyone wanted to read them at SRR and I lent them out at a quarter each (hey, 75cents back then could buy an ice cream bar and a nutty buddy!). My mother always looked at me weird when she saw the books, she was like "how could you read that stuff?" and her and my dad would sit me down and have talks with me on how they didn't want me too interested in the occult or reading "books like that". Although I just ignored them, after all, they were the ones who bought me the books in the first place and continued to let me buy things like that, even though they were the ones who paid and took it to the checkout! Aren't parents funny?

Alvin Schwartz is a king at tellinga scary story, and I still get freaked out when I think about the stories that I read in this book, and I'm 24 years old! So, this is not only good for kids, but for adults as well. With the right pacing of a story and definitely the creepy art, this book will put a chill in your bones for sure. Just be sure to read this book during the day, because some of these stories will keep you up at night. Like I said, they has such an impact on me when I read them as a kid, I still get scared sometimes when I think about them. Great stuff for Halloween and to punish your kids with! lol.

These are destined to be classics! All 3 Scary Stories books in a box, I don't know if it gets better than that. The books themselves are full of ghost stories and songs, all taken from modern and less-modern folklore. The stories are superb, and the artwork is magnificent... a little abstract and surreal, but spot-on frightful.
And for everyone over the age of 12...in the back are sources and references, and tons of anecdotes about the original stories.
These were favorites of mine when I was younger, and I'd recommend them to anyone with a penchant for spooky tales.

This boxed set of "Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark" is absolutly incredible! I am now 18 years old and still can't get enough of this spooky stuff. The stories aren't too scary, but the illusions are very scary, morbid, eerie, and will give you nightmares!! Hey, ... these books still give me chills even after all these years. I love 'em. Stephen Gammell has given readers a rare treat with all the spooky and realistic black & white illusions. Alvin Schwartz is a heck of an author! These books are wonderful. Get em' all in this incredible boxed set. Enjoy it.

I remember reading at least the first book as a kid and then the books as a young teenager. The pictures that were in the book were pretty gross, but effective. I bought the cd version of thse books to hear how they sounded when preformed. I preformed one of the stories out of the second book in this series in high school and I scared the crap out of one of the girls that was in the audience, because they put a spot light on her right at the end of the story. I told "Bloody Fingers" at a family reunion several years ago, during a "Scary story contest" that my family was involved in that year. I have also given a copy of this cd set to one of my two goddaughters when she was about 8 or 9 years old and she was THRILLED to get it, not to mention that it wasn't even the little one's birthday. I distinctly remember the little one saying "Cool -- 'Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark' CD set!! My older brothers will be SO JEALOUS of me!!"