Scary Stories Trio (3 Books) (Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark; More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark; Scary Stories 3: More Tales To Chill Your Bones) [Paperback]

Alvin Schwartz (Author), Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2010

No one knows kids like Alvin Schwartz, the brain behind this page-turning series of spooky after-dark stories. And Schwartz knows that the best way to inspire young readers is to give them one short, suspense-filled tale right after another. In this special three-book collection, they'll find dancing skeletons, disembodied heads that talk, swamp creatures, a witch's curse, and more-over 70 stories in all.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Scholastic (2010)
• ISBN-10: 0590054767
• ISBN-13: 978-0590054768
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (213 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #480,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alvin Schwartz is known for a body of work of more than two dozen books of folklore for young readers that explore everything from wordplay and humor to tales and legends of all kinds. His collections of scary stories -- Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, Scary Stories 3, and two I Can Read Books, In A Dark, Dark Room and Ghosts! -- are just one part of his matchless folklore collection.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 101 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Worthless without the original illustrations. September 27, 2011

By JordanC

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As the title says, Stephen Gammell's disturbing art style was the key ingredient for the terror inspired by these stories. The new art style is bland and lacks the unique flavor of Gammell's talent.

Stay away from this set and find a copy of the originals!

72 of 76 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars If it isn't broke, don't fix it! December 4, 2011

By Anton

Format:Paperback

These series of books have a classic collection of horror folk and urban legend stories and have been around for over a decade. I have fond memories from reading these stories as a child. But what put these books over the top was the original disturbing artwork by Steven Gammell, which is sadly no longer present in these new editions and needs to be brought back. Replacing the classic illustrations was a very dumb move on the part of the publisher. If you can, track down the older editions with Gammell's illustrations they are well worth it and vastly superior. They are no longer in print, but copies are still plentiful and not too hard to come by.

59 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dad + kids + book + trampoline + starry night = priceless July 15, 2011

By D. Vanderbeek

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read these stories when I was a boy and was permanently disturbed by them. Just kidding. I never forgot them and now that my children are old enough (ages 11, 9, 7, 4) I wanted to read something with them that would be fun. They stayed in rapt attention for hours as we read by flashlight laying on the trampoline with blankets looking up at the stars of the Nevada summer sky. As a father, you can't trade those times for anything. I'm grateful to risk-taking authors like this one who have freedom of speech to upset all the self-righteous do-gooders. I'm a dad and I'll expose my children to healthy doses of fear and mystery from within the safety of my arms. Later.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars No Gammell = No Sale. January 3, 2012

By N. Hartel

Format:Paperback

Stephen Gammell's original art was a large reason why these books were forever ingrained in the memories of readers. Replacing them with Brett Helquist's milquetoast revisions is yet another sad instance of tactless PC whiners tromping all over someone else's hard work. Don't waste a penny on this useless re-release.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Warning: Will scare the daylights out of you... July 18, 2005

By Terry T

Format:Paperback

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.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Worthless February 2, 2012

By glamourweaver

Format:Paperback

This reprint of what should be Schwartz's masterpieces are utterly worthless without the original artwork. The point of Schwartz's work was the true terror it inspired - if you want to emotionally coddle your children with "less scary" art, then why are you reading them horror stories to begin with?

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Who's terrible idea was this? February 1, 2012

By StrangeTree

Format:Paperback

Someone made a very bad call when reissuing these books. No personal slight to Mr. Helquist who, I'm sure, does fine illustrations for many other books...but this series is meant to be illustrated by Stephen Gammell. It's a team effort. Schwartz and Gammell, Gammell and Schwartz. It's an iconic pairing and it shouldn't have been changed. So, if you can find an older version of this series, or can wait a few years for the publisher to realize their mistake and reissue the books with the original illustrations. Do that instead.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best way to own the classic trilogy October 21, 2010

By Walter

Format:Hardcover

As a kid these books creeped me out beyond belief, and now they're all here in one nifty package. The illustrations by Stephen Gammell are simply mind-blowing. I saw that they re-released the books with different artwork by some lame illustrator who can't hold a candle to Gammell's work. He was the reason these books were so great, although Alvin Schwartz does do an amazing job re-creating old folk ghost tales. This is the true scary stories to tell in the dark don't bother with the new versions.