In a Dark Dark Room

In a Dark Dark Room

an Other Scary Stories

Alvin Schwartz

pictures by Dirk Zimmer 1984

This was the first "scary" story book most of us read as kids.  And who could forget the stories- especially the one about the girl with the green ribbon around her neck!  It's a fun one to pull out at Halloween.

 

More Tales to Tremble By

More Tales to Tremble By

edited by Stephen P. Sutton 1968

illustrated by Gordon Laite 

An excellent collection of scary stories, some quite horrifying for those of us with intense imaginations!  Even the introduction is enticing.  

"Is this your time of night?  Are you most comfortable near midnight, when the shadows darken in the corners and the wind mutters through the eaves?"

Also it was a nice Gordon Laite to add to our collection.

Ladies of Fantasy

Not to brag, but we really do have a great personal library.  Picking books for this blog is sometimes overwhelming because there are just so many great books to pick from.

Ladies of Fantasy

I'm sure this wasn't published as a childrens' book, but it does contain two authors, Joan Aiken, and E. Nesbit who are on our children's bookshelves.

Great selection of stories, all spooky and mysterious, by women writers.  There a nice biographical introduction to each of the stories and of course the Edward Gorey dust jacket (ripped and taped as it is) is splendid.

"Searching for Summer" by Joan Aiken is one of my favorites.  Her story is not disturbing or weird, in fact it's quite sweet, but strange nonetheless.

Other books by Joan Aiken:
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
The Moon's Revenge

A Sound Like Someone Trying not to Make a Sound

A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound

John Irving 1998

I've actually never read any of John Irving's books.  In the introduction, he explains that the origin of this book came from a character from his novel A Widow for One Year who wrote children's stories.  A German publisher convinced him to publish one and so A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound came out.  

The title is fantastic and perfectly describes that creepy curious feeling of waking up in the middle of the night to an unexplained sound.  And so Tom wanders through the house in the dark telling his father that he heard something, like someone pulling the nails out of the floorboards under the bed.  It was a sound like a dog trying to open a door.  It was a sound like a ghost in the attic, dropping the peanuts it had stolen from the kitchen.

Through the Woods

Through the Woods

Emily Carroll 2014

This is most definitely NOT a children's book.  But my teenagers loved it, especially Madeleine who is drawn to graphic novels.  The artwork is wonderful and appropriately grotesque at times.  The stories themselves are perfectly creepy, like folk tales gone disturbingly wrong.  Though Madeleine and I disagreed on which ones were scarier ("His Face all Red" gave me the shivers and "Our Neighbor's House" was the most haunting).  For those with macabre tastes this is a must read for Halloween.

Night of the Gargoyles

Night of the Gargoyles

Eve Bunting

illustrated by David Wiesner 1999

There's something slightly creepy about the idea of gargoyles coming to life at night.  Although Eve Bunting's gargoyles are not malicious or evil, they do tend to cause some mischief.  Bunting's lyrical words and Wiesner's illustrations are a perfect pair.  It makes for a just spooky enough October bedtime read.  

The Magic Wood

I meant to post this months ago...

The Magic Wood

Henry Treece

painting by Barry Moser 1992

We've found that summer nights can be dark and mysterious and even a little bit scary.  Anyone familiar with the erlking folk tales will recognize his spirit in this poem by Henry Treece (first published in 1945).  I love to read the repeating refrain:

The wood is full of shining eyes,
The wood is full of creeping feet,
The wood is full of tiny cries:
You must not go to the wood at night!

I met a man with eyes of glass

And a finger as curled as the wriggling worm,

And hair all red with rotting leaves,

And a stick that hissed like a summer snake.

He made me a penny out of a stone,

And showed me the way to catch a lark

With a straw and a nut and a whispered word

 And a pennorth of ginger wrapped up in a leaf.

The illustrations and wording may be a bit sinister for younger folks.  I've read it to Charlotte a few times and she actually requested it the other night.  She called it the "scary night" book.