More scary stories to tell in the dark.

- More scary stories to tell in the dark. Alvin Schartz (writer) & Stephen Gammell (illustrator). 

Second volume of the legendary children’s horror book series. Like the first, it is primarily a collection of famous urban legends, folklore tales and campfire yarns. This edition even includes a bibliographical note and comments about particular variations of some of the tales. 

In a couple cases, Scchwartz even hits on a couple stories that used to have a certain racial connotation, but deigns to comment on them beyond noting “this and that interpretation existed”. Also of note is that several of these tales exist across different countries and continents, as folklore tends to do in part due to diaspora. 

Of course, these books are legendary less for the tales themselves than for Gammell’s uniquely grotesque illustrations —to such a degree that reissues of the books without them quickly sunk. The movie adaptation even took more inspiration from them than from the writing itself. 

Together then they form a fascinating compendium —the folksy, often (but not always) cozy tales help temper the illustrations an they in turn help make the yarns more memorable. 

A classic in its own peculiar way. 

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