What kid of the 80’s doesn’t wax nostalgic about spooky stories that scared them as a child, and the ones that immediately come to the forefront of my mind, and I’m sure yours, are the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark trilogy by Alvin Schwartz. Soon those chilling books are coming to life at the hands of Saw movie writers Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan, in conjunction with CBS Films.

The obvious direction for a movie adaption of a book of short stories would be an anthology flick, like the 1990 Tales From the Darkside Movie, or a bunch of stories tied together by a single character, like that of Sam in the movie Trick ‘R Treat, made in 2007, but the writers have decided on going a different route. Rumors are that in the Melton and Dunstan script, a group of boys will be protecting their small town from nightmarish scenarios inspired by the books.

There are a lot of stories that stick with you long after you read this trilogy based on folklore, it will be interesting to see which ones they choose to draw from.

According to the American Library Association, the series is one of the most challenged books from 1990-2009, for violence and the frightening original illustrations by artist, Stephen Gammell. The re-release for the 30th anniversary by Scholastic was met with controversy when fans of the original books found the new editions didn’t have the art that scared them as children, but new more tame illustrations by Series of Unfortunate Events illustrator, Brett Helquist.

Hopes will be high that the two writers will capture the feeling we all had as kids, tucked under our blankets with a flashlight, not daring to have a single toe poking out. I’ll call it a success when I hear watchers humming, “The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, The worms play pinochle on your snout….” as they leave the theater.

 

Source: Deadline Hollywood