Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark is a series of three children's books written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. The scary stories of the title are pieces of folklore and urban legends collected and adapted by Schwartz. The titles of the books are Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark, and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones. The first volume was published in 1986, and the books have subsequently been collected in both a box set and a single volume. There is also an audiobook version of each book, read by George S. Irving.

Contents 1 Content 2 Stories 2.1 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2.2 More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2.3 Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones 3 Controversy

Content

Beyond the stories themselves, the books have two notable features: exhaustively researched and annotated notes and sources sections, and disturbing and evocative illustrations by Gammell. Also, as the title implies, the stories are intended to be read aloud to an audience. Several of the stories come with "stage directions" that the reader can follow in order to enhance the scary subject matter of the stories, thereby generating a more visceral response from the listening audience. The art features a variety of gruesome subjects, including corpses, mutilations, and hideous creatures, almost all of which are distinctly unnerving. Most illustrations include surreal or grotesque elements, most notably in the third volume’s “The Trouble” which features a two page abstract illustration symbolizing the bizarre nature of the story. Even relatively mundane illustrations, such as “The Baby Sitter” from the first volume have a disturbing and off center quality.

Stories

These are the stories included in each book.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Chapter 1: "AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

• The Big Toe: A little boy finds a large toe sticking out of the ground while he digs a garden. He and his family eat the toe in their soup that night. Later, while the boy is in bed, the creature from the garden comes looking for his toe.
• The Walk: Two men walk in the woods, each not knowing the other and scared to death. The story ends with the storyteller screaming to scare the audience.
• "What Do You Come For?": An old woman who lives alone longs for company...and a corpse suddenly assembles itself from in the fireplace!
• "Me Tie Dough-ty Walker!": A small town boasts of a supposedly haunted house. A boy and his dog vow to spend the night in the house. Around midnight, a strange song is heard in the distance: "Me Tie Dough-ty Walker!" The boy's dog sings a response...and the voice gets closer...and closer...until a bloody head drops into the house from the chimney!
• A Man Who Lived in Leeds: This strange, offsetting poem slowly links a man who "grew a garden full of seeds" to a "penknife" in the reader's back.
• Old Woman All Skin and Bone: A song tells of an old woman who encounters a corpse and contemplates her own death.

Chapter 2: HE HEARD FOOTSTEPS COMING UP THE CELLAR STAIRS...

• The Thing: Two old friends encounter a mysterious wraith-like being in a turnip patch. The creature chases them, but they are able to escape. Later, it is revealed that the being was foretelling what the men will look like when they die.
• Cold as Clay: A jaded young man dies of heartbreak when his love's father separates the pair. His ghost returns to claim the young girl, but she manages to escape him. Her scarf is later found in the grave, wrapped around the lover's head...
• The White Wolf: When a wolf problem plagues a local village, its butcher begins to kill the animals in exchange for money. He vows to never kill another wolf again, but a mysterious white wolf appears and kills his lambs. Eventually, the butcher is found with his throat torn open-but there are no wolf tracks in the snow.
• The Haunted House: A "haunt" inhabits a local house. With the aid of prayer and his Bible, a preacher is able to communicate with the ghost. She tells him how to capture her murderer, find her money, and where her bones are located.
• The Guests: A young couple stays at a kindly old couple's house for the night. They leave an envelope of money as payment, and leave early in the morning. Local townspeople reveal that the house burned down years ago, killing the old couple. When they return to the house, they find it destroyed-but the brand-new envelope is still lying there.

Chapter 3: THEY EAT YOUR EYES, THEY EAT YOUR NOSE

• The Hearse Song: This classic song warns readers not to "laugh as the hearse goes by, for one of these days, you must surely die." The lyrics tell of the worms that eat a person's corpse!
• The Girl Who Stood on a Grave: Some teenagers dare a girl to stand on a grave in the night. To prove that she has been there, she must stab the tombstone's soil with a knife. The girl manages to do this...but she feels something grab at her dress! She dies of fright. The next morning, her friends discover that the "hand" that held her was nothing but the knife-she accidentally stuck in her gown's hem!
• A New Horse: A farmer ends up at a witch's house one night. She uses a magic bridle to freeze him in place and turn him into a horse! The farmer manages to turn the tables on the witch, and sells a new "horse" to her husband. When the husband takes the bridle off, he sees his wife with horseshoes on her hands and feet.
• Alligators: A folksy tale talks about a woman who fears that her husband and sons are transforming into alligators. The townspeople don't listen, as "there are no alligators around here." When three gators actually try to claim the wife, she escapes.
• Room for One More: A young man has a strange dream in which a coachman drives a hearse that is full of people. The coachman offers a space: "There's room for one more." The next day, the young man visits a department store. He almost boards a full elevator-but the operator is the driver of the hearse, repeating his same message! The young man declines passage, and the elevator crashes, killing everyone in it.
• The Wendigo: An explorer tries to traverse the frozen north. In the night, his native guide mysteriously vanishes into a blizzard. His last words are, "My fiery feet, my burning feet of fire!" Later, some other locals laugh that the guide was taken by the Wendigo, a female winter monster that drags men along the snow until their feet-and the rest of their bodies-burn up. This story proves true when the clothes of the guide are found...full of ashes!
• The Dead Man's Brains: This story is a set of instructions for a spooky game. The host places various objects in bowls and claim that they are body parts: eyes (peeled grapes), ears (dried apricots), blood (ketchup), hands (gloves), nose (a chicken bone), and the worms that ate him (spaghetti).
• "May I Carry Your Basket?": A traveler along a road spots a young girl with a covered face and basket. He offers to carry the basket, but there is a gruesome surprise inside-the maiden's head!

Chapter 4: OTHER DANGERS

• The Hook: An interlude on Lover's Lane is interrupted by news of an escaped convict with a hook for a hand. As they pull away, the young lady in question believes she hears something scratching at the door. When the young couple gets home, the teenage boy discovers that the girl was right-there is a bloody hook swinging from her door's handle.
• The White Satin Evening Gown: A poor girl desperately wants to attend a dance at a country club. Her mother rents her a beautiful white gown at a thrift shop. The girl has a wonderful time, but soon becomes dizzy and sick. The next morning, she is dead. It seems that the dress was stolen from a corpse, and some of the embalming fluid managed to enter the girl's skin.
• High Beams: As a young lady drives home, a large man in a truck follows her. He follows her exact path, and occasionally turns on his extremely bright high beams. The girl is terrified, but when she arrives home, the truck driver explains. Another man with a knife and rope was hiding in the backseat of the girl's car, and the only reason he did not hurt her was because the truck driver flashed his high beams!
• The Babysitter: A babysitter watches four young children. A strange man begins to make threatening phone calls, including "Be there in a while!" and "Getting closer!" Scared, the babysitter asks the operator to trace the source of the calls. When the man speaks again, the operator discovers that the phone calls are coming...from inside the house! The mysterious man starts down the steps, but the babysitter escapes with the children.

Chapter 5: "AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

• The Viper: A little old lady who lives alone receives mysterious phone calls from a man who says he is "the Viper." Scared, she summons the police-but it turns out that the "viper" just "vants to vipe the vindows!"
• The Attic: When a hunter's favorite dog goes missing, he must search his foreboding house for him. The search takes him to the attic. The storyteller is supposed to pause after the hunter opens the attic door and lets out a screech...and then explain that he stepped on a nail in bare feet!
• The Slithery-Dee: This short poem is told by a young boy who says that the "Slithery-Dee", a sea monster, is coming. The boy brags that the monster will not eat him-but the poem ends in the middle of a sentence, and a large "SLURP" is the final word!
• Aaron Kelly's Bones: Old Aaron Kelly dies-but he doesn't feel dead! His body walks back to his house and refuses to return to the cemetery, even when he is reduced to a skeletal form. A fiddler who tries to court Aaron's widow is annoyed at the intrusion. One night, he absentmindedly plays his fiddle. Aaron dances furiously-and his skeleton falls apart! The family quickly scrambles the bones and puts Aaron away for good.
• "Wait till Martin Comes": A man seeks shelter from a storm, and hides in an empty apartment. He falls asleep, but wakes up when he sees a small cat by the fire. Soon, the cat is joined by cats that grow and GROW. They plan to do something to the man, but must "wait until Martin comes." Eventually, the man decides that while the cats are free to wait for Martin-he will leave right now!
• The Ghost with the Bloody Fingers: A room in a hotel is haunted by a ghost with bloody fingers who wails, "Bloody fingers!" Many guests are scared away. In the end, a hippie manages to stop the ghost by simply recommending that it put on Band-Aids!

More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Chapter 1: WHEN SHE SAW HIM, SHE SCREAMED AND RAN

• Something Was Wrong: Mr. Johnson finds himself wandering downtown with no recollection of how he got there. Everyone he meets acts terrified to see him. Mr. Johnson decides to call his wife and solve the problem. When he calls, the man who answers says she cannot talk. She is at a funeral...for Mr. Johnson!
• The Wreck: A boy meets a girl while traveling to a Christmas dance. She explains that her car crashed into a tree. The two head off to the dance. While there, the boy wraps Christmas tinsel in her hair. The girl leaves ahead of him. When traveling along the same road, the boy discovers that his date actually died in the accident-but the tinsel is still wrapped in her hair!
• One Sunday Morning: A middle-aged woman hurries off to Church one morning. While there, she notices that something seems out of place. Soon, she realizes that the service is one for the dead-literally! She manages to escape the ghosts and corpses, but leaves her coat behind. The woman wonders if the experience was a dream-but her coat is found in the cemetery, torn to bits.
• Sounds: Some sailors spend the night in an abandoned house. While there, they hear the sounds of a ghastly struggle coming upstairs. The sailors manage to see a horrible face dragging two bodies out into the sea before they escape.
• A Weird Blue Light: The crew members of a ship notice a ghostly pirate ship that appears in a strange blue light.
• Somebody Fell From Aloft: A sailor narrates a tale of a brutish mate who becomes terrified when a strange body falls from the crow's nest. The mate and the body tangle in a fight, and both fall overboard. The captain later explains that the body resembled a man who the brutish mate murdered on another ship.
• The Little Black Dog: A man meets a member of a rival family. Both men go for their guns, but the first man, Billy, shoots first. The other man begs Billy not to kill him, but he does anyway. In rage, Billy shoots the man's little black dog. For days after, Billy keeps seeing the dog following him, but no one else seems to. Eventually, Billy is found dead outside his cabin, little black hairs on his corpse.
• Clinkity-Clink: A grave digger buries an old woman, but notices large silver dollars on her eyes, which will not stay closed unless weighted shut. Though reluctant at first, the digger pockets the dollars and nails the woman's coffin shut, telling her "Now you can't see anything!" But that night, the woman's ghost comes to call...

Chapter 2: SHE WAS SPITTIN' AND YOWLIN' JUST LIKE A CAT

• The Bride: A young couple gets married. An old tradition in the bride's family states that the wedding guests must play hide-and-seek at the reception. The bride runs up the stairs and discovers an old steamer trunk. She plans to hide inside of it, but the lid knocks her unconscious. The family never thinks to look in the old trunk, and she suffocates. Years later, the bride's little sister gets married. The game is played again, and the new bride opens up the steamer trunk...discovering her sister's body, still in a wedding gown!
• Rings on Her Fingers: A comatose woman is buried, but a would-be thief defiles her grave, wanting the rings on her fingers. As he cannot get them off, he tries to amputate the woman's fingers-but the shock wakes her up! The thief is so terrified at this "living corpse" that he falls on his own knife, and dies. The woman simply walks home.
• The Drum: Two little children meet another strange girl with a drum that has two little figurines that come out and dance when the drum is played. The girl will give them the drum, but only if they are bad. In the end, they push their mother over the edge, she leaves, taking their baby brother and dog with her, leaving a wooden-tailed "mother" in her place. Worse, the girl says that she never intended to give up the drum in the first place. It was all a "game"!
• The Window: A young woman spots a strange, shrunken man spying on her from her window. The next night, the man tries to break in...and suck her blood, as he is a vampire! The woman's brothers manage to shoot the creature, and they discover a corpse with a bullet hole in its leg the next day. They burn the body, effectively destroying the evil creature.
• Wonderful Sausage: A jolly butcher named Blunt has a violent temper. One day, he and his wife get into an argument. In a rage, Blunt kills his wife; to hide the body, he throws it in the meat grinder and markets her as "Blunt's Special Sausage." The sausage is so delicious that Blunt begins to murder kittens, puppies, and children to become rich. Eventually, though, the villagers catch on, and only one last batch of the "special" sausage is made-out of Blunt!
• The Cat's Paw: A farmer's meat shed is raided every night by a strange, cat-like creature. One night, the farmer hides out and shoots off one of the cat's paws. To his surprise, the paw turns into a human foot-the thief is a witch! Later, some neighbors describe how another farmer's wife needed to be taken to a doctor due to a lost foot. She was apparently "spittin' and yowlin' just like a cat"...
• The Voice: A little girl named Ellen hears a strange voice calling out to her: "Ellen, I'm coming up the stairs." It slowly reveals that it is on the first step, second step, and so on...until it is "right next to her bed." The creature suddenly screams, "I'VE GOT YOU!" Ellen screams and turns on the light. She and her parents search the room, but no one is there...

Chapter 3: WHEN I WAKE UP, EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT

• "Oh, Susannah!": Two women get back to their dorm after seeing a presentation of "Oh, Susannah!". While one of them is tired, the other keeps humming the song from the play. Eventually, in a rage, the other woman flings the sheets off her friend's body and screams... Her friend's head is gone!
• The Man in the Middle: A woman sits across from three men on a subway. The first time the train stops, one of them gets up, clapping the man on the back, telling him "Get some sleep, okay, Jim?". The second time, the other man gets up, patting the man in the middle on the back again, telling him, "Everything will be alright.". The woman notices that the man just STARES ahead, unnerving her. At her stop, the jolt of the train's halt along with no one to hold him up, "Jim" collapses, a bullet hole in his head!
• The Cat in a Shopping Bag: Two middle-aged ladies are about to go Christmas shopping when they run over a cat. They do not want the cat to be squashed by other cars, and so wrap it in a shopping bag. Later, another woman snatches the bag from the ladies' trunk. They follow her and watch her pass out when she discovers what her "gift" is. The ladies are sure to exact a special revenge by placing the bag on the woman's chest as she is wheeled away, insisting that she "wouldn't want to lose it!"
• The Bed by the Window: There is only one window in a hospital room shared by three men. The man by the window tells stories of what he can see, busy people, pretty girls, police on horseback, and so much else. The first man dies, and the second takes his place. The third man wants the place, however, and drops the second man's medicine where he cannot reach it, killing him. When moved to the window, the third man can only see a brick wall behind it!
• The Dead Man's Hand: A new girl comes to a medical school, and is practically perfect in everything she does. The other students become annoyed at her perfection, and decide to play a cruel prank. They steal the hand of a corpse and tie it to her pull-string light to give her a scare. They hide out and expect to hear her cry, but not a sound is heard. The other girls investigate and find that the perfect nurse has gone completely insane; she is sitting in the corner of her wardrobe and muttering to herself.
• A Ghost in the Mirror: This story instructs children on the art of summoning a spirit within a mirror. Calling out "Bloody Mary" or "any ghost" will bring the spirit; turning off the lights and lighting candles usually aids as well. Watch out, or the ghost might be annoyed at your intrusion-and scratch your eyes out!
• The Curse: This story is "narrated" by Charlie Parker, the last member of an old fraternity house. He tells the tale of two young pledges who, as a hazing prank, were made to climb the stairs in an old, dark house. The two boys vanished, but sounds of a desperate struggle were heard. No bodies were ever found, so the other members could not be charged. However, a strange spell of madness is supposedly hanging over each member's head. The story ends with "Charlie" going crazy and charging at the audience!

Chapter 4: THE LAST LAUGH

• The Church: A man who is terrified of ghosts must spend the night in an old abandoned church. While there, he spots several figures all in white. He thinks they are spirits, and tries to run away. In the process, he smacks into a "ghost"-who goes "BAAAAAAA!"
• The Bad News: Two elderly men are huge baseball fans. One day, they wonder about the prospect of baseball in Heaven. They make a vow that the first of them to die will come back and give the other man the answer to the question. One man does indeed die, and fulfills the promise with "good news and bad news." The good news is that there is baseball in Heaven, and many of history's greatest players play all day long. The bad news? The other man is scheduled to pitch tomorrow!
• Cemetery Soup: A teeny-tiny woman discovers a large bone sticking out of the ground in the cemetery, and plans to whip up some cemetery soup. Unfortunately, the creature who owned the bone comes looking for it. It gets louder and LOUDER and LOUDER, so the woman quickly returns the bone.
• The Brown Suit: When Mr. Smith dies, his widow has a complaint for the mortician. Her husband's favorite suit was brown, but the suit he wears now is blue. The mortician promises to make the change. The next day, Mr. Smith is in a brown suit. When asked, the mortician explains that another widow believed her dead husband would look better in a blue suit, and so the mortician swapped...their heads!
• BA-ROOOM!: An Irish song that tells of two men "who are dead in the very same bed"-but "neither one knows that the other one's dead!"
• Thumpity-Thump: A traveling family decides to spend the night in an abandoned house. While there, a strange "THUMPITY-THUMP" sound echoes through the house. They follow the source of the noise and discover a haunted chair! The chair reveals the location of a murdered body, and the family decides to leave. The chair is not exactly happy, and loudly protests.

Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones

Chapter 1: WHEN DEATH ARRIVES

• The Appointment: The grandson of a farmer is in town one day when he sees Death. Death motions for the boy to come to him. Scared, the grandson runs home and takes his grandfather's truck, planning to hide in a nearby city. The grandfather then looks for Death and asks why he beckoned the grandson. Death explains that he was merely surprised to see the boy. He has an "appointment" with him later that day...in the city!
• The Bus Stop: Traveling Bill spots the beautiful Joanna getting soaked at the bus stop one morning. He offers her a ride home. The two soon fall in love, and often get together at the bus stop. One day, though, Joanna does not appear at the stop. Bill goes to her home and discovers that Joanna actually died the previous year, in an accident at the bus stop!
• Faster and Faster: Two boys playing in the woods discover an old Native American drum. One boy cannot resist the temptation of playing it, and summons a ghostly Indian hunting party! He falls to the ground, dead, with an arrow mark in his back-but no arrow or shooter is ever found.
• Just Delicious: George Flint is a cruel man who loves to eat. He bosses and bullies his wife Mena around and forces her to cook a huge meal for him every day. One day, he requests liver, and Mena prepares the dish. It is so good that she eats it all herself! To hide her crime, she steals the liver of a dead old lady who is laid out in a nearby church. George claims that the liver is "just delicious"...but later that night, the old woman's ghost comes to call! Mena quickly points out that George technically has the liver, and he screams as the lights go out.
• Hello, Kate!: A young man spots a young lady named Kate at a local dance. He wants to approach her, but feels a nagging doubt about her. Suddenly, he recalls why Kate should not be at the dance-she died last month!
• The Black Dog: A man who lives alone hears barking, snuffling, and paws coming down the stairs of his house. One day, he spots the figure of a black dog running into a bedroom-but nothing is found. He buys two dogs of his own to protect himself, but the ghost dog kills one. Eventually, the man chases the angry spirit away.
• Footsteps: Susie's mother has gone out, and left her daughter doing homework at the kitchen table. Susie hears the door open and shut, and footsteps march through the house-but they are not her mother's! The mysterious stepper walks in the whole house until it is just outside the kitchen door. Susie screams at the creature to "get out." It obeys; strangely, though, there are no footprints in the snow outside.
• Like Cats' Eyes: A wife frets as her husband lies dying. One night, she looks out the window and sees a long, black car pull up in their drive. Five little black figures with eyes like those of cats jump from the car and into the house. She hears them fussing around in her husband's bedroom, and watches them depart. At that instant, a nurse announces that the man has died!

Chapter 2: ON THE EDGE

• Bess: A farmer has a favorite horse named Bess. One day, at a local carnival, a gypsy fortune teller predicts that Bess will eventually kill the farmer. He laughs, but secretly worries about the prediction. He is happy when he sells Bess to another farmer, but decides to visit when he hears of the animal's death. As he goes out to mourn the bones, though, a rattlesnake leaps from Bess's skull and kills him-the prediction was true!
• Harold: Two ranchers guarding a migrating herd of cows become bored with their lonely life, and fashion a doll the size of a man. They name the doll Harold and proceed to torture it when they feel annoyed. Soon, the doll seems to take on lifelike qualities, until it finally stands up and leaves the house! The ranchers escape, but realize they have forgotten their costly milking stools. One goes back to recover them. The other looks for him hours later, but sees only Harold on the roof...clutching a bloody skin!
• The Dead Hand: The people of a small town in Louisiana are terrified to go into the bayou at night, for there are evil creatures in the swamp. A braggart loudly disagrees with the legends and marches into the marshes, joking. Suddenly, his lantern goes out, and terrified screams are heard. When some friends find him the next morning, his entire right hand has been ripped clean off, and he has gone completely insane.
• Such Things Happen: A man accidentally kills the cat of old Addie Fitch, a nasty neighbor who some call a witch. Addie swears that he will be sorry, even after he replaces the animal. Over the next few months, strange events plague the man, and he believes that he has been cursed. To combat the witch, he uses an old folksy murder scheme. He draws a picture of Addie on tree bark and drives a silver nail through its heart. Later that day, Addie does indeed die...

Chapter 3: RUNNING WILD

• The Wolf Girl: This somewhat historical account describes a husband and wife in pioneer days. The wife prepares to go into labor while her husband seeks help. She dies in childbirth, and the baby is nowhere to be found. Years later, people tell of the "wolf girl", a naked young woman who runs as swift as any wolf!

Chapter 4: FIVE NIGHTMARES

• The Dream: Lucy Morgan has a dream that frightens her. She climbs a winding staircase to a room with nailed windows, and a lady with long black hair appears and begs her to flee. The next day, Lucy travels into a nearby town to stay at a hotel. As the hostess leads her up a winding staircase to a room with nailed windows, she tries to call it a coincidence-but when the lady with long black hair appears at the door, she flees!
• Sam's New Pet: Sam's parents look for a present for their son in Mexico. While there, they notice a small dog-like animal following them around. They think it will be the perfect gift, and so sneak it back into the country. Sam loves his pet, but the next morning, it looks sick and must go to the vet. The doctor announces some troubling news: the "dog" is actually a rabies-stricken sewer rat!
• Maybe You Will Remember: A young girl vacations with her mother in Paris when the older woman suddenly falls ill. Her daughter requests help, and the hotel doctor tells her to fetch medicine on the other side of the city. The trip to the house is plagued by suspicious circumstances, so the girl walks half the distance back. When she returns, her mother has vanished, their room repainted, and everyone in the whole hotel claims that she came alone! The girl believes herself to be crazy-but in reality, her mother died of the plague. To keep a mass panic from breaking out, she was buried secretly and erased from the hotel's records and files.
• The Red Spot: Young Ruth grows an ugly red spot on her cheek. Her mother plans to take her to the doctor, but meanwhile, the boil grows and grows. One night, while Ruth takes a bath, it finally pops-sending hundreds and hundreds of baby spiders out from the egg sac that their mother made on Ruth's cheek!
• No, Thanks: A young man is in a dark mall parking lot when a voice begins whispering, "Nice, sharp, knife. Nice, sharp, knife." The young man faces the stranger, who turns out to be a traveling salesman. The young man denies his wares and runs for his life!

Chapter 5: WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?

• The Trouble: Another factual account details the mysteries surrounding a small family. Objects fly around their house and other ghostly occurrences are frequent. Scientists use every test in the book, but there is no rational explanation. Several possibilities, including latent psychic powers and mischievous poltergeists, are suggested as the true cause.

Chapter 6: WHOOOOOOOO?

• Strangers: A woman and man share a train compartment. The woman is enraptured in a ghost story, and the man laughs at her. He claims to have "never seen a ghost." The woman smiles, says, "Haven't you?"-and vanishes without a trace!
• The Hog: Two young people fall in love, but the man in the relationship leaves town. His girlfriend dies of a broken heart. Years later, the man returns and discovers that her spirit has come back to haunt him...in the form of a hog!
• Is Something Wrong?: A man spends the night in an abandoned house. In the morning, a horrible "THING" drops from the chimney. The man runs and runs for his life, but soon, the THING-a gigantic, floating, bloody skull-catches up to him...and asks, "Is something wrong?"
• It's Him!: An old couple that lives alone in the woods annoy each other constantly. One day, the woman chops off her husband's head in a rage. Soon, though, he begins to call out to her. She responds snappishly, but his body returns to claim her in the end.
• T-H-U-P-P-P-P-P-P-P!: Little Sarah spots a ghost on her dresser. It stares and stares at her. She calls to her parents, but they cannot see the spook. Finally, she demands the ghost tell her want it wants...and it gives her a loud raspberry!
• You May Be the Next...: A parody of "The Hearse Song" discusses the meals of corpses.

Controversy

The level of gruesome detail in the illustrations and overall sinister and violent content of the stories is sometimes seen to be excessive for the members of the series' target audience. The sinister nature of the illustrations and the frightening subject matter in the series caused it to be repeatedly challenged for inclusion in libraries throughout the 1990s. It eventually topped the list of challenged books of the 1990s by the American Library Association [1]. Recently, the series has been the sixth most challenged in 2006 for "occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity." [2]