Things That Go Bump in the Night

Cheryl Fassett ♦ October 31, 2015 ♦ Leave a comment

In honor of Halloween, and in my Saturday tradition of talking about kids’ books, I thought I would recommend some great collections of scary stories for kids of all ages!

The Complete Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1812-15)was always a favorite around the campfire as a kid. Those original tales are full of evil characters who showed no mercy!

Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories (1984) was a fairly recent discovery for me. In putting together this volume, Mr. Dahl read over 700 tales and chose 14 of the spookiest he could find. Following the classic ghost story tradition, the blurb on Amazon hits the nail on the head when describing them as “disquieting.”

Ask the Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World (2002) is a collection put together by master storytellers, Arielle North Olson and Howard Schwartz. These retellings will scare the pants off you! If you enjoy this, check out More Bones, too!

Spooky Campfire Stories: Outdoor Myths and Tales for All Ages (2012) by Amy Hoitsma is a great collection of classic tales that are even safe for the younger crowd.

Spooky Campfire Tales: Hauntings, Strange Happenings and Supernatural Lore (2007) was written by S.E.E. Schlosser. They are perfect for creeping each other out on a dark and stormy night.

Last,  but certainly not least, are the short story collections by R.L. Stine, whose work I featured in my post last week. Some of my favorites are

Nightmare Hour (1999)
Fear (2010)
Haunting Hour (2001)
Beware! (2002) (R.L. Stine, editor)

So when you get home from trick-or-treating with the kids, and they are all hyped up on candy, sit around a warm fire (or dim the lights and light some candles), and read a few scary tales. Make it a family tradition! And, if like me you don’t have the kids, go ahead and read them out loud to your husband, your cats, your dog or yourself, and see if you can’t make someone jump! 🙂