Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

[detective392]

‘Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark’ Gets Interesting New Writer

CBS Films’ Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark adaptation is under some safe hands – and could be tipping off someone else involved.

Deadline reports that BAFTA-nominated John August – who is a regular Tim Burton collaborator, penning both Big Fish and Frankenweenie – will adapt the iconic book series by Alvin Schwartz that had children of the ’80s and ’90s hearing bumps in the night.

Could this mean Tim Burton’s involvement is not far behind? Let’s hope so because the books’ art, by Stephen Gammell, channels the iconic artist/director.

The three-book children’s series that’s sold more than 7 million copies worldwide began with 1981′s “Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark,” continuing with “More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark” (1984) and “Scary Stories 3: More Tales To Chill Your Bones” (1991). The collection of folk tales and urban legends also memorably haunted generations of youngsters with its surreal and nightmarish illustrations by award-winning artist Stephen Gammell.

Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of Sean Daniel Company and Elizabeth Grave of 1212 Entertainment are producing, while Roberto Grande and Joshua Long will executive produce. Mark Ross and Alex Ginno are overseeing for CBS Films.

[detective392]

Huge fan of these books. Can't wait to see how they adapt them for the big screen.

[Astro Zombie]

I still have the first book; I used to read it all the time when I was a kid. Could be interesting!

[Beachguy]

I forgot about this movie. I do hope that it comes out good.

I'll definitely watch it and give it a chance.

I owned the trilogy of books as a kid but never made my way through all of them. I only read various stories from them.

[lolwut]

These books were terrifying/fascinating to me as a child. Hell, the illustrations alone are still terrifying for adults I'm sure.

[camper]

Originally Posted by lolwut

These books were terrifying/fascinating to me as a child. Hell, the illustrations alone are still terrifying for adults I'm sure.

They certainly have not lost much creepiness factor in all these years.

I'm looking forward to this. Had these as a kid, and now my 10 year old has read them.

I hope they're PG, and even though I personally don't care much for stop motion I think that's how these films need to be made to help capture the story and the elements from the drawings.

[jlk5844]

I have loved the trilogy of books since I was a kid.

I'd actually like to see this in live action and be PG-13, but that I'm not counting on. I think, especially if Burton got involved, it would be toned down and kiddified and made goofy, which certainly some stories were, but a lot were chilling, creepy, nightmarish, and disturbing, and the drawings aided in that. I think if it were to be stop motion animated, and with the current style and look of characters as seen in Corpse Bride, Para-Norman, and Frankenweenie, it would take away from it.

This would be amazing to see as a half hour premium network cable anthology like HBO's Tales from the Crypt, with each episode being a story from the books, and they can create new ones, and have elements of horror, drama, and comedy, some episodes darker and others dark comedy.

If it had to be animated, I think it would be unique and different from everything out there, not to mention far more terrifying, if they replicated the look of the drawings by Gammell, so it would look almost like out of another dimension. It would look very surreal and non-detailed, unrealistic, and of course be 2D animated, not CG like most of today's animated movies. If it had to be a movie, something closer to Trick 'r Treat would be appreciated, but not exactly like that movie.

That's all pretty much my pipe dream, I've loved these books so much they've inspired me to make short films out of the stories (never actually got that far though). Speaking of, what are everyone's favorites?

There's too many to count that I like, but if I had to pick a few favorites off the top of my head, Harold was always one of the best to me, and I liked The White Wolf, The Thing, Something was Wrong, and The Wreck.

[Jett Rink]

All I remember from this series was the story about the "special sausage". Anyone? That one sticks out for some reason. It would be stellar if this was made into a good TV show.

[camper]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

I'd actually like to see this in live action and be PG-13, but that I'm not counting on. I think, especially if Burton got involved, it would be toned down and kiddified and made goofy, which certainly some stories were, but a lot were chilling, creepy, nightmarish, and disturbing, and the drawings aided in that.

I disagree on the PG-13. They were creepy stories for kids with a bit of a goofy element thrown in. Make it PG-13 and you turn it into something else.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by camper

I disagree on the PG-13. They were creepy stories for kids with a bit of a goofy element thrown in. Make it PG-13 and you turn it into something else.

But they definitely weren't "kiddy" and not all goofy. There was a mature, disturbing angle to many of the stories and there was even some light gore and grotesque and scary details. The pictures illustrate this obviously. I suppose PG might work, but it needs to push limits and be as hard of a PG as it can, in the sense of an intense mood and creepy atmosphere, one of the stories can be silly but I personally wouldn't want all of them to be that way. It could be in the vein of The Haunting (1963) or The Legend of Hell House (1973) (minus the nudity). The Haunting can be watched by children and yet it's still eerie enough for adults, and without the things that fuel a PG-13 or R rating, such as sex, violence, hard language, and drugs. I think this needs to be one of those dark kids movies from the 80s or 90s that pushed the boundaries and didn't shy away from somewhat rough stuff. Also, if I hadn't mentioned before, this would look great shot in black-and-white.

I realize all of this is just my dream vision for the movie, and it chances are will not happen, just my opinion of what it should be.

[Packerfan75]

Me and my friends used to read these when we were kids. They were really scary. Nothing on screen is scarier than the images your mind can conjure up.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by Packerfan75

Me and my friends used to read these when we were kids. They were really scary. Nothing on screen is scarier than the images your mind can conjure up.

I did the same. I actually read these alone in the dark as well, and would be scared to turn the page to something like this:

[Gold Ranger]

It has been forever since I read these. So I have a question for those that have these in memory...
I'm not even sure if it was part of these...
I'm looking for a short story where a kid is at a pizzeria and then leaves his friends to go home. He then takes a bus, and through exposition we find out he takes it a lot.
This time he takes it, the bus is late and doesn't arrive until it is dark out.
The bus, after letting everyone else off, drives past the kids stop and pulls off into some quiet out of the way area and the driver tries to attack the kid. The kid then runs to the back, and the driver is revealed to be a vampire and is just about to bite the kid when he smells the garlic on the kids breath and cowers, allowing the kid to escape.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by KaineKinetic

It has been forever since I read these. So I have a question for those that have these in memory...
I'm not even sure if it was part of these...
I'm looking for a short story where a kid is at a pizzeria and then leaves his friends to go home. He then takes a bus, and through exposition we find out he takes it a lot.
This time he takes it, the bus is late and doesn't arrive until it is dark out.
The bus, after letting everyone else off, drives past the kids stop and pulls off into some quiet out of the way area and the driver tries to attack the kid. The kid then runs to the back, and the driver is revealed to be a vampire and is just about to bite the kid when he smells the garlic on the kids breath and cowers, allowing the kid to escape.

No, I don't believe that is a story in these books.

[Gold Ranger]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

No, I don't believe that is a story in these books.

Thanks.
I really want to know where I read this....

[camper]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

But they definitely weren't "kiddy" and not all goofy. There was a mature, disturbing angle to many of the stories and there was even some light gore and grotesque and scary details. The pictures illustrate this obviously.

Not all of them, but a lot of them were. The big Toe, The Hook, The Viper, Wait till Martin Comes (the big cat one), the hearse song, "Where's my golden arm" were all pretty light, typical little kid scary stories.

There were a handful of more 'aggressive' ones too though.

I suppose PG might work, but it needs to push limits and be as hard of a PG as it can, in the sense of an intense mood and creepy atmosphere, one of the stories can be silly but I personally wouldn't want all of them to be that way.

The key thing to remember is that this is a kids book, meant for 8-12 year olds. You make it PG-13 and you exclude a HUGE audience, because *shockingly* there are parents (such as myself) who will not let an 8 year old watch a PG-13 movie. And a PG-13 horror movie can be QUITE graphic.

Monster House was extremely creepy, and had some very dark elements to it and did will with the mood and atmosphere. And, it was PG.

There is no reason it couldn't be PG. THey don't need to show a lot of gore. In fact, less is more when it comes to little kids. The "Large Marge" scene from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is enough to scare and creep out a great many kids. And that was meant to be funny.

I think this needs to be one of those dark kids movies from the 80s or 90s that pushed the boundaries and didn't shy away from somewhat rough stuff. Also, if I hadn't mentioned before, this would look great shot in black-and-white.

They can still do a lot with PG. Black and white could be interesting, especially if they use some limited coloring effects peppered in on key elements like they did with the Sin City movies---but less drastic and obvious.

[lolwut]

Yeah, there's no way this would get a PG. Today's PG is not much different from a G. I mean, Coraline had some scary stuff but I feel like this would be much more dark and disturbing. Corpses, severed heads, deformities. The imagery is nightmarish.

[Cat III]

Originally Posted by camper

I hope they're PG, and even though I personally don't care much for stop motion I think that's how these films need to be made to help capture the story and the elements from the drawings.

Yes! Stop motion all the way. It would be the best way to capture the creepiness of the original stories while keeping it kid-friendly.

[motorheadache95]

I had nightmares for weeks when I read these books as a kid. And it wasn't the stories as much as it was the illustrations. Those drawings are creepy as hell.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by camper

Not all of them, but a lot of them were. The big Toe, The Hook, The Viper, Wait till Martin Comes (the big cat one), the hearse song, "Where's my golden arm" were all pretty light, typical little kid scary stories.

There were a handful of more 'aggressive' ones too though.

Yes, there were definitely silly ones in there, they just don't seem like the meatiest stories for the film. Many of them are songs as well. Definitely lighter than much of what's in the books, but if these stories were put to film, I'd see them being similar to Evil Dead's style of black humor and goofiness, save for playing up excessive gore for laughs which this series doesn't have that level of gore, but it is there.

There were more than a handful of IMO aggressive ones, or at the very least, definitely spooky/chilling, and The Hook fits the latter for me.

The key thing to remember is that this is a kids book, meant for 8-12 year olds. You make it PG-13 and you exclude a HUGE audience, because *shockingly* there are parents (such as myself) who will not let an 8 year old watch a PG-13 movie. And a PG-13 horror movie can be QUITE graphic.

Monster House was extremely creepy, and had some very dark elements to it and did will with the mood and atmosphere. And, it was PG.

There is no reason it couldn't be PG. THey don't need to show a lot of gore. In fact, less is more when it comes to little kids. The "Large Marge" scene from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is enough to scare and creep out a great many kids. And that was meant to be funny.

These books were sold as children's books, but this series was among the most challenged by the ALA since the 90s for its violence, including but not limited to the horrifying illustrations. This book was graphic for the demographic it was targeting. I simply want the movie to stay loyal to the books, as all fans do with their favorite books that are adapted into movies, and to do that, it would be much too mature for the Monster House audience. I don't need there to be a lot of gore, again NOT like Evil Dead, but it's definitely a part of the books and should be in the film. The movie wouldn't be doing the books justice if it left that stuff out completely and only stuck to mood and atmosphere, which there's normally nothing wrong with that with other films, just isn't right here. Not sure which PG-13 horror movies you've seen that are graphic, the ones I've seen out there are usually ghost stories that rely on mood and atmosphere and jump scares. Anyway, I believe a key aspect of the source material shouldn't be cut out to appeal to a broader audience. Maybe little kids shouldn't be seeing this, it's not as big of a deal with books because it's all in their imagination (though there's those illustrations), but when that stuff translates to a movie directly, it may be too much for them. If it were to be translated as is in the books, it would get an R for the violence and gore alone. I myself would be ok with that but then again I'm also not a child, and I understand that the books weren't for adults. It's sort of a catch 22, shooting for an MPAA rating that falls in line with the demographic of the books, while trying to maintain content from the books that guarantees a much more mature rating.