Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones

Not entirely sure why as buyers there isn't a way to rate sellers on here (?). I purchased a "very good" copy of this book and it was missing part of its spine, had writing on it and had a hole punched through the cover and the first third of the book where I'm assuming a child stabbed it with a math compass... Not cool. The book itself is decent however it feels like a rehash of volume two in the series. If you're reading them sequentially it really sticks out. Some of the stories in the book series are strangely simplified, as if meant for younger children, like years 6-8, but often the subjects are more appropriate for the 9-12 range who might find the watered down narratives and weak dialogues condescending. I bought the series for several reasons, one being nostalgia, but more importantly I wanted to study Stephen Gammell's artwork and how it related to the stories. The oldest copies do show his art in all its oozy, icky glory! I've read that in the newest reprints the illustrations are oversaturated to the point of being black and and many images have been improperly cropped, or worse still, it contains art by someone else (I believe those books are from the early 2000's and apparently look awfully childish). Make sure to check the book information before purchasing and aim for early copies from the 80's and 90's. Perhaps the most enjoyable aspects of these books is actually the sources and bibliography section. Schwartz devoted his time to studying and passing on both written and oral folk tales and contemporary urban legends and it's fascinating to read about their origins and their various iterations. As such, I highly recommend the series to those interested in children's literature, especially with an emphasis on folk and fairy tales within the horror genre.

Always have loved these books!

I have always been fascinated with all of Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories collection, ever since I was a child. Stephen Gammell's drawings are really creepy. I purchased these books to hopefully share with my students. BEWARE though, some young children become frightened with some of the drawings! For ages 9 and up!

I have collected all types of scary stories books throughout my childhood and this series ( all 3 books ) has to be the best collection ive ever read. I recently read this book again just to see how it would be 10 yrs later and see if the storys were still as good as i remembered and it was. I somehow lost this book between then n now and last time i read it i was about 10 or 11 so i got another copy and it's still as good as then. This book is excellent for children or teenagers and has some really classic scary stories in it and brilliant illustrations. Kids will find these illustrations very creepy and love the storys. I recomend this book to kids or any age group -its very fun to read and even has some creepy songs in some of the books.

This is a wonderful collection of urban legends and reworkings of regional ghost stories. The stand out of the collection is the story of "Harold." Even though this book is mostly for older kids, "Harold" will definitely leave even adults unnerved.You won't be able to look at a scarecrow without being spooked for weeks after reading the story. This book offers scary stories that aren't gross and don't have some sort of underlying agenda. It's just plain fun.

This book terrified me as a kid and it still does now at age 20. The scariest story is about "Harold" a giant doll that comes to life and kills somebody. It would make a great horror movie. The story about the girl raised by wolves is even cooler now because of a real life case I learned about in my Sociology class of a boy being found in the wilderness that is something like it. All in all this is an awesome book that still scares me and my friends today.

Be careful . . . Alvin Schwartz's last book in his trilogy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark may be his most frightening yet. From a scarecrow that comes to life to a dog that's more than a little odd, Schwartz's book will make sure that you get a good shiver down your spine and perhaps a few hours less sleep.