If like me you loved the new Scary Stories to To Tell in the Dark movie and want to revisit some nostalgic horror classics than I’ve put together this list just for you. Growing up I loved horror books like this. Some of my favorite memories of this are of me sitting under the covers with one of the books from the list checked out from the library, my explorer’s trench flashlight with the red lens put in for added effect, getting so scared that I’d have to leave the flashlight on until I fell asleep. Only to get fussed at by my parents when they came in to get me up in the morning.
1) The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia C. McKissack
I honestly love this book, it contains ten tales of Southern folk horror that scared the hell out of me as a kid. And is one of those books that I come back and re-read every now and again. Especially around Halloween.
2) Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories
This a book of hand-picked ghost stories all chosen by Roald Dahl. Though I still think that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the scariest book out there Oompa Loompas and the accompanying whistle still freak me out. It’s said that Roald Dahl read through 749 stories before choosing 14 that would make up this anthology.
3) A Terrifying Taste of Short and Shivery: Thirty Creepy Tales by Robert D. San Souci
My friends and I used to check this out from the library back to back and read them out loud with flashlights under our chins. A lot scarier back then, than it is now. One of my favorites in this book was the Hairy Hands.
4) Beware! R.L. Stine Picks His Favorite Scary Stories
Beware! is a collection of short stories compiled by R.L. Stine which honestly introduced me to some of my favorite writers. This book was my first introduction to Ray Bradbury whose story The Black Ferris made me leery of carnivals for awhile.
5) Truly Scary Stories for Fearless Kids
This book scared the hell out of me back in the day. My mom got me a copy from Borders Bookstore bargain rack back in the day. And between The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service and Lizard: The Devils Plaything by Karen Voss Peters I’m not sure I got any sleep that week.