A Few Thoughts on the Enduring Legacy of the ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ Book Trilogy

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Okay. I already know what the astute reader of this article is thinking, why on earth would I go here? Because just the other day, I said there would be no trip down memory lane when it comes to the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book series on NTG, and here I am writing a piece on its enduring legacy. But I ask that you bear with me for a moment. Because my intent here was never to go back on my word, but there is a story worth discussing when it comes to this saga, since it is quite amazing that a trilogy of books that feature some folk-lore related tales of terror continue to be held in such high regard after all these years.

I mean, they had to have done something right to be this beloved after all this time and be written about en masse all over the internet in the past few weeks, since so many scribes have taken the time to discuss how it influenced their love of horror and writing in general. Which is quite frankly, one hell of a feat. Because I did take a moment to open these books after all this time and I have to say, the stories really don’t hold up that well. They’re simple in nature, to the point where there’s really nothing complex to the tale in question, and heck there’s even some silly ones plopped into each book for good measure. If anything, this little surprise really begs the question, how can these books be this well regarded after all these years?

Well the answer to that question, lies within the art and the stories themselves. Because while the writing is simplistic in nature, it’s also supremely effective, because it strips away any fluff or exposition and plunges the reader right into the heart of the situation at hand. Which in turn allows for the reader to experience the raw emotion present in said story, and the emotion present on the page here, is fear. For a vast majority of the stories in this saga, minus the goofy ones, really do prey upon our greatest fears. Ghosts, the dead returning to life, death in general and things we don’t understand are all a part of this trilogy and that’s how these stories become supremely effective and stay with us.

But we do have to talk about the art as well, because without it, this book series would have been a laughing stock. Because Stephen Gammell’s work here, is horrifying to say the least. If anything, it’s best to say that he managed to capture the essence of a nightmare in his artwork, and creatures like the one featured in ‘The Thing’ still give me chills to this day because they look like something from another world and they genuinely capture the power of our imagination and for anyone who thinks that maybe, just maybe, alternate artwork would be just fine here, please bear in mind the publisher tried that. They straight up added watered down artwork in 2011 and it was so bad and removed the audience from the experience in such spectacular fashion that every original drawing was restored to the trilogy in a 2017 reissue.

The bottom line is that this book series was truly lightning in a bottle. It found a way to strike fear into the core of our souls, it brought the darkest recesses of our imagination to life and its enduring legacy is that it is one of those rare book sagas that lives up to what it advertises. Because these are indeed some scary stories, the kind best examined in the light, and it is no wonder that they are being written about ad nauseam right now by so many, because they deserve their day in the sun. For back in the day, these books were banned and reviled by parents everywhere for their subject matter, so here’s to hoping that all the love they’re receiving right now on the world wide web, engenders a new generation to seek them out and celebrate them so that they continue to live on and terrify. 

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