Scared Witless: Thirteen Eerie Tales to Tell

by Martha Hamilton Beauty & the Beast, Mitch Weiss, Kevin Pope (Illustrator)

Stories are powerful. If a story is well told, listeners feel as if they are in a bit of a trance. Storytellers have always loved to tell stories around a campfire. It's the perfect setting to tell a jump story where the whole point is to startle the listeners. These 13 tales come with tips for telling guaranteed to make the listener jump, scream, gasp, and giggle.

Genres: Halloween, Childrens

64 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2006

Reviews

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine for what it is, and I liked the tips on how to tell the tales. That said, some of these are so simple, or the endings so limp, that your audience would have to be REALLY little kids to be entertained.

[Teri · Rating 1 out of 5]

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[Monster]

Scared Witless is a collection of and guide to telling “jump” stories. Fans of Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark can kick it up a notch and go from readers to tellers of tales by taking some hints from storytellers Hamilton and Weiss. Stories range from the traditional to the entirely original, and each is followed with suggestions for telling the story to a group. Included in the collection is a fine retelling of “The Red Satin Ribbon” and a couple of groaners that don’t appear in Schwartz’s collections. Also included is an adaptation of a story that appears in a collection by folklorist Joseph Bruchac. Kevin Pope’s illustrations are more goofy than they are threatening, and reflect the general tone of the collection. The stories are short and enjoyable reads and many contain enough repetition that primary school children should be able to tell them with practice. Scared Witless is a fun book to look through, and an engaging tool for getting kids and adults to work together on listening and speaking. Recommended for school library media centers and public library collections. Contains: ghosts, extremely mild violence.

[Renee Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories to teach shildren to tell. Thirteen easy stories suitable for Halloween or camp-fires. One story suitable for Valentines Day. Source notes & special instructions. 61 p. Contents: Unwelcome company -- The coffin that wouldn't stop -- Lost in the dark -- The boy who was afraid of plants -- The graveyard voice -- The hairy toe -- The terrifying trick -- The ghost with bloody fingers -- The red satin ribbon -- The strange white thing in the road -- The brave woman and the flying head -- The mysterious rapping noise -- The girl who scared herself.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book accomplishes what it sets out to do--instruct children in the art of telling scary stories. The authors include 13 scary stories, after which they give storytelling tips. The advice is very good & easy to understand and the stories are short enough for children to memorize the plot points. My only criticism is that while the stories included in the book may be right on target for some children, I'm afraid that others may feel they are not scary enough. Overall, a thumbs up.

[David prieto]

Dont you love sitting by the fre relling scarry stories .But sometimes you run out of stories . When you do this is the perfect book for you . for example the story called unwelcomed company tells a story of a lonely man that wishes something that comes true but not in the way he expected two bonnie feet appear down the chimney and it is his company.

[Kyra Fowler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some very silly stories. However, they were a lot of fun as a read aloud! At the end of each story, the author provides suggestions of how to read or act out the story to get the most impact. PLus, each story is only about two pages long.

[MJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aimed at storytellers and elementary readers. Good stories with suggestions on how to tell them.

[Earline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection of 13 scary stories. While the stories aren't very scary, they are silly and I enjoyed reading the tips for storytelling. These would be perfect for reading to younger kids around a campfire.