The Scariest Stories You've Every Heard Part 3

by Tracey E. Dils

Hide-and-seek --Dead Man's Hill --Secret of the Doll-house --Slasher --Horror Weekend --Midnight --Sea of the Dead --Killer Cactus --Man with the skeleton face.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Childrens, Short Story Collection, Young Adult, Fiction

Paperback

First published August 1, 1990

Reviews

[Shadyside Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of stories was brilliant! I enjoyed all of them except one. And that’s because it was really sad and not spooky like the others. Still deserves 5 stars though! Great writing and unique stories that were genuinely creepy!

[Jason Harlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third part of an anthology series where each book is entirely written by a different author. Tracey E. Dils wrote this one and absolutely crushed it from the first story to the last story. I'm almost positive that this anthology was written for kids so I was expecting this to be pretty bad, but every single story was at the very least entertaining if not absolutely amazing. Almost all of them contain graphic depictions of death and/or other adult themes, and I couldn't get over how well-thought out some of these stories were. Unfortunately author Tracey E. Dils didn't dabble much further into the horror genre after this, because she could have had an amazing career telling stories just like the ones in this anthology. This would be a 5/5, but because some of these stories are re-tellings of urban legends that are collected in other anthologies like this, I give this a 4/5.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third collection of horror stories for kids was published in 1990. The Scariest Stories You've Ever Heard books (there are 3 of them!) gather together adaptations of ghost stories/urban legends/campfire tales that we all scared each other with as kids....the hookman, the phone call coming from inside the house, the axe murderer hiding in the back seat of the car, the empty house that holds a secret, etc etc. We all loved these stories as kids...and kids today love them too! This third and last volume gathers 9 more creepy-cool stories reimagined by author Tracey Dils!

The stories in these books are creepy....but not TOO creepy. Definitely ok for middle grade students to enjoy. I could see the stories being a great way to get a classroom of kids started on a creative writing assignment to write their own scary tale! Or for some fun Halloween-theme reading in the fall.

The cover art (by Richard Kriegler) is wonderful! This 3rd book is my favorite!

I enjoyed all of these stories! Very entertaining! And despite being published almost 30 years ago, the stories aren't dated. Face it -- we've all been scaring each other with these basic stories for a very, very long time!

[☆ emeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

aaghhh

[Austin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another okay collection of stories with some entries that are completely derivative of old folklore/campfire tales.
I did, however, enjoy:
The Secret of the Dollhouse
Dead Man's Hill
& Killer Cactus.

A quick and easy read that would be good for introducing young readers to horror.

[Elenis Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, Tracey E. Dils, states so right in her Introduction: “…scary stories work best if they sound as if they are true.” She then went on and permitted creative deviance in suggesting the reader change the stories a bit so that they sound as if they happened to the reader. But each of these stories are so frighteningly good as they are that one wouldn’t need to make too many adjustments.

This is what makes Part III of this series so good– these stories are scary because they do sound like things that can happen to anyone one of us. It strictly defines horror as knowing no fair bounds; thus, its victims can not fall into any exception. Anyone is fair game as evil doesn’t pick and choose. At its very core, that is what is most terrorizing about horror – it’s random, and bad things can happen to just about anyone. No one is spared, and there is no rhyme or reason to the madness. This is what this collection of stories serves as a grim reminder of.

Even now, as an adult, I remember why these stories in particular haunted me for years, and left me with images of fictionalized terror unbound. It’s a quick and perfect read to transition into the Fall [spooky] season.

Personal Favorite: "Horror Weekend"

[Matt V · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has good variety in terms of settings and characters. Midnight kind of felt like an Are You Afraid Of The Dark? episode. It features a dog. Another story, Killer Cactus, has two cats. That tale was maybe the most unique. Dead Man's Hill is surprisingly brutal in a fun way. Then it's followed by the more cozy, The Secret of the Dollhouse. I feel like that one could have used another page or two of development.

While some stories are better than others, I enjoyed them all and thought this anthology had a solid balance between light and dark horror.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh, those 9 stories were right on target. Never expected them that good. Everyday situations, urban legends soon turn into full fledged horror. No fillers, just killer, a very strong lineup of stories here. The author did a superb job here. Doll house, hearse, haunted house, deceased dog coming back to life, underground by night... this is the stuff excellent horror is made of. If you need some great short stories to tell in the dark season. Here they are. Highly recommended!

[Davey · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME BOOK! Every story is great! Creepy, very suspenseful. Remember reading this as a kid when I got it at a book fair, loved it ever since! Just read it again and it still holds up. Great book for young/ new horror readers

[Athena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the second book and found it so charming that I ordered this one (the only copies I can find of the first one are $65), but it doesn't live up to my expectations.

It's not bad, but it's not very good either.

[ThatGatlinGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This set of scary stories books, is actually my favorite from childhood. I still enjoy reading some of these to my middle school students around Halloween.

[Istiningdyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as scary as the second one. Some of the stories seem more sad to me. They are sad stories with supernatural twist. Like the story with a dog named Midnight and the fisherman story. The previous book also has a story with a dog named Midnight. I thought that the previous book's Midnight and this book's Midnight are actually one dog so the stories kind of connected in some way. But they aren't. Entertaining quick read.

[Nathaniel Hardman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is misleading. It's a collection of urban legends (the guy was flashing his brights at you because there was a murderer IN THE BACK SEAT OF YOUR CAR!!!), and it's all pretty tame and kid-friendly.