The Stranger in The Stairs and Other Stories

Michael Dahl's Really Scary Stories

by Michael Dahl, Xavier Bonet (illustrator)

Our greatest fears are brought to life in this collection of spine-chilling tales. An ordinary round of the Lava Game turns terrifying. An old lodge for loggers is haunted by a miserable ghost. A boy thinks he's home alone until he finds evidence someone else is there with him.

Genres: Horror

60 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Michael Dahl is the author of over 200 books for children and young adults, including the acclaimed Finnegan Zwake mystery series and The Library of Doom. His works have earned Edgar and Anthony Award nominations and national design honors. As Editorial Director at Stone Arch Books, he champions engaging, award-winning stories that inspire young readers everywhere.

He also writes under aliases Chris Carey, Rick Thomas, and Mark Ziegler.

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you listen on Audible, there is music at the beginning and end. So chilling!

[Lejamien Eastern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iv'e read the book before,and i love it and i really want to read it again but whoever is the maker of this book GREAT JOB!

[skittles · Rating 5 out of 5]

i used to love these books when I was in 1st grade! i loved listening to the books, i would listen to them every time it was reading. And then today I remembered this book and wanted to read this again.. then look!! i found it ☺️

[Krys · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with most compilation books, some stories were creepy/ well-written, others weren’t.

[Kc · Rating 5 out of 5]

63 pages not 72

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love horror short stories. These were fun. I liked the trash bag story the best.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the author points out in his letter to readers, everyone is afraid of something. These seven very short stories promise chills and thrills of all sorts to readers, making them perfect for a spooky party or a dark and foggy night spent telling horror stories. Can you imagine sitting on the usually cold toilet seat only to find that it's warm because someone else has used it--and you're alone in the house? An afterword explains the origin of these stories and how the author set himself the task of writing a very scary story in the least amount of words, resulting in the title story. This man is very good at what he does, and I'd love to have students try their hand at coming up with similar hair-raising accounts. The book could also be a great lead-in to a classroom conversation about what's behind our greatest fears.

[Michelle Kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first title I've read in Dahl's Scary Stories collection. These are short stories that contain creepy, scary building plots, but which usually end abruptly just as the cold hand touches the shoulder or some other creepy realization. This approach releases the tension quickly and keeps them from getting too scary, but they may frustrate readers who want to flush out the story, ride the creepiness a little longer, or just bring the stories to more satisfying conclusions. I'm anxious to see how they are received by our elementary students.
Grades 3-5

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few really fun stories and some really lame ones. A bit disappointed in the ones that were not scary or creepy in the least.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun book for grade school aged kids. The stories are short but satisfying and just creepy enough for a lot of fun.