Scary Stories

by Barry Moser (Illustrator), Dean Koontz, H.G. Wells

Goose bumps along your arms, the hairs rising on the back of your neck, these are the sure signs you're immersed in a great scary story. Featuring classic stories by such timeless authors as Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, Bram Stoker, Washington Irving, H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, and H.G. Wells, this spellbinding collection also includes modern masterpieces by contemporary legends like Stephen King, Roald Dahl, Shirley Jackson, Joyce Carol Oates, and Ray Bradbury. Celebrated artist Barry Moser's twenty unforgettable engravings capture all the suspense and horror in these brilliant stories, making this a deluxe illustrated edition that readers of all ages will want to return to again and again...if they dare!

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Anthologies

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Barry Moser (born 1940) is a renowned artist, most famous as a printmaker and illustrator of numerous works of literature.

Reviews

[Keri Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally I wouldn't write a review on a book I didn't feel strongly about one way or the other; but there were a couple of things I wish I'd known about this book before I'd read it. The main problem I had with this book is that two of the stories (Kittens and The Squaw) contain fairly gruesome content involving animal cruelty towards kittens. I can take human violence all day long but as soon as something bad happens to an animal, you can count me out. I just wish I had known before hand and I would've skipped those two stories. I also noticed that I had read about 80% of the stories before in other horror anthologies. They are fantastic stories from classic authors, just nothing that was new to me. One final bone I will pick with Scary Stories is that they really aren't all that scary. I read most of the book in the middle of the night with a flashlight and hardly even felt anxious. Overall this is a decent book, I wouldn't have even picked on it if it weren't for all those poor kittens...

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are all "finest kind", and Moser's woodcuts are just outstandingly creepy.*** I picked it up thinking it was the reissue of scat stories to tell in the dark, with the less horrific art, which it isn't. What it was, was a good entre back into reading: a gateway book. Library copy

[Jennifer Dines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book - perfect for a dark and stormy night in the New England autumn that I currently inhabit. This book is an anthology of spooky short stories by authors commonly taught in high school English courses (Washington Irving, Poe, O. Henry, Bradbury) as well as more modern trade authors (Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates). Barry Moser's delightfully creepy engravings add just a dash of other-worldliness to the horror and suspense found in each selection Particular spine-chillers were "Kittens" by Dean Koontz and "Thanksgiving" by Joyce Carol Oates, whereas "Here There Be Tygers" by Stephen King had me laughing out loud. A highly recommended collection of tales.

[Earline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great collection of horror short stories from a variety of writers ranging from Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King to Joyce Carol Oates and Roald Dahl.

My favorites of the book would have to be:
Kittens - Dean Koontz
Miriam - Truman Capote
The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allen Poe (all-time fav)
Genesis and Catastrophe - Roald Dahl
The Terrible Old Man - H.P. Lovecraft
The Lottery - Shirley Jackson

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This bood was...good. Overall, I liked it; however, many of the stories were dumb and not scary at all (walking on a pier with your dead great-grandmother's fingers on your neck for all eternity? COME ON!!)

[Esmeralda Vela · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion Scary Stories is an cool book because it wasn't that scary.I can not relate to none of them because none of the characters are the some as me.So that is why I can't relate to them.If this book was on series I might not read them but maybe because I don't want another book that I can't realate to.The only story from the book that I liked is "Thanksgiving" and I only like this story is because for me it was the scariest one of all of them.I love the part especially in the beginning part of "Thanksgiving" because they were being nice to his mother.I think you might like it but I hope you enjoy.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps it is my dark humor or I love seeing little children being murderous and animals getting revenge, however I really enjoyed "Kittens" by Dean Koontz (the story of a little girl getting revenge on her parents for killing all her kittens), "The Squaw" by Bram Stoker (cats are truly evil), and "Fingers on the Back of the Neck" by Margaret Mahy (a sociopath of a young boy who will do anything to attend a prestigious private school). There were also a couple of classics from Edgar Allan Poe, "The Lottery", excerpt from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", and "The Cremation of Sam McGee". One other jewel was "The Man Upstairs" by Ray Bradbury that had a strange dark twist to it.

[Amanda Kye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book full of some really good, spooky stories. I didn't love all of them, and there were a couple I had read, but there were several I loved and was happy to find some new authors to explore. Would recommend to anyone that likes exploring new authors, and enjoys short creepy stories!!

[Sammyc]

cool

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uhms this book is stupid lol. Doing a lottery to see who gets bombarded with rocks? Also the woman in labor with Hitler????? Come on now..... What happen to scary? -.-

[Martin Esparza · Rating 5 out of 5]

mmmm pretty cary from the cover

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous collection of scary stories written by authors such as Dean Koontz, Joyce Carol Oates, H. P. Lovecraft, etc.

[Enid · Rating 3 out of 5]

These short stories weren't even as scary as any of the Goosebumps series. Only the story by Winston Churchill called "Man Overboard!" merited a small chuckle.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

many of these scary stories are ones we read in school, at camp, or on roadtrips. however, i bought the book for the barry moser illustrations!

[Kate Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid collection of a lot of the best spooky stories, such as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Lottery, an excerpt from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and The Terrible Old Man. With authors like Wells, Capote, Poe, Dahl, Stoker, Stephen King, Winston Churchill, Shirley Jackson, and H.P. Lovecraft, how could you go wrong? I read stories aloud all day today for Halloween/spooky season for my middle school students in the library. They were quiet and enraptured! Who could ask for more? This would be a good one to own on your spooky bookshelf for sure!

[Sotiria Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed all of the stories in this book, except two: “Kittens” and “The Squaw.” I couldn’t finish them because they have scenes depicting cruelty to cats, so if that topic bothers you too, I’d recommend skipping those two stories.

[Kevin Zwiefelhofer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mix of stories, some better than others. Enjoyed Poe which I have read before, love the Cremation of Sam McGee and was familiar with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow but hadn't read it before. I liked Thanksgiving and think more could be done with this story. Kittens touched a nerve.

[Erin Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good collection of scary/creepy stories. The illustrations don't really add anything to the book though

[Sarah Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this collection...there were mostly classic gothic tales in it like many peoples favourite “the tell tale of the heart”, and stories like that

[Suzanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not scary

[Silvio111 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made great Halloween reading.

[Eligos Vespillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the stories included in this volume are some of the most commonly published, Barry Moser's monocrome illustrations more than warrant a double (or triple) dip.

[Zach Frank · Rating 1 out of 5]

I went to this book to find some scary stories. In return I received gruesome stories that had no suspense and just odd or common murders and crimes. It’s written in an old sophisticated fashion, which can come off as confusing for some. Although it is beautifully written and gory, I don’t believe it’s scary. I would not recommend this book if you’re looking for something scary.

[Sherri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not scary at all. I disliked the first story the most, I didn't care to go any further in the book after that but I did, and what a waste of time that was.
They aren't scare at all. The first story is more disturbing than anything, and everything else is a little strange.
The title seems to be a bit of a fib...

[- Sophie..(:]

Charlene reviewed this, and it Looks V.Good! I think i might read this!

[Valerie]

i love this cover n good book !!!

[Jessie]

This book was super boring nothing really scary about it except for a couple of stories :(

[Marelyn]

rilly scary

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of some familiar good ole scary stories and a bunch I'd never encountered before. Excellent illustrations, too. Glad I picked this one up.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of these stories. Although a few were anti-climactic or only slightly creepy, all of them were well written. My favorites were The Telltale Heart and The Lottery.