“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”

If you ever wondered why I turned out the way I did, may I direct your attention to Exhibit A. (Comics Alliance)

Not an official review, but holy shit, do you remember Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? They’re these collections of stories that were published back in the ’80s and were absolutely terrifying–not because of the stories themselves, but because of the creepy, horrific, often downright disgusting art by Stephen Gammell.

I am, to this day, amazed that these things were marketed for children. I’m not advocating censorship or anything, but wow. The stories themselves are relatively low-key (albeit often violent), but those pictures… phew.

The best part, of course, is the subtitle:

“Collected from Folklore and Retold by Alvin Schwartz.”

Boom.