Scary Stories 3

By Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell

The iconic anthology series of horror tales that's now a feature film!

Scary Stories 3 is a timeless collection of chillingly scary tales and legends, in which folklorist Alvin Schwartz offers up some of the most alarming tales of horror, dark revenge, and supernatural events of all time.

Available for the first time as an ebook, Stephen Gammell’s artwork from the original Scary Stories 3 appears in all its spooky glory. Read if you dare!

And don't miss Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062682888

Alvin Schwartz

Alvin Schwartz is known for a body of work of more than two dozen books of folklore for young readers that explores everything from wordplay and humor to tales and legends of all kinds. His collections of scary stories—Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Scary Stories 3, and two I Can Read books, In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories and Ghosts!—are just one part of his matchless folklore collection.

Book preview

9780062682888_Cover.jpg

Dedication

To Justin

—A. S.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Boo Men

1. When Death Arrives

The Appointment

The Bus Stop

Faster and Faster

Just Delicious

Hello, Kate!

The Black Dog

Footsteps

Like Cats’ Eyes

2. On the Edge

Bess

Harold

The Dead Hand

Such Things Happen

3. Running Wild

The Wolf Girl

4. Five Nightmares

The Dream

Sam’s New Pet

Maybe You Will Remember

The Red Spot

No, Thanks

5. What Is Going On Here?

The Trouble

6. Whoooooooo?

Strangers

The Hog

Is Something Wrong?

It’s Him!

T-H-U-P-P-P-P-P-P-P!

You May Be the Next . . .

Notes and Sources

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

About the Author and Illustrator

Books by Alvin Schwartz

Back Ad

Copyright

About the Publisher

Boo Men

The girl was late getting home for supper. So she took a shortcut through the cemetery. But, oh, it made her nervous. When she saw another girl ahead of her, she hurried to catch up.

Do you mind if I walk with you? she asked. Walking through the cemetery at night scares me.

I know what you mean, the other girl said. I used to feel that way myself when I was alive.

There are all sorts of things that scare us.

The dead scare us, for one day we will be dead like they are.

The dark scares us, for we don’t know what is waiting in the dark. At night the sound of leaves rustling, or branches groaning, or someone whispering, makes us uneasy. So do footsteps coming closer. So do strange figures we think we see in the shadows—a human maybe, or a big animal, or some horrible thing we can barely make out.

People call these creatures we think we see boo men. We imagine them, they say. But now and then a boo man turns out to be real.

Queer happenings scare us, too. We hear of a boy or a girl who was raised by an animal, a human being like us who yelps and howls and runs on all fours. The thought of it makes our flesh crawl. We hear of insects that make their nests in a person’s body or of a nightmare that comes true, and we shudder. If such things really do happen, then they could happen to us.

It is from such fears that scary stories grow. This is the third book of such stories I have collected. I learned some of them from people I met. I found others, tales that had been written down, in folklore archives and in libraries. As we always do with tales we learn, I have told them in my own way.

Some stories in this book have been told only in recent times. But others have been part of our folklore for as long as we know. As one person told another, the details may have changed. But the story itself has not, for what once frightened people still frightens them.

I thought at first that one of the stories I found was a modern story. It is the one I call The Bus Stop. I then discovered that a similar story had been told two thousand years earlier in ancient Rome. But the young woman involved was named Philinnion, not Joanna, as she is in our story.

Are the stories in this book true? The one I call The Trouble is true. I can’t be sure about the others. Most may have at least a little truth, for strange things sometimes happen, and people love to tell about them and turn them into even better stories.

Nowadays most people say that they don’t believe in ghosts and queer happenings and such. Yet they still fear the dead and the dark. And they still see boo men waiting in the shadows. And they still tell scary stories, just as people always have.

When Death Arrives

When Death arrives, it usually is the end of the story.

But in these stories it is only the beginning.

The Appointment

A sixteen-year-old boy worked on his grandfather’s horse farm. One morning he drove a pickup truck into town on an errand. While he was walking along the main street, he saw Death. Death beckoned to him.

The boy drove back to the farm as fast as he could and told his grandfather what had happened. Give me the truck, he begged. I’ll go to the city. He’ll never find me there.

His grandfather gave him the truck,

Reviews for Scary Stories 3

[magonistarevo-625111 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Found this in a box of childhood stuff. Stephen Gammell is a goddamn genius, and if you're reading this without his illustrations, you're missing out big time. Nightmare fuel.

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Some of us can’t resist the somewhat ghoulish need to be scared, and this book is just what we need for what ails us. Meant for children, adults will certainly appreciate content of this third book in the series. There are some excellent tales, and one, at least, is true. The notes on the background of the tales should not be skipped; they will add to your knowledge and appreciation of the scary tales in the book. And as to be expected by now, the illustrations by Stephen Gammell are scary in their own right, and add much to the stories.

[Princess Coleman · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I always loved these stories since I was a young girl
Very scary and fun to read.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, the stories herein are not very scary at all. One or two are a little gross, but that's it. Kind of what I would expect for a book "only available for distribution through the school market".However, the illustrations are the stuff of nightmares! There are some super spooky/scary pictures in here! Gross too! Definitely not what I would expect from a book "only available for distribution through the school market"! I'm sure young me would have bought all 3 volumes in this series, but I'm not sure my parents would have let me!

[michael_rose-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of those fun books I enjoyed reading as a kid. It’s still fun to pick up and read again (at least during October). The creepy drawings are cool too.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones, illustrated by Stephen Gammell.Noted folklorist Alvin Schwartz and Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Stephen Gammell, who previously collaborated on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981) and More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1984), joined forces again in this third collection of frightening tales, first published in 1991. Here we have twenty-five tales, culled from traditional folklore and more recent urban legends and presented in six separate sections.In "When Death Arrives" we encounter stories where Death's arrival is the beginning of the tale, rather than the end. Selections include The Appointment, inspired by an ancient and widespread Middle Eastern story in which running away from Death only sends you into his arms. Here too is the Irish tale, Hello Kate, in which a young man encounters the spirit of a young woman he knew, and isn't sure how to greet her.In "On the Edge" we read of various unlikely and disturbing scenarios, including that of Harold, in which two farm hands create a man-sized doll that they proceed to abuse, only for their creation to turn the tables on them. In another example of the futility of trying to escape death, a man discovers in Bess that although he has sold the horse that is prophesied to cause his demise, through her he still meets his end."Running Wild" contains a single story: that of The Wolf Girl, in which an infant girl near Devil's River, Texas is raised by wolves after her parents die. This legend of a feral child was apparently first recorded in 1937 in a publication of the Texas Folklore Society.Not unexpectedly, "Five Nightmares" contains five selections, among them Sam's New Pet, in which a couple vacationing in Mexico mistake an oversized rat for a hairless dog and bring it home. Folklorists have apparently speculated that this type of urban legend reveals unease, on the part of American citizens, at the influx of immigrants from south of the border, and their effect upon the economy."What Is Going On Here?" is another section containing a single tale, in this case, The Trouble, about a family whose home is disturbed by a poltergeist. A contemporary and apparently true tale, it is based upon reports that were published in various newspapers.Finally, "Whoooooooo? contains six tales concerning ghosts, monsters and corpses. In the brief Strangers, a man remarks to the woman sitting next to him on a train that he doesn't believe in ghosts, only for her to vanish before his eyes. In Is Something Wrong a skeleton pursues a terrified motorist, courteously asking what the matter is, when he finally catches up.Much as I did with its predecessors, I enjoyed Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones immensely! The stories are spooky and the artwork deliciously creepy. I read these collections when I was younger, and have been meaning to revisit them every Halloween season for the last ten years. I'm glad I finally did! Recommended to young readers who enjoy scary stories, as well as to folklore enthusiasts.

[renardkitsune · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just as good as the first two.I loved this series as a kid, and I just went back to reread it because the movie is coming out, and also I was curious if my children are old enough to read it yet. At 6 and 7, I think they will have to wait a couple years. I think the recommendation on the back of the book, ages 9 and up, is accurate. Some of the stories would be fine, like the funny ones, but there are a couple--and the illustrations!--that might be just a little too creepy still. It's still just as fun as I remember, and now I really appreciate that Alvin Schwartz is coming at this from a folklore perspective. I love the notes that go with each story at the end, and that Schwartz included a bibliography where books that would be good for children are marked.

[eangers_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones has not won any awards thus far.It is a short collection of various folklore and myths from around the world, with stories of death, scarecrows, boo-men, disease, cannibalism, dogs, snags, spiders and ghosts. The book has many tales that are familiar across many cultures, with an interesting sources and bibliographic section at the back. The illustrations are gorgeous and really make up for the rest of the rather short book. Stephen Gammell's watercolour paintings are horrific and enticing, adding depth to the stories and imagination to the pages. Scary Stories 3 is an excellent beginner book for young children that want to hear some softer scary stories to share with their friends. The quality of writing and use of language is appropriate for a younger audience, and the author does a good job of presenting a broad introduction across his 3 books to many urban legends. I found this book to be the scariest of the 3. Some stories felt out of date for a young audience, mentioning riding horses as a main source of transportation. More modern tales may be scarier for kids today.

[joel_4-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was very good, even though when I read it I couldn't sleep at night. By the way, this was the last scary stories book I read, it was WAY too scary.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Some are great and creepy, some a strange and weird, some are good but nothing else. The entire series is pretty good, though.

[beammey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing, amazing, amazing. While I am older than the core audience for this book I feel like it was better than the first and second in the series and I had a few moments where I actually shivered and my mind got a mind of it's own as it wondered off as I read. I love it. Good book, would recommend. 5 out of 5 stars.

[the_hag · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My opinion of Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones is about the same as the second (and first for that matter). The pictures remain the most disturbing aspect of the book…the rest makes a fine initiation for young readers into creepy, scary, spine-tingling urban legends, tales of terror, ect… I’m glad to be done with the series and while Girl isn’t ready for these yet (she’s basing not wanting to read it on the pictures alone), I’ll happily check them out for her (or buy a boxed set) when the time comes (and I’m sure it will). I think once she gets past the pictures, she’ll have no problem with the text, there’s nothing she hasn’t really encountered in one for more another in her reading or TV watching over the last 9 years…and since we frequently watch shows about urban legends and ghosts, I doubt much here will shock or upset her. Three stars for this one too.

[katieloucks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

These always scared me when I was younger.