‘Saw’ Scribes Adapting ‘Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark’ For CBS Films
If you grew up in the ’80s or ’90s, you probably spent at least a little bit of your childhood being scared silly byAlvin Schwartz’sScary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Now a whole new generation of kids will get the opportunity to be spooked by those stories, thanks to CBS Films.
The studio has just picked up the rights to the three-part horror anthology series, with scribesPatrick MeltonandMarcus Dunstonset to write the screenplay. The pair are best known for their work on theSawseries, so they certainly know their way around creepy material. Hit the jump for plot details and more.
Schwartz published three volumes of theScary Storiesbooks, which collected bits of urban legend and folklore. The first,Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, was published in 1981, followed byMore Scary Stories to Tell in the Darkin 1984 andScary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bonesin 1991. Together, the books have sold over 7 million copies worldwide to date.
However, even scarier than the stories themselves were the illustrations byStephen Gammell. They haunted my dreams when I was young, and still give me the heebie-jeebies today. Whatever CBS Films does with the tales, they just won’t be the same without Gammell’s art accompanying them. Just ask the fans whogot all up in armswhen the publishers brought inBrett Helquistto provide new illustrations a few years ago.
Then again, at least CBS Films has Melton and Dusnton on their side. The duo penned four installments of the very R-ratedSawseries, though they’ve lately moved into family-friendlier material. Earlier this year, theysigned onto pen the comic book adaptationThe Stuff of Legendfor Disney.
Discuss:With movies based onScary Stories,Goosebumps, and even Christopher Pike’sThe Last Vampirein the works, can aFear Streetpicture be far behind? Or another Lois Duncan adaptation?
