Scary Stories--Halloween 2013

Perhaps it's the gloomy rainy weather.  Or it might be the combination of heavy mist and smoke from burning leaves hanging in the air.  My furry friend is restless which does not bode well for the night ahead; her senses more keenly aware than mine.  It's October 31, 2013.

Today, since the atmosphere is charged with uncertainty and general spookiness, I'm going to my personal bookshelves, stacked with more than sixty Halloween books, books filled with fun and frights to delight every age.  These ten story collections contain some of the best shiver-inducing stories I've had the pleasure of sharing over the years.  Get cozy, make sure all the doors and windows are locked and turn off the lights.


The Haunting of America: Ghost Stories from Our Past by Jean Anderson with illustrations by Eric von Schmidt (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1973)
Twenty-four stories told again and again across our United States are gathered here by Jean Anderson for all to enjoy.  Of these, my favorite is The Harp Player of Pitcher's Point.  As the story goes, a place along the Mississippi Gulf Coast is haunted.  A ship's captain and his first mate, overcome by greed commit a horrible deed.  A lady with a harp does not forget; her music heard to this day.

A Taste For Quiet and Other Disquieting Tales by Judith Gorog, illustrations by Jeanne Titherington (Philomel Books, 1982) 

These twelve tales will unsettle you in most unexpected ways; not necessarily frightening but causing you to pause and reflect.  One of my favorites for any storytelling session, not only at Halloween, is Those Three Wishes.  Melinda Alice, known as Melinda Malice by her classmates, is clever and cruel. On a walk to school one morning, she nearly crushes a snail on the sidewalk deliberately.  What stops her is a promise of three wishes from this snail, a talking snail.  You really should be careful for what you wish.

No Swimming In Dark Pond and Other Chilling Tales by Judith Gorog (Philomel Books, 1987)
In this collection of thirteen, Judith Gorog heightens the fear factor.  The title story, No Swimming In Dark Pond, describes Matilda who would rather have the pond all to herself, scaring people when they are swimming.  Now all alone at the pond, she is satisfied her plan worked, until one day when she goes swimming.

 Gorog's version of Hookman is one of the scariest I have ever read. A drive down a deserted dirt road to get a forgotten suitcase ends any plans for a happy honeymoon.

Dr. Egger's Favorite Dog tells the tale of a doctor who does not have a great affection for dogs. She comes to realize they will protect those they love, even if they are no longer among the living.

When the Lights Go Out: 20 Scary Tales To Tell by Margaret Read MacDonald with illustrations by Roxane Murphy (The H. W. Wilson Company, 1988)

Margaret Read MacDonald, known for her collections of stories, divides this group into Not Too Scary, Scary In The Dark, Gross Stuff, Jump Tales, Tales To Act Out and Tales To Draw Or Stir Up.  A perennial favorite any time of the year is The Tale of a Black Cat.  This drawing story finds Tommy and his friend Sally facing something more than a new house.  For storytellers at any stage in their storytelling, this is a fantastic resource.

Things That Go Bump in the Night: a collection of original stories edited by Jane Yolen and Martin H. Greenberg (Harper & Row Publishers, 1989)
Eighteen stories by eighteen authors, many well-known in the field of children's literature are collected in this title.
Duffy's Jacket (Bruce Coville) tells the tale of a very forgetful boy, prone to leaving and losing his personal items.  One evening, after having left his jacket in the woods, he and his cousins are left alone in the cabin as their moms head into town.  A scratching sound can only mean one thing.  Someone, something, really was following them in the woods earlier.
Meech tries his best, but whatever he does old Mrs. Foss is never satisfied.  Leaves (Mary K. Whittington) tells of his raking her leaves for years.  You would think now that she's dead, he is done with this yearly job.  Mrs. Foss and her trees will have their way.
My favorite in this volume, by far, is The Babysitter (Jane Yolen).  It's the best babysitter story ever written in my opinion.  Hilary really does not like babysitting for the boys at the Mitchell's house.  Their stories of "Them" give her the shivers as does the ritual the boys insist on doing as they go down the hall to their bedroom.  The night before Halloween will be one Hilary remembers because of an intruder and "Them".  (Getting goosebumps just writing this.)

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack with illustrations by Brian Pinkney (Scholastic, 1992)(Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Author Award)
Of these ten original stories, capturing the history of the African American storytelling tradition, my favorite is The Legend of Pin Oak.  A plantation owner harbors a hatred for one of the male slaves, now married with a son.  A sale takes an unexpected twist at the edge of cliffs overlooking the river falls.  Three birds, a hidden cave and an underground railroad conductor add to the mystery.





The Ghost & I: Scary Stories For Participatory Telling edited by Jennifer Justice (Owl Moon Press, 1992)
I have used this book so much it is literally falling apart.  It is divided into three sections for ages 5-8, ages 9-11 and ages 12 and up.
The Graveyard Voice (Betty Lehrman) in the first section is the kind of story engaging readers right until the final words.  Groans and giggles will quickly follow.  An ordinary man with an ordinary family lives next to a graveyard.  One Halloween everything changes to the extraordinary.  The Witch Who 'Cracked Up' (Flora Joy) is a delightful tangram story.  Students can follow along using their own tangrams.
In section two Uncle Bill's Dream (Robin Moore) goes from haunting to hilarious.  A dream, a witch, a donkey and it's droppings make for an interesting combination.  It's grossness is sure to bring on the laughs.
From section three, The Woman in Grey (Shelia Dailey) and The Vampire Skeleton (Joseph Bruchac) are excellent.  In the first we find ourselves in a shopkeeper's market. He is waiting on a sad-eyed customer all dressed in grey.  Each time she comes to the store she leaves with a bottle of milk. No words are spoken.  No money changes hands. What is her secret?
A Native American woman, her husband and child are walking through the woods to another village in the second tale.  As night falls the husband, despite his wife's words of warning, urges them to stay in a hut in the woods.  What lurks inside the hut?  Who will survive?




Scary Story Reader: Forty-One of the Scariest Stories for Sleepovers, Campfires, Car & Bus Trips--Even for First Dates collected by Richard and Judy Dockrey Young, introduction by Jan Harold Brunvand, illustrations by Wendell E. Hall (August House Publishers, Inc., 1993)
With chapter headings like The Classic Urban Legends, The Urban Runners-Up, A Terror Tour of Our Nation, Jump!, Laugh Yourself to Death, and Our Favorite Horror Tales, there is something for everyone in this collection.  The one most requested, the one promoting the most discussion after the telling, is The Call from the Grave.  An old farm in the country is home to a little girl, her parents and grandfather.  When he dies her sadness is only lessened with the comfort of being able to see his grave from her home in the nearby cemetery.  A late babysitter, a terrifying storm and an unexpected phone call, give the girl sure knowledge that love transcends even death. 

Queen of the Cold-Blooded Tales by Roberta Simpson Brown (August House Publishers, Inc., 1993)

All of the stories written by Roberta Simpson Brown are chilling and not for the faint of heart.  Many take place in familiar places.  One which I have used with older students, upper middle and high school, is The Whittler.  It begins with a group of boys camping.  Their leader Arnold Fremont has just finished telling a scary story.  They beg him for one more, The Whittler.  Sometimes what we fear the most should not be the ghost.  Sometimes what we should fear is among us.  (This story is a ten on the creepy scale.)





Great Ghost Stories selected and illustrated by Barry Moser (Books of Wonder, William Morrow and Company, 1998)
These thirteen stories fall under the classic category; stories like The Monkey's Paw (W. W. Jacobs), How It Happened (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) or Dead Aaron (retold by James Haskins).  By far the most haunting is Polly Vaughn retold by Barry Moser.  I would recommend this for older audiences.  Polly and Jimmy, sweethearts for most of their lives, are getting married soon.  Both their families live in cabins in the mountains, their fathers working in the coal mines.  Hunting is an important part of becoming a man in the mountains.  Jimmy, after his first kill at the age of ten, has no desire to do it ever again.  On his way to meet Polly one afternoon, his mother calls him back, urging him to carry his gun.  They need food.  A heartbreaking tragedy occurs, lives will be lost and a voice from the grave is not heeded.  (Even reading this story again today, I find it unforgettable.  Even beyond the enjoyment factor, there is much to discuss.)

Be Afraid...Be Very Afraid

In 1940 a title won the Caldecott Honor award which would firmly cement Ludwig Bemelmans's name in the annuals of children's literature, Madeline.  Even today the first line is as familiar to most people as the refrain from a top ten song or the memorable quote from a classic movie.

In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.

When a song, movie or book has stood the test of time, become a favorite for generations, it can also be like a red flag to a bull.

When two great minds succumb to the temptation of applying their particular blend of humor to a classic, then readers are in for a treat.  Apparently author Rick Walton and illustrator Nathan Hale got bored one Halloween and replaced not only Madeline with a monster but the entire story has taken a turn toward the dark side.  Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody (Feiwel And Friends, an imprint of Macmillan) by Ludworst Bemonster is a spectacular, spooky story.

In a creepy old castle
all covered with spines,
lived twelve ugly monsters in two crooked lines.

Child-like versions of a skeleton, the bride of Frankenstein, a dragon, a pumpkinhead person, Dracula, a werewolf, a devil, a zombie, a one-eyed, long-tailed, reptilian alien-type guy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a mummy and Frankenstein do not break their bread, brush their teeth or go to bed.  Of course not, they're monsters!  There's a lot of head bonking, taking out of teeth and bed wetting.

When it comes to the good and the bad people they meet, it's safe to say everyone should run away...far, far away.  With all their boisterous bellowing the streets empty fairly quickly.  There is no littlest but an ugliest.  It's none other than Frankenstein.

Man, beast, even rocks are frightened by this mean, green being.  Poor Miss Devel falls victim to his torture, too.  Awakened in the dead of night (how she sleeps is beyond understanding) knowing something is not right, down to the dungeon she goes.  It would seem little Frankie has lost his head, literally.

Dr. Bone, a coffin, a hearse and two screws fix him up fine but the laboratory is never going to be the same.  During a frightful visit on a frightful night his fiendish friends don't want to go, oh no.  But Miss Devel has her say, until awakened in the dead of night, she knows something is not right.


Rick Walton's masterful use of language is readily apparent in each carefully written phrase, staying true to the original but giving it a humorous, twisted spin.  He's perfected each and every rhyme in all its monstrous gory...er, glory.  When you believe the end has come to a quiet close, think again...he's given readers a little bit more.

Devel screeched, "Call Doctor Bone!"
who came, then screamed, and grabbed his phone...
and dialed, FrankenSTEIN-ONE-ONE.


As a parodic partner Nathan Hale matches each selected syllable with clever, comical illustrations that define detail; done with Kuretake brush pens and Rapidograph Ultradraw ink, coloring with M. Graham Watercolors and Photoshop. A darkly hued palette of oranges, blacks, grays, some greens and browns with spots of red, yellow, blue and purple, creates a ghastly atmosphere for the visuals.  Beginning with the jacket the embossed seal is not the Caldecott Honor but A CaldeNOT Horror Book with who else, but a skeletal version of the Headless Horseman astride his stead. The front and back endpapers are nearly all orange, a dungeon wall, portraits of the castle inhabitants appropriately framed; the mummy in hexagon shaped frame with an Egyptian emblem at the top, the pumpkinhead person posing in front of a pile of pumpkins by a barn.

On the title page Feiwel And Friends is crossed out to read Feiwel And Fiends.  When Miss Devel checks on the monsters at rest in the dungeon, the Creature from the Black Lagoon is holding a fish like a stuffed animal and the skeleton is in a heap.  The layout and size of the pictures mirrors the original Madeline, as does the shift from limited colors to full page color.  Each reading will reveal more despicable particulars.


Rick Walton and Nathan Hale, aka Ludworst Bemonster, have written and illustrated a title, Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody, sure to produce ghoulish grins and giggles even if readers are not familiar with the original.  By following the link embedded in the title above you can view more of the illustrations at the publisher's website.  Links to the author's and illustrator's sites are attached to their names.  The official book trailer is below along with a video of a song that has been playing in my mind constantly as I read this story.  I highly recommend this title.  (Head over to the Madeline website by clicking on her name above.)


 

Halloween Hullabaloo

Over the years I have added many books to my personal collection to use with my students in the library.  I do love celebrating holidays and my shelves are a reflection of this joy.  Halloween is nearly here. I would like to share all the titles (all picture books except one) I have used over the years which I own.

I have categorized them loosely by grade level (K-4).  Keep in mind these groupings are for read aloud.  Depending on your students you can move them around. I know there are many more titles.  If you would like to recommend your favorites, please feel free to leave the title with the author and illustrator in the comments.

It is my hope to eventually create another Popplet with scary stories which I have learned to tell. These will extend to higher grade levels.

To view this Popplet full screen click on the icon in the lower right-hand corner.  You can move the screen through the grades by clicking and dragging.  Zoom in for the excerpts from the books as well as seeing the author, illustrator and title information.   Have fun with your students. Enjoy.

If the embedded version does not work, here is the link.

Halloween Happenings--Now or Next Year

Three reliable sources of great educational lessons and activities come from:

The New York Times, Education page, The Learning Network---Halloween

Larry Ferlazzo maintaining Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...The Best Websites for Learning About Halloween

Richard Byrne maintaining Free Technology for Teachers--All About Pumpkins and Halloween

Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Muth Masterpiece

In Zen Shorts, a Caldecott Honor book, and the companion, Zen Ties, readers were introduced to children, Karl, Michael and Addy along with their wise advisor and companion, a giant panda, Stillwater.
The foursome are together again in Zen Ghosts, a tale to be shared at Halloween or really anytime.

More reflective than frightening but spooky nonetheless, Zen Ghosts begins with the young siblings getting costumes ready the day before Halloween.  Stillwater asks them after the trick or treating to meet him at the big stone wall promising to take them to a storyteller.  After a journey to his home along an unfamiliar path they find themselves before a giant panda storyteller who surprisingly enough appears to bear a close resemblance to Stillwater.  But how could that be?  He is sitting next to them waiting to listen to the tale.  Holding up a brush the panda says, I am going to draw you a story...

Strokes of his brush reveal the lives of Senjo and her beloved Ochu, friends through childhood.  Surely they are meant to spend all their days together loving one another as husband and wife but the fates have other plans for them.  But can those destined to be together ever be separated? 

As Jon Muth states in his author's note at the book's end this is a great ghost story.  But he goes on to share his purpose for writing and illustrating this particular Buddhist koan.  His very thoughtful comments and questions about children facing the issue of duality early and throughout their lives are beneficial and enlightening just as they are meant to be.

Watercolor illustrations soft, inviting and begging to be touched create the perfect mood for this latest Zen book.  The initial endpapers of ghosts and jack-o-lanterns come-to-life scampering across a neighborhood street are sure to entice a quiet smile as will the two-page spread showing all the children trick or treating.  Showing the pirate owl on the closing endpapers offers readers the opportunity to continue contemplating the story within the story.  Mr. Jon Muth through his carefully rendered visuals and spare text has presented we lucky readers within another volume to be treasured.