Terrifying trailer for scary stories to tell in the dark will give you mega-thrills

All these scary stories that kids are telling around campfires to scare their friends who have come to live a terrifying life in Scary stories to tell in the dark, a new film by producer Guillermo del Toro. It is based on a series of children's books from the 1980s by Alvin Schwartz, who drew on common folklore and popular urban legends for his scary stories.

Do you remember that clbadic campfire song, "worms crawl into creeping worms / worms play pinochle on your snout"? Schwartz too. This is the basis of his scary story "The Hearse Song". You will also find variations on the killer with a hook for a hand that will attack couples hugging in parked cars. Similarly, the unfortunate babysitter who discovers that the call comes from inside the house, with a lot of other scary fare. (The 2018 documentary Scary stories plunges deeper into the Schwartz source material.)

Although the books are technically aimed at children, the material is quite dark, which is why the series has often been ranked among the most controversial books by the American Library Association. People opposed the series of scenes of violence in Scary Stories – and the surreal images of illustrator Stephen Gammell only add to potential nightmares. In fact, publisher Harper Collins released a new edition of the 30th Anniversary in 2011 that did not include Gammell's original artwork, which caused a tumult among long-time fans.

In short, books are an excellent fodder for del Toro, whose visually distinctive work has often been focused on fairy tales and fantasy (Pan's Labyrinth), clbadic horror (Crimson Peak, Mama), monsters (Hellboy, the shape of the water), etc. He signed with CBS Films in 2016 to develop and produce a feature film adapted from Schwartz's Scary Stories series. He finally hired André Øvredal (Troll hunter) to lead. Del Toro said it is not a standard anthology film; the different stories form a coherent whole.

Based on the trailer, del Toro has more than done justice to this clbadic series. He hits all the right notes: the spooky mansion on the outskirts of the city, possibly haunted by the Bellows family; a cursed book that belonged to the young Sarah Bellows; curious pre-teens who can not leave alone well enough; and tons of terrifying ghosts and monsters, all apparently from the psyche of targeted victims. "You do not read the book, the book reads you," said Stella Nicholls (Zoe Colletti) at one point.

Scary stories to tell in the dark in theaters August 9, 2019.

Announcement image of YouTube / CBS Films