"The Teeth" scared the baloobius out of me when I was a wee lass! And who can forget Jenny and her green ribbon. A classic for a reason.

This was a book I remember from my childhood. A book I picked out of the school library constantly and then eventually on a used book sale at my school this book was for sale and I finally owned the exact copy.

Although it is somewhere in my boxes in the basement now, I will always remember this book as kinda spooky to me as a kid and nostalgic to me now :)

I never read this as a child but it is referenced in a lot of the horror I consume so I had to check it. Even as an adult, I feel that it was worth the read for the famous "The Green Ribbon" story alone. Having not read the story as a child, I've seen it all over the internet and I'm happy to report that the author did include citations at the end of the book for stories such as this that found its origins elsewhere. Classic and iconic - everyone should give this a read!

From the author of middle school favorite and frequently challenged Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz’ In A Dark, Dark Room is a collection of seven stories written with a younger elementary school audience in mind. The Foreword sets the stage in describing why scary stories are liked and sets up the premise for the book “when there is no real danger, feeling scared is fun.” And it is fun.


The Zimmer’s illustrations incorporate the important spooky elements of the stories to demonstrate the plot, but are also quite funny. The people have exaggerated features and the scare-factor is more of a surprise twist that can lead to a smile. Repetition of text is used, and text is spaced for anticipation and buildup to find out what happens next when the page is turned.


An ALA Notable Children’s Book as well as winner of several state recognition awards, In A Dark, Dark Room incorporates both traditional folklore as well as song in these stories. “Where The Stories Come From” at the end of the book describes the basis for the adaptation and retelling of the stories and song included in this collection for children. This is definitely a book beginning readers will pick up, enjoy, and remember.

Borrowed from the Kigali Public Library - An instant favorite for our 3 year old who likes things "a little bit scaaaarrry". Multiple shorter stories, some silly, some goosebump-inducing makes this one a super family favorite.

Yeah, who remembers this shit? I'm still amazed that my mother let me read basically everything by Alvin Schwartz when I was a child but when the first Harry Potter book came out she thought it would be 'too scary' for me. What metric are you grading scariness on, mom??? This was a wonderful trip down memory lane and if I was giving this my childhood rating it would probably be 4 or even 5 stars, but as an adult it's all a bit silly really [even though it's great for nostalgia].

Jenny’s green ribbon. Enough said.

the green ribbon is my childhoods terror

Thanks for traumatizing me, dad!