In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories (I Can Read! Reading 2) Paperback – October 1, 1985

I first read this book when I was seven years old, and for the proceeding fourteen years, it has remained my absolute favourite book of my childhood.First off, credit must be given where it's due, and Alvin Schwartz had an amazing knack for finding the best folk stories and compiling them into an anthology. However, the real star of this book is Dirk Zimmer's illustrations. Mr. Zimmer's style is, simply put, a mixture of both a certain kind of nostalgic feeling and absolute creepiness. Each character looks cartoon-y and is given exaggerated features (Not even counting The Teeth; where each character sans the protagonist have huge grins) and freckles, which is what saves the book from becoming almost too scary, like the Scary Stories books. (Talk about nightmare fuel when it comes to those illustrations!)When it comes to the stories, they're all great in their own way. The aforementioned 'Teeth' (my favourite as a child) is a great beginning tale, as it's much more funny and creepy than it is scary. It's about a boy who is walking home in the dark, and, after asking a man who looks like he'd belong on one of those Neighborhood Watch signs what time it is, is frightened when the man smiles and reveals his huge set of teeth. The boy then encounters two more men, whose smiles get progressively bigger. 'The Graveyard' is another one that is somewhat humourous, but a lot more creepy, due to showing a trio of green-skinned corpses. It is somewhat song-like in how it's written, and it deals with a woman who ponders death whilst eating a picnic inside of a graveyard. Everyone knows 'The Green Ribbon'. Decapitations galore, basically. 'In A Dark, Dark Room' is another song-like little story that culminates into a giant ghost popping out of a treasure chest. 'The Night It Rained' is possibly the most unnerving story in the whole book; I remember it being the most bothersome to me as a child. It deals with the spectre of a small boy, and a man driving home on a rainy night who seems him and believes him to be lost. 'The Pirate' is about a girl named Ruth who is staying at the haunted house of her cousin, where a pirate had supposedly died centuries before. 'The Ghost of John' is a nice closing poem about a skeleton, written by an eight-year-old girl.Like many reviewers have stated, it's up to you, the parent/guardian, to know your child well enough to know if this book will freak them out or not. And, you know what? Sometimes you just don't know how they'll react, either! I, myself, loved it as a seven-year-old, though it was also very unnerving. In a fun way, mind you! But, seven is probably a good age to 'test the waters' with this book. In the end, it all just matters on the disposition of your child, and what they can handle. This is a popular book for a reason, many end up loving it, even if it was initially scary!All in all, this is a fantastic book that you'd be hard pressed to ever forget. I really recommend it.(And, also, how I view the stories in order of scariness/creepiness: The Teeth, The Ghost of John, In A Dark, Dark Room, The Pirate, In The Graveyard, The Night It Rained, The Green Ribbon. Perhaps you could read the stories in this order, so you can stop before getting to the 'big guns', as it were, to not freak out your child.)

I ordered the hard cover!! It's the original!! This brought back many memories from childhood, I can't wait to read it to my kids. They love things spooky! Came in excellent condition! I will enjoy adding this to my library!

I bought this book for my children to enjoy, just like I did when I was young. The stories are unforgettable and engaging, perfect for early readers who’ll want to keep reading!

Nostalgia at its best. I remember this being the first book I purchased at a school book fair in elementary school. Brings back great memories of my brother's and I reading it and trying to scare one another.

Great book for scary stories! The green ribbon is a class favorite.

It looked great when arrived not torn or damaged! Looks like pictures

Our son has been begging for this book for years. I read reviews that it may give some children nightmares so I was hesitant. It turns out, our son read it at his school library behind my back prior to this purchase. He is a huge fan of scary stories and me forbidding this one made him want it even more I suppose. I remember these stories from when I was younger as well. They definitely seem like from a different era. Depending on the age of your child and their personality, they would probably enjoy it as much as my son. I made him wait until he was 8, but as I said, I think he read it at 6-7 without me knowing.

My ultimate favorite childhood book