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The original Gammell illustrations are returning to the books. We actually won this one. Stay tuned for the release details.

December 13, 2013

Bring Back the Original Artwork to the "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" Books

Bring Back the Original Artwork to the "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" Books

🏆 Won — 264 supporters Verified

Final supporters

A
AJ
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Ronald C.
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Rita
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Jennifer D.
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Joshua O.
S
Samantha W.
W
William R.
A
alissa
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Rachel M.
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Jennifer B.
+254 more
Started by Anonymous 14 years, 6 months ago
For the 30th anniversary of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book series by Alvin Schwartz, HarperCollins Publishers removed the terrifying artwork by Stephen Gammell and replaced it with very dull, child-friendly artwork by Brett Helquist. This has been seen as an outrage to many fans of the series, as they believe Stephen Gammell's illustrations to quite possibly be the scariest part of the books. To put it simply, the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books just aren't the same without the chilling pictures that young readers viewed alongside the stories for three decades.

This petition is an attempt to right that wrong and put Stephen Gammell's art back where it belongs--inside some of the greatest collections of scary stories ever, Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series.

Updates

Reached 250 supporters

October 22, 2013

February 8, 2012

100 signatures. Those original illustrations clearly meant as much to you as they did to me.

Reached 100 supporters

February 5, 2012

8 Comments

A
AJ
4 years ago Featured

Don't change art because you don't like it. Don't look at it, don't read it, don't let your kids read it, that's your choice. But denying that to someone else who may be interested in it, and changing the art because it doesn't suit your tastes, is wrong

R
Ronald Carlos
4 years ago Featured

Gammell's art is very unique. It is different in more than just it's scary nature, and is inspirational in that quality. I remember it for how strange it is even 30 years later.

R
Rita
4 years ago Featured

I used to read this book as a kid I loved me and my cousins used to read it to each other I read a story or two then my cousin did and so on I hate that these books were stolen from us from the now parents who want to share a piece of their childhood with their children. All the stuff past generations grew up with is apart of history it's in my opinion a way to show our children how much we advanced over the years. Bring my books back please

J
Jennifer Diaz
9 years ago Featured

So terribly disappointed when I bought the new editions of these books to find that the artwork, which had made such an impression on me as a child had been completely changed. The original art was brilliant and an essential accompaniment to the text. It was a poor choice to replace it.

M
Mike Webb
14 years ago Featured

Those illustrations literally gave me nightmares as a kid and I loved every second of it. The new ones are so boring and generic. Totally ruins the whole vibe of the stories.

S
Sarah Reyes
14 years ago Featured

BRING BACK THE ORIGINAL ART!!! The new drawings are just not the same at all. Stephen Gammell is a legend.

J
Josh Oikle
10 years ago

For real. Alvin Sxhwartz is probably "rolling in his grave" right now.

W
William R Frady
11 years ago

Though there is nothing wrong with the artwork of Brett Helquist, I sincerely believe that the artwork of Gammell needs to be returned to the Scary Stories books. His artwork has been a milestone int the iconography and pop-cultue history of these tales. They have often been the conversation piece that sends their readers scurrying to pick up a copy for their kids, teens, and even friends who have never experienced these tales and their delightfully gruesome appearance which adds to the atmosphere of the stories. That being said, however, There is, in all due reality, more harm to censorship than good. Many parents, believe that sheltering their child from the darker things in the world or censoring their exposure to things that are considered violent, scary, or often too "mature" is saving them from being exposed to harmful influences; however, in truth, all it does is create a sense of false security overshadowed by the overwhelming curiosity that eventually results in one of two possible outcomes- one of which is the eventual rebellion, the point when the child experiences what he or she was being denied by people outside of the parent's control and influence and then takes it into his or her mind that if my parents lied to me about this, then what else aren't they telling me. The other response is the complete and all but neurotic withdrawal from such influence that the child eventually makes an outcast of them self due to the self-driven phobias created by people whose well meant intentions has sparked a sense of xenophobic terror into these people and they are often too paranoid of these outside influences to allow themselves to think for themselves. There are others who are not phased either direction, but censorship often acts more on the superstitious belief that what you are exposed to will directly affect you in the same sense that stepping on a crack will break your mother's back. It is how we as people are guided by those whose responsibility it i

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