The VERY Messed Up Origins of HAROLD | Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

[@JonSolo]

The first 100 people to download Endel by clicking the link or scanning the QR code will get a free week of audio experiences! bit.ly/JonSoloEndel

[@mousemd]

I likely stopped reading and watching tales like this somewhere between 1972 and 1975. So I probably never heard of the tales you are covering.

[@mousemd]

I got a hold of Grimm's Brothers Tales about a year ago. I mean a book that was translated from the original. Quite different from the version that children hear in the States

[@amberbush1999]

You should do all the stories from all 3 books the, ones you don't get to you can save for next Halloween. That's a lot to ask for a now but I think viewers including me would absolutely love it!

[@catebrooks6779]

😅🤣🤣🤣200 years ago... human, I am at LEAST 15 years older than you. So like, 16 millenia older. Love it. Love your vids.❤❤❤🎉🎉😂😂😂

[@JonSolo]

@@amberbush1999 great suggestion! I'm seeing so much love for this series in the comments that I'm considering making it something we discuss throughout the year instead of just during spooky season :)

[@emi-kat]

I remember back in elementary school, our librarian would turn off the lights and we sat in the corner while she read a few of the stories to us, Harold being one of them. Everyone was creeped out but had fun. But I was petrified because I actually lived in the middle of the corn fields in a big, old haunted house. And what made things worse was our outside cats ran on the roof, making it sound like Harold was on top of the house. Living every seven year old's dream

[@littlejimmy7402]

I had a great 5th grade teacher, She would put the lights out after lunch and let us put our heads down while she read to us from great books. Never nightmare fuel, but it got me into reading anyway. Stephen King got me into horror in the 70's.

[@fleurpouvior2967]

Saaaaame. Except instead of cats, it was squirrels, or raccoons. There was some discussion about putting up a scarecrow, and I shot that down so fast.

[@Jonnievon]

Cz’s world did it

[@enterusernamehere7150]

​@@fleurpouvior2967😂

[@mili1309]

oof i get scared of bugs easily I would not survive at being in a field especially after being told a scary story about it let alone in a old house that makes noices at night, props to you mate for surving it I would never be able to sleep until morning rises

[@SanguineCynic]

I'm 26 years old, and that story still sends a chill up my spine. It really was the most impactful story from the books for me. Seeing that horrible face makes me feel like a scared little kid again.

[@samdiel5527]

I'm 35 and I still love these. The best were the cassette tapes that were narrated by George S. Irving. Those were so scary! And I still play them for people to scare them!

[@PFirefly06]

40 year old here. Glad that these stories are still scaring kids to this day lol. Fantastic Books.

[@bigglypuff0420]

I'm 27 and I use to be so scared of this story too. That and the story about the mean wife murdering her husband in the woods...

[@3ch1dna07]

50's, and I read these when my oldest brought them home. It was a thing we did so that I could see what they are into and it was something extra to talk about. They were just as disturbing as a Stephen King story at times.

[@redmannamder3620]

29 & Harold stills terrifies me as well. I’m glad I’m not the only one who was so impacted by the story.

[@eamonclark4952]

“Harold” is a cautionary tale about what happens if you don’t respect people even when they aren’t in the room and teaches people to be kind and treat people with respect

[@meisteremm]

I think going further, it is also about why you should not mess with bad magic. They created an effigy, they gave it the name of another man that they hated, and they directed that hatred towards the doll in the forms of ritual abuse and spoken curses. The use of a doll as a means of magical punishment is often associated with Vodou, but this idea also has roots in many pre-Christian cultures throughout Europe. Basically, they may have been just pretending in the beginning, but their hatred for the man who inspired Harold was so real and so powerful that it gave life to inert materials, which eventually backfired on them when the doll sought revenge.

[@mintypal]

​@@meisteremmVoodoo dolls were used for rituals. However, instead of using it for cursing others, those dolls were used for benevolent reasons.

[@CallmeOzymandias]

​@@meisteremmGreat explanation, except the concept that dolls are used in Voodoo for malevolent purposes is grounded much more in myth than reality, Voodoo is actually a very peaceful religion. But the use of dolls for curses does date back incredibly far in other regions of the world.

[@drakulta4925]

​@@meisteremm That's how I interpreted that Thomas and Alfred unintentionally made voodoo doll scarecrow of Harold, and all the abuse they throw at Harold it also affected Harold himself to the point of death! (Which they are unaware of considering they didn't bother to check on him considering their hatred for him.) And it comes back to bite them later on when "Harold" came back to live...

[@rianaconklin6954]

I honestly lived on a farm when I read the Harold story to my siblings, and shortly after started hearing footsteps on the roof ,so of course we all freaked out, our parents were 4 hours late getting home, we were terrified and ended up walking 3-4 miles up the road to a neighbors house for help, it ended up being a drugged out person trying to break in that was on the roof, so just horrible timing for the story, but that story has always scared the crap out of me ever since

[@chanvalentine8283]

Maybe it was a good thing you read it, got scared and left. Maybe the druggie would've hurt you guys.😢

[@rianaconklin6954]

@@chanvalentine8283 honestly I've thought the same thing over the years, thank you for sharing ♥

[@mili1309]

@@rianaconklin6954 this story reminds me of the time my and my older cousin were staying at the house alone but where watching the scary movie of harold, at the time someone was trying to break into the house we got scared and crawled out the window which was probably dramatic incase it was actually our niebors or friends of my mom btw we were no more then 10 - 11 years old and our parents were nearby but at a nieghors house, we ended up running to where our parents was which was about 2 blocks down we were screaming at them that harold was at our house which they were very confused about since they never read the book or movie but luckily for us the robber was caught because he though no one was home since we went through the window, my and cousin dad's ended up pining the robber to the floor luckily he didn't have a gun sorry for long story and any grammers or miss spelling. english isn't my strong suit

[@captainflappyarms8277]

I'm just glad you didn't get hurt by the drug addict, it's good he didn't get in

[@lyfrocket]

Glad y’all remained safe and got outta there🙏🏾✨

[@andiskene7346]

The one about the bride was the creepiest one to me. Live burial is one of my bigger fears. But now that I'm an adult I have to wonder: who plays hide and seek on their wedding day??

[@tensiahuddleston9983]

In the bride's story, it says that all sorts of games were played at the reception; even old children's games. So they were just having a good light-hearted time and playing hide and seek for the heck of it!❤️🐱

[@jamieg1669]

Indeed, I always hated her picture, though, the big one that took up the whole page suited my brain cannon

[@Wolfbane382]

The Bedtime Stories episode Mysteries of Christmas covered a real-life story that is similar to The Bride's story. The only thing I'm not 100% sure on if that is the actual inspiration for the story from the book.

[@twistedwonderland1043]

God, that story fucked me up as a kid.

[@JonSolo]

that one has stuck with me too! the illustration of the bride perfectly embodied the sheer terror of that situation

[@lordeflockatee3399]

Literally wore my “Scary Stories To tell in the Dark” shirt today… perfect 😂

[@luciparadise6781]

Go get that lottery ticket. 😂

[@MinaOmega]

Where did you find that?

[@lordeflockatee3399]

@@MinaOmega either Spencer’s or Hot Topic… I’m old school 😂

[@MinaOmega]

@@lordeflockatee3399 you're in good company, then.

[@leijensen11]

Nice!

[@morganvaclavik5296]

As a teacher, I can say that, yes, these stories are still very popular

[@RubyBlueUwU]

One thing consistent throughout human history is kids love hearing some fucked up stories

[@cfruge444]

Too bad the newer illustrations aren't nearly as iconic, though.

[@thriceXplus7]

More than anything, the art is what stuck with me! It made all of those stories 1000x more scary.

[@boardcertifiable]

Harold always scared me. That was the spookiest of all the stories imo.

[@littlesongbird1]

Agreed.

[@zacharywheeler6605]

That one was the creepiest to me too!

[@xHuman-x_x]

Agreed… I’m genuinely creeped out by this story. And I usually don’t get that creeped out much.. but this story is just different. It’s actually hella scary.. I wish i had someone to get close to right now 😥😢🥲🥲😅

[@Estef182]

​@@xHuman-x_xSAME !!

[@cfruge444]

For me, it was The Drum. *Legit, but knowing the original story was half the inspiration for the Coraline novel put me off watching the movie for life.*

[@eriettam2970]

For some reason I always believed that Harold intended to wear Thomas's skin after it dried up

[@georgiprenatt8270]

That’s what I thought too.

[@dakota8002]

Me too

[@nightlyoko626]

I also remember how 500 years ago in the 90s when I was in 2nd grade my librarian would read these during Halloween week and I loved it lmao it introduced me to horror c:

[@elgatofelix8917]

Messed up Origins is a truly legendary series. Keep it up Solo! 👍

[@urfavpooks.daniii]

As someone who’s only in middle school, these books are my childhood. In elementary school everyone would always take them in the library and they were all so hard to find. Later I watched the movie and it was AWESOME! I totally recommend

[@iamtheonedude]

The big toe story traumatized me. My dad read it to me when I was around 3-4 and acted out the corpse, but he reworded the story a little to make the corpses presence a complete Surprise and shouted "WHERES MY TOE" super loud and I almost died. Sounds a little silly but it fr scared the holy hell outta me.

[@mekinda7354]

We actually have a local legend pretty close to this. There’s an old house with antique dolls in all the windows with Victorian era clothes, the dolls would freak the little kids out and the older kids used this to their advantage. I was told this story by some random older kid and since then it had been “passed” down to traumatize the kindergarteners for more years to come💀 Basically it was said that years before the school fenced in the playground the dolls “lured” two kids into the house and they would be locked in the attic by the old woman that owned the house, they would stay there for many days the dolls becoming more active each night before murdering each of the kids causing them to posses and take the place of the dolls until those two kids found their kill victims before they could leave.

[@anti-liberal7167]

Dont ever laugh when a hearse goes by or you may be the next to die that poem has stayed with me for 30 years

[@Lutherstrode17492]

It’s always a good day when Jon uploads

[@seanfrizzell8227]

One story that stay with me is Me Tie Dough-ty Walker. That story really creep me out. It's really cool that you're covering the Scary Stories to tell in the Dark book and looking deeper into the folklore of these Stories.

[@cfruge444]

I've never been able to find what the poem translates to, but according to a comment on Moon Raven's animated vid, the title apparently means "You Are A Good Dog".

[@seanfrizzell8227]

@cfruge444 Oh, cool.

[@tiakay]

I never heard of “Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark” until a very dear online friend of mine introduced me to the book series when I entered my mid twenties and I eventually got around to reading every volume I could get my hands on at my old library I used to volunteer at and fell in love with the series. Thank you for sharing this interesting video with us and I hope you have a very nice weekend.

[@Ashley-ot7do]

I loved these growing up in middle school and they all pretty much terrified me. The only one that I would re-read over and over was called “Cold As Clay.” I thought it was sweet in some sad and twisted way. I hope you get to cover that one!

[@zoiewitch3516]

Same! I love cold as clay. I hope the dad learned his lesson though. People love who they love and it can be scary when you fight it

[@sxatcychan1988]

I got curious and looked it up. I think Junji Ito made a comic similar to this story.

[@___David__]

I appreciate you retelling these stories instead of assuming we all know them. I was born in the 80's, grew up in the late 80's and 90's and had never heard of any of this. Being in Portugal, all we used to get over here were the stories from the Brothers Grimm and that was it. And even those were mostly watered down by the publishers, lest an uproar of concerned mothers would rise.

[@JamesBrown-fz9kl]

"About 200 years ago, when I was in grade school" Bro I can relate on a humor level and emotional level behind the sentiment. ❤

[@jacobshore5115]

That stuff you said about the Sennentuntschi reminded me of these scarecrow monsters from the game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Never knew there was some kind of historical and folkloric precedent to such creatures! Just thought they were a scary monster come to life by witch magic, and there’s a lot of other stories about scarecrows coming to life too, so, I thought it was just referencing those.

[@yaeldragwyla8170]

I never read any of the books in that series. This is a first-time introduction to them for me. Thank you for this thoughtful review. 🙂

[@sandrag3854]

Same. I'm glad to get the story by Jon rather than reading them myself. It sounds horrific!

[@lalehiandeity1649]

Definitely read them if you want to be traumatized for life. Listen to the audiobooks for added effect. It’s amazing.

[@barbarahouk1983]

I too did not read these stories. Jon is as always entertaining.

[@talkingfez1265]

YOU HAVE TO!!!!!!! YOU"RE MISSING OUT!!!!!!!

[@amandaoroberts]

There’s a few of them that generally are but for the most part a lot of them are cheesey.

[@samiam2088]

I LOVED these books, the artwork still haunts me.

[@zoiewitch3516]

I actually really enjoyed "Cold as Clay" but the one that scared me the most was surprisingly either the one where that girl rented a dress and got embalmed through her pores by it or "wendigo" which made me terrified to fall asleep that night. My family has a long line of not scaring easily though.

[@PeriwinkleB]

I’m 25 and I remember these books and the nightmares I had vividly because of them. The spider one traumatized me because that following, a spider bit me and laid eggs in my thigh. Ever since then, I’ve had an intense arachnophobia issue. I’ve also grown a discomfort for scarecrows and red doors 😂

[@jasoncary2496]

I am 43 and owned the box set of the books. Harold was always the creepiest story in the books to me when i was a kid

[@Wytch1]

I bought these books back when I was 20 years old and have loved the stories so much! I’m 50 now and Harold STILL makes my skin crawl! I also still have all three books! So happy I found your channel!

[@wendigo95]

As a kid I checked those books out of the library every chance I got, I honestly think they're what got me hooked on horror movies and tales. The one that stuck with me the most and gave me the most nightmares was the white wolf story, still probably my favorite.

[@omundodovini3774]

*Video Suggestions:* - The Messed Up Origins of The Prince of Egypt (Book of Exodus); - The VERY Messed Up Origins of Quest for Camelot (The King's Damosel); - The Messed Up Origins of The Fearless Four (The Bremen Town Musicians); - The Messed Up Origins of The Secret of N.I.M.H. (Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H.); - The Messed Up Origins of Rock-a-Doodle (Chanticleer); - The Messed Up Origins of The Wizard of Oz (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz); - The Messed Up Origins of The Steadfast Tin Soldier

[@nocturne6548]

This video is awesome! I appreciate learning about the history of Harold's inspiration! One story that scares me to this day from this series is the story of the man and the dog. I don't remember the title of the story, but I remember it featuring a voice saying "Me-tie-doughty-walker", as a man and his dog are hiding in a house.

[@jonimedaugh5328]

This story was probably the scariest thing for me as a kid. It really doesn’t help when I drive through town in October and all the scarecrows line the main road. I’m 41 and still can’t read these books after dark.

[@elysiapalmer9244]

Technically you started with Tailypo but.... YES!!! THE SCARY STORIES BOOKS WERE MY ALL TIME FAVIE! You think checking out at the library was bad just consider yourself lucky you didn't try to pick them up from the scholastic book fair, always one of the first to sell out. Soooooo happy you're doing this series, my heart is in these books (and in my throat with the reminder of how MESSED UP I was as a child hahahaha)

[@CapriciousCobra]

You mean, the big toe, just delicious, or is there another that resembles it even more closely?

[@rocketskoipond9244]

This story traumatized me as a kid, and I never even knew it lol I hadn't heard of the books, I got it secondhand from another kid while we were riding in the back of my dad's truck. I don't remember exactly how they told it, but I do remember the final line so vividly. Something about the man looking back to the farm, and seeing the scarecrow "hanging up a hide that was so bloody, hanging it up to dry." Stuck with my little kid brain for LIFE.

[@eeeman]

The nostalgia hits the spot. I remember I read these books during October before they changed their illustrations.

[@kristincox0212]

‘Harold’ is hands down my favorite story out of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I was around 7 and was fascinated by the cover of the first book. My mom bought it and then the other two books and read out of them to my older sis by 3 years and myself. I would also read them over and over on my own and pore over the illustrations. I idolized Stephen Gammell. I’m 39 now and own all three in one volume. Still love the stories and adore the illustrations.

[@kingblanketfort]

I absolutely loved these books as a kid. I just turned 36 in August and I had every single one growing up. Read them a million times over! ❤💀

[@damnthatscrazy4426]

This was the main story I remembered in the collection and I didn’t even read the story. I remeber my older brother asking me to sit on the toilet seat while he showered bc he was scared of the story. My stupid self asked him oh what was the story about and he told it to me perfectly and it scared me to the point where *I* needed our family dog to stay in the bathroom with me bc younger sibling mindset on being embarrassed to look like a chump if I asked my brother to stay when it was my turn. Since then the story has lived in my mind rent free. Thank you scary stories for giving me a traumatizing bonding experience with my older brother.

[@Chesh89]

Omg yes!!! I grew up on these and have the collection... that my son loves now too!

[@slam_minimo4559]

When I seen the first scary story to tell in the dark book. I was like 6. I didn't know how to read at the time. But the pictures we're so unnerving. I never knew what was happening in the story. But I always came back for the pictures. And weirdly enough, those books have a special place in my heart.

[@mietitore1823]

My Big Toe story and Tailypo story that was in Jon Solo last video have similar themes. Main character eats a body part, the creature comes looking for lost part, and finally they both come together.

[@captainflappyarms8277]

When I was watching the movie Harold and the big toe one spooked me so much so I turned the TV off then watched a more lighthearted movie to clear my head lol

[@HedgieDaUmbrehog]

Fun Fact! When I was a kid, my brother had these books. Read them like mad. Then I got to the story of the spider laying the eggs. The illustrations haunted me so bad it gave me night terrors, and made my mom throw the books away. Years and Years later, the movie was coming out. So, I forced myself to nut up, and rebought all three books. And I sat, in the dark. Alone in my house. And read them all. Repeatedly. Still gives me goosebumps, but thanks to years of being alive, could handle it much better. But gotdamn those illustrations...

[@Nylak-Otter]

These were my favorite books when I was a kid. And yeah, I LOVED the art. My older sister got them for me because she was trying to corrupt me, and it worked. The series turned out to be one of the first books I learned to read without help (so around 5-ish; I was an early reader), and I've got a limited edition full anthology I'm saving for any future offspring. I tried to share em with my nephew when he was around 9 to get back at my late sister, and he couldn't even handle em then. Wuss. 😂 I didn't understand the Harold story's end at first, so my sister explained it to me with the assistance of a deerskin pelt I had in my bedroom. Apparently I was cool with that.

[@moy9948]

Back in middle school, Harold was the only story from the book that made me put it down and not read for a whole week, hell I didn't even finished the story. I don't remember the story, but something about it made me fill anxious unlike the other stories.

[@enriqueramirez0615]

If you want to do a messed up origins on folklore try driving in the Norwegian folklore of "Trolls". For this one you could actually talk about the old ideal concept of the trolls in mythology as well as the new ideal concept in the DreamWorks Trolls franchise Based on the original Troll Doll by Thomas Dam.

[@ladiesweb4769]

Oh man! Of all the scary story books. This is the story that stuck with me for years!!!

[@thatguy_5240]

These books definitely kickstarted my love of horror and my altogether weird tastes and interests. It's actually surprising these books were in schools. Not because I think it's too much for children, but because it's too much for parents lol. While these don't really scare me the way they used to, a lot of these stories are still incredibly unsettling

[@daxtonlovell6819]

I read the book like 10 years ago and this is the story that has stuck with me since I was 9 years old

[@TheBlairWenchProject]

_these stories scared the crap out of me as a kid. I loved it. Til this day I love horror. I couldn’t wait for part 2 of the book._

[@dmulcahy8846]

These books were a HUGE part of my childhood and I read them to my son as well! (He’s 15 and still won’t look at the pictures). I will watch every video you make on these stories and American folklore

[@sarapenn9776]

These books terrified me as a kid. I still have the first one and my nephews (who grew up on FNAF) were scared by them.

[@cjmeierartist]

I love the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark series. Specifically the white woman, she terrifies me. She has always caused unease and the drawing mesmerized me and I’d stare at it for hours… then I have nightmares. When the movie came out, I was terrified when she came on screen and I couldn’t look away while simultaneously trying to run away. My partner had to hold me firmly as there was no where to go (we were in the middle of a row) and they whispered to me I was safe until the scene passed. The magic of horror stories and trauma of art.

[@samaliakempf3304]

My sister & I loved these books, as well as our kids! My daughter would like to hear about "The Big Toe". We love your Messed up Origins too!

[@Megan-bt9pm]

I don't recall if it was an official Scary Stories book or just one with a similar premise, but I distinctly recall a story about a woman with a red ribbon tied around her neck. Her lover was curious about it and she would deflect. I forgot exactly how, but he either tricks her, he does it himself surprising her, or she is dying and it's her final secret to him, but the ribbon is unties and it reveals that that was the only thing keeping her head on.

[@Carter-k7j]

Yes,I know,what you're talking about! It wasn't a Scary Stories,but like you said,it had a similar premise. I had to look it up since I forgot,the book is called"In a Dark,Dark Room and Other Scary Stories",and the story you're talking about is"The Green Ribbon".

[@Megan-bt9pm]

@@Carter-k7j thanks for the assist!! Guess I remembered the color of the ribbon wrong, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers that story

[@Carter-k7j]

@@Megan-bt9pm I did some further research,and apparently there are other versions,all based on a short french story.

[@nathanielturner2577]

I remember hearing the story “ Harold” in middle school. We even made a dummy out of old clothes and cotton that we used as a stand in for a violent scene in “ The Outsiders”.

[@Prof.Tarfeather]

Never heard of this story or saw the movie? Thank you for sharing this and the Author of the Series. My Grandchildren would love these.

[@AnimeAngel88]

I'm about to turn 35 later this month and these stories still scare the shit out of me.

[@волк-ы1ш]

My grandma got these books for my brother. We'd always bring them camping and my aunt used to read them to us, she read them so well and would always do the scream at the end!!

[@TNHawke]

I never read book 3, but the art in the books freaked me out WAY more than the stories did. I remember laughing at some of them, like eating the toe. If I had read Harold, that may have been different!

[@chanterelle483]

Holly molly, that folk legend is in a book from my childhood, folklore of Bohemian Forest. It's more polished, but it's definitely it. Stories are such a weird and wonderful thing, I love it.

[@Wolfbane382]

God, I love these books. I bought all three at the Bookfair when I was I kid and would read them practically non-stop while I waited for my mom to come to pick me up from daycare. I brought them along when my mom and I went camping during the summer and asked her to read some at night. I swear to you, I would hear woodlin noises out in the woods after I went to bed. My eyes would dart around my tent as I'd honestly think one of the ghosts or monsters from the book was looking for me. I truly cherish those memories along with the books themselves. Plus I love pouring over the notes in the back because of how fascinating it was to get an idea of which story came from where. ^_^ Edit: Three stories always stuck with me. The first is the bride. My great-grandmother had a truck that was similar in the story, but just a bit smaller. After I read it and went to stay at her house for a weekend, I got rather nervous being around that trunk. I knew there wasn't anything in there but the quilts she made, but I kept picturing my body and how it would look after getting stuck in there by accident. Needless to say, I avoided that trunk at all costs as a kid. The second was Sounds. I would always try to picture what kind of murder took place inside the house those fishermen took shelter in during that storm. The third one was One Sunday Morning. That one gave me a very vivid nightmare as a kid.

[@jamieg1669]

Those stories, with the original artwork, are what my great aunt would call "milkbox book". If a book was so scary that she couldn't bear to even keep in the house, she'd hide it in the milk box on the porch, where the milkman would find it during his morning deliveries.

[@PurpleLugia]

I remember the existence of the "Scary Stories" books all too well, though I never read past the second one, so I never knew the story of Harold. I don't know how I forgot all but one story from the first two books (that story being "Bloody Fingers"), but I hope you cover more stories; maybe some others will ring a bell.

[@ShinigamiComplex]

Worked as an elementary school librarians assistant a couple of years ago, can confirm kids still love the shit out of the SStTiTD series.

[@sharondacox6178]

I was fortunate to convince myself that being "a good girl" would make sure I never agitated a monster like Harold. Then I grew up and saw horror films that blew that theory away.

[@andershay99212]

Im so glad you are doing this series. I loved all of the stories as a kid. I appreciate all of the research you do.

[@blancol4104]

I’m such a punk so I’ll never read this or watch scary movies but I’m nosy so I appreciate these videos lol

[@felixchaplin]

I'm 27 and the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books were always getting checked out from the school library around Halloween time every year when I was in elementary school. One year, I expressed my frustration to the school librarian about my inability to check out the books, and she recommended a different book for me to read. It was a collection of stories by Edgar Allan Poe, and I've loved his work ever since

[@Fimbleshanks]

Unfortunately, I didn't grow up with the books, but perhaps because of that I liked the movie quite a bit. The monsters were creepy as hell, the little romance was cute, and from what I knew about the series, the plot they tied it together with was more than serviceable. Great idea for your October series! I'm really looking forward to the rest of them!

[@sweetstar222]

I work at an elementary school and used to work in the library there (I still help in there sometimes). Last year, I started getting the kids interested in these books again. I even read Harold to the 6th graders before Halloween. They all loved it and since then those books have gotten new life. Unfortunately some of the newer copies don’t have the same amazing artwork so I made sure to put the good old ones on display .

[@Silverserri]

Something really subtle about this story is the underlying lesson you learn from it: even the most passive and seemingly helpless individual will eventually get sick of abuse, and when it happens, they will retaliate. Harold wasn't even meant to be alive, but he was given human features and treated as if he were. And eventually, he stopped tolerating the abuse.

[@ingridfong-daley5899]

I can't believe how much i enjoy this channel. I was never really into mythology or fairy tales, but the algorithm led me here 2-3 years ago, and i'm always eagerly awaiting the next upload. Thank you for your passion and for sharing your humour and wisdom with the rest of us :)

[@bgvo4373]

I loved these books!!! They were so scary!

[@Rerli1]

This is making my heart happy and causing my anxiety to raise all at once. I appreciate you.

[@sephypsycologist]

i read the books in high school cause they were too scary for my middle school self XD harold was always the scariest to me, and it's so cool to hear he came from actual legends. i hope del toro makes a sequel to the movie too...

[@dazofrhinen74]

I remember seeing scary stories in my elementary school libraries, and was always enthralled and terrified by the illustrations and story lines. I'm convinced that these books fostered my love for horror and creepy stories from early on.

[@theanimeunderworld8338]

"Oh I know it sounds suspicious, but you look damn delicious, if I only had your brain!!"

[@AmyLeigh081]

The one with the spider eggs in her face still lives rent free in my brain and I’m 42 years old

[@Cory69222]

I was maybe 7 when I read these books, Harold was by far the scariest story to me and it made me feel sick and truly horrified 😅 I've never forgotten reading it for the first time.

[@Laurel608]

I’m 41 and I was a little old for the scary stories but the Harold story always got me! I’d find myself always a little extra nervous around my Mom’s stuffed scarecrow (from a craft fair) that she kept on her bed!

[@havingfun9324]

My goodness I had all three of these books and they absolutely scared me everytime I read them. Although the ending of Bloody Finger, if I’m remembering it correctly, was rather funny with the guy telling him to get a band-aid.

[@kendallchaos]

My absolute favorite “scary story” from this series is definitely bloody fingers, I always loved the punchline of the nonchalant “dude get yourself a bandaid”

[@DobrieLov]

Ah yes, me and my sister are 90s babies and we adore these books. Lol. We always thought they were more badass than scary. But for me the one exception is one of the vampire stories. I dunno why but the description of the vampire looking in the window freaked me out as a kid. Lol. Of course in the picture it looked like a rotting corpse not a vampire. On nights when there were orangey clouds in the sky, if I saw a cloud that looked like a skull, it would remind me of that story and I’d get scared thinking it was a bad omen. Lol

[@jackiesliterarycorner]

I love these stories growing up and it's great you're covering them this year.

[@ChaunceyKnox]

Cool videos 😊😊😊

[@emmetthowell899]

Back in elementary school (in the mid 2000’s) the books were so popular and there was a constant demand for them that the librarian personally bought three extra copies of all three books so there wasn’t just an ever expanding waitlist to go through each Monday. I absolutely adored the books and while they were super creepy and scared the hell out of lil 3rd grade me it never really kept me up or gave me nightmares and I think that’s because I knew the entire purpose of the book was to scare me and wasn’t real life

[@Softsqueakyduck]

As a young child (30 years ago) I LOVED these books!! I had all of them, I think it's what inspired my love of horror. 😅

[@Wooshey_Wooj]

0:35 I used to have nightmares about this photo in elementary school. I found the sealed trilogy at a thrift store. So happy it wasn’t the new release with the new illustrations. But the story that got me the most is The Girl Who Stood on the Grave. Ughhhhhh.

[@darkcryscream2201]

That girl died of heart attack from scaring herself after she heard story of ghost can grab you. Her dress was caught on a branch. She died of a heart attack thinking something grabbed her ^^

[@Wooshey_Wooj]

@@darkcryscream2201 Right Heart attack and died of fright. But the artwork. I remember going back to class being shook. 😂

[@zsfantasticbooks]

As a kid of the 90's, I never read them but I did watch the movie in the dark during in my 31 year old and seen the pics compare to the movie is very identical and creepy looking to be honest, these books are scarier than Goosebumps, in my opinion.

[@katiegustafson6765]

The one I remember vividly from the late eighties/early nineties is called either the ribbon or the necklace. A beautiful mysterious woman comes to town and always wears a black choker necklace/ ribbon. All the men are smitten with her and she picks one and marries him but admonishes: never take off my necklace. Of course, he does take it off, and her head falls off as well. I think of that story every single time I see a lady wearing a choker, nearly 40 years later.

[@BoRaiChoWins]

Loved the scary stories to tell in the dark series. They were a classic

[@jamieserrano827]

The classic illustrations also live rent free in my head as well When weekend I went to stay with my cousin down in San Diego, and she and my sister was scaring me with all the jump stories from the book I still love that book to this day, even the Southfield stations they definitely would not pack the same punch The scary stories to tell in the dark treasury is a spooky season classic for a good reason

[@drewske1984]

"One Sunday Morning" stuck with me behind "Harold's" story. When the main character encounters a church service for the dead always frightens me! A very well-told story in the book series.

[@justanonbinarynerd-ne9tt]

Even today, people still read these books. They’re some of my favorite stories, and the Pale Lady and Harold make me scared all over again. I wouldn’t give these stories up for the world❤

[@regib1992]

I’m 41 and this brings horror nostalgia my anxiety can’t take it!

[@businessman19]

Harold was one of my biggest childhood fears, I still haven’t recovered from when my cousin read the story to me when i was young. Just as he finished telling it my dad thought it would be funny to sneak up behind me and grab my shoulders. I was crying right until I went to sleep that night.

[@JesusRN16]

That legend of the girl and food guy sound like the inspiration for that one episode of Chowder, where the lady brings a meatloaf to life.

[@maddy8124]

As a 2000s baby, I wish we had books like this. This is EXACTLY the books I was looking for every time I went to the library and could never find a good one.