For this year’s 31 Nights of Horror Challenge, the prompt for night 31 is Set on Halloween. We watched the movie Scary Stories to tell in the Dark (2019) on Amazon Prime.

Storyline

It’s 1968 in America. Change is blowing in the wind…but seemingly far removed from the unrest in the cities is the small town of Mill Valley where for generations, the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah, a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time-stories that have a way of becoming all too real for a group of teenagers who discover Sarah’s terrifying tomb.

‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ delivers chilling tension and effective scares through well-constructed suspenseful sequences, supported by a talented young cast that brings authentic charm. However, the film sharply divides audiences on engagement, with some finding it atmospheric and entertaining while others consider it forgettable or boring. The writing receives mixed reactions, as the concept of linking short stories proves fresh to some but messy and predictable to others.

Out thoughts on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) 

6 out of 10 stars

Trivia 

The home used for the Bellows’ House is the Fairbanks mansion located in the small town of Petrolia in southern Ontario, Canada.

Albinism is a double-recessive genetic trait, which means that Sarah Bellows had to inherit it from both of her parents. Given its rarity and the relatively small population of 19th century Pennsylvania, the twisted problems of the Bellows family may have included incest, though the marriage of first cousins at the time was also not uncommon.

The film is based on the “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” book series published in the 1980s, written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell.