The Curator: what books or stories gave you nightmares as a kid?
whoever thought scary kids books was a good idea should go straight to jail
Until I got to Substack, I had this naive idea that the things I experienced in childhood were singular. However, after discovering about 1.2 million of you were also traumatized by “The Green Ribbon” creepypasta story of a woman whose head is held on solely by a green ribbon, I realized my folly.
Children are already prone to nightmares, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense that we give them more fodder for their dreams in the form of really dark media. Yet nothing could have kept me away from these types of stories. I believe we are all born with light and dark inside of us, and it’s natural that kids want to explore it all in a safe, entertaining way. It's possible that my nightmares had nothing to do with stories and everything to do with reality (and a very anxiety-prone personality), but by age ten, I fell asleep to the radio every night just to keep the horrors at bay (and for you American Xennials, the voices on the radio were from Loveline which is an analysis for my therapist🙄).
But before all that, Little Natalie took one look at the scary stories library section and was like, I’m in.
The number one offender? Mr. Alvin Schwartz.
Exhibit 1: the Google results for Alvin Schwartz books.
I’M SORRY WHAT. You pass these out to children???
I believe I owned/read at least five of these as a child. And I loved them. I would read them over and over and over, no matter how scared I got. Perhaps the fear slowly etched out with each re-reading. Perhaps it helped soothe my anxiety by working out some of the more obscure fears floating in my body anchorless. I find a fascination with the dark side of life to be one of the hardest emotions to articulate - it digs at the lizard part of our brains that can’t be rationalized away.
In The Nix by Nathan Hill, the narrator’s mother is haunted by a Norweigian house spirit, or rather, the story of one cast upon her by her own father. As a child, she truly believed the spirit had the power to influence her life, and because she believed it, well, so it did. Instead of a shared cultural history, we Americans have our own lore cobbled together from other cultures and influences. These include all the terrifying stories in Alvin Schwartz’s collections.
I recently picked up a copy of the OG Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark at the local used bookstore, and man, the stories were silly. But you know what wasn't silly were those damn illustrations.
today’s curator is really a discussion thread -
What books scared you as a kid? or TV shows or movies? or stories that your parents or grandparents or siblings told you? maybe you have cultural stories that were passed down. (I know all my millennials with cable access are screaming Are You Afraid of the Dark at me right now).
whatever it is, share your deepest kid nightmare stuff with me! Happy Hauntings, bookworms!
reading 📖→
I’m sorry nothing has changed - still The White Album and still The Historian and still You Like it Darker on audio. I started talking about spooky season so many weeks ago that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to read or think about much else, but after next week, I will be ready to move on to some of the cozier/literary books on my TBR (and I am sure you will be too).
consuming📽️🎧→
The new episode of The Rewatchables on Hereditary was very good. Listening gave me my own hot take - this movie would not have been as well accepted if the Charlie character wasn’t so strange-looking. If you’ve seen this movie, plz discuss this with me in the comments!
Our annual rewatch of Casper and our new tradition, an annual rewatch of Hearthrob Anderson’s review of Casper (please go watch it).
books in my cart🛒→
I purchased a cutesy Penguin Classics tote bag so now I’ve been obsessively browsing for some penguin classics to add to my shelves. These are my favorite covers thus far.
book news and restacks📰→
Barnes & Noble and Blackwell’s both released their longlists for best book of the year 2024. What an interesting comparison. Getting Goodreads vibes from B&N, while Blackwell’s feels a bit more Booker-ish. I side with the Brits on this one.
an excellent list of books to channel the mythic horror of girlhood - Jawbone was already on my TBR thanks to a personalized rec from
👻(Electric Lit)more
! please read her insightful piece on the art of lost & cursed media (Substack)The Cut launched a new newsletter Book Gossip and even though I am subscribed to over 200 Substacks I thought WHY NOT ONE MORE.
and cats 🐈⬛→
with tote bags. didn’t think I would leave you hanging like that did ya? now I just need a place to take this thing.
let’s chat 👻→
See above re: scary childhood stories
Do you have any annual Halloween rewatches?
What are you reading currently, and is it any good?
in case you missed it 🖤
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See you around the bookshelf!
Oh, mah GAWDT. I still think about High Beams TO THIS DAY. I always check the back seat when I get in the car. Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark was always fun. I never got nightmares as a child, not even after my brother and parents died, which was weird and unique. I am very grateful for that.
La Llorona scared me as a kid. It's a story that Mexican parents use to scare their kids to come home before dark and/or stay away from water. My dad used it to keep us from the creek by our house. It worked. 😂
Joe and I have been doing 31 nights of Halloween horror where we watch a spooky movie every night. or at least try to, sometimes we fall asleep.
I've been eyeing Middlemarch by George Eliot. It's one of the few classics I have not read. That book has crossed my path three times this week and I'm taking that as my sign to read it asap.
Also subscribed to the cut's Book Gossip newsletter. I have a feeling it might be unhinged...hopefully in a good way.
Your tote bag is adorable! And so are the kitties. 😍
honored to be featured!!! I LOVED scary stories to tell in the dark as a kid, I remember the covers being terrifying. not a book, but I remember vividly being in a dvd rental store and my dad pointing out the blair witch project & me reading the back of it, and for years it was almost mythologized in my mind and when I finally watched it years later it was nothing like I thought but still one of my favorites