For the first outing of Our First Fears, I’m talking with author Anica Mrose Rissi about one of the pillars of horror fiction for kids: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell.

This collection of American folk-tales has been so impactful since its first publication in 1981—so creepy for the generations who continue to discover it—that Anica and I each ended up recently writing our own collections of scary tales, reaching for what Schwartz and Gammell accomplished way back when.

Anica’s book is called Hide and Don’t Seek: And Other Very Scary Stories, now in paperback from Quill Tree Books. And mine is Tales to Keep You Up at Night, with MORE Tales to Keep You Up at Night coming out on August 15, 2023 from Penguin Workshop. 

Join us for an exploration of Schwartz's story-telling techniques and Gammell's illustrated nightmare landscapes, both of which made this book one of the most challenged, and terrifying, of all time. 

(This episode can be listened to by all ages.)

Follow the Our First Fears podcast on social media sites @ourfirstfears. And feel free to reach out at [email protected].