[LM_NET] HIT: 8th grade Halloween story

[Tracy Magin <ttmagin@YAHOO.COM>]

I hanve't quite decided what to read but I have plenty of ideas.  Thanks to all.

 

Look at the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz. This is a 
collection of short stories that are appropriate for Halloween.

 

I like The Elevator by William Sleator from the book Things That Go Bump in the 
Night (a collection of short stories, edited by Jane Yolen). 

 

You might consider reading them "The Witch of Coos" by Robert Frost. It is the 
first of "Two Witches" . Yes it is poetry, but Frost has poems appropriate for all 
occasions. I am really an elementary person but I only use it for the higher level 
5s and 6s. Another story, one that was written for primary but works better with 
older students is "Hubnuckles" I don't remember the author, and you may have to 
borrow it from an elementary school. 

 

Try "Mama Gone" by Jane Yolen in "Vampires". I tell this to teenagers and adults - 
they LOVE it. It's creepy and lovely at the same time. 

I have read both "Mama Gone" and "The Babysitter" from Jane Yolen's Twelve 
Impossible Things Before Breakfast to 7th graders for Halloween, but I think they 
would work just as well with 8th graders.

 

My 8th graders LOVE the book Scary Stories By Alvin Schwartz. Also More Scary 
Stories. 

The short story about the sausage king really grosses them out. 

 

When I taught freshman English, my students always enjoyed "The Monkey's Paw" by W. 
W. Jacobs. It was just scary enough and just believeable enough to be fun but not 
something that could get you into trouble with anyone (parents, administration).

The Monkey's Paw by Jacobs and The Black Ribbon (The German Student by Irving ) are 
good. 

 

If you can get your hands on "Nightmares : Poems to Trouble Your Sleep" by Jack 
Prelutsky, you will find some great poems to tingle your 8th graders spines. Turn 
your lights down or off, if you can still read in your library that way. 



Tracy Magin,librarian
Walker-Grant Middle School
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
ttmagin@yahoo.com
                
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