The Book that Made Me: Jeremy Bennett on Alvin Schwartz. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
18/4/2014
 As far as I can remember I’ve always been into horror. By the time I was ten or eleven I was already a late night cable addict watching shows like USA Up All Night, Monster Vision, and Elvira. I was able to watch almost anything as long as it wasn’t Beavis and Butt-head, Ren and Stimpy or the Simpsons as a kid. How those shows were worse than say Friday the Thirteenth or Halloween I still haven’t figured out, but that was the deal. I also lived in a mobile home that was right behind a grave yard; so, every time I looked out my window I could see the head stones and a massive statue of the Virgin Mary standing on a snake, and it was a little ritual for us to tell ghost stories out around a camp fire in the back yard. Horror was just always kind of there for me. However, the kids book Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark felt like it was on another level. Sure I could watch Jason slash his way through a dozen campers, but man this little book got into my mind something awful. With its creepy stories and its illustrations that looked like they were designed by the devil after he had been locked in a metal institution it just felt evil. It had kept me on the verge of panic in many late night story telling sessions. It’s the first time I really remember being actually freaked out by a work of fiction. There was one story in particular about a scare crow that two guys made that really got too me. I can’t remember if it was book one or two, but man that thing was evil. It came to life and skinned one of the dudes and started tanning his skin. Something about the way Alvin Schwartz described it had me sending out a lot of late night prayers to God to keep that fucking thing a way from me. Harold was its name, and fuck Harold he still freaks me the fuck out.  Jeremy Bennett was born deep in the heart of Alaska. It had been rumored and prophesied that his coming would heralded a great and fantastic age of wonder, and to celebrate such an event Duran Duran released their hit single Hungry Like the Wolf in his honor. It was a bold move on their part, but one that would ultimately pay off.
He received an Anthropology degree specializing in Archeology with a minor in philosophy. Neither one helped pay the bills. So,he continued to work construction to make beer money. Soon after graduation Bennett finished his first book called Maleficarum: Hunger of the Witch. We have yet to see how that turns out. ABOUT MALEFICARUM Maleficarum is a gripping tale of horror, action and killer blow up dolls.Two teen girls, Beverly and Ann, are stalked by a ravenous witch and her evil brethren. In their desperate attempt to survive they barricade themselves in a New Age bookstore called The Black Crystal. As the fight for survival kicks into high gear the besieged teens use what ever weapons they can find, but with one gun and only a few bullets the situation grows more and more desperate. The modern world, the occult and supernatural beings clash in this fast passed story about the darkness that lurks just out of sight, and as hordes of cannibalistic witches gather outside it becomes clear that they’ll need more than locked doors to survive the night. PURCHASE A COPY HERE Comments are closed.
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