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Sneak Peek: Artists Paying Tribute to ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ With Special Exhibit
A documentary is on the way. A movie is possible. And now there’s an art exhibit!
There’s a reason that Alvin Schwartz’s three-book series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is still fondly remembered today, nearly 40 years after the first book was released. The books, which came out between 1981 and 1991, terrified a couple generations of young horror fans, combining spooky stories (some of which had clever “jump scare” finales) with truly nightmarish artwork.
The illustrations came courtesy of artist Stephen Gammell, and I think it’s pretty safe to say that they’ve become more iconic than even the stories themselves. Gammell’s terrifying illustrations have an otherworldly horror to them, and one has to wonder how popular the books would’ve been had Schwartz and Gammell not collaborated on the project. Truly a match made in… Hell.
This Friday night, March 10th, a lineup of artists will be showing off their Scary Stories-inspired work as part of the tribute exhibit Scary Stories to Tell in the Art. On display from 7pm to 12am at San Antonio, Texas’ Brick at Blue Star Arts Complex, the exhibit is free to attend and guests are invited to dress up in spooky costumes inspired by the Scary Stories books.
Take a sneak peek below, via the event’s Instagram account; if you’re unable to attend, be sure to follow the account as it will serve as a live feed once the event begins tomorrow night.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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