Eerie Tales from the School of Screams

Written and illustrated by Graham Annable

First Second

978-1-250-19503-6

368 pp.

Ages 8-13

July 2023

School has never been so scary and it's all courtesy of the scary stories told by the kids in Eerie Tales from the School of Screams. Or is it?

From Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annable

As child after child is called to tell their eeriest story, Davis and his sister Emily are far more reluctant. So, Alvin goes first with his story of "The Village That Vanished." His story involves two government officials looking for the village of Wattersburg to collect unpaid taxes. The men end up in a field of sheep where an elderly man finds them and invites them to a lone cabin where he tells them what happened to the 232 people of Wattersburg. It's a story about a town that made a pact with the original amphibious people with whom they trade livestock for fish until an unfortunate accident ruins everything. 

From Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annable

After Alvin tells his tale, his classmates critique it before Janine tells her story of "The Face in the Forest." Now told in shades of orange–the classroom scenes are greenish, and Alvin's story was coloured in olive drab–Janine's story focuses on little Luanne who lives with her abusive uncle and aunt since her father died, leaving his lottery winnings to her which would become available on her 18th birthday. One day as she gathers wood, she discovers a head who speaks to her. He doesn't remember much but he helps her locate his limbs and more. Determined to sew him back together, she goes to fetch a needle and thread but is accosted by her aunt and uncle from whom she defends herself. Distraught, she returns to the forest, where she does a good turn for the man with the separate body parts and he in turn for her.

From Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annable

Bernie's story, "The Ghastly Ghost Chase", illustrated in red, features some kids, a ghost and a drone, while Emily finally tells her science fiction story, "The Infinite Loop of Lunacy", about an alien breach on a spaceship. Finally, Davis is ready to tell his story "The Door to Demons" which the teacher criticizes for not being fictionalized. The kids find out soon enough how right she is.

From Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annable

A cover in black and red generally signals a book of horror to me and Eerie Tales from the School of Screams does deliver on the scariness of horror and the creepiness of monsters, aliens, the unknown and more. But, Graham Annable who has delighted young readers with his graphic novels about sloths Pete & Ernesto, always keeps it light and droll. There's a cheekiness to the individual stories and to the big story in which they are embedded. A head propped up in the woods looking to be reunited with its limbs, a grandfather with wild tufts of hair, and kids chasing a scaredy ghost tone down the revulsion of multi-limbed monsters, amphibious creatures, and body-swapping aliens. And he gives them saucy lines like the head telling Luanne "Don't be a stranger!" (pg. 107), Janine telling Alvin that she's not buying his story (pg. 76), or Poppi declaring "Stupid diabetes" (pg. 282) as he looks at his vegetable snacks. For lovers of scary stories, Graham Annable delivers multiple tales that surprise and chill without being gruesome. And his illustrations match that balance of frightening with entertaining. He keeps the landscapes austere whether it's a space ship, a field, a house or a classroom. The characters, human and not, are the stars, with their clothes boldly coloured compared to the backgrounds and their expressions and actions propelling the stories on. 

Eerie Tales from the School of Screams might become a hit for Halloween but really it's a weirdly fun read for anytime a middle-grade reader might like to be entertained with some fast-paced stories, quirky characters and the very familiar task of getting up in front of a class to tell a story. OK, it's a little different from most classroom activities but you'll only know how very different when you read the book. Do read it. It's worth the spine tingles.