Remember those really creepy books we all used to read in 5th grade that were way too scary for 5th graders? No? Let me refresh your memory! Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal (‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’) will direct the adaptation of Alvin Schwartz‘s book trilogy, ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.’
The books told weird and creepy stories featuring chilling illustrations by Stephen Gammell. Who could forget the one with the scarecrow? Guillermo del Toro will produce the adaptation alongside Sean Daniel, Elizabeth Grave and J. Miles Dale. Del Toro also co-wrote the script with Kevin Hageman and Dan Hageman, as well as Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan.
It seems the upcoming thriller has landed a lead actress. It has been reported that Zoe Colletti has landed the lead. Colletti most recently appeared in ‘Wildlife,’ the ‘Annie’ remake and the TV series ‘Rubicon.’ She is set to appear in upcoming drama ‘Skin’ with Jamie Bell, Vera Farmiga and Mike Colter. According to CBS Films, ‘Scary Stories’ will follow a “group of teens who must solve the mystery surrounding a wave of horrific deaths in their small town.”
Here is what has been learned about Colletti’s role in the film:
Zoe Colletti will be playing Stella Michaels, a young girl still haunted by her mother’s disappearance on Halloween night — an incident that she suspects her father knows more about than he lets on. Years later, Stella and her friends are involved in a Halloween prank gone wrong. But are they really at fault, or was it the work of a vengeful spirit — a female ghost who uses her scary stories to come after the teens when they begin to investigate the disappearance of several children?
The ‘Scary Stories’ film has been a project in the pipeline for a while from del Toro, who owns several of Gammell’s original illustrations. Schwartz’s creeptastic trilogy was published in 1984, and the three books have sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ is set to be released sometime next year!
