Creepy, but not TOO creepy
October 10, 2017 5:19 AM   Subscribe

What are some good scary stories to tell 5th and 6th graders?

Around this time of year, I like to tell scary stories to my fifth and sixth grade classes. Right now, my go-to stories are the one with the green ribbon around the girl's neck and Tailypo. What are some other stories I could tell them that are scary, but not too scary? Thanks!
posted by goodbyewaffles to Grab Bag (8 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
So the story of the green ribbon around the girl's neck I distinctly remember from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series of books, which I vividly remember reading around that age and being freaked the hell out. Bonus, the illustrations are also deliciously creepy. Are they too scary? I don't know... but I did read them at that age and I turned out ok? I think they are aimed for that age group.
posted by like_neon at 5:22 AM on October 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


The site scaryforkids.com should have what you’re looking for. The only story I can particularly point to is Eight Feet Tall, which some other mefite posted a short while ago, but it may not be appropriate since it scared this adult!
posted by ejs at 5:33 AM on October 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Thanks so far! To clarify, I'm looking for stories to tell rather than read, and also for specific recommendations -- I'm familiar with scary books and websites, but there's a lot of chaff to dig through (and lots of pieces in the Schwartz books are poems and stuff.)
posted by goodbyewaffles at 5:48 AM on October 10, 2017


I was just a year or two younger than this when I read all of Poe's short stories, thanks in no small part to the Simpson's episode where Lisa steals the diorama on the Tell-Tale Heart. Perhaps some his stuff would be appropriate for reading to the class?
posted by phunniemee at 7:04 AM on October 10, 2017


Ooo, I'm looking for the exact same thing! One that was floating around my head this morning was one about someone being helped out of a scary situation by a dog, then that person is retelling the story and of course "that dog died years ago!" Ghost dog. Of course I can't now find that story, but maybe it will sound familiar to someone on this thread. The other story I'm thinking of is the Golden Arm because a) classic, b) has a jump scare, but is c) ultimately silly rather than chilling.
posted by LKWorking at 9:14 AM on October 10, 2017


Click clack the rattle bag by Neil Gaiman. I found it for free online somewhere. The Telegraph I think.
posted by mukade at 8:35 PM on October 10, 2017


Everybody uses mobile / cell phones these days, but not so long ago, the town was dotted with telephone boxes. They were tall boxes made of strong glass, and inside there was a light in the roof and an old-fashioned telephone with a dial. You could put in a quarter and call somebody. People used them to make calls when they were away from home.

There used to be a phone box at [nearby intersection]. But one day, a girl from your school - her name was Abigail, I think, and she would have been your age - went in the phone box to call her mother. She wanted to say she was going to a friend's house and wouldn't be home until later.

But as she stood at the phone, put in her quarter, and began to dial - five...five...five... - a car lost control on [nearby street] and crashed through the phone box. Poor Abigail died in that crash.

They never replaced the phone box. Abigail's family moved away.

But ever since that terrible day, when people around here use their phones, sometimes in the background they think they can hear a little girl crying. And sometimes, they hear a whispering voice:

'Five...five...five...'
posted by obiwanwasabi at 10:08 PM on October 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Who Stole My Golden Arm? in one of its many variations, with the addition that at the end you moan "Who stole my golden arm?" three times and then turn to the kid on your right and shout, "YOU DID!" while grabbing his or her arm. The story itself isn't too scary but the jump scare at the end will make them all jump and shriek and they will immediately begin telling it to unaware friends.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:06 PM on October 11, 2017


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