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Hi:

I teach 8th grade english in an urban new england community. We're doing scary stories this month and I was looking for some advice from Bradbury devotees.

What would you say is his scariest story?
 
Posts: 1 | Registered: 16 October 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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"The Crowd" gets under one's skin a little bit. It's about a group of "bystanders" who secretly murder car accident victims.

The "October Country" short story collection would probably be your best bet for finding a scary short story you could use.


Email: ordinis@gmail.com
 
Posts: 344 | Location: Redmond, Washington USA | Registered: 18 April 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The Small Assassin, The Black Ferris, The Jar and Zero Hour perhaps.


"Live Forever!"
 
Posts: 6909 | Location: 11 South Saint James Street, Green Town, Illinois | Registered: 02 October 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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My mom called "The Whole Town's Sleeping" (the Lavinia Nebbs section of Dandelion Wine) "a masterpiece of scariness."
 
Posts: 7299 | Location: Dayton, Washington, USA | Registered: 03 December 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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And The Whole Town's Sleeping.


"Live Forever!"
 
Posts: 6909 | Location: 11 South Saint James Street, Green Town, Illinois | Registered: 02 October 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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"Skeleton"!

And "Gotcha!", although I think that's probably more scary for adults than kids, because of the subject matter/theme.


- Phil

Deputy Moderator | Visit my Bradbury website: www.bradburymedia.co.uk | Visit the Center for RB Studies: www.tinyurl.com/RBCenter
 
Posts: 5029 | Location: UK | Registered: 07 April 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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At this time of year, how can anyone not have mentioned "The October Game", originally published in WEIRD TALES and currently found in Knopf's edition of THE STORIES OF RAY BRADBURY? It's one of Ray's darkest, creepiest short stories.
 
Posts: 2442 | Registered: 26 January 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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"The Next in Line."
 
Posts: 7299 | Location: Dayton, Washington, USA | Registered: 03 December 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I agree with Dandy! "The Next In Line" is one of those stories that is so disturbing that, when I read it again, I sort of always hope for a different ending. I'm sure some of us have had that experience with a movie or book.

Another that really gave me the most exhilarating creeps is "The Emissary".
 
Posts: 3167 | Location: Box in Braling I's cellar | Registered: 02 July 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The Emissary! Besides, it has a dead teacher as the central theme.
 
Posts: 1 | Location: Oregon | Registered: 26 October 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The scariest Bradbury story, for me, is the sublimely suggestive "Gotcha!". But Phil is right - it may scare adults more than kids. "Gotcha!" is also the last Bradbury story (first published 1978) that's really scary.

"The October Game" and "The Small Assassin" would be the others in my top three. Which is not to say "The Jar", "The Smiling People", "The Whole Town's Sleeping", "The Wind", and others, aren't scary!

Also, don't forget "The Burning Man". It's also a fairly understated story, but that last line makes me shiver every time I read it.
 
Posts: 699 | Location: Cape Town, South Africa | Registered: 29 December 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by Braling II:
I agree with Dandy! "The Next In Line" is one of those stories that is so disturbing that, when I read it again, I sort of always hope for a different ending. I'm sure some of us have had that experience with a movie or book.


Not really scary in the same sense, but the Bradbury story I always wish had a different ending is "Season of Disbelief," the story of old Mrs. Bentley in "Dandelion Wine."
 
Posts: 7299 | Location: Dayton, Washington, USA | Registered: 03 December 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by douglasSP:
The scariest Bradbury story, for me, is the sublimely suggestive "Gotcha!"...


Hey, douglasSP, where have you been? Haven't seen you here for a few years!


- Phil

Deputy Moderator | Visit my Bradbury website: www.bradburymedia.co.uk | Visit the Center for RB Studies: www.tinyurl.com/RBCenter
 
Posts: 5029 | Location: UK | Registered: 07 April 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Hi, Phil, it's good to be back, and flattering to be remembered. I have been relatively active on the Asimov's message boards (look for me there as dolphintornsea), and if I had to say why I became inactive on this board, it's partly because the software threw me at first, but also because there was a spell when I was a bit disappointed with the low level of activity here, especially in topics of interest to me. Plus other things - computer problems, and so on. But I'll try to pick it up again, very slowly at first.

I guess the immediate stimulus was that I read Now and Forever recently, also I heard from dandy, and that brought all things Bradbury to the fore again. I also visited your website, and a fine thing it is. Smiler
 
Posts: 699 | Location: Cape Town, South Africa | Registered: 29 December 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Good to have you back. The level of activity on here fluctuates. Regrettably, most of the activity of late has been in the religion and politics threads, with little of any relevance to Bradbury (despite being grouped under "Ray's Legacy").

However, thanks to Doug Spaulding, jkt, Nard and a few others, we have a lot more current info on Ray's activities nowadays, and a lot more photos and videos.

What did you tihnk of Now and Forever, by the way. (You may wish to answer this question in a new thread, as N&F hardly qualifies as "scariest story"!)


- Phil

Deputy Moderator | Visit my Bradbury website: www.bradburymedia.co.uk | Visit the Center for RB Studies: www.tinyurl.com/RBCenter
 
Posts: 5029 | Location: UK | Registered: 07 April 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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