Laura Miller: “For many kids, reading the Scary Stories books represented a first tentative step toward growing up and into independence. … Unlike, say, a Playboy magazine, they weren’t absolutely forbidden. But one glance at Gammell’s hollow-eyed ghouls, shrieking skeletal brides, and gibbering specters told any kid that here was something that danced right on the edge of taboo. … To claim your right to deliberately scare yourself (even if it gives you nightmares) is to make a bid for self-determination.” – Slate