Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ Taps ‘LEGO Movie’ Writers

Guillermo del Toro and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a creative match made in horror heaven. The pairing is so perfect, in fact, that it’s hardly disappointing that the director isn’t returning to helm Pacific Rim 2. And just when you thought del Toro’s Scary Stories adaptation couldn’t get any more exciting, here come the writers of The LEGO Movie to make this one of your most anticipated films of…well, ever.

Variety reports that Dan and Kevin Hageman have signed on to script Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark for CBS Films. A previous draft was written by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, the team behind The Collector and the last four films in the Saw franchise. In addition to scripting Scary Stories, the Hageman brothers are also penning the script for LEGO’s Ninjago movie.

Del Toro’s film is based on Alvin Schwartz’s classic anthology trilogy, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which debuted in 1981, followed by More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark in 1984 and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones in 1991. With unforgettable, ghastly illustrations by Stephen Gammell, the books featured truly eerie, spooky and unsettling stories for kids, often centering around ghosts.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is the perfect project for del Toro, a filmmaker who is often preoccupied with the more fantastical side of horror, and whose production design is often as darkly beautiful and memorable as Gammell’s drawings. It’ll also give us a chance to see a new ghost movie from del Toro while we continue to wait (maybe forever) for his Haunted Mansion film.