A Spine-Chilling Tale of American Illustration: The Enduring Visual Legacy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Value of Malice
Jensine Eckwall
Illustration (School of Graduate Studies)
About this Item
- Title
- A Spine-Chilling Tale of American Illustration: The Enduring Visual Legacy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Value of Malice
- Contributor Names
-
Eckwall, Jensine (Author)
-
Reitschel, Barbara (Thesis advisor)
- Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York. Illustration (Degree granting institution)
- Date
- 2021
- Degree Information
- M.A. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York 2021
- Department: Illustration
- Advisor: Barbara Reitschel
- Committee member: Brendan Leach
- Abstract
- This essay aims to analyze and discern the reasoning behind the enduring cultural power of Stephen Gammell’s illustrations for Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, a three-part series of collected American folktales and urban myths, beginning in 1981. Gammell’s illustrations were polarizing enough to incite many attempted bans of Scary Stories over the last 40 years, as well as to galvanize a strong adult fanbase that reacted strongly to the publisher’s decision to commission new illustrations by Brett Helquist for the series in 2010. This essay will employ art criticism and history, gothic scholarship, interviews, and context from the education and publishing spheres to assess this unique case of public investment in illustration and how it has evolved and changed over time, intersecting with notions of cultural and religious values along the way.
- Rights
- In Copyright
- The copyright for this work is held by its author/creator(s). Usage of this material beyond what is permitted by copyright law must first be cleared with the rights-holder(s). This work has been made available online by the Fashion Institute of Technology Gladys Marcus Library strictly for research and educational purposes. If you are the copyright holder for this work and have any objections to this work being made available online, please notify us immediately at [email protected].
- This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.
- Identifier
- FIT Repository ID: etd_000973
- Language
- English
Citation
Eckwall, J. (2021). A Spine-Chilling Tale of American Illustration: The Enduring Visual Legacy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Value of Malice [Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York]. FIT Institutional Repository. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/179189
Eckwall, Jensine. A Spine-Chilling Tale of American Illustration: The Enduring Visual Legacy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Value of Malice. 2021. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, Master's thesis. FIT Digital Repository, https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/179189
Eckwall, Jensine. "A Spine-Chilling Tale of American Illustration: The Enduring Visual Legacy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Value of Malice." Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, 2021. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/179189