What actually happens
A book with a very specific wish list
On Halloween night in 1968, Stella, Auggie and Chuck visit the Bellows house in the fictional town of Mill Valley, Pennsylvania, along with a newcomer named Ramón. In a hidden room they find a book of scary stories written by the Bellows daughter, Sarah. Sarah was an outcast because of her albinism, and when children in town began dying she was accused of witchcraft, and she is said to have died by suicide in 1898. Tommy, the town bully, locks the group in Sarah's room along with Chuck's sister Ruth. The lock opens by itself after Tommy leaves, and Stella takes the book home. That night a story called Harold shows up in the book, in blood, on pages that were empty. In a cornfield nearby, a drunk Tommy is stalked by Harold, his family's scarecrow. Harold drives a pitchfork into Tommy's back, and Tommy vomits hay and changes into something else. By the next day he is reported missing, and Stella and Ramón find Harold wearing Tommy's clothes.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
Stew with an extra ingredient
Stella and Ramón watch a story called The Big Toe write itself into the book. Its main character is Auggie, who unknowingly eats stew that contains a corpse's big toe. The corpse then drags him under his bed, and he vanishes. The remaining friends try to destroy the book and get nowhere. They look into the Bellows family and learn that the family's live-in maid, Sylvia Baptiste, lost her job for teaching Sarah witchcraft, and that the rest of the family disappeared after Sarah's death. All of their names turn up in the stories, which suggests that the book, or Sarah, got to them.
Ruth and the cheek problem
A new story called The Red Spot appears, and Ruth is the main character. This is the scene people dread most, and it happens in the middle of the movie. Ruth, preparing her makeup before the play, picks at a swollen spider bite on her face, and the bite bursts open with hundreds of tiny spiders. Someone gets Ruth out, but she is traumatized, and she ends up in an institution. The group's investigation leads them to Lou-Lou Baptiste, the elderly daughter of Sylvia. She tells them that Sarah did not die in the Bellows house. Sarah hanged herself in a hospital, where the doctor supervising her was her older brother, Dr. Ephraim Bellows.
The hospital recordings
At the hospital the group finds recordings that reveal what Ephraim did to Sarah. He gave her electroshock therapy over and over to force her to confess to killing the children. The children had actually died because mercury from the family's paper mill got into the town's water, and the Bellows family blamed Sarah when the town got suspicious. While avoiding hospital security, Chuck sets off an alarm that floods the hallways with the same red light from his nightmares. On a recording, Sarah starts a new story called The Dream, and Chuck is its main character. The Pale Lady, a ghostly figure from his nightmares, corners him and absorbs him. Police Chief Turner then arrests Stella and Ramón for trespassing, and he reveals that Ramón is dodging the Vietnam draft. Ramón says his brother enlisted and came home in pieces. A new story begins in the book, and body parts fall down a chimney. Ramón recognizes the next monster, the Jangly Man, whom he feared as a child. The Jangly Man kills Turner, and Ramón and Stella run to the Bellows house to look for answers.
The ending, explained
At the Bellows house the book sends Stella back in time, and Ramón tries to dodge the Jangly Man in the present. Stella lives through Sarah's abuse, then makes a deal with Sarah: Stella will tell the world Sarah was innocent, if Sarah stops hurting people. She writes the true story in her own blood, and Sarah and every one of her monsters disappear. Stella then puts Sarah's real story out in the newspapers. She is praised for it, though not everyone believes her. Ruth recovers. Ramón accepts that he has to go to war and says an emotional goodbye to Stella before he leaves. Chuck and Auggie are still gone, and Stella starts looking for a way to bring them back.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, and the dog only runs away.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark scary?
Yes, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a 5 out of 10. It is full of jump scares and has a different creature in each section, with a medium level of dread that lasts about a night.
How does Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark end?
Stella writes the true story of Sarah Bellows in her own blood, and Sarah and her monsters vanish. Ramón leaves for the Vietnam War, and Stella starts looking for a way to bring back Chuck and Auggie.
Does the dog die in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark?
No, no dog dies in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. A dog gets frightened and runs away unharmed.
Is there a post-credits scene in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark?
No. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is Sarah Bellows in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark?
Sarah Bellows is the daughter of the Mill Valley family that owned the supposedly haunted house, and her book is what attacks the teenagers. She was shunned for her albinism and blamed when children died, although the real cause was mercury from her family's paper mill.
