Fans of Alvin Schwartz‘s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (and Stephen Gammell‘s haunting, disturbing illustrations) have a few months to wait until André Øvredal‘s big-screen adaptation arrives on August 9th, but here’s a little something to tide you over in the meantime: Cody Meirick‘s documentary, Scary Stories.

The doc not only explores the history of the three-volume book series that scared kids (and some adults, apparently) silly in the 80s and 90s and includes interviews with kids horror authors like R.L. Stine and Q.L. Pearce, it also dips into the cultural impact that the tomes had. Scary Stories became one of the top-banned titles in the U.S., which no doubt added to the series’ mystique, allure, and popularity. Well done, book-banners!

Watch the trailer for the Scary Stories documentary below: