Local author publishes collection of scary stories for children in new book and he wants to meet you
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IDAHO FALLS – A local professor is an author for the second time.
Josh Allen, an English professor at Brigham Young University-Idaho, just completed his second book for kids ages 8-13. It’s called, “Only If you Dare: 13 Stories of Darkness and Doom.”
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Allen describes the collection of stories as “The Twilight Zone” for children.
“It’s got spooky situations that kids find themselves in. I like to take ordinary, everyday things and make them really creepy,” Allen says.
Some of the stories are about a haunted paper towel dispenser in the boy’s bathroom at school or a creepy microwave. One of Allen’s favorite stories in the book is a story about a girl’s bowl of oatmeal.
“Oatmeal is my least favorite food on the planet. I just despise it, so I wrote a horror story about it. This girl throws away her oatmeal one morning while her mother is not looking and that night the microwave comes on all by itself and she stumbles out into the dark kitchen and there’s something spinning in the microwave. It counts down 3-2-1-ding! She opens it up and her bowl of oatmeal has been returned,” explains Allen.
The oatmeal keeps coming back to haunt her, getting more nasty and gross by the day, Allen says.
RELATED | Local professor publishes book of scary stories for children
“Only if you Dare” is the follow-up to Allen’s 2019 book, “Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe.” Allen says the book has gotten a lot of positive reviews from publications and readers nationwide and he’s really happy with the response.
Since becoming a published author, Allen says he’s enjoyed speaking at public schools across the country inspiring them to become readers and writers. He recalls a recent interaction with a kid in Boise that had a huge impact on him.
“He tugged on my jacket and gave me the symbol to come down. I leaned in and the kid said to me, ‘Can I tell you a secret? Your book is the first book I ever read all by myself.’ It’s a privilege to be a children’s author, to be able to share stories with them that I hope let them know literature is fun,” Allen says.
Allen says he’s been interested in writing since he was little and fell in love with stories before he could read. As a kid, he remembers seeing the original “Superman” movie with Christopher Reeve in the theater and being blown away.
“Then when I learned to read, I (discovered) you could get those same jolts free from your public library. That was a game-changer for me and I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since,” says Allen.
Allen is partnering with the Madison County Library for a book launch party on Sept. 3. It’s happening at Smith Park in Rexburg between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. He will be reading scary stories and signing books. Free hot chocolate and swag items for kids will also be available.
To purchase a copy or learn more, click here. You can also visit Allen’s Twitter or Facebook page.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH ALLEN IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE.