The movie adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is moving forward, now with Guillermo Del Toro on board.
According to Deadline, Del Toro will produce and possibly direct Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark for CBS films. The movie is based on the trilogy of children's books mainly remembered for having some of the most freaky illustrations of all time. They were so scary that the books were actually banned from many libraries and the images were replaced with far less scary versions in later reprints.
On Twitter, Del Toro posted an image of himself in front of several framed Scary Stories drawings. He is apparently a long time fan of the books and owns ten of these illustrations.
Though Del Toro's involvement is a new development, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has been in the works for a while now. The screenplay was written by John August (Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie), who CBS Films hired in November 2014. Saw scribes Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunston were originally set to write the film, but that evidently did not work out.
Considering Del Toro's work with creepy horror imagery on Pan's Labyrinth and Crimson Peak, it's hard to imagine a better choice for Scary Stories. However, he has a pretty busy schedule ahead of him between Fantastic Voyage and the Pacific Rim sequel, so it remains to be seen if he can squeeze this project in.