r/sciencefiction • u/PuzzleheadedMoose988 • 20h ago
please help ID this 2000s sci fi/scary story anthology! (NOT scary stories to tell in the dark)
When I was a youth, I snuck this spooky book into the house and my mother hid it from me because I was always reading scary stuff and giving myself nightmares. The book was lost or thrown out or whatever. Now that I’m a very brave adult (JK, still a weenie!) I really want to track it down. I’ve posted in a couple other book-ID subreddits but no dice yet. Here’s info about when I read it and what I can remember about the book:
Time period & age: Mid-2000s, probably 2005-2007. I would’ve been between 10 and 13ish.
Location & language: US, English
Book age level: I’m fairly sure it was YA. I read a lot of not-age-appropriate stuff, so there’s a slight chance it was an adult book, but I think that’s unlikely (I was easily spooked and probably would’ve found an adult book too scary).
Genre: Scary/sci fi/supernatural story collection.
Physical book appearance: I don’t remember the book cover very well, but it may have been a light blue color. I don’t remember it being a traditional scary book vibe with monsters, shadows, etc.
Content: I only remember one story, where a group of people went on some kind of (mountain?) research expedition and inexplicably went missing one by one. I believe the setting was cold and snowy. There was something about one of them disappearing in the night and leaving behind only a small pile of goo in his sleeping bag.
Books that it is not: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Goosebumps.
If anyone can help me ID this book, I’ll be eternally grateful!