The Greatest Movie Never Made
The Girl with the Green Ribbon
The Halloween Movie tournament is still raging on! Vote on the ELITE EIGHT now!
When I was little I would go to the library with my family and spend hours there. Before there was Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark there was a little book called In A Dark, Dark Room. Both are by the incomparable Alvin Schwartz, but one is for adults and one is for kids. In A Dark, Dark Room is like the gateway book to Scary Stories. I checked this book out time and time again. My absolute favorite story from the anthology was called “The Green Ribbon”.
“The Green Ribbon” is about a girl named Jenny who always wears a green ribbon around her neck. She meets and falls in love with a boy named Alfred, but refuses to divulge her reasons for always wearing the mysterious green ribbon. Jenny and Alfred get married and spend their lives together. On her deathbed, Jenny tells Alfred that she is finally able to reveal why she always wears the green ribbon. Jenny lets Alfred untie the ribbon and when he does, her head falls onto the floor and she dies.
"The Green Ribbon" is based on a French story of unknown origin, then popularized by Washington Irving's 1824 short story "The Adventure of the German Student". It has never been made into a movie. We saw Schwartz’s more popular work, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, get the film treatment several years ago, but In A Dark, Dark Room seems to be a more forgotten anthology. When I polled my friends yesterday, only about 50% remembered this book and the story of Jenny and Alfred.
This year for Halloween I decided I wanted to be Jenny. I acquired a gorgeous victorian dress and some green ribbon. I thought I was being creative and original until I asked my friends about it and a lot of them had no idea who I was talking about. I thought everyone had read In A Dark, Dark Room so it was a shock to hear otherwise and then it got me to thinking. How has “The Green Ribbon” never been made into a movie?
When researching my costume I saw so many awesome cosplay photos for the story so I am not alone in remembering this creepy tale. I think it would make for an excellent M. Night Shyamalan-esque film with a twist. The story is just obscure enough that not everyone will know the ending and it makes for a great story. Someone please get me on the phone with Hollywood.
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Sydney’s Pick: Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
In honor of my ode to Alvin Schwartz and his spooky anthologies, I implore you to watch the film adaptation of his book Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, directed by Academy Award-winner Guillermo del Toro.
Show Your Support: No Kid Hungry
Food is the most important school supply.
According to the latest estimates, as many as 9 million children in the United States live in "food insecure" homes. That phrase may sound mild, but it means that those households don't have enough food for every family member to lead a healthy life. No Kid Hungry wants to change that.
No Kid Hungry is a national campaign run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. As a child hunger organization, ending childhood hunger is NKH’s primary focus and they achieve this through healthy and structured school meals, grants for schools, food banks, or community centers, further advocacy and awareness, and exhaustive research and time dedicated to policy changes.
If you or someone you know is struggling to get food for their children, No Kid Hungry wants to help. Use their Free Meal Finder for Kids to find free, healthy meals being served by organizations in your community. You can also find these resources by texting the word FOOD to 304-304. Data & message rates may apply. And, in the OTF fashion, we have already donated $75 to this organization and encourage you to do give what you can—even if it’s just a Facebook or Instagram like.
Daily Intention:
Today I choose…
to be original.
Here’s some nifty buttons for you to press, enjoy: