Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2 (2025) is a much-anticipated sequel following the eerie events of the first film, blending classic horror anthology elements with a single continuous storyline. Picking up where the original left off, the 2025 sequel dives deeper into the lives of Stella Nichols and her friends, who are still haunted by the malevolent spirit of Sarah Bellows. This time, the stakes are higher, and the supernatural terror takes an even darker turn as new stories emerge from Sarah’s cursed book, each one crafted to frighten, twist, and haunt both the protagonists and the audience.
Stella, who is traumatized by the events from the first film, is determined to end the curse once and for all. She believes that finding the Bellows family’s long-lost heirloom — rumored to have the power to destroy Sarah’s book — will put an end to the horrific occurrences that continue to plague her and her town. She and her friends Ramón, Auggie, and Chuck (who returns under mysterious circumstances after his presumed death) embark on a perilous journey to locate the heirloom, facing new threats and horrors at every turn.
The haunting begins again, more vicious than before, as Sarah’s book starts writing new stories in blood. Each tale appears personalized, designed to exploit the deepest fears and secrets of the group. One of the standout stories, The Tapping Hand, follows Auggie as he’s pursued by a disembodied, clawed hand that incessantly taps on walls, floors, and doors, getting closer every time. Another, The Screaming Mirror, traps Chuck in a nightmarish dimension where his reflection screams in agony as he watches himself get older and decay in real-time.
Meanwhile, Stella uncovers Sarah’s tragic backstory: Sarah, who was outcast by her own family, was the victim of experiments to “cure” her of an illness she never had, which twisted her spirit and bound her to the Bellows house. This discovery only intensifies Stella’s determination to end Sarah’s torment and free the town. However, Sarah’s vengeful spirit does not take kindly to Stella’s interference and conjures a new tale, The Living Dollhouse, trapping the group inside a dollhouse that mirrors their own town, where they’re forced to act out darkly distorted versions of their lives.
The climax of the film features an intense standoff between Stella and Sarah’s spirit in the decaying Bellows mansion. Stella finally locates the heirloom — a locket that belonged to Sarah — and tries to use it to break the curse. However, Sarah reveals that only forgiveness can set her spirit free. In a moment of empathy, Stella apologizes for the injustices done to Sarah, and this act of compassion weakens the curse. The film ends ambiguously, with Sarah’s spirit seemingly appeased, but Sarah’s book mysteriously vanishes, hinting that the terror may not be over yet.
In this chilling sequel, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2 expands on the horrors of the first film while diving into themes of forgiveness, fear, and the haunting legacies of trauma.
