Margot Robbie producing horror anthology Ameri-Scares

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Margot Robbie and her production company LuckyChap Entertainment are partnering with Assemble Media and Warner Horizon to bring the Ameri-Scares book series to life on the small screen. Since the project is just in the development stage right now, it's not yet known if the show will end up on a TV network or a streaming service.

Published by Crossroad Press, Ameri-Scares currently consists of eight novellas written by Elizabeth Massie and two by Steven Mark Rainey. The adaptation is aiming to be a "family-friendly horror anthology with a road trip spirit". Each of the Ameri-Scares books is set in a different state, and the plan is for the adaptation to follow suit:

Every episode would take place in a different state and center on a notorious local legends or spooky historical events.

Massie's books have been set in California, New York, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Maryland, while Rainey brought the scares to Michigan and West Virginia.

Robbie and her company had this to say about the project: 

With Ameri-Scares we saw the perfect opportunity for us to delve into the horror space, and tell the kind of unique and scary stories we used to tell each other around the campfire or at sleepovers as kids. We’re excited to team with our partners at Assemble and Warner Horizon to bring Elizabeth Massie’s cross-country series of thrilling mysteries and haunting folk stories to life."

Brendan Deneen, Assemble's president of Literary and IP Development, added: 

As fans of horror fiction that appeals to both teens and adults alike, we knew as soon as we read Ameri-Scares that Elizabeth had created something very special and of-the-moment. We’re thrilled to be working with LuckyChap and Warner Horizon on this spooky new series."

Robbie, Brett Hedblom, and Josey McNamara will be producing Ameri-Scares for LuckyChap Entertainment, while Deneen and Jack Heller produce for Assemble Media.

I hadn't heard of the Ameri-Scares books before this announcement, but a series of horror tales set in different states sounds like a great way to get a new generation of fans into the genre.