The Janglyman is an antagonist during the last segment and final bumper story of the 2019 horror anthology film, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
The Jangly Man, a monster from a campfire story that frightened Ramon as a child. The Jangly Man chases Ramon all the way into the haunted Bellow's House where Ramon hide till the story curse can be broken (part of the final bumper story).
Appearance
Janglyman is a decomposing corpse who stitches himself back together using other people's flesh. He has bluish skin, terribly exposed teeth and surprising agility. According to executive producer Guillermo del Toro, the Jangly Man is a "composite" of Gammell's illustrations.
Powers and Abilities
The Janglyman possesses the following powers and abilities:
- His body splits apart into components of limbs, torso and head to name a few.
- His body can reassemble itself into a misshapen monstrous form to suit its own needs.
- Surprise makes him an effective killer.
- His parts can squeeze thru bars, windows and from between crashed cars only to reassemble again.
- Invulnerable and possibly immortal.
- Can seek, follow and locate his prey over distance.
- Rudimentary, slurred verbal capacity.
Fate
The Janglyman ceases to exist during the bumper story of the anthology when Stella writes the truth (in blood), in Sarah's book of stories.
Trivia
- Contortionist Troy James, who appeared on America's Got Talent, portrayed the Jangly Man. CGI enhanced the movements of his face, but he performed the movements of walking backward, and crawling upside down himself.
- The film is based on the "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" book series published in the 1980s, written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell.
- The monster's name is "Jangly Man". "Jangly" is a Hindi language word which means "Wild".
- Every character's "scary story" is directly related to their own fears. Ramon feels like a coward for avoiding Vietnam and the monster that comes after him calls him "coward" when he attacks.
- Some of the monsters seen in the film are actually from different stories. The jangly man seems to be a mix of his own titled "Footsteps" and from "me tie do ti ty walker," as he is initially a head that falls down the chimney and speaks the phrase, before attaching other limbs.
- Ramon, Stella, and Ruth are the only ones to survive their stories.
Photo Gallery
