The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories

Director Tim Burton (Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands) here offers a literary slice of his dark brand of humor. In the manner of the pictorial tales of Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl, and Edward Gorey — but from a slightly more twisted realm of the imagination — Burton's creepy stories conjure up the fantastical, even the slightly demented: ''The Boy With Nails in His Eyes,'' ''Roy, the Toxic Boy,'' ''The Girl With Many Eyes'' (''You get really wet/When she breaks down and cries''), and ''Brie Boy'' (''The other children never let Brie Boy play...but at least he went well with a nice Chardonnay''). Belated Halloween trick or Christmas treat, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories is best served to a more, um, mature audience. B+