More Sam Raimi news: after yesterday’s report that he had agreed to helm Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful, now comes word that he has purchased the rights to R. L. Stine’s horror novel The Sitter!

Raimi intends to work with writer Dana Stevens, whom he collaborated with on the underrated For Love of the Game, and their first step is to rename the book and call it The Au Pair.

The story centers on a young girl who takes a job as an au pair at a wealthy Hamptons house. As she settles in with the family, it becomes apparent that the youngest daughter might be of satanic origin!

The odds of Raimi directing this are exceedingly thin but if they manage to rewrite it enough to their liking, and the project takes some time to blossom, perhaps his schedule will allow an opening. Despite it being of Stine origin, Raimi knows horror well and should be able to shepherd the project accordingly, even if he doesn’t sit in the big chair on this one.