With the gloriously odd stop-motion animated film Coraline (based on the macabre Neil Gaiman kids' book) nearing production, Laika--the studio behind Coraline--has announced it's picked up three pitches, and, at the moment, any one of said projects could be their next. Variety is reporting that among the projects under consideration are the youth-targeted fantasy/horror titles Here Be Monsters! and Paranorman. Adapted from the books by Alan Snow, Here Be Monsters! is a ?steampunk-flavored story? set in a fantasy version of 1850s London. The hero is a 12-year-old who's grown up in an underground world beneath the city, full of monsters but must find his way in the world when he moves to the surface to live like a normal boy. The script for Monsters is currently in the process of being completed by British writer Irena Brignell as a directorial vehicle for Antony Stacchi (Open Season). No word yet on whether Monsters will put to use the stop motion of Coraline or the ever-more-popular CGI of most recent animated films. The latter project, Paranorman, is an original idea by Coraline story chief Chris Butler concerning a small town under a secret curse. Only a 13-year-old boy can keep the town from being overrun by zombies, but no one will listen to him. Again, no word on whether the pic will be stop motion or CG, but it's under the supervision of Coraline director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach), who, as you may have noticed, works primarily with stop motion. Whatever the case, it'll certainly be interesting to see which direction the studio goes in next. As for the time being, Coraline will hit theatres in limited release later this year, with hopes to broaden to wide release on February 6th, 2009. And lucky us!--we were on the set of Coraline just a few short weeks ago, so expect a heap of Coraline coverage in the months ahead. But for now, check out some of our other terrifying news stories.