Prepare for a Summer of Scares
Scary stories are not only fun to read, they also show young readers that it’s okay to be afraid and help them face their fears in a safe setting. They can also help readers experience courage, learn about different cultures, and increase empathy.
Goose Bumps
Benny Ramírez and the Nearly Departed By José Pablo Iriarte
Benny Ramírez can see dead people . . . Well, one dead person, anyway. A hilarious and heartwarming story about a boy who can suddenly see the ghost of his famous musician grandfather!
After moving cross-country into his late grandfather’s Miami mansion, Benny discovers that the ghost of his famous trumpet-playing abuelo, the great Ignacio Ramírez, is still there . . . and isn’t too thrilled about it. He’s been barred from the afterlife, and no one can see him except his grandson. But Benny’s got problems of his own. He’s enrolled in a performing arts school with his siblings, despite having no obvious talent.
Luckily, Abuelo believes they can help each other. Abuelo has until New Year’s Eve to do some good in the world and thinks that teaching Benny how to play the trumpet and become a school celebrity might be the key to earning his wings. Having no better ideas, Benny finds himself taking Abuelo's advice—to disastrous and hilarious results.
Benny and Abuelo will find that there’s more than one way to be great in this unforgettable, laugh-out-loud tale of family, music, and self-discovery.
Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball By Laura Ellen Anderson
Meet everyone's favorite vampire! Read her hilarious adventures before she makes her way on the TV screen!
Amelia Fang would much rather hang out with her pet pumpkin Squashy and her friends Florence the yeti (DON'T CALL HER BEAST!) and Grimaldi the reaper than dance at her parents' annual Barbaric Ball.
Then the King's spoiled son Tangine captures Squashy, Amelia and her friends must escape the party to plan a daring rescue!
In their race against time, they begin to realize things in Nocturnia may not be quite what they seem...
Strangeville School Is Totally Normal By Darcy Miller; illustrated by Brett Helquist
This new highly-illustrated series is guaranteed to make you laugh so hard milk will come out of your nose! Strangeville School is the wackiest, most dangerous school you will ever attend...and you'll desperately want to come back for more!
Harvey Hill just wants other kids to think he’s normal. So he’s happy to start fresh as the newest kid at Strangeville Middle School. Except Strangeville is anything but normal. Something sinister swims in the drinking fountain, the cafeteria could swallow you whole, and a giant rat named Cuddles is on the loose. And don't even get the vice principal started on the third-floor supply closet. In fact, don't even think about it. What supply closet?
At least Harvey has his guide and sort-of new friend Stella Cho to show him the ropes. School newspaper reporter, first chair flugelhorn, and hiding a secret of her own, Stella shows Harvey that maybe "normal" is overrated. But when Stella goes missing while trying to solve the secret of the supply closet (oh that supply closet!), Harvey must embrace what makes him unique to save his new friend and his new school.
Sideways Stories from Wayside School meets Welcome to Nightvale in this wacky new series!
Ravenfall By Kalyn Josephson
A New York Times Bestseller!
One magical inn, two kids with supernatural powers, and an ancient Celtic creature trying to destroy their world... Wednesday meets Supernatural in this bewitching middle-grade series!
Thirteen-year-old Anna Ballinkay has never been normal. Her family uses their psychic abilities to help run the Ravenfall Inn, a magical B&B between the human world and the Otherworld. But it’s hard to contribute when your only power is foreseeing death.
So when fourteen-year-old Colin Pierce arrives at Ravenfall searching for his missing older brother, Anna jumps at the chance to help. But the mysteries tied to Colin go much deeper than either of them expects...
Now the supernatural creature straight out of Celtic mythology, one with eerie connections to Colin's family, is coming after them. If Anna and Colin can’t stop the creature, it would spell destruction for Ravenfall and the world as they know it.
Blood City Rollers By Veronica Park Anderson; illustrated by Tatiana Hill
Skates on. Fangs out. Let’s roll. This perfectly paranormal graphic novel about a 13-year-old ice skater who embraces the dark side and finds her light when she joins a vampire roller derby team is to die for.
Ice-skater Mina is on a one-track path to Olympic gold and glory—that is, until she totally wipes out at her biggest competition, and is kinda-sorta-kidnapped by undead kids on roller skates. Sucked into the high stakes world of Paranormal Roller Derby, she finds herself "recruited" by a squad of vampires who need a human player to complete their team—just in time to save the league from losing it all.
Between learning to play derby well enough to kick butt on the track, crushing hard on the dreamy team captain, and navigating the spooky rules of the supernatural, how can Mina go from striving to be a ten alone, to becoming one of nine chaotic bodies forming a perfectly-imperfect team? Forget being the best. Will she be enough to help her new friends survive the season?
My Aunt Is a Monster By Reimena Yee
Curses! Adventures! And drama! Oh my! Safia might not be able to see the world, but that doesn’t mean she can’t experience it to the fullest as she finds herself on her very first adventure! This is a contemporary fantasy middle-grade graphic novel about discovering what you are truly capable of.
Safia thought that being blind meant she would only get to go on adventures through her audiobooks. This all changes when she goes to live with a distant and mysterious aunt, Lady Whimsy, who takes Safia on the journey of a lifetime!
While the reclusive Lady Whimsy stops an old rival from uncovering the truth behind her disappearance, Safia experiences parts of the world she had only dreamed about. But when an unlikely group of chaotic agents comes after Whimsy, Safia is forced to confront the adventure head-on. For the first time in her life, Safia is the hero of her own story, and she must do what she can to save the day.
And maybe find some friends along the way.
Reimena Yee returns with an all-new graphic novel filled with action, magic, and family. My Aunt Is a Monster explores how anybody can do anything as long as they are given the chance and have the right people behind them.
Sping-Chilling
Bumps in the Night By Amalie Howard
The creepy middle grade debut from USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard in which a girl stays with her grandmother in Trinidad for the summer and discovers that she comes from a long line of powerful witches.
Darika “Rika” Lovelace is in trouble. The kind of trouble that sends her to her grandmother’s estate in Trinidad for the whole summer. But something about the island feels…different. As soon as she steps off the plane, strange things start happening!
Rika meets a group of kids called Minders, who seem to have elemental powers. Even worse, she can sense jumbies lurking in the shadows. Needless to say, she wants a ticket home. But when the Minders let slip that her long-lost mom is in danger, she knows she can’t leave.
Thrust into a magical adventure involving bloodcurdling monsters, a supernatural silk cotton tree, and an endless maze, Rika must defeat the fearsome jumbie king to save her family and new friends. But unless she learns to believe in herself, she’ll never beat him or escape his twisted maze.
A Small Zombie Problem By K.G. Campbell
Celebrated illustrator K. G. Campbell (Flora and Ulysses) brings a touch of Tim Burton to this delightfully spooky new series about a boy who can't help but attract zombies. . . .
August DuPont has spent his whole life inside a dilapidated house with his aunt Hydrangea. His lonely existence ends abruptly with a surprise invitation to meet an aunt and cousins he didn't even know existed. When newfound Aunt Orchid suggests that August attend school with his cousins, it's a dream come true. But August has scarcely begun to celebrate his good fortune when he is confronted by a small problem on his way home. A small, very undead problem.
Night of the Living Ted By Barry Hutchison; illustrated by Lee Cosgrove
This Halloween season discover a new action-comedy series about two kids battling an army of evil teddy bears! What a nightmare! Can they save the day before bedtime?
After Lisa-Marie and her big brother, Vernon, visit a Create-A-Ted store, the unexpected happens.
Their teddy bears come to life!
But it turns out they aren't the only ones. All kinds of teddy bears--zombies, ghosts, aliens and more--are suddenly alive and creating mayhem . . . and soon there is an army of evil teddy bears on the loose!
Can Lisa-Marie and her big brother Vernon save themselves--and the world?
The Living Ted series appeals to readers of all ages with quick chapters, laugh-out-loud action scenes, and lively illustrations throughout.
Wretched Waterpark By Kiersten White
A middle-grade mystery series that's spooky, creepy, and filled with gothic twists! Meet the Sinister-Winterbottom twins, who solve mysteries at increasingly bizarre summer vacation destinations in the hopes of being reunited with their parents—or at the very least finally finding a good churro.
“An absolute delight. If I have to die in a waterpark, I want to die in this one.”—Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Cruel Prince
"Wickedly weird. . . . Will appeal to anyone who loved A Series of Unfortunate Events." —The New York Times
Meet the Sinister-Winterbottoms: brave Theo, her timid twin, Alexander, and their older sister, Wil. They’re stuck for the summer with their Aunt Saffronia, who doesn’t know how often children need to eat and can’t use a smartphone, and whose feet never quite seem to touch the floor when she glides—er—walks.
When Aunt Saffronia suggests a week pass to the Fathoms of Fun Waterpark, they hastily agree. But the park is even stranger than Aunt Saffronia. The waterslides look like gray gargoyle tongues. The employees wear creepy black dresses and deliver ominous messages. An impossible figure is at the top of the slide tower, people are disappearing, and suspicious goo is seeping into the wave pool.
Something mysterious is happening at Fathoms of Fun, and it’s up to the twins to get to the bottom of it. The mystery, that is. NOT the wave pool. Definitely NOT the wave pool. But are Theo and Alexander out of their depth?
The Black Heart Crypt By Chris Grabenstein
Perfect for Halloween! From the New York Times bestselling author of Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library and coauthor of I Funny and Treasure Hunters, comes a series of spine-tingling mysteries to keep you up long after the lights go out.
Halloween is near, the one day of the year when the ghostly plane is close enough to the human plane to allow mischief and mayhem. But the ghosts who have their eye on Zack aren't thinking mischief, they are thinking murder.
In the fourth volume of Chris Grabenstein's popular Haunted Mysteries series, Zack must yet again do battle with malevolent spirits. And with perseverance and pluck, and the assistance of three dotty aunts, he must save his town from a 200-year-old threat.
Once again Chris Grabenstein proves his mastery of the frightening and funny tale. Young readers, especially reluctant ones, have been inspired to read by Grabenstein's quirky characters and deadly situations.
Nightmares! By Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller; illustrated by Karl Kwasny
The hilariously frightening, middle-grade novel Nightmares! is a Texas Bluebonnet nominee and the first book in a trilogy about a boy named Charlie and a group of kids who must face their fears to save their town.
Charlie Laird has several problems.
1. His dad married a woman he is sure moonlights as a witch.
2. He had to move into her purple mansion—the creepiest place in Cypress Creek.
3. He can’t remember the last time sleeping wasn’t a nightmarish prospect. Like even a nap.
What Charlie doesn’t know is that his problems are about to get a whole lot more real. Nightmares can ruin a good night’s sleep, but when they start slipping out of your dreams and into the waking world . . . well, that’s something only Charlie can face. And he’s going to need all the help he can get, or it might just be lights-out for Charlie Laird.
For good.
Hair-Raising
Dread Detention By Jennifer Killick
The Breakfast Club meets Stranger Things in this middle grade horror novel for fans of Goosebumps! Detention turns even scarier when a group of classmates discover dangers lurking in their school.
When classmates Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school on a Saturday, they think things can’t get much worse. But they’re wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary.
What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keep humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute . . .? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang’s only hope is to work together. But it’s no coincidence that they're all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge . . .
Mine By Delilah S. Dawson
A twisty, terrifying supernatural mystery about twelve-year-old, her creepy new home in Florida, and the territorial ghost of the young girl who lived there before her.
"A fiendishly creepy ghost story."--Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Dust & Grim
"Hide-under-the-covers terrifying, I loved it.”--Katherine Arden, bestselling author of Small Spaces
Lily Horne is a drama queen. It's helped her rise to stardom in the school play, but it's also landed her in trouble. Her parents warn her that Florida has to be different. It's a fresh start. No theatrics. But this time, the drama is coming for her.
Her new house is a real nightmare. . .
The pool is full of slime, the dock is rotten, and the swamp creeps closer every day. But worst of all, the house isn't empty . . . it's packed full of trash, memories, and, Lily begins to fear, the ghost of the girl who lived there before her.
And whatever is waiting in the shadows wants to come out to play.
Field of Screams By Wendy Parris
A new pulse-pounding supernatural mystery about twelve-year-old Rebecca, who has always wanted to hunt ghosts . . . until she meets one.
“Chilling, thrilling, and full of heart!”—Kiersten White, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sinister Summer series
Paranormal enthusiast Rebecca Graff isn’t happy about being dragged to Iowa to spend the summer with family she barely knows. But when she tracks a ghostly presence to an abandoned farmhouse, she starts to think the summer won’t be a total lost cause!
The trouble is no one believes her. Then Rebecca finds a note stashed in a comic belonging to her late father—a note that proves the same spirit haunted him when he was twelve. Suddenly she feels a connection to the dad she pretends not to miss, and she is determined to uncover the story behind the haunting.
But the more Rebecca discovers, the scarier the ghost becomes. Soon she is in a race to piece together the puzzle and recover a family legacy before it is lost forever and a horrible tragedy repeats itself.
Camp Scare By Delilah S. Dawson
An eerie, twisty ghost story about twelve-year-old Parker, who only wanted a summer of fun and new friendship, and the nightmare she finds instead.
Don't forget your flashlight. . . .
Parker Nelson can’t wait for summer camp. She’ll have fun and make amazing memories, far away from the bullies who made seventh grade unbearable.
But then something terrible happens: The mean girl who made life a living nightmare is in Parker’s cabin. Soon all the other girls turn on Parker, too—no one wants to be her friend. Except Jenny.
Jenny’s the only one who is willing to listen. The only one who understands. The only one who feels the same way Parker does: That there's a deep, dark secret to making friends, and she’s the only one who doesn't know it.
But there’s something else Parker doesn’t know. Something bad happened at the camp a long time ago, and it just won’t stay buried. . . .
It Happened to Anna By Tehlor Kay Mejia
This spine-tingling ghost story follows a tween girl who’s being literally haunted by loneliness until a new friendship upends her life. From the bestselling author of the Paola Santiago series!
"Absolutely haunting!"—Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author of Mine
Sadie Rivera has been haunted all her life by a vengeful ghost—a ghost that doesn’t want her to make any friends. The moment she tries? Cue exploding lightbulbs, chilling gusts of wind, and slamming doors.
Last year, Sadie got fed up. Last year, she made a best friend, Anna. So when the ghost caused an accident that killed her best friend, Sadie knew it was all her fault.
Which is why she’s not going to make any friends this year at her new school. At least until mysterious cool girl Mal shows up, and the ghost doesn’t bother her for once. But Mal wants Sadie all to herself—and she’ll do anything to make sure it stays that way.
It Came from the Trees By Ally Russell
The legend of Bigfoot gets a bone-chilling update in this scary story about a young girl and her scout troop who are willing to brave the woods to find her missing friend when no one else will. Perfect for fans of Daka Hermon and Claribel A. Ortega!
The wilderness is in Jenna’s blood. Her Pap was the first Black park ranger at Sturbridge Reservation, and she practically knows the Owlet Survival Handbook by heart. But she’s never encountered a creature like the one that took her best friend Reese. Her parents don’t believe her; the police are worthless, following the wrong leads; and the media isn’t connecting the dots between Reese’s disappearance and a string of other attacks. Determined to save her friend, Jenna joins a new local scout troop, and ventures back into the woods.
When the troop stumbles across suspicious signs: huge human-like footprints near the camp, scratch marks on trees, and ominous sounds from the woods, Jenna worries that whatever took Reese is back to take her too. Can she trust her new scout leader? And will her new friend Norrie—who makes her laugh and reminds her so much of Reese—believe her?
After the unthinkable happens, the scouts, armed with their wits and toiletries, band together to fight the monster and survive the night.
