Easy Fiction
Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emerley
Discover an ingenious way for children to overcome bedtime frights. As kids turn the die-cut pages of this vibrantly illustrated book, they'll watch the Big Green Monster grow before their eyes. Then, when they're ready to show him who's in charge, they'll turn the remaining pages and watch him disappear!
There’s a Ghost in this House by Oliver Jeffers
A young girl lives in a haunted house, but she has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? Step inside and help the girl as she searches under the stairs, behind the sofa, and in the attic for the ghost.
Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara
At the edge of town lives a clever girl with a spooky problem: Her house is haunted! Luckily, she happens to be a witch and knows a little something about taking care of ghosts. She catches them, puts them in the washing machine, airs them out to dry, and gives them new lives as sofa covers, table cloths, and, of course, bed sheets to cozy up under. Fresh and charming illustrations in dynamic orange, black and white bring this resourceful heroine and these spooky ghosts to life.
There’s a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer
Childhood fear of the dark and the resulting exercise in imaginative exaggeration are given that special Mercer Mayer treatment in this dryly humorous fantasy.
The Too-Scary Story by Bethanie Murguia
Grace wants Papa to tell her a scary bedtime story... but her little brother Walter doesn't want it to be TOO scary! So as Papa invents the story of two children out for a walk in the woods, Grace and Walter take turns correcting him. But when darkness falls, a shadow looms, and footsteps follow the children all the way home, will the siblings triumph over the too-scary story?
Lulu Goes to Witch School by Jane O’Connor
In this funny Halloween story for beginning readers, Lulu the witch girl is a little nervous about her first day of school, but she heads off with her broom and Dracula lunch box. She immediately loves her new teacher, Miss Slime, especially her wart. Lulu’s first flying lesson around the cemetery goes great! There’s only one thing she doesn’t like about witch school: curly-haired Sandy Witch, who seems to do everything better than Lulu.
Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
Jasper Rabbit loves carrots – especially Crackenhopper Field carrots. He eats them on the way to school. He eats them going to Little League. He eats them walking home – until the carrots start following him...or are they? Celebrated artist Peter Brown’s stylish illustrations pair perfectly with the author’s text in this hilarious picture book that shows it’s all fun and games…until you get too greedy.
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Once upon a time, there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything! But one autumn night, while walking in the woods, the little old lady heard. . . clomp, clomp, shake, shake, clap, clap. And the little old lady who was not afraid of anything had the scare of her life!
Junior Fiction
The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
Eleven-year-old Corinne must call on her courage and an ancient magic to stop an evil spirit and save her island home.
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
In 1899, a 12-year-old rat catcher on North Carolina's Biltmore estate teams up with the estate owner's young nephew to battle a great evil and, in the process, unlocks the puzzle of her past.
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
Follows Hansel and Gretel as they walk out of their own story and into eight more tales, encountering such wicked creatures as witches, along with kindly strangers and other helpful folk. This book is based in part on Grimms' fairy tales.
Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
Molly, 12, and her brother Michael, 10, have never liked their younger stepsister Heather. Ever since their parents got married, she's made their lives miserable. Now their parents have moved them to a house in the country that used to be a church, with a cemetery in the backyard. If that's not bad enough, Heather starts talking to a ghost named Helen and warning Molly and Michael that Helen is coming for them. Molly feels certain Heather is in danger, but every time she tries to help, Heather twists things around to get her into trouble. It seems as if things can't get any worse. But they do – when Helen comes.
Ghost and Bone by Andrew Prentice
Twelve-year-old Oscar Grimstone is cursed with killing things at a touch, and can also transform into a ghost, but a journey to the city of ghosts may lead him to discover his true identity.
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Ever since her near-fatal drowning, Cassidy has been able to pull back the "Veil" that separates the living from the dead and see ghosts, not that she wants to, and she was really looking forward to a ghost-free summer at the beach. However, her parents are going to start filming a TV series about the world's most haunted places, starting with Edinburgh with its graveyards, castles, and restless phantoms – and Cass and her ghost companion Jacob are about to find out that a city of old ghosts can be a very dangerous place indeed.
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood & Co, a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision. After an assignment leads to both a grisly discovery and a disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and their sarcastic colleague, George, are forced to take part in the perilous investigation of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in England. Will Lockwood & Co. survive the Hall's legendary Screaming Staircase and Red Room to see another day?
The Last Chance Hotel by Nicki Thornton
Seth is a kitchen boy at the remote Last Chance Hotel. His father has long ago left, leaving him imprisoned until he is old enough to set out on his own. If there's any hope he has, it's to be the greatest chef that ever lived... just like his father. When a band of magicians begin to arrive to participate in a secret meeting to determine the most talented magicians in the world, judged by their leader Dr. Thallonius, Seth has one task: to make Dr. Thallonius the greatest dessert he's ever tasted. But when the doors to the private meeting open, and Dr. Thallonius lay dead on the floor, the group blames the dessert. But Seth knows he's innocent, and only has so much time to eliminate each suspect and prove his innocence.
Nonfiction
Tales of the Cryptids by Kelly Halls
This book features Bigfoot (Sasquatch), Loch Ness monster, Mokele Mbembe (Africa), Kongamato, Shunka Warak'in, Mapinguari (South America), giant squids, mermaids, coelocanthes, and more. An extensive "For Further Investigation" section offers more places to find information.
Bone Soup by Cambria Evans
This book retells the classic tale about a traveller, a ghost, who tricks a town's witches, ghouls, and zombies into helping him make soup.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by James Schwartz
Enjoy stories of ghosts and witches, "jump" stories, scary songs, and modern-day scary stories.
Don’t Read This: and Other Tales of the Unnatural by Margaret Mahy
Readers with a taste for the eerie should ignore the advice proffered in this book's title. Most of these 11 entries boast suspenseful, usually unpredictable plots and believable characterizations.
Graphic Novels
Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez
Every night, tiny stars appear out of the darkness in little Sandy's bedroom. She catches them and creates wonderful creatures to play with until she falls asleep, and in the morning brings them back to life in whimsical drawings. When a mysterious new girl appears at school, Sandy's drawings are noticed for the first time, but Morfie's fascination with Sandy's talent soon turns into something far more sinister.
Johnny Boo by James Kochalka
Johnny Boo is the best little ghost in the whole world, because he's got Boo Power. This means he can say "BOO" really loudly. His pet ghost named Squiggle has Squiggle Power, which means he can fly and do really fast loop-the-loops. Together they have the world's greatest ghost adventures!
The Sleepover by Michael Regina
When the Russo family returns home from vacation to discover their nanny, Ruby, has unexpectedly passed away, Matthew takes the news the hardest. After weeks of reeling, his three best friends decide to cheer him up with a night of junk food, prank calls, and scary movies. But their plans for a sleepover are jeopardized when Matt's single mother – unable to take any more time off of work – is forced to hire a new nanny to watch over Matt and his younger sister, Judy. Miss Swan is all too happy to have the boys over. And although she seems like the perfect babysitter, Matt thinks she may actually be the witch from local legend -- the one who torments children into the night and then eats them.
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Catrina and her family have moved to the coast of Northern California for the sake of her little sister, Maya, who has cystic fibrosis. Cat is even less happy about the move when she is told that her new town is inhabited by ghosts, and Maya sets her heart on meeting one.
