Dare To Be Scared

This week, I'm sharing scary chapter books for kids in grade school.  Here are a few of my favorites . . .

The Seer of Shadows by Avi
In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer's apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan
Two boys who are best friends visit an illegal freak show, where an encounter with a vampire and a deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices.

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.


More Scary Stories --
The Book of Bad Things by Dan Poblocki
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf by J.H. Reynolds
Case File 13: Zombie Kid by J. Scott Savage
Charlie and the Grandmothers by Katy Towell
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales by Neal Shusterman
Doll Bones by Holly Black
The Doll Graveyard by Laura Ruby
Guys Read: Terrifying Tales by Jon Scieszka
Literally Disturbed: Tales to Keep You Up at Night by Ben H. Winters
Mothman's Curse by Christine Hayes
Nightbooks by J.A. White
Strange Star by Emma Carroll
Whisper in the Dark by Joseph Bruchac

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through November 8, 2019.

Boo! Tales to Haunt You

Halloween is quickly approaching, which means that one of the most popular requests at the moment is "scary" books.  Ghosts are always a popular answer to those requests.  So here are some of my favorite ghost stories for children . . .

Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise
In this story told mostly through letters, children's book author, I. B. Grumply, gets more than he bargained for when he rents a quiet place to write for the summer.

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
A mix-up involving the greatest magic in the world has tremendous consequences for Liesl, an orphan who has been locked in an attic, Will, an alchemist's runaway apprentice, and Po, a ghost, as they are pursued by friend and foe while making an important journey.

The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson
While spending the summer with elderly relatives at Clawstone Castle in northern England, Madlyn and her brother Rollo, with the help of several ghosts, attempt to save the rare cattle that live on the castle grounds.

The Seer of Shadows by Avi
In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer's apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.


More Ghost Books ---
Constable & Toop by Gareth P. Jones
Doll Bones by Holly Black
The Ghost Behind the Wall by  Melvin Burgess
The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn
Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost by Cornelia Funke
The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton Shaw
Knee-Knock Rise by Natalie Babbitt
Paranorman: A Novel by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Please the Ghost by Sharon Creech
Stealaway by K.M. Peyton
Sweet Miss Honeywell's Revenge: A Ghost Story by Kathryn Reiss
The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones
The Wicked, Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House by Mary Chase


Check out these and other ghosts stories at the Arnold Branch!

Happy Hauntings!

With Halloween less than a week away -- here are my favorite horror books for kids . . .

Seer of Shadows by Avi

In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer's apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

Zombie Chasers by John Kloepfer

When zombies take over Phoenix, Arizona, Zack Clarke, his best friend Rice, and his older sister's mean friend Madison Miller team up to try to defeat the undead, or at least survive one another.

Curse of the Winter Moon by Mary Casanova

In sixteenth-century France, ruled by a Church that overtaxes peasants and burns heretics, Marius must postpone his apprenticeship to care for his six-year-old brother, whose birth took their mother's life, and who the villagers, backed by the Church, believe will become a "loup garou" -- a werewolf.

A Taste for Red by Lewis Harris

When some of her classmates disappear, sixth-grader Svetlana, along with her new friends go in search of the missing students using her newfound ability as an Olfactive, one who has heightened smell, hearing, and the ability to detect vampires.

Scare Scape by Sam Fisher

Morton, James, Melissa, and their father have just moved into an old house in a new town, and when Morton finds a creepy gargoyle buried in the yard, he and his siblings each make a wish--and find out that they have unleashed chaos.

More Horror Chapter Books --

Curse of the Night Wolf by Paul Stewart

A Field Guide to Monsters by Johan Olander

Half-Minute Horrors by Susan Rich

The Improbable Cat by Allan Ahlberg

The Monstrous Memoirs of Mighty McFearless by Ahmet Zappa

The Paradise Trap by Catherine Jinks

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn