Tag Archives: ghost stories

Spooky, Scary, and Silly Books Celebrating Halloween!

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Halloween is approaching, and there are plenty of books you can read to begin celebrating spooky season! Beginning with picture books for the youngest readers, these selected Halloween-themed stories are beautifully illustrated and engaging, ideal for an October story time. Next, the middle-grade books selected offer a variety of spooky adventures that are sure to entertain young readers. Lastly, the young adult selection offers a more thought-provoking, horror-filled reading experience for teens and adults alike.

Picture books

Asterplume, Z.B.
Illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee
To Knit a Ghost. 2026. Picture Book.
To Knit a Ghost is a cozy, heartwarming, Halloween-themed story about a young witch who is offered knitting advice from several friendly ghosts. This silly picture book is rife with jokes sure to entertain both young children and their adults. It also includes an important lesson on perseverance in the face of a challenge, as the little witch must overcome the challenges present when learning a new skill. The story ends with step-by-step instructions for young knitters to complete their very own first knitting project!
Q. SE. As83to

Cummins, Lucy Ruth
Stumpkin. 2018. Picture Book.
Stumpkin is an adorable Halloween book perfect for story time. Stumpkin is a stemless pumpkin who wants more than anything to become a jack-o-lantern for Halloween. Although Stumpkin has more of a stump than a stem, his vivid orange color and large size make him an excellent choice for a jack-o-lantern. As the holiday approaches, more of his friends are purchased and leave him. Will Stumpkin be chosen by a family in time for Halloween?
Q. SE. C9129st
 
Siqueira, Ana
Illustrated by Irena Freitas
If Your Babysitter is a Bruja. 2022. Picture Book.
Primarily written in English with a few Spanish words throughout, If Your Babysitter is a Bruja is a whimsical picture book best for an audience with a big imagination. When a little girl gets a new babysitter the night before Halloween, she believes that the babysitter may be a witch! Together, the babysitter-witch and the little girl embark on series of magical activities throughout the evening.
Q. SE. Si75if

Middle Grade Books

Meija, Tehlor Kay
Paola Santiago and the River of Tears. 2020. Juvenile Fiction.
Space-obsessed Paola has always relied on science to make sense of the world, despite her mother’s adamant belief in the superstitious. A year ago, one of her classmates drowned in the river and her mother warned her and her two best friends from ever approaching the water. Paola’s mother attributes the death to La Llorona, a wailing ghost of a woman who wanders the banks of the river Gila to drag unsuspecting children into the water. When Paola and her friends decide to set up a telescope near the Gila for stargazing, she encounters a terrifying being that may prove her mother right.
S. M4797pari
 
Russell, Ally
Illustrated by Devin Forst
Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave. 2025. Juvenile Fiction.
Raised in a funeral home with the ability to smell the supernatural, 13-year-old Mystery James is used to having strange problems, like being plagued by sleep paralysis demons. When a priceless necklace goes missing, her family’s funeral home is at risk of being shut down. Mystery must embark on a dangerous adventure to save her family’s business. To find the missing necklace, Mystery faces a plethora of challenges including vampires, ghosts, graverobbers, and a powerful patriarch of the town’s wealthiest family.
S. R9112mydi

West, Jacqueline
Long Lost. 2021. Juvenile Fiction.
11-year-old Fiona reluctantly moves to the small town of Lost Lake, away from her closest friends. Unhappy and alone, Fiona ventures into the town’s public library, housed in a mysterious mansion. At the library, she finds a captivating mystery book about a small town and a devastating disappearance. When Fiona begins to find startling similarities between Lost Lake and the town in the book, she goes back to the library to discover that the book is missing – almost like it never existed.
S. W5201lo

Young Adult Books

Benton-Walker, Terry J., editor
The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power. 2024. Juvenile Fiction.
The White Guy Dies First is a collection of short horror stories by thirteen different authors of color, edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker. These creative, terrifying stories range from killer clowns, haunted houses, cannibals, and more. But all these stories have one thing in common – this time, the white guy dies first.
S.813.0108 W5821

Kemp, Leon
Trespass Against Us. 2024. Juvenile Fiction.
One night, four teens enter the Dominic House, an abandoned religious reform school. One teen does not make it out. Two years after the traumatizing night of Ethan’s disappearance, his boyfriend Riley returns to the scene with famous TV ghost hunter Jordan Jones. Riley is determined to figure out what happened to Ethan at the price of reliving the most terrifying night of his life.
S. K3207tr

Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Harvest House. 2023. Juvenile Fiction.
Hughie Wolfe is excited to volunteer at a new spooky Halloween attraction, Harvest House, until he learns that one of the actors is supposed to play a vengeful spirit of an “Indian maiden” from local, bigoted legend. Additionally, the crossroads near Harvest House has been the site of strange and terrifying events. A man has been seen stalking Indigenous women and girls, and animals are behaving strangely. Hughie investigates the mysterious happenings at the crossroads with his friends and tries to figure out how to speak up for his community in this spooky tale filled with dangers both supernatural and all too real.
S. Sm539ha

JD

Books that Go Bump in the Night

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The air is getting crisp, leaves crunch underfoot, and a sense of spookiness can be felt all around. It’s the time of year again when witches cackle and werewolves howl, and we crawl under the covers with a flashlight and a book, hoping that the scratching at the window is just a tree branch. If you’re ready for a frighteningly good read, sink your claws into one of these great titles.

If you’re interested in finding more books that will give you the shivers, search the catalog using subject terms such as “juvenile fiction” for fiction books, “juvenile literature” for nonfiction books, and an additional term such as “Halloween,” “ghost stories,” or your favorite scary monster.

Becker, Bonny
The Frightful Ride of Michael McMichael. 2018 (Picture Book).
Little Michael McMichael is on a trip to deliver something to his beloved grandmother. But as soon as he steps on the Thirteen bus, something feels very off. The creepy driver only gets creepier, and the bus only gets more abnormal as the other passengers disembark! With eerily silly illustrations by Mark Fearing, the twist ending will leave you gasping!
[S-Collection Q. SE. B388fr]

Becker, Helaine
Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (and Thrive!) in the Real World? 2016 (Nonfiction).
Think you know all there is to know about monsters? Think again! This fun, engaging book delves into the real-life science behind the creatures we all know and love. Discover the history of sea monsters. Learn if electricity really could make human organs function after death. Complete with jokes, trivia, and a whole lot of science, this is one you won’t want to miss.
[S-Collection S.001.944 B38845m]

Brendler, Carol
Not Very Scary. 2014 (Picture Book).
Melly the monster does not scare easily. In fact, she doesn’t get scared at all! So when she sets out to her cousin’s house for a big surprise, it doesn’t frighten her one bit when more and more creepy creatures start to follow her on her way. Or does it…?
[S-Collection Q. SE. B7504n]

Caswell, Deanna
Boo! Haiku. 2016 (Juvenile Poetry).
Colorful pictures and creative poetic riddles will keep little ones guessing about which spooky character will appear on the next page. Each hint is told in the form of a haiku, a traditional Japanese style of poetry that includes 5 syllables on the first line, 7 on the second, and 5 on the third. This is a real page turner because you never know who you’ll find next!
[S-Collection SE. C2799bo]

Cuyler, Margery
Skeleton Hiccups. 2002 (Picture Book).
Is there anything scarier than hiccups you can’t get rid of? Poor Skeleton is afflicted, and despite his best efforts, they won’t go away! Will they ever leave his rattling bones in peace? Clever illustrations by S. D. Schindler make this a classic you’ll return to year after year.
[S-Collection SE. C99sk]

Fleming, Candace
On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave. 2012 (Young Adult Fiction).
Set in an actual (and allegedly haunted) cemetery outside of Chicago, this distinctly Illinoisan set of ghost stories follows the tales of several teen spirits recounting how they died, all involving the supernatural. Each ghost belongs to a different era in history from 1860 to the present, and together they paint a marvelous picture of some of the most exciting events in Illinois history.
[S-Collection S. F629o]

Howard, Martin
How to Slay a Werewolf. 2014 (Nonfiction).
Plagued by a lycanthrope? No problem! In this hilarious guide to werewolves, Professor Van Helsing teaches you all the tips and tricks you’ll need to rid yourself of that bothersome beast once and for all. Complete with a history of werewolves, this is your one stop shop for all things lupine.
[S-Collection S.398.2454 H835h]

Monahan, Hillary
Mary: The Summoning. 2014 (Young Adult Fiction).
Four teen girls link hands to summon the spirit of Bloody Mary. But when one of the girls takes it too far, Mary is released from her mirror and seeks revenge. Friendships are challenged and lives are changed as the girls struggle to escape Mary’s grasp. Easily the scariest book on this list, it is not for the faint of heart.
[S-Collection S. M7412m]

Sloat, Teri
Zip! Zoom! On a Broom! 2017 (Picture Book).
One by one, ten witches jump on a broom, and one by one, they drop off again! Illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet, this rhyming story all about counting up and down makes for a great read-aloud with a witchy theme.
[S-Collection Q. SE. Sl52z]

Tan, Shaun
The Singing Bones: Inspired by Grimms’ Fairy Tales. 2016 (Young Adult Fiction).
Explore Grimms’ fairy tales as you’ve never seen them before. Eerie sculptures by visionary artist Shaun Tan accompany snippets of 75 tales, leaving you with a strong sense of foreboding. Complete with an introduction by Neil Gaiman, fans of fairy tales and folklore won’t want to miss this one.
[S-Collection S.398.210943 T1535si]

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