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Check out these spooky, scary, and haunting reads -- perfect for Halloween or for reading all year round!

These books are organized by the types of creatures you can find in them. Which ones do you find the scariest?
Witches

Check out these books about witches, dark magic, curses, and more!
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Well Witched by Frances HardingePublication Date: 2008
Ryan and his friends don't think twice about stealing some money from a wishing well. After all, who's really going to miss a few tarnished coins? The well witch does. And she demands payback...
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Begone the Raggedy Witches (the Wild Magic Trilogy, Book One) by Celine KiernanPublication Date: 2018
When witches kidnap her dad, Mup is swept up in a wild tide of magic that carries her to another world. Can she reunite her family and find her way back?
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The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh; Kelly Murphy (Cover Design by)Publication Date: 2016
Twelve-year-old Mary Hayes can't stand her orphanage for another night. But then a mysterious woman named Madame Z appears at the orphanage requesting to adopt Mary. Soon, Mary is at Madame Z's being fed a hearty Russian meal. When Mary begins to explore the strange nearby town with the help of her new friend, Jacob, she learns that all may not be as it seems.
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Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy SchlitzPublication Date: 2012
The master puppeteer, Gaspare Grisini, is so expert at manipulating his stringed puppets that they appear alive. Clara Wintermute, the only child of a wealthy doctor, is spellbound by Grisini's act and invites him to entertain at her birthday party. But when Clara vanishes that night, suspicion of kidnapping falls upon the puppeteer and, by association, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall.
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Baba Yaga's Assistant by Marika McCoola; Emily Carroll (Illustrator)Publication Date: 2015
Most children think twice before braving a haunted wood filled with terrifying beasties to match wits with a witch, but not Masha. The fearsome witch of folklore needs an assistant, and Masha needs an adventure. She may be clever enough to enter Baba Yaga's house-on-chicken-legs, but within its walls, deceit is the rule. To earn her place, Masha must pass a series of tests, outfox a territorial bear, and make dinner for her host.
Zombies

Check out these books full of shambling hordes of the undead!
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Zombie Mommy by Matthew Anderson; Kurt Cyrus (Illustrator)Publication Date: 2011
In the fifth installment of National Book Award winner M.T. Anderson's Pals in Peril series, the intrepid heroes are home from their Delaware crime-stopping excitement, only to discover that Lily's mom has become possessed by a menacing zombie who wants to take over the world!
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Dread Nation by Justina IrelandPublication Date: 2018
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania--derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.
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Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo BacigalupiPublication Date: 2013
The zombie apocalypse begins on the day Rabi, Miguel, and Joe are practicing baseball near their town's local meatpacking plant and nearly get knocked out by a really big stink. Little do they know the plant's toxic cattle feed is turning cows into flesh-craving monsters!
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Rot and Ruin by Jonathan MaberryISBN: 9781442402331
Publication Date: 2011
In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.
Historical haunts

Check out these scary books set in the past!
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Double Life by Justin RichardsPublication Date: 2005
Who is the Invisible Detective? To the people of London, in 1936, he's a shadowy crimefighter whose face has never been seen. Truth is, he's the creation of four extraordinary children who solve mysteries in his name. And neither an army of murderous zombie mannequins nor a subterranean monster can stop the Invisible Detective once the kids are on the case. Meanwhile, in present day, 14-year-old Arthur Drake finds the casebook of the Invisible Detective in a strange antique store.
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The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet FoxISBN: 9780451476333
Publication Date: 2016
Twelve-year-old Katherine Bateson believes in a logical explanation for everything. But even she can't make sense of the strange goings-on at Rookskill Castle, the drafty old Scottish castle-turned-school where she and her siblings have been sent to escape the London Blitz. What's making those mechanical shrieks at night? Why do the castle's wall seem to have a mind of their own? And who are the silent children who seem to haunt Rookskill's grounds?
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Ophie's Ghosts by Justina IrelandPublication Date: 2021
Ophelia Harrison used to live in a small house in the Georgia countryside. But that was before the night in November 1922, and the cruel act that took her home and her father from her. Which was the same night that Ophie learned she can see ghosts.
Ghosts and hauntings

These haunting tales all include ghosts, ghouls, poltergeists, or other spirits!
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The Night Gardener by Jonathan AuxierPublication Date: 2014
The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives. With Auxier's exquisite command of language, The Night Gardener is a mesmerizing read and a classic in the making.
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Small Spaces by Katherine ArdenPublication Date: 2018
When eleven-year-old Ollie lost her mother in a plane crash, she sought solace in her books. One day, Ollie discovers a chilling ghost story about a girl, Elizabeth Morrison, who is being chased through cornfields filled with scarecrows by two brothers with deadly intent. When she finds the graves of Elizabeth Morrison and her tormentors, Ollie starts to think this book is more than just a book.
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A Properly Unhaunted Place by William Alexander; Kelly Murphy (Illustrator)Publication Date: 2017
Rosa Ramona Díaz has just moved to the small, un-haunted town of Ingot--the only ghost-free town in the world. She doesn't understand how her mother--a librarian who specializes in ghost-appeasement--could possibly want to live in a place with no ghosts. Jasper Chevalier has always lived in Ingot and has never seen a ghost. Then an apparition thunders into the festival grounds and turns the quiet town upside down. Something otherworldly is about to be unleashed, and Rosa will need all her ghost appeasement tools--and a little help from Jasper--to rein in the angry spirits and restore peace to Ingot before it's too late.
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Whispering Pines by Heidi Lang; Kati BartkowskiPublication Date: 2020
Stranger Things meets The X-Files in this eerie, heart-pounding middle grade adventure about a young boy and girl who must protect their small town from otherworldly forces threatening to destroy it.
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City of Ghosts by Victoria SchwabPublication Date: 2018
Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn't like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead . . . and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost. So things are already pretty strange. But they're about to get much stranger. When Cass's parents start hosting a TV show about the world's most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Here, graveyards, castles, and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. And when Cass meets a girl who shares her "gift," she realizes how much she still has to learn about the Veil -- and herself.
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Spirit Hunters by Ellen OhPublication Date: 2018
We Need Diverse Books founder Ellen Oh returns with Spirit Hunters, a high-stakes middle grade mystery series about Harper Raine, the new seventh grader in town who must face down the dangerous ghosts haunting her younger brother. A riveting ghost story and captivating adventure, this tale will have you guessing at every turn!
Monsters

Can you handle these books full of terrifying monsters?
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Frankenstein by Gary Reed; Mary Shelley; Frazer Irving (Illustrator)ISBN: 0142404071
Publication Date: 2005
Victor Frankenstein, a Swiss scientist, has a great ambition: to create intelligent life. But when his creature first stirs, he realizes he has constructed a monster. Abandoned by its maker and shunned by everyone who sees it, the monster turns on its creator and haunts Dr. Frankenstein with murder and horrors to the very ends of the earth.
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The Monsters of Morley Manor by Bruce CovilleISBN: 0152163824
Publication Date: 2001
What do you get when you mix together werewolves, vampires, mad scientists, wizards, aliens, alternate dimensions, tiny people, Transylvania, ancient curses, giant frogs, evil clones, ghosts, lawyers, shape-changers, fallen angels, journeys through hell, zombie warriors, body snatchers, and two clever kids in whose hands rests the fate of Earth? This adventure-comedy-fantasy-mystery book!
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The Midnight Hour by Benjamin Read; Laura TrinderISBN: 9781338569094
Publication Date: 2020
When strange late-night letters start arriving at home, Emily's parents set off to investigate. But when her parents disappear completely and Emily is left home alone to face the weird strangers that begin to appear at her door, she takes all of the clues at her disposal and makes for the place where the letters came from -- the mysterious Night Post. What she'll discover is the secret world of the Midnight Hour -- a Victorian London frozen in time, full of magic and monsters.
Scary story collections

Here are some stories that you might hear around a campfire on a dark and scary night!
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Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (Illustrator)ISBN: 9781442465954
Publication Date: 2014
Journey through the woods in this sinister, compellingly spooky collection that features four brand-new stories and one phenomenally popular tale in print for the first time. These are fairy tales gone seriously wrong, where you can travel to "Our Neighbor's House"--though coming back might be a problem.
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The August House Book of Scary Stories by August House Publishers Staff; Liz Parkhurst (Editor)Publication Date: 2009
Scary stories. Everyone loves to hear them and everyone loves to tell them. Contributed by storytellers who work in school and after-school settings, these stories have been crafted for telling out loud and have been tested before the most discerning critics -- kids themselves.
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Spooky Campfire Stories by Amy Kelley; Amy Kelley HoitsmaPublication Date: 2012
Nothing goes better with a gooey s'more and a glowing campfire than a good ghost story. This collection of scary classics and frightening folktales will send shivers up your spine.
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A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts by Ying Chang Compestine; Coleman Polhemus (Illustrator)Publication Date: 2009
According to Chinese tradition, those who die hungry or unjustly come back to haunt the living. Some are appeased with food. But not all ghosts are successfully mollified. In this chilling collection of stories,Ying Chang Compestine takes readers on a journey through time and across different parts of China.
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The Complete Horowitz Horror by Anthony HorowitzPublication Date: 2008
Welcome to a world where everything seems normal. At least, at first. But the sinister and truly terrifying lurk just beneath the surface.
Middle School Library Assistant
Spooky myths, folklore, and legends

These books incorporate myths and folklore, from cultures from all over the world and all time periods.
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The Jumbies by Tracey BaptistePublication Date: 2015
Corinne La Mer claims she isn't afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They're just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn't belong to a jumbie. Or could they?
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Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter by Atelier Sento; Cecile Brun; Olivier Pichard; Marie Velde (Translator)Publication Date: 2018
Part fantasy, part travelogue--this graphic novel transports readers to the intersection of the natural and supernatural worlds. Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter follows the adventures of two young foreigners as they travel to a remote and mysterious corner of Japan. Along the way, they purchase an old camera that has the unique ability to capture images of Japan's invisible spirit world.
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The Birth of Kitaro by Shigeru MizukiPublication Date: 2016
Meet one of Japan's most popular characters of all time-Kitaro, the One-Eyed Monster Boy.
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Wicked Cruel by Rich WallacePublication Date: 2013
Have you ever heard an urban legend? In this trio of terrifying tales, three boys have a close brush with the unknown as they encounter ghostly horses who run the streets at night, phantom farm children whispering in their ears, and a deceased former classmate who may be less dead than everyone thought. . . .
The Truth Behind the Tales

Check out the scary facts and spooky science in these books!
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Monstrous by Carlyn Beccia (Illustrator)Publication Date: 2019
Could Dr. Frankenstein's machine ever animate a body? Why should vampires drink from veins and not arteries? What body parts are best for zombies to eat? (It's not brains.) This fascinating encyclopedia of monsters delves into the history and science behind eight legendary creatures, from Bigfoot and the kraken to zombies and more.
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Are You Afraid Yet? by Stephen James O'Meara; Jeremy Kaposy (Illustrator)Publication Date: 2009
Want a good scare? Try reading about severed heads that blink, killer viruses that eat their human host, and real-life werewolves (just for starters)! Scared yet? That's okay - feeling scared is natural and useful. Want to know more about these and other fears? Pick up this one-of-a-kind book, an illustrated investigation into all the stuff that's frightened us out of our wits for centuries and the gruesome, gory, gut-churning science behind it.
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Creatures by C. M. JohnsonPublication Date: 2017
A hiker spots a large, ape-like creature walking through the woods. Neighbors discover hoof prints on their roofs. Swimmers see a dark, snake-like shadow moving under the water. Creatures, part of Full Tilt's Origins: Urban Legends series, examines the origins and reported sightings of four mysterious creatures.
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Ghosts, Possessions, and Unexplained Presences by Kate ShoupPublication Date: 2017
Since the beginning of humanity, many people have supported the idea of spirits, ghosts, and an afterlife. This book explores some well-known and frightening real-life encounters and looks to what scientific approaches have been tested to prove or disprove the existence of these otherworldly presences.
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Shuttered Horror Hospitals by Dinah WilliamsPublication Date: 2011
Great medical triumphs have taken place at hospitals. But are these medical buildings also a great place to go looking for ghosts? According to some, they are.
Dolls, puppets, & other creepy objects

Can you handle these creepy dolls, puppets, and other haunted objects?
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Doll Bones by Holly Black; Eliza Wheeler (Illustrator)Publication Date: 2013
Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends forever. And for almost as long, they've been playing one continuous, ever-changing game of pirates and thieves, mermaids and warriors. Ruling over all is the Great Queen, a bone-china doll cursing those who displease her. Their friendship might be over, until Poppy declares she's been having dreams about the Queen--and the ghost of a girl who will not rest until the bone-china doll is buried in her empty grave.
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Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy SchlitzPublication Date: 2012
The master puppeteer, Gaspare Grisini, is so expert at manipulating his stringed puppets that they appear alive. Clara Wintermute, the only child of a wealthy doctor, is spellbound by Grisini's act and invites him to entertain at her birthday party. When Clara vanishes that night, suspicion of kidnapping falls upon the puppeteer and, by association, his assistants, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall. As they seek to puzzle out Clara's whereabouts, Lizzie and Parse uncover Grisini's criminal past and wake up to his evil intentions.