Recent spooky reads for children
October, and the lead-up, never fail to provide a bounty of scary, eccentric and thrilling tales for our bookshelves. Filled with doomed school camps, wandering souls, small town mysteries and, of course, a fabulous vampire – there's something for every level of spooky comfort in the below recommended reads.
Spooky Stories of the World by Wendy Shearer & Teo Georgiey (illus.)
This spine-tingling collection of spooky stories features over 20 eerie tales from across the globe. Discover bewitching retellings of ghost and monster-filled myths regaled with ghoulish relish and journey continent-by-continent through this haunting book.
With shocks and twists like you wouldn't believe – are you brave enough to read them all?
The Skull by Jon Klassen
In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night.
Can brave Otilla save them both?
This Camp is Doomed by Anna Zobel
A run-down camp in the woods. No phone reception. Ten students with untested powers.
Celine is seeing conspiracies everywhere. Fionn has a bad premonition about the colour blue. Mr Berg is horrified at the camp's questionable safety standards. Something is definitely not right at Camp Buttress.
Ghost Book by Remy Lai
Twelve years ago, the boy and the girl lived. But one was supposed to die.
July Chen sees ghosts. But her dad insists ghosts aren't real. So she pretends they don't exist. Which is incredibly difficult now as it's Hungry Ghost month, when the Gates of the Underworld open and dangerous ghosts run amok in the living world. When July saves a boy ghost from being devoured by a Hungry Ghost, he becomes her first ever friend. Except William is not a ghost. He's a wandering soul wavering between life and death. As the new friends embark on an adventure to return William to his body, they unearth a ghastly truth – for William to live, July must die.
Scarygirl by Nathan Jurevicius
Abandoned on a remote beach, Scarygirl doesn't know who she is or where she's come from. Blister, a kind and intelligent giant octopus, wants to keep her safe, but Scarygirl needs answers. Who is the strange man haunting her dreams? Will Bunniguru help her unlock the mysteries of her past? Can she trust the wily forest dwellers?
Her journey takes her to the edge, and beyond.
Vlad, the Fabulous Vampire by Flavia Z. Drago
Join fabulous vampire Vlad as he learns to embrace his pink cheeks and and find his confidence!
Vlad's passion is fashion. And just like every other vampire, Vlad dresses head to toe in the colour black. But unlike other vampires, Vlad has bright pink cheeks: cheeks that make him look, and feel, so different. Vlad tries to hide behind his clothes and his cape but, as it turns out, being yourself – truly yourself – is the most fabulous way to be.
The Snatcher of Raven Hollow by Matt McMann
When her small town is rocked by a series of baby kidnappings, Teo vows to spend her summer break solving the mystery, and convinces her friend Logan – who would much rather spend his vacation relaxing – to help.
Their search for answers soon leads them to the woods at the edge of town, and Teo fears some kind of supernatural creature might be behind the snatchings. What else could explain the creepy figure they see moving through the trees, or the bloodcurdling screams coming from the forest at dusk? Logan has his doubts, but when another child is taken, there’s no time to waste. Can he and Teo get to the bottom of the kidnappings and rescue the missing babies before it’s too late?
Camp Scare by Delilah S. Dawson
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.
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.
The Stars Did Wander Darkling by Colin Meloy
Maybe Archie Coomes has been watching too many horror movies. All of a sudden, the most ordinary things have taken on a sinister edge: a penny on a doormat. A man in a brown suit under a streetlamp. The persistent sound of an axe chopping in the middle of the night. He keeps telling himself that this is Seaham, a sleepy seaside town where nothing ever happens. Or at least nothing did, until his dad’s construction company opened up the cliff beneath the old – some say cursed – Langdon place.
Soon, though, he and his friends can’t deny it: more and more of the adults in town are acting strangely. An ancient, long-buried evil has been unleashed upon the community, and it’s up to the kids to stop it before it’s too late.
