October is traditionally the month for spooky stories, decorating pumpkins and dressing up in wacky costumes. While the trick or treating may be a little more socially distanced this year, there are still plenty of terrifyingly fun stories to read … if you dare!

There’s a Ghost in this House by Oliver Jeffers

A captivating new picture book with interactive transparent pages, from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers.

A young girl lives in a haunted house, but has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? She’d love to know!

Step inside and turn the transparent pages to help her on an entertaining ghost hunt, from behind the sofa, right up to the attic. With lots of friendly ghost surprises and incredible mixed media illustrations, this unique and funny book will entertain young readers over and over again!

A delightfully dark read for ages 4 and up.

Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Our Kids Classic of the Month is an utterly spooky delight!

The first book in the Funnybones series introduces the skeletons - a big skeleton, a little skeleton and a dog skeleton. They live in a dark dark cellar of a dark dark house on a dark dark hill. The skeletons venture out of their cellar one night to find someone to scare, but everyone is in bed so they amuse themselves by scaring each other and playing with the skeleton animals that live in the zoo.

Pitch perfect to share with ages 3 and up.

The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers by Jen Campbell

Jen Campbell’s collection of terrifyingly gruesome tales lends a modern edge to fairy tale collections for young readers. Drawing on her extensive knowledge of fairy tale history, Campbell’s stories undo the censoring, gender stereotyping and twee endings of more modern children’s fairy tales, to return both classic and little-known stories to their grim versions, whilst celebrating a diverse range of characters.

Featuring 14 short stories from around the globe illustrated by comic artist Adam de Souza and beautifully produced in a hardback format with a rose gold ribbon marker, this is a fun and spooky collection for ages 7 and up.

The Supernatural Survival Guide by George Ivanoff

Have you had a close encounter with a UFO? Is your house haunted? Have you seen a yeti? Don’t worry, The Supernatural Survival Guide has all the info you need to survive a brush with the spooky.

Is the Loch Ness Monster real? Does Big Foot exist? Are there scientific reasons for hauntings? What is cryptozoology? The Supernatural Survival Guide will tackle these and other questions about all things paranormal. There is so much WEIRD stuff out there … but the TRUTH is in here!

For supernatural lovers aged 7 and up.

Halloween by Sophie Beer

Pumpkin, candles, spider, witch, skeleton, laughing, face paint… introduce your little ones to the words of the Halloween season with cute characters, bright colours and playful scenes.

Along with the Halloween items, each scene contains one feeling word and one action word to spot - colour-coded circles point them out. With a glitter-accented cover that adds visual and tactile interest, this fun book inspires a deeper knowledge of the world, introduces language skills and supports emotional intelligence.

From birth to 3 years old.