Scary Stories
Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
► For kids in grades 2 - 4
► For kids in grades 4 - 6
► For kids in grades 6 - 8
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Scary stories for kids in grades 2 - 4
Cam Jansen Mysteries (series) / David Adler / j M ADLER
Cam and her friends solve mysteries.
Devil’s Donkey / Bill Brittain / j BRITTAIN
Dan’l Pitt doesn’t believe in magic until he matches wits with old Magda the Witch.
Who Knew There’d Be Ghosts? / Bill Brittain / j pb BRITTAIN
Three friends join forces with two ghosts to save a historic mansion.
The Man Who Could Call Down Owls / Eve Bunting / j Eb BUNTING
A kind man is fittingly avenged by his owl friends.
Herculeah Jones Mysteries (series) / Betsy Byars / j M BYARS
Herculeah, her best friend Meat, and her parrot Tarot, solve mysteries.
Boo!: Stories to Make you Jump / Laura Cecil / j SS CECIL
Stories with monsters, ghosts, and witches.
Cold Feet / Cynthia DeFelice / j Ea DEFELICE
A bagpiper uses a dead man’s boots in a mischievous trick.
Pitch and Hasty Check It Out / Eric Deleon / j M DELEON
Two friends investigate a mysterious voice in a pinball machine.
Lucy Dove / Janice Del Negro / j Ef DEL NEGRO
A seamstress outwits a terrible monster in a haunted churchyard.
Mc Broom’s Ghost / Sid Fleischman / j FLEISCHMAN
McBroom’s family hears haunting voices around their farm.
Grandpa’s Ghost Stories / James Flora / j M FLORA
Grandpa tells his grandson scary stories about times when he was a boy.
Diane Goode’s Book of Scary Stories and Songs / Diane Goode / j 398 Goo
Frightening poems, stories and songs from around the world.
In a Creepy, Creepy Place and Other Scary Stories / Judith Gorog / j GOROG
Short, scary, and sometimes silly, stories about creepy places.
The McGurk Mysteries (series) / E. W. Hidlick / j M HILDICK
School-age detective friends in the McGurk Organization solve mysteries in clever and action-packed plots.
A-Haunting We Will Go / Lee Bennett Hopkins / j M HOPKINS
Ghost stories and poems.
The Curse of the Egyptian Mummy / Pat Hutchins / j M HUTCHINS
A group of cub scouts, a campout, a dead body, and a deadly snake combine for an unsolved mystery.
Ghostly Folktales / M.A. Jagendorf / j 398 Jag
Ghost stories from around the world.
Frankenstein Moved in on the Fourth Floor / Elizabeth Levy / j LEVY
Two boys suspect their new neighbor is Frankenstein.
The Bone Keeper / Megan McDonald / j Ea MCDONALD
An old woman gathers bones in the desert and creates a howling creature.
The Crack in the Wall, and Other Terribly Weird Tales / George Mendoza / j M MENDOZA
Four short and scary stories.
Hairticklers / George Mendoza / j SS MENDOZA
Thirteen scary stories.
Velcome / Kevin O'Malley / j Ea OMALLEY
Scary stories with surprise endings.
Clues in the Woods / Peggy Parish / j M PARISH
Three siblings stumble onto a mystery. One of a series.
Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep
The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight: More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep
Jack Prelutsky / j 811 Pre
Scary poems.
The Bone Man / Laura Sims / j 398.2 USA INDIAN Sim -
A young boy must confront an enormous skeletal creature.
If Your Want to Scare Yourself / Angela Sommer-Bodenburg / j SOMMER-BODENBURG
Five scary stories.
My Friend the Vampire / Angela Sommer-Bodenburg / j SOMMER-BODENBURG
Nine-year-old Tony Noodleman befriends two vampires.
The Graveyard and Other Not-So-Scary Stories
The Thing in the Swamp and More Not-So-Scary Stories
Footsteps in the Fog: Still More Not-So-Scary Stories
William E. Warren / j M WARREN
Scary stories with not-so-scary outcomes.
Real Mummies Don’t Bleed: Friendly Tales for October Nights
Susan Whitcher / j SS WHITCHER
Five scary stories.
Christina’s Ghost / Betty Ren Wright / j M WRIGHT
Christina spends the summer in a spooky house with her uncle and a ghost.
The Ghost Witch / Betty Ren Wright / j WRIGHT
Jenny discovers that her new house is haunted by a ghost witch.
Favorite Scary Stories of American Children / Richard Young / j 398 You
Twenty-three popular scary stories.
Scary stories for kids in grades 4 - 6
All books are in juvenile fiction unless otherwise noted.
The Stonewalkers / Vivien Alcock
A garden statue, brought to life by a flash of lightening, gathers an evil stone army.
Goody Hall / Natalie Babbitt
There is something peculiar about Goody Hall, a strange house filled with mystery, where Hercules Feltwright is the new tutor.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls / John Bellairs
A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a hidden clock which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday. Also many other books by this author.
When the Chenoo Howls: Native American Tales of Terror / Joseph Bruchac
j 398.2 USA INDIAN Bru
Native American monster stories.
Is Anybody There? / Eve Bunting
Marcus suspects that a stranger is coming into his home while he is at school and his mother is working.
McMummy / Betsy Byars
In an eccentric scientist’s greenhouse, a boy discovers a large mummy-shaped plant.
Stonewords: A Ghost Story / Pam Conrad
Zoe tries to prevent the death of the eleven-year old ghost who haunts her house.
On the Edge / Gillian Cross
A boy is kidnapped and his friend tries to save him. See also:
A Map of Nowhere and Roscoe’s Leap.
Haunted House Tales
Hair-Raising Tales
Corinne Denan
Scary short stories.
Prisoner of Vampires / Nancy Garden
Alexander finds himself under the spell of a family of vampires who are operating a funeral parlor.
No Swimming in Dark Pond and Other Chilling Tales / Judith Gorog
Thirteen tales full of unexpected twists and turns.
Wait Till Helen Comes / Mary Downing Hahn
Molly and Michael must try to save their stepsister when she seems ready to follow a ghost child to her doom.
The Ghost Squad and the Menace of the Malevs / E. W. Hildick
One of a series about two humans and four ghosts who band together to help solve and prevent crimes. In this book they battle the evil and otherworldly Malevs.
Hauntings: Ghosts and Ghouls from Around the World
Retold by Margaret Hodges / j 398 Hod
Sixteen stories about the supernatural.
Seven Spiders Spinning / Gregory Maguire
The murderous intentions of seven prehistoric spiders unite two rival school clubs. One of a series.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Will Moses / j IRVING
A superstitious schoolmaster has a terrifying encounter
with a headless horseman.
Echoes in an Empty Room and Other Supernatural Tales / Carolyn Lane
Ten stories of strange unearthly happenings.
Whistle in the Graveyard: Folktales to Chill Your Bones / Maria Leach / j 398 Lea
Ghostly folktales from around the world. One of a series.
The Haunting / Margaret Mahy
A shy and withdrawn boy begins receiving frightening supernatural images and messages.
The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural / Patricia McKissack
j 398.2 USA AFRO-AMERICAN McK
African-American ghost stories.
Ghosts I Have Been / Richard Peck
Blossom Culp, who has the gift of second sight, finds herself on the doomed Titanic with the ghost of a tormented boy. One of a series about Blossom Culp.
Footsteps on the Stairs / Stella Pevsner
Three boys interested in the supernatural try to calm a restless ghost.
A Watcher in the Woods / Florence Engel Randall
In the woods behind their new house, two sisters sense the ominous and invisible presence of a watcher.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark / Alvin Schwartz / j 398 Sch
Scary folklore. The first in a series.
The Moonpath and Other Tales of the Bizarre / Robert E. Swindells
Five short stories about other worlds.
Peppermints in the Parlor / Barbara Brooks Wallace
Newly orphaned Emily goes to live with her aunt and uncle at spooky Sugar Hill Hall where she encounters unimaginable horror.
Trapped in Death Cave / Bill Wallace
Gary is convinced his grandfather has been murdered because of his knowledge of a cursed hidden treasure in Death Cave.
The Ghosts of Mercy Manor / Betty Ren Wright
Gwen discovers that her new foster family’s home is haunted by ghosts, but when no one believes she has seen them, she decides to solve their mystery herself. Also other titles by this author.
Revenge of the Dolls / Carol Beach York
A mad old woman creates evil dolls to do her bidding. Also other titles by this author.
And
Look for books about ghosts and haunted houses in j 133.1
Look for books about unexplained phenomena
(like UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, and Bigfoot) in j 001.94
Look for books about movie monsters in j 791.43
Scary Stories for kids in grades 6 - 8
All books are in juvenile fiction unless otherwise noted.
Give Yourself a Fright: Thirteen Stories of the Supernatural / Joan Aiken
Spine-tingling short stories. See also other collections by this author.
Skeleton Man / Joseph Bruchac
Dreams of a chilling Mohawk legend- the Skeleton Man- begin when Molly’s parents disappear.
The Bewitching of Alison Allbright / Alan Davidson
Alison adopts the identity of a dead girl, but finds her new mother a sinister force.
Summer of Fear / Lois Duncan
Only Rachel senses the evil that her beautiful cousin Julia hides from everyone else. Also other titles by this author. (j pb D)
Coraline / Neil Gaiman
In a hidden world disturbingly like her own, Coraline fights a gruesome being to save herself and the lost souls trapped behind the mirrors.
When Nobody’s Home: Fifteen Baby-sitting Tales of Terror / Judith Gorog
Scary stories about what happens to the babysitters after the kids have gone to bed.
A Killing Freeze / Lynn Hall
A small town’s winter festival is disrupted by
a set of grisly multiple murders.
Escape Into Daylight / Geoffrey Household
In danger of losing their lives, two kidnapped youngsters make several desperate attempts to escape.
Beyond Another Door / Sonia Levitin
After winning an ordinary dish at a local carnival, a 13-year-old girl is catapulted into a terrifying world of psychic phenomena.
The Clearing: A Mystery / Dorothy Reynolds Miller
In rural Pennsylvania, an idyllic clearing holds an evil secret.
Night Terrors / Jim Murphy
A gravedigger shares chilling tales he has heard in cemeteries.
The Haunting / Joan Lowery Nixon
After her parents decide to move into an old family plantation, Lia must find the courage to battle the evil that haunts it. Also other titles by this author.
The Young Oxford Book of Nasty Endings / Dennis Pepper
Frightening stories by well-known writers. Also: The Young Oxford Book of Aliens.
Tales of Edgar Allan Poe / Edgar Allan Poe
This collection of Poe’s classic tales of the horror and suspense include “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
The Satanic Mill / Otfried Preussler
In seventeenth century Germany, a boy desperately wants to escape from a school for Black Magic where he is held captive by demonic forces.
The Westing Game / Ellen Raskin
The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.
A Terrifying Taste of Short & Shivery: Thirty Creepy Tales / Retold by Robert San Souci
Spine-tingling stories from around the world. The first in a series.
Cirque du Freak / Darren Shan
An encounter with a deadly spider and a vampire
changes a boy’s life forever. The first in a series.
The Duplicate / William Sleator
David thinks it’s great when he finds a machine that duplicates himself until his life turns horrifying when the duplicate turns against him. Also other titles by this author.
Curses, Inc. and Other Stories / Vivian Vande Velde
Ten stories in which kids learn about the unintended consequences of magic spells and curses.
The Man in the Woods / Rosemary Wells
When Helen investigates the false arrest of a classmate, she is terrified by death threats, which no adult takes seriously.
The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral / Robert Westall
A steeplejack believes that a grotesque medieval gargoyle is the cause of the evil surrounding Muncaster Cathedral.
He Came From the Shadows / Chris Westwood
A stranger comes to an English mining town, bringing changes that first delight then threaten its inhabitants.
Deathwatch / Robb White
When Ben agrees to guide Madec, a madman, on a hunting trip, he becomes involved in a desperate struggle for his life.
Death Knell / Nicholas Wilde
Two boys attempt to solve the murder of an old man who was found dead in a locked crypt.
Here There Be Witches / Jane Yolen
Short stories about witches and wizards. Other scary short story collections edited by this author include Vampires, Werewolves, Things That Go Bump in the Night, and The Haunted House.
The Scary Story Reader: Forty-one of the Scariest Stories for Sleepovers, Campfires, Car and Bus / Richard Young
A collection of classic and modern-day horror tales. (j 398.2 UNITED STATES You)
Loch / Paul Zindel
Horrifying prehistoric human-eating creatures in a Vermont lake are both feared and helped by a scientist’s son and his girlfriend.
And
Look for books about ghosts and haunted houses in j 133.1
Look for books about unexplained phenomena
(like UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, and Bigfoot) in j 001.94
Look for books about movie monsters in j 791.43
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Look for these and other great books in
The Children's Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412/531-1913 2002
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org