Scary Stories Older

Ages 9-13 J ALMOND Almond, David. Kit’s Wilderness: Thirteen-year-old Kit goes to live with his grandfather in the decaying coal mining town of Stoneygate, England, and finds both the old man and the town haunted by ghosts of the past. J ALTER Alter, Stephen. The Phantom Isles: Three friends and the librarian in a Massachusetts town must help each other to free the ghosts that have been imprisoned in books by a professor on a fantastical island many years ago. J ALTER Alter, Stephen. Ghost Letters: While exploring the area around his grandfather's home Gil discovers a bottle that carries messages into the past, finds a genie in a letter, and three letters that were never delivered but would have changed the course of history. J ARNOLD Arnold, Louise. Golden & Grey: an Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost: When a downhearted ghost becomes the "invisible friend" of an eleven-year-old boy who is an outcast in his new school, the two help each other find their place in their respective worlds. J AVI Avi. Devil’s Race: Sixteen-year-old John Proud is tormented by the ghost of an evil ancestor, with his own name and his own face, who was hanged in 1854 for being a demon. J AVI Avi. Something Upstairs: When he moves from Los Angeles to Providence, Rhode Island, Kenny discovers that his new house is haunted by the spirit of a black slave boy who asks Kenny to return with him to the early nineteenth century and prevent his murder by slave traders. J AVI Avi. The Seer of Shadows: In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer's apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

J BURKE Burke, Janine. The Deadly Doll: Caroline's family inherited a mysterious old-fashioned doll. Soon after it arrives, Caroline's mother becomes sick. Caroline thinks that the doll is out to get her mom. Could a little doll be evil? J GAIMAN Gaiman, Neil. Coraline: Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others. J GAIMAN Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book Newbery winner (2008): The story of a bone-chilling killer, named Jack, who has murdered the members of an entire family, all except one: a small baby who escapes to a nearby graveyard. The resident spirits discover the toddler, Bod, and agree to raise him as their own, under the watchful eye of the mysterious guardian. J GARDEN Garden, Nancy. My Sister, the Vampire: A beautiful Maine summer turns deadly for Sarah, Tim and Jenny Hoskins, and their neighbors as they discover the horrifying truth about the strange new owners of Spool Island. J GRABENSTEIN Grabenstein, Chris. The Crossroads: When eleven-year-old Zack Jennings moves to Connecticut with his father and new stepmother, they must deal with the ghosts left behind by a terrible accident, as well as another kind of ghost from Zack's past. J HAHN All the Lovely Bad Ones: A Ghost Story: While spending the summer at their grandmother's Vermont inn, two prankster siblings awaken young ghosts from the inn's distant past who refuse to "rest in peace." J HAHN Hahn, Mary Downing. The Old Willis Place: a Ghost Story: Tired of the rules that have bound them ever since "the bad thing happened," twelve-year-old Diana ignores her brother's warnings and befriends the daughter of the new caretaker, setting in motion events that lead to the release of the spirit of an evil, crazy woman who once ruled the old Willis place. J HAHN Hahn, Mary Downing. Wait Till Helen Comes: a Ghost Story: Molly and Michael dislike their spooky new stepsister Heather but realize that they must try to save her when she seems ready to follow a ghost child to her doom. J HAHN Hahn, Mary Downing. Time for Andrew: a Ghost Story: When he goes to spend the summer with his great-aunt in the family's old house, eleven-year-old Drew is drawn eighty years into the past to trade places with his great-great-uncle who is dying of diphtheria. J HARDING Hardinge, Frances. Well Witched: In this deliciously scary story, three children fall under the power to the demands of a well witch after stealing coins from a wishing well. To repay their debt, they must fulfill the wishes of people whose coins they took.

J KEHRET Kehret, Peg. Abduction: Thirteen-year-old Bonnie has a feeling of foreboding on the very day that her six-year-old brother Matt and their dog, Pookie, are abducted, and she becomes involved in a major search effort as well as a frightening adventure. J KEHRET Kehret, Peg. The Ghost’s Grave: Apprehensive about spending the summer in Washington State with his Aunt Ethel when his parents get an overseas job, twelve-year-old Josh soon finds adventure when he meets the ghost of a coal miner. J KEHRET Kehret, Peg. Horror at the Haunted House: While acting in a "haunted house" featuring interesting deaths in history, Ellen is contacted by the ghost of a former resident, who seems to be protecting the collection of antique Wedgwood dishes on display there. J MCKAY McKay, Hilary. The Amber Cat: While recovering from chicken pox, Robin and his friends are drawn into his mother's story about the adventures she and her friends had years ago with an unusual girl who mysteriously appeared on the nearby beach. J MCKISSA McKissack, Pat. The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural: A collection of ghost stories with African American themes, designed to be told during the Dark Thirty--the half hour before sunset--when ghosts seem all too believable. YA PULLMAN Pullman, Philip. Count Karlstein: In the mountains of Switzerland, the wicked Count Karlstein plots to abandon his two orphaned nieces in a hunting lodge as prey for the Demon Huntsman and his ghostly hounds. J REISS Reiss, Kathryn. Sweet Miss Honeywell’s Revenge: a Ghost Story: Just before her mother is to remarry and her stepfamily is set to move in, twelve-year-old Zibby gradually realizes that her antique dollhouse is haunted by ghosts, one of whom is out for revenge. J SCHWARTZ Schwartz, Alvin. Scary Stories to tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to tell in the Dark & Scary Stories 3: More tales to Chill Your Bones: Filled with folktales of eerie horror and dark revenge, this collection contains stories about skeletons that roam the Earth with torn and tangled flesh; a ghost who takes revenge on her murderer; and a haunted house where a bloody head falls down the chimney each night. Illustrated with drawings from a Caldecott-winning artist. J SLEATOR Sleator, William. Blackbriar: In the attempt to decipher a number of strange events after he moves into an old cottage, a boy discovers a group of English folk engaged in Devil worship. J SLEATOR Sleator, William. Among the Dolls: Vicky is disappointed in her birthday gift of a dollhouse, but she experiences real terror when she is drawn into the house and the lives of its malicious inhabitants.

J SNYDER Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The Trespassers: Having trespassed and explored the empty Hutchinson mansion, which seems haunted by the presence of a long-dead young girl, sixth grader Neely and her little brother become regular visitors when emotionally disturbed Curtis Hutchinson moves in. J STEIN R.L. Stein. Who Let the Ghosts Out?: Nicky and Tara, are trying to figure out why they are suddenly ghosts and what has happened to their parents. They live in the closet of a boy named Max, a would-be magician who is having parent, brother, and teacher troubles. The three team up to help one another try to solve their individual and collective problems and take on an evil spirit named Phears. (Series Mostly Ghostly) J TAN Tan, Shaun. The Haunted Playground: When Gavin takes his metal detector to a new playground to hunt for lost objects, he instead discovers a group of mysterious children who only appear after dark, and who tease him and try to persuade him to play with them until late into the night. J TOLAN Tolan, Stephanie. Who’s There?: When fourteen-year-old Drew and her mute younger brother come to live with their father's estranged relatives after their parents' sudden death, they discover that the house is haunted by ghosts and a deadly family secret. J VANDE Vande, Vivian Velde. Ghost of a Hanged Man: A chilling page-turner about an angry ghost, a fortune-teller, coffins rising out of cemetery earth, and two child protagonists. Set in the late 1870's, Ben and Annabelle, the sheriff's children, do battle with a ghost that is seeking revenge from the grave. J WRIGHT Wright, Betty Ren. Crandall’s Castle: Charlie’s impulsive uncle, Will Crandall, decides to buy the town’s abandoned, possibly haunted castle and fix it up as a bed-and-breakfast, but Charlie and Sophia, a clairvoyant orphan who has come to stay with the Crandall family, know that his plan is dangerous and will set loose disastrous consequences.