Cold in Summer by Tracy Barrett – Ariadne has moved to a new town and hates it. She meets a very strange girl, May, who has the spooky habit of appearing and disappearing.
Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn – Diana and her brother have been bound together since “the bad thing happened” but that changes after Diana befriends the daughter of the new caretaker of the old house.
The Doll House Murders by Betty Ren Wright – Amy realizes that the dolls in the doll house in the attic move about displaying disturbing scenes, and she must find out why.
Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – After his family is murdered, Bod, a young boy is adopted by ghosts in a graveyard. 2009 Newbery winner.
Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac – After the disappearance of her parents, Molly is turned over to a strange “great uncle”. She must then rely on an old Mohawk story for safety and possibly, her life!
Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn – When 13-year-old Ali spends the summer with her aunt at the family’s vacation home, she stumbles upon an eerie secret that her aunt and mother have kept for 30 years.
The Witches by Roald Dahl – A young boy and his grandmother pit their wits against a witches’ plot to turn all the children into mice.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman – Looking for excitement, Coraline steps through a mysterious door and enters a world that is eerily like her own, but not, and where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents and three others.
Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn – Michael and Molly dislike their new stepsister but realize they must try to save her when she seems ready to follow a ghost child to her doom.
Something Upstairs by Avi – When he moves from Los Angeles to Rhode Island, Kenny discovers that his new house is haunted.
The Haunting by Margaret Mahy – After a shy and withdrawn 8-year-old begins receiving supernatural images and messages, he learns about a family legacy which could be considered a rare gift or a curse.
Time for Andrew by Mary Dowling Hahn – Eleven-year-old Drew spends the summer with his great aunt in the family’s summer place and is drawn 80 years into the past to trade places with his great uncle who is dying of diphtheria.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz –Spooky short stories about ghosts, witches and other weird phenomenon.
Something Wicked’s in those Woods by Marisa Montes – When his parents are killed in an auto accident, Javier must go live with his aunt in California, where a ghost from an unsolved crime taps into Javi’s psychopathic powers.
Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery by James Howe – When the Monroe family finds a strange bunny in a theater showing Dracula, their cat, Chester, and dog, Harold, decide to investigate the aptly named Bunnicula.
Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor – While living in her uncle’s house with a ghost, Judith Sparrow wonders if her one small transgression is causing weird happenings.
Christina’s Ghost by Betty Ren Wright – Christina spends the summer in a spooky, isolated Victorian house when a ghost adventure begins.
The Dark Thirty by Patricia McKissick – Southern tales of the supernatural.
Kingfisher Treasury of Spooky Stories selected by Jane Olliver.
The 13th Floor: A Ghost Story by Sid Fleischman – When his older sister disappears, 12-year-old Buddy Stebbins follows her back in time and finds himself aboard a 17th Century pirate ship captained by a distant relative.
Don’t Open the Door after the Sun Goes Down by Al Carusone – A collection of nine scary stories about a woman who is turned into a dog, a joke that makes people disappear and other unusual tales.
The House with the Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs – A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in its walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday.
A Darker Magic by Michael Bedard – Three people find their lives in danger when a ghostly magician haunts them with visions of an extraordinary deadly magic show he originally staged in 1936.
Dare to be Scared by Robert San Souci – Thirteen short stories about spirits, ghosts, monsters and scary creatures is sure to creep readers out.
Whisper in the Night: Tales of Terror and Suspense by Joan Aiken – Scary short stories
Clockwork: Or All Wound Up by Phillip Pullman – A storyteller’s story and a clock-maker’s nightmare meet in a menacing, lifelike figure created by the strange Dr. Kalmenius.
7 Spiders Spinning by Gregory Maguire – Seven prehistoric spiders that had been trapped in ice for thousands of years bring excitement to rural Vermont.
Ghost of Cutler Creek by Cynthia DeFelice – When Allie is contacted by the ghost of a dog, she and Dub investigate the surly new boy at her school and his father.
Seer of Shadows by Avi – In New York City in 1872 , 14-year-old Horace, a photographer’s apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidently frees the spirit of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.
Crandall’s Castle by Betty Ren Wright – Charli’s impulsive uncle Will Crandall, decides to buy the town’s abandoned, possibly haunted, castle to fix up as a bed and breakfast but his clairvoyant niece, Sophie, believes the plan to be somewhat dangerous.
Scary Series:
Goosebumps, Horrorland, American Chillers