These books are best read in broad daylight! If your pulse quickens, your skin prickles and you jump at every noise, you might be reading a horror book. Beware... and enjoy!
Ablaze by Christopher KrovatinAly Theland doesn't understand what's happening to her. She comes from a very normal family and lives a very normal life.There's only one thing off. When Aly gets angry, things burst into flame. Aly doesn't feel she's in control of this. But as the fires get better and the stakes get higher, something has to be done. Because it's not just flames Aly's unleashing, it's . . . evil.
The Ash House by Angharad WalkerWhen Eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster. The children at the Ash House want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name. Doesn't he? At least he did before he walked through those gates...
The Darkdeep by Ally Condie; Brendan ReichsEveryone in Timbers knows Still Cove is off-limits, with its creepy Beast sightings and equally terrifying legends. But when a bullying incident sends twelve-year-old Nico Holland over a cliff and into Still Cove's icy waters, friends Tyler and Emma--and even Opal Walsh, who usually runs with the popular kids--rush to his rescue . . . and discover a mysterious island hiding in the murky, swirling mists below.
Thirteen Chairs by Dave SheltonA spine-tingling collection of ghost stories.When a boy finds himself drawn into an empty house one cold night, he enters a room in which twelve unusual-looking people sit around a table. And the thirteenth chair is pulled out for him.One by one, each of those assembled tells their ownghost story: tales of doom and death; of ghostly creatures and malevolent spirits; of revenge and reward. It is only at the end of the night that the boy starts to understand what story he must tell . . .
Grades 8-10
Dungeons and Dragons: Ravenloft--Orphan of Agony Isle by Casey Gilly; Bayleigh Underwood (Illustrator)"Discover the Demiplane of Dread! In her castle laboratory, D&D's own mad scientist, Dr. Viktra Mordenheim, performs experiments testing the bounds of science and magic! Thrill to a Castle of Horrors! Following a terrible accident, Miranda awakens in Schloss Mordenheim under the questionable care of the definitely-not-lawful-good doctor, with no memory of who she is. Desperate to learn about her past, she soon begins to question what she is told and test the strictures placed upon her. Gentle Reader, the truth she uncovers will shock and disturb you!"
Darkroom by K. R. AlexanderBeatrice knows she doesn't have any followers. Nobody wants to watch her living her ordinary life. But then she strumbles across a new app, DARK[room]. Some users say it's super cool. Others say it's super dangerous. Beatrice downloads it and discovers that it allows her to see ghosts everywhere around her. And they're going to get her if she doesn't get them first. When Beatrice streams her haunted encounters, people think she's making them up. But she's not. She's in a fight for her life
The Honeys by Ryan La SalaMars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who'd grown tragically distant. Mars's genderfluidity means he's often excluded from the traditions--and expectations--of his politically-connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place. What Mars finds is a bucolic fairytale not meant for him.
Man Made Monsters by Andrea Rogers; Jeff Edwards (Illustrator)Haunting illustrations are woven throughout these horror stories that follow one extended Cherokee family across the centuries and well into the future as they encounter predators of all kinds in each time period.
Grades 10+
All Hallows by Christopher Golden"It's Halloween night, 1984, in Coventry, Massachusetts, and two families are unraveling. Up and down the street, secrets are being revealed, and all the while, mixed in with the trick-or-treaters of all ages, four children who do not belong are walking door to door, merging with the kids of Parmenter Road. Children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup. They seem terrified, and beg the neighborhood kids to hide them away, to keep them safe from The Cunning Man.
Wake the Bones by Elizabeth KilcoyneAfter dropping out of college, nineteen-year-old Laurel Early returns to her uncle's tobacco farm, where she encounters a monster as well as her mother's ghost, and soon Laurel realizes that she must tap into her own innate magic to save everyone she loves.
Motherthing by Ainslie HogarthA darkly funny take on mothers and daughters, about a woman who must take drastic measures to save her husband and herself from the vengeful ghost of her mother-in-law.
Fairy Tale by Stephen KingCharlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was seven, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself--and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it.