Scary Stories for Kids

Stories to keep you awake at night for ages 9-12.

Updated June 17, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Another
Tremblay, Paul.
Paper Book
The bone-chilling, instantly New York Times bestselling tale of an unsettling, unbreakable friendship--from acclaimed horror author Paul Tremblay. "All the questions we ask as kids about who we are and what we're worth take a terrifying turn in this spooky tale of a...
Doll bones
Black, Holly.
Paper Book
Discover the Newbery Honor winner Doll Bones, from Holly Black, the cocreator of the Spiderwick Chronicles. A Kirkus Reviews Best Book. A School Library Journal Best Book. A Booklist Editor's Choice Books for Youth. A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book. A...
Don't let the doll in
Ford, Mike
Paper Book
Welcome to Frightville... one-stop shopping for all your fears! The perfect dollhouse needs the perfect doll. When Mara hears about a new store called Frightville, she can't wait to check it out. On its shelves are strange and unusual gifts of all kinds. It's there that she comes...
The fear zone
Alexander, K. R.
Paper Book
If you don't stand up to your fears,they will destroy you.When five kids are invited to a cemetery at midnight, they think it's just a prank. When they find a gravestone that instructs them to dig up a grave, they think it's just a joke.It's no joke.An evil force is unleashed - a force that takes...
Hide and seeker
Hermon, Daka
Paper Book
One of our most iconic childhood games receives a creepy twist as it becomes the gateway to a nightmare world.I went up the hill, the hill was muddy, stomped my toe and made it bloody, should I wash it?Justin knows that something is wrong with his best friend.Zee went missing for a year. And...
The legend of Skeleton Man : a two-book collection
Bruchac, Joseph
Paper Book
This spine-tingling middle grade collection by an acclaimed author and Nulhegan Abenaki citizen brings together Skeleton Man and The Return of Skeleton Man--two modern classics that will chill you to the bone. R.L. Stine, bestselling author of the Goosebumps series, raved: "This book gave me...
Night gardener a scary story
Auxier, Jonathan.
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller, Jonathan Auxier's The Night Gardener is a Victorian ghost story with shades of Washington Irving and Henry James. More than just a spooky tale, it's also a moral fable about human greed and the power of storytelling.   ...
Nightmare King
Hermon, Daka
Paper Book
Author of Hide and Seeker, Daka Hermon, brings us a new evil lurking in our childhood games. Things haven't been the same since Shane's accident. One minute he was a normal kid playing a game of tag with his friends, and the next he's the boy who came back from the dead. Now, every time Shane falls...
Revenge of the witch
Delaney, Joseph
Paper Book
* The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch will be featured in the HarperCollins booth at major institutional conferences, including TLA, IRA, ALA and NCTE * A finished book will be sent to a list of 550 large school and public library systems and influential librarians and educators for...
Small spaces
Arden, Katherine
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic. After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie who only finds solace in books discovers a...
They threw us away
Kraus, Daniel
Paper Book
"Truly captivating." --The New York Times "A deliciously macabre fairy tale, full of snuggles." --Holly Black, award-winning author of Doll Bones and co-creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles Welcome to The Teddies Saga, a gripping new...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.