Spooky Middle Grade Stories for Halloween

A selection of spooky stories for middle grade readers, sure to get them into the spirit of Halloween.
Updated October 2, 2022
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Halloween tree
Bradbury, Ray, 1920-2012.
Paper Book
Make storytime a little spookier with fantasy master Ray Bradbury as he takes readers on a riveting trip though space and time to discover the true origins of Halloween. Join the shadowy Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud as he takes eight trick-or-treaters on an unforgettable...
Scary stories to tell in the dark
Schwartz, Alvin, 1927-1992.
Paper Book
This spooky addition to Alvin Schwartz's popular books on American folklore is filled with tales of eerie horror and dark revenge that will make you jump with fright. There is a story here for everyone -- skeletons with torn and tangled flesh who roam the earth; a ghost who takes revenge on her...
Bunnicula a rabbit tale of mystery
Howe, Deborah, 1946-1978.
Paper Book
THIS book is written by Harold. His full time occupation is dog. He lives with Mr. and Mrs. X (here called Monroe) and their sons Toby and Pete. Also sharing the home are a cat named Chester and a rabbit named Bunnicula. It is because of Bunnicula that Harold turned to writing. Someone had to tell...
Coraline
Gaiman, Neil.
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman's modern classic, Coraline--also an Academy Award-nominated film "Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house...." When Coraline steps through a door to find another...
House with a clock in its walls
Bellairs, John.
Paper Book
A haunting gothic tale by master mysery writer John Bellairs--soon to be a major motion picture starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black! "The House With a Clock in Its Walls will cast its spell for a long time."--The New York Times Book Review When Lewis...
Cirque du Freak
Shan, Darren.
Paper Book
Two boys who are best friends visit an illegal freak show, where an encounter with a vampire and a deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices.
Welcome to dead house
Stine, R. L.
Paper Book
Dark thirty Southern tales of the supernatural
McKissack, Pat, 1944-2017.
Paper Book
Illus. in black-and-white. With an extraordinary gift for suspense, McKissack brings us ten original spine-tingling tales inspired by African-American historyandthe mystery of that eerie half-hour before nightfall--the dark thirty. "The atmosphere of each selection is skillfully developed and...
Wait till Helen comes
Hahn, Mary Downing.
Paper Book
Twelve-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother, Michael, have never liked their seven-year-old stepsister, Heather. Ever since their parents got married, she's made Molly and Michael's life miserable. Now their parents have moved them all to the country to live in a house that used to be a...
Skeleton man
Bruchac, Joseph, 1942-
Paper Book
A chilling middle grade novel featuring a brave young girl, missing parents, and a terrifying stranger, based on a Native American legend. R.L. Stine, New York Times bestselling author of the Goosebumps series, raved, "This book gave ME nightmares!" Molly's father, who grew up on the...
Scary stories for young foxes
Heidicker, Christian McKay
Paper Book
A 2020 Newbery Honor Recipient! Christian McKay Heidicker, author of the Thieves of Weirdwood trilogy, draws inspiration from Bram Stoker, H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe for his debut middle-grade novel, a thrilling portrait of survival and an...
Graveyard book
Gaiman, Neil.
Paper Book
The original hardcover edition of a perennial favorite, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which has sold more than one million copies and is the only novel to win both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal.  Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place--he's the only living...
Short & shivery thirty chilling tales
San Souci, Robert D.
Paper Book
This title presents a collection of 30 short and spooky tales from the folklore of Russia, Virginia, Ireland, Canada, and other areas of the world.
More scary stories to tell in the dark
Schwartz, Alvin
Paper Book
All those who enjoyed shuddering their way through Alvin Schwartz's first volume of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark will find a satisfyingly spooky sequel in this new collection of the macabre, the funny, and the fantastic.Is it possible to die -- and not know it? What if a person is buried too...
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...
Deep and dark and dangerous
Hahn, Mary Downing.
Paper Book
Just before summer begins, 13-year-old Ali finds an odd photograph in the attic. She knows the two children in it are her mother, Claire, and her aunt Dulcie. But who's the third person, the one who's been torn out of the picture? Ali figures she'll find out while she's vacationing in...
Roald Dahl's book of ghost stories
Dahl, Roald.
Paper Book
Who better to investigate the literary spirit world than that supreme connoisseur of the unexpected, Roald Dahl? Of the many permutations of the macabre or bizarre, Dahl was always especially fascinated by the classic ghost story. As he realtes in the erudite introduction to this volume, he read...
Whisper in the dark
Bruchac, Joseph, 1942-
Paper Book
The author of Skeleton Man pens a new spine-tingling tale. Maddie loves spooky stories, especially the Native American legends her grandmother used to tell. Suddenly, the most frightening legend of all--about the Whisperer in the Dark--becomes a bit too real.
Scary stories for sleep overs
Welch, R. C. 1962-
Paper Book
Presents a collection of scary short stories.
Stay out of the basement
Stine, R. L.
Paper Book
This thriller series is especially designed to appeal to middle-grade readers. Margaret and Casey go down to their basement to peek at their father's new experiments, discover some very human-like plants, and realize that their father is starting to look more like a plant.
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 only finds solace in books. So when she...
Scary stories 3 : more tales to chill your bones
Schwartz, Alvin
Paper Book
Storytellers know -- just as they have for hundreds and hundreds of years -- that everyone enjoys a good, scary story Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories 3 joins his other popular collections of scary folklore, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, to give...
Thief of always
Barker, Clive, 1952-
Paper Book
"Menacing demons, wondrous miracles, sinister magic, and vivid characters make Thief a compulsive, lightning-paced tales that almost begs to be read aloud." -- Miami Herald One of horror master and perennial bestseller Clive Barker's earliest novels--the tale of a haunted house...
More bones scary stories from around the world
Olson, Arielle North.
Paper Book
Ready for scary?! Shhh! Have you heard about the man who marries . . . a corpse?! Or what about the magic school where one student in every class is never allowed to leave? Or the beautiful red-haired maiden whose hair is actually serpents? Many of these tales go back hundreds of years and...
Revenge of the witch
Delaney, Joseph, 1945-
Paper Book
Capturing witches Binding boggarts Driving away ghosts For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried...
Ghost in the third row
Coville, Bruce.
Paper Book
The Stage is Set... For a Ghostly Scene! For sixth-grader Nina Tanleven, trying out for a part in a play is pretty scary. But nothing can compare to seeing a ghost, a woman in white, sitting in the audience! Nina senses that she has nothing to fear from this apparition, but she is intrigued....
Seven strange & ghostly tales
Jacques, Brian.
Paper Book
Fans of the author of the award-winning Redwall series will loves these spooky tales! Filled with humor, adventure, and imagination, these seven short stories go from the lighthearted to the bizarre. From a teenager who drives a museum curator to mummify him for signing Phantom...
More short & shivery thirty terrifying tales
San Souci, Robert D.
Paper Book
A collection of scary folktales from the United States, China, England, Italy, Russia, and other countries around the world.

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