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
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The Halloween Tree
Ray Bradbury
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
Alvin Schwartz
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.
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...
The 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
From the Master of Horror comes the first gripping book in the twelve book New York Times bestselling Saga of Darren Shan. Start the tale from the beginning in the book that inspired the feature film The Vampire's Assistant and petrified devoted fans worldwide. A...
Welcome to dead house
Stine, R. L.
Paper Book
Goosebumps available soon on Disney+! 11-year-old Josh and 12-year-old Amanda just moved into the oldest and weirdest house on the block--the two siblings think it might even be haunted! But of course, their parents don't believe them. You'll get used to it, they say. Go out and...
The dark-thirty : Southern tales of the supernatural
McKissack, Pat
Paper Book
With an extraordinary gift for suspense, McKissack brings us ten original, spine-tingling tales inspired by African American history and the mystery of that eerie half hour before nightfall-the dark-thirty.
Wait till Helen comes : a ghost story
Hahn, Mary Downing.
Paper Book
Beware of Helen... Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we're stuck with her...our "poor stepsister" who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire. But now something terrible has happened. Heather...
Skeleton man
Bruchac, Joseph
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...
The 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 and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales
Robert D. San Souci
Paper Book
Make story time a little spookier with this Halloween-themed collection of ghost stories, spooky shorts, and frightening folktales from all over the world! "No one travels these roads after dark. Those who are found the next day, if they are still alive, will have gone mad."
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 a ghost story
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...
Whisper in the dark
Bruchac, Joseph
Ebook
Joseph Bruchac, author of the award-winning Skeleton Man and The Return of Skeleton Man, breathes life into a chilling vampire-like demon. Maddy has always loved scary stories, especially the spooky legends of her Native American ancestors. But that was before she heard about the Whisperer...
Stay out of the basement
Stine, R. L.
Paper Book
Goosebumps now on Disney+!Dr. Brewer is doing a little plant-testing in his basement. Nothing to worry about. Harmless, really. But Margaret and Casey Brewer are worried about their father. Especially when they...meet...some of the plants he is growing down there. Then they notice that their...
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
Alvin Schwartz
Paper Book
The iconic anthology series of horror tales that's now a feature film! Scary Stories 3 is a timeless collection of chillingly scary tales and legends, in which folklorist Alvin Schwartz offers up some of the most alarming tales of horror, dark revenge, and supernatural events of...
The Thief of Always
Clive Barker
Paper Book
Bestselling author Clive Barker turns his hand to children's books in this frightening tale of Holiday House, where every night is Halloween--and from which no child has ever returned.
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
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...
The ghost in the third row
Coville, Bruce.
Digital file
For sixth-grader Nina Tanleven, nothing is scarier than auditioning for a play at the famous old Grand Theater. But Nina changes her mind when she climbs on stage to audition-and sees a ghost sitting in the audience! Then, even stranger things happen. Scripts are ripped up, sets are knocked down,...
Seven strange & ghostly tales
Jacques, Brian.
Paper Book
How long will the ghost of young Gilly Bodkin wit by the side of the road down by the old Manfield place? Who is that mysterious boy who lurks in the halls of Saint Michael's? What fate awaits the Phantom Snake in the Egyptian wing of the Middlechester museum? Would you dare to sit by a vampire's...
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.

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