Skip the scary movies this fall, and get into the spooky season spirit by getting lost in a good story. From witches to pumpkins, we've got you covered from cute to haunting. Here's a roundup of all-things Halloween:
Picture Books
Haunted Halloween by Sue Fliess
Kids will love this rhyming, Halloween counting adventure with surprises on every page!
Halloween comes to life in this rhyming romp with adorable trick-or-treaters and a spooky countdown, all leading up to one exciting holiday surprise: a party!
The Littlest Mummy (The Littlest Series) by Brandi Dougherty, illustrated by Michelle Todd
It's party time! Join the festivities with a witch, a cat, and the cutest mummy ever.
Peek-a-Boooo! (Heart-felt Books) by Sandra Magsmen
Little ones will love this adorable new Halloween novelty book from the bestselling baby and toddler brand creator, Sandra Magsamen. They will adore the diecut felt pumpkin on the front cover, and the peekthrough mirror on every page is sure to entertain as they try on a wide variety of costumes and ultimately discover who is loved most of all! A perfect book for cuddling up with your little pumpkin and celebrating the Halloween season.
Good Night, Little Monsters by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Brian Won
Kids will never see monsters the same way after this heartwarmingly sweet bedtime story that proves little monsters' bedtime routines aren't so different from everyone else's.
Molang: Spooky Halloween by Laren Bisom
It's Halloween, one of Molang and Piu Piu's favorite holidays! Today they will dress up, carve pumpkins, give out candy, and go see a scary movie! But when a mummy mix-up threatens to derail their Halloween party plans, it's up to Molang and Piu Piu to set things right. Can they save Halloween? Find out in this silly storybook that includes a sheet of shiny foil stickers.
Night Creatures: A Lift-the-Flap Book (Peppa Pig), illustrated by Eone
Have you ever wondered what kind of creatures come out at night while you're tucked in bed? Join Peppa Pig and her little brother George as they explore Grandpa Pig's garden at nighttime and see owls and slugs and hedgehogs, oh my!
Lift the flaps on every spread and use the exclusive Peppa Pig flashlight to find the creatures hidden in the dark.
The Pumpkin Contest (Peppa Pig) by Meredith Rusu, illustrated by Eone
Peppa Pig's playgroup is having a pumpkin contest. Grandpa Pig helps Peppa grow a giant pumpkin in his greenhouse, but the pumpkin is so big, they can't even move it! Will Peppa and her pumpkin make it to the contest in time?
Monster Academy by Heidi E. Y. Stemple, illustrated by John McKinley
Come along with Principal Frank N. Stein into a bright, energetic classroom where the class pet is a big purple boa constrictor, recess is in a swamp, and class bats help build a Creepy Castle in the Monster Maker's Lab. When Tornado Jo, a new student, roars into class, a storm is brewing. Who could ever guess that her new best friend will be a vampire, and she'll help him find his missing fang?
Award-winning writer Jane Yolen teams up with her daughter, Heidi, to present colorful monster children who have familiar human issues such as making friends and learning to help others. In a final twist, Tornado Jo — the worst behaved student — is revealed to be an out-of-control human, not a monster after all. Oh, no! Monsters are more afraid of humans than we are of them! Everybody runs!
Laugh-aloud humor is enhanced by John McKinley's highly imaginative illustrations loaded with fun and hidden jokes tucked into the art. An irresistible romp from start to finish!
Middle Grade
The Haunted Halls (Peachy and Keen #3) by Jason Tharp and J. B. Rose
It's Halloween at Happy Tails School and Peachy and Keen want to uncover what's really making that "Ooooo" noise coming from the locker rooms and write about it for Purrfect9. But when they sneak into school after hours, they discover something they weren't quite ready for. Could Happy Tails School be home to a spooky ghost or is there some other explanation for all of that spooky singing?
The Hidden Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag
Aster and his family are adjusting to his unconventional talent for witchery; unlike the other boys in his family, he isn't a shapeshifter. He's taking classes with his grandmother and helping to keep an eye on his great-uncle whose corrupted magic wreaked havoc on the family.
Meanwhile, Aster's friend from the non-magical part of town, Charlie, is having problems of her own -- a curse has tried to attach itself to her. She runs to Aster and escapes it, but now the friends must find the source of the curse before more people -- normal and magical alike -- get hurt.The Haunting of Hounds Hollow by Jeffrey Salane
Sometimes man's best friend is loyal for life... and beyond!
Lucas Trainer has just moved to the middle of nowhere — a town called Hounds Hollow, where ghostly dogs prowl at night. At first, he's terrified by the nightly apparitions. But as he slowly uncovers the mystery behind the town, he learns that a ghost dog's bark is worse than its bite... and in fact the dogs are protecting the town from an even more terrifying threat.
The Phantom Bandit (Geronimo Stilton #70) by Geronimo Stilton
While vacationing at Skull Castle, Geronimo stumbles on a mystery: A ghost cat is threatening the special pumpkins that grow in the Von Cacklefurs' garden! Can Geronimo find out who wants to steal the pumpkins?
The Ghost of Slappy (Goosebumps SlappyWorld #6) by R. L. Stine
The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol
Will Arianwyn ever become a real witch? Arianwyn has flunked her witch's assessment: She knows she's doomed. Declared an apprentice and sent to the dreary town of Lull in disgrace, Arianwyn may never become a real witch like everyone else — much to the glee of her archrival, Gimma. But the remote Lull is not as boring as it seems. Strange things are being sighted in the woods, and a dangerous infestation of hex creeps throughout the town. Learn more about the sequel, A Witch Alone, here!
Missing Pieces (Hello Neighbor) by Carly Anne West, illustrated by Tim Heitz
Nicky Roth has always been a lonely kid. His parents' constant job changes ensure that he's never in one place long enough to make any friends. But that all changes when his family settles in Raven Brooks and meet their eccentric neighbors, the Petersons. Nicky befirends the Petersons' son, Aaron, bonding over their talents for tinkering and engineering. Soon the boys are inseparable and using their skills to explore local abandoned places and pull pranks on the townspeople.← But something about Aaron bothers Nicky: People seem almost afraid of him and his family. Through snippets from Aaron and a lot of sleuthing at the library and local newspaper, Nicky discovers a dark past haunting his neighbors, a streak of bad luck they can't seem to shake. And after Nicky witnesses Aaron's dad having some sort of bizarre fit, his fears only grow. Can NIcky do something to help end his neighbors' bad luck, or are the Petersons fated for another tragedy?
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can really see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.
When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass and Jacob come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil.
The Collector by K. R. Alexander
Josie always liked visiting her grandmother's house. But when she's forced to move there, she starts to feel like something is a little...off. Her grandmother has some very strange rules:
- Never leave your windows open after dark.
- No dolls in the house.
- Never, ever go by the house in the woods.
A little spooked, Josie is relieved to find that her school seems pretty normal. She even manages to make friends with a popular girl named Vanessa. When Vanessa invites Josie back to her house to hang out, Josie doesn't question it. Not even when Vanessa takes her into the woods and down an old dirt road, toward the very house her grandmother had warned her about... The house that has been calling for her.
The Gathering (Shadow House, Book 1) by Dan Poblocki
Some houses are more than just haunted . . . they're hungry.
Dash, Dylan, Poppy, Marcus, and Azumi don't know this at first. They each think they've been summoned to Shadow House for innocent reasons. But there's nothing innocent about Shadow House.
Something within its walls is wickedly wrong. Nothing — and nobody — can be trusted. Hallways move. Doors vanish. Ghosts appear. Children disappear.
And the way out? That's disappeared, too. . . .
You Can't Hide (Shadow House, Book 2) by Dan Poblocki
Poppy, Marcus, Dash, Dylan, and Azumi are all trapped within Shadow House, a sinister estate where past and present intertwine. As they fight to find a way out, the kids think the ghosts of the house are the greatest danger they face. Little do the kids know it's the secrets they're each hiding that will prove even more lethal.They're going to have to come face to face with their fears if they stand any hope of escaping the house alive. Is there anyone or anything in the house they can trust? Or is all hope disappearing, too?
Enter Shadow House . . . if you dare.
No Way Out (Shadow House, Book 3) by Dan Poblocki
The third installment in the exciting Shadow House series that invites you to step inside the ghost story!
Shadow House always wins; Poppy, Dash, Azumi, and Dylan may have made it out of Shadow House, but the grounds are a whole new nightmare. Someone they thought was a friend is hunting them, and there's no place that's safe now that they've woken the shadow creature. If they want to survive, they'll have to figure out once and for all what the house wants from them, and what (or who) they'll need to leave behind in order to escape, or risk being trapped within Shadow House forever.
Young Adult
The Call by Peader O'Guliin
Thousands of years ago, humans banished the Sidhe fairy race to another dimension. The beautiful, terrible Sidhe have stewed in a land of horrors ever since, plotting their revenge... and now their day has come.
Fourteen year-old Nessa lives in a world where every teen will be "Called." It could come in the middle of the day, it could come deep in the night. But one instant she will be here, and the next she will wake up naked and alone in the hellish Sidhe land. She will be spotted, hunted down, and sent back in pieces by the Sidhe to the human world... unless she joins the rare few who survive for 24 hours and escape unscathed.
Nessa trains with her friends at an academy designed to help her live. Her legs don't work properly and no one thinks she will survive The Call, but she's going to prove everyone wrong. As the days tick by and Nessa's classmates go one by one, that time grows ever closer... but with it too comes the threat of an even greater danger closer to home.
The Invasion (The Call, Book 2) by Peader O'Guliin
After so much danger, Nessa and Anto can finally dream of a happy life. But the terrible attack on their school has created a witch-hunt for traitors, boys and girls who survived the Call only by making deals with the enemy. To the authorities, Nessa's guilt is obvious. Her punishment is to be sent back to the nightmare of the Grey Land for the rest of her life. The Sídhe are waiting, and they have a very special fate planned for her.
The Silver Eyes (Five Nights at Freddy's Book 1) by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley
Ten years after the horrific murders at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza that ripped their town apart, Charlie, whose father owned the restaurant, and her childhood friends reunite on the anniversary of the tragedy and find themselves at the old pizza place which had been locked up and abandoned for years. After they discover a way inside, they realize that things are not as they used to be. The four adult-sized animatronic mascots that once entertained patrons have changed. They now have a dark secret . . . and a murderous agenda.
The Twisted Ones (Five Nights at Freddy's Book 2) by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley
It's been a year since the horrific events at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, and Charlie is just trying to move on. Even with the excitement of a new school and a fresh start, she's still haunted by nightmares of a masked murderer and four gruesome animatronic puppets. Charlie thinks her ordeal is over, but when a series of bodies are discovered near her school — bearing wounds that are disturbingly familiar — she finds herself drawn back into the world of her father's frightening creations. Something twisted is hunting Charlie, and this time if it finds her, it's not letting her go.
The Fourth Closet (Five Nights at Freddy's Book 3) by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley
What really happened to Charlie? It's the question that John can't seem to shake, along with the nightmares of Charlie's seeming death and miraculous reappearance. John just wants to forget the whole terrifying saga of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, but the past isn't so easily buried.
Meanwhile, there's a new animatronic pizzeria opening in Hurricane, along with a new rash of kidnappings that feel all too familiar. Bound together by their childhood loss, John reluctantly teams up with Jessica, Marla, and Carlton to solve the case and find the missing children. Along the way, they'll unravel the twisted mystery of what really happened to Charlie, and the haunting legacy of her father's creations.
A Taste for Monsters by Matthew J. Kirby
London 1888, and Jack the Ripper is terrorizing the people of the city. Evelyn, a young woman disfigured by her dangerous work in a matchstick factory with nowhere to go, does not know what to make of her new position as a maid to the Elephant Man in London Hospital. Evelyn wanted to be locked away from the world, like he is, shut away from the filth and dangers of the streets. But in Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, she finds a gentle kindred, who does not recoil from her, and who understands her pain. When the murders begin, however, Joseph and Evelyn are haunted nightly by the ghosts of the Ripper's dead, setting Evelyn on a path to facing her fears and uncovering humanity's worst nightmares, in which the real monsters are men.
