Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
When I was eight years old, I read Nathaniel by John Saul, which a high schooler had left behind on the bus. Spoiler: It was a terrible idea. I was so terrified that whatever was in the barn in that book was going to get me, I cried when I had to go to sleep that night. This is why they make age-appropriate horror books! Reading scary books is fun for all ages, which is why you’ll find three chapter books and three picture books below, perfect for putting a little fright in your little ones.
Horror Chapter Books
Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon
Hide and seek is a famous game, played by kids everywhere throughout the centuries. But Zee doesn’t have a very good time when he plays. In fact, he disappears, only to reappear a year later, but not quite the same. And when his friends start a game of hide and seek at a party, more kids disappear and are sent to the Nowhere to meet the Seeker.
Holly Horror by Michelle Jabès Corpora
Moving to a new house and a new school is hard for kids, especially when that house is haunted! Evie Archer is hoping to find some peace in her new town, but she quickly discovers her new house is nicknamed “Horror House” and that a young woman named Holly Hobbie disappeared from the house many years before. When Evie sees shadows moving and more weird things, she wonders if Holly really made it out of Horror House.
Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker
If you think the forest is a scary place, imagine what it must be like to live there! This novel is eight imaginative interconnected stories about two young fox kits who become separated from their litters. As they try to find their way home, they encounter things that want to eat them, wear them, and just plain scare them!
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Scary Picture Books
Where’s My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi
It’s bedtime, and Little Baby Mummy wants to keep playing hide and seek. But when the things that go bump in the night give him a fright, Little Baby Mummy says, “Where’s my Mummy?”
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen
This is a story steeped in folklore about a lost young girl named Otilla, who finds what she thinks is an abandoned house in the forest. But in the house is a skull, who tells Otilla she can come in if she carries him around (because rolling everywhere is exhausting.) Once inside, Otilla learns the skull is afraid of something outside the house. Can they face their fears together?
Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes
And finally, this is a fun bilingual Halloween poem with lively illustrations that teaches kids about the different things to be seen on Halloween night. There’s los esqueletos, las brujas, los monstruos, and more! Er, más!
English (US) · 