Halloween Chapter Books

There’s nothing better to get you in the Halloween spirit than a great book.  These are some of the best spooky middle grade chapter books we have.  Perfect for your eight to twelve year old who wants something scary, but maybe not too scary.  Great as books they can read on their own, or as something you can read with them.  Many of these can also be found as e-books on CWMars.

Click on the pictures to see the book in our catalog

Bunnicula: a rabbit-tale of mystery by Deborah Howe
Call Number: j/SR Howe (in the Summer Reading section)
Grades: 3-7

Harold and Chester, who just happen to be a dog and cat, decide to find out about the new pet; a rabbit with fangs.

Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (The Magic Tree House Series) by Mary Pope Osborne
Call Number: j Osborne Series #57 (in the Series section)
Grades: 2-5

Annie and Jack must travel back in time to save Camelot and the Stone of Destiny, which has been stolen.  They travel to a haunted castle with a magician named Teddy to find it.

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
Call Number: j Gidwitz
Grades: 4-7

Hansel and Gretel are the heroes of this story as they encounter other characters and stories from the Brothers Grimm.  They go through a lot, such as being killed and brought back to life, as they try to reach their happy ending.

Short & Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales by Robert D. San Souci
Call Number: j San Souci
Grades: 3-7

Thirty scary short stories that have been rewritten by San Souci specifically for younger readers.  Some are contemporary stories and some are retellings of classics.

The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes
Call Number: j/PB Estes (PB stands for paperback, and these are located in the regular j section)
Grades: 2-5

Amy and Clarissa draw a witch and then banish her to a glass mountain, where she can only come out on Halloween.  The world they created starts to become very real and the old witch and her family come to visit them.

The Smoky Corridor by Chris Grabenstein
Call Number: j Grabenstein
Grades: 3-7

Zack is starting a new school, but he discovers he has bigger problems, such as a zombie in the basement and a ghost looking for a body to take over.

The Haunted Mask (The Goosebumps Series) by R.L. Stine
Call Number: j Stine Series #42 (in the Series section)
Grades: 3-7

Carly Beth finds the scariest, ugliest mask ever to wear for Halloween.  But when she wears it she changes from a nice, timid girl to someone much meaner, and soon discovers she can’t get the mask off!

Three Scary Reviews

The children’s librarian helped me pick out three of the best scary books we had in the children’s and young adult section so that I could review them.

Literally Disturbed
Written by Ben H. Winters and Illustrated by Adam F. Watkins
Call Number: YA PS 3623 I6735 L58

This is a collection of poems for young adults that just came out this year.  The poems are a combination of funny and creepy, and the writing style reminded me a lot of Shel Silverstein.  This book is best suited for preteens and early teens because of it’s simple writing and self-mocking tone.  While the poems are fun, the first thing I noticed about this book was the illustrations.  The drawings are done entirely in black and white and are realistic, adding to the overall creepiness of the book as a whole.  Each drawing covers a whole page, giving them as much importance as the poems themselves.  The illustrations combine with the poems to give them greater depth.  The poems range in topic from well known subjects, such as werewolves and black cats, to more creative ideas, such as mysterious noises and turning into a monster.  These poems are even better if you read them aloud.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Collected by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Brett Hellquist
Call Number: J Schwartz

This is a collection of scary stories for older kids.  I actually found it to be scarier than Literally Disturbed because of some of the gory details.  There are some full page illustrations, but the original drawings were taken out because they were considered too upsetting.  Each chapter has different types of scary stories and there is a small explanation heading each section.  For example, the first chapter consists of “Stories to make you jump” and are meant specifically to be read aloud.  Many of them end with the reader screaming and grabbing someone.  I really liked the interactive quality of these stories and can see kids getting excited to scare their friends.  This is a great book to have for a sleepover.  Because this book is a collection of older folk stories and not original, they often take place in country settings and use antiquated words.  There is a chapter dedicated to modern scary stories, which consists mostly of urban legends.  If you like this book there are several follow ups: “More Scary Tales to tell in the Dark” and “Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones.”

Mysteries Unwrapped: Haunted U.S.A.
Written by Charles Wetzel and Illustrated by Josh Cochran
Call Number: YA BF 1472 U6 W48

This is a nonfiction young adult book with true tales of actual hauntings around the United States.  This is a small book with short sections on different types of places that are haunted.  Each true story is a couple of pages long, so that readers are taken quickly from one exciting tale to the next.  While this is a young adult book, it is also great for adult readers and has unique and detailed information on hauntings.  Even if you don’t believe in ghosts, because this book focuses on U.S. hauntings, there is a lot of interesting information on American history and different landmarks in America.  There are some photographs and a lot of creepy pictures detailing the stories of the hauntings.  The pictures have an even more ominous tone because they are all black and white except for splashes of blue and dark red.  The only problem was that the author didn’t always cite sources for some of the claimed hauntings.  While the author questioned the authenticity of some of the stories he also assumed others had really happened, without giving any actual proof.  Overall, this was a fun read with lots of interesting and scary information.

Headless Horseman – From Literally Disturbed

There’s a headless horseman on the loose,
riding his mount through the night.
Gathering speed on a terrible steed,
waking the people with fright.

There’s a headless horseman on the loose,
but that’s not the worst part, doggone it.
‘Cause somewhere around,
waiting still to be found,
is the head that has no body on it.

Horror Movie Pathfinder

What better time to watch horror movies than the month of October?  We have a great collection, from 1970s cult classics to modern tales of terror.  So turn out the lights and get ready to be horrified.

Creature from Black Lake (Rated PG) 1976
Call Number: DVD 1491
A group of students join up with some locals to track a mysterious creature in Louisiana.  But soon members of the group begin disappearing.

The Thing (Rated R) 1982
Call Number: DVD 1519

Researchers in the Antarctic find an alien buried in the snow than can become anyone.  The men begin dying one by one as the alien takes over.

The Babadook (Unrated) 2014
Call Number: DVD 2491

The boy of a single mother is convinced there’s a monster in the house that he read about in a book.  His mother, who is struggling with the death of her husband, is convinced the monster isn’t real, but soon discovers a sinister presence.

Beneath the Darkness (Rated PG-13) 2012
Call Number: DVD 1599

Ely is a respected mortician, but when some local teens find out that he killed his wife and is keeping her body in his house, he will do anything to stop them.

The Collection (Rated R) 2012
Call Number: DVD 1947

Elena goes to an underground warehouse party with her friends, only to be captured by a psychopath called “The Collector.”  Arkin, who is a former victim of The Collector, is blackmailed into saving Elena.

Cabin in the Woods (Rated R) 2012
Call Number: DVD 1749

Five college kids go to a cabin far out in the woods for a weekend of partying.  Soon they’re being killed by different supernatural creatures.  When they try to escape, they find that people in a control room under the cabin are controlling everything.

Don’t be Afraid of the Dark (Rated R) 2011
Call Number: DVD 1576

Katie Holmes stars in the horrifying story of a couple who live in house where a horde of monsters live.  But only Kim’s (Katie Holmes) stepdaughter can see them.