Horror/Suspense
Small Spaces by
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 happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think-she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man," a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price. Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care- "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message- RUN. Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. As the trio head out into the woods-bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them-the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends- "Avoid large places. Keep to small." And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.
Call Number: FIC ARDISBN: 9780525515029Publication Date: 2018-09-25
The Gathering (Shadow House, Book 1) by
You don't just read this ghost story. You step into it.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...Enter Shadow House... if you dare.Don't just read about Shadow House -- explore its haunted depths with the free app!
Call Number: FIC POBISBN: 9780545925501Publication Date: 2016-08-30
Thirteens by
Neil Gaiman's Coraline meets Stranger Things in a dark and twisted story about a sleepy town with a dark secret--and the three kids brave enough to uncover it. Every thirteen years in the town of Eden Eld, three thirteen-year-olds disappear. Eleanor has just moved to the quiet, prosperous Eden Eld. When she awakes to discover an ancient grandfather clock that she's never seen before outside her new room, she's sure her eyes must be playing tricks on her. But then she spots a large bird, staring at her as she boards the school bus. And a black dog with glowing red eyes follows her around town. All she wants is to be normal, and these are far from normal. And worse--no one else can see them. Except for her new friends, Pip and Otto, who teach her a thing or two about surviving in Eden Eld. First: Don't let the "wrong things" know you can see them. Second: Don't speak of the wrong things to anyone else. The only other clue they have about these supernatural disturbances is a book of fairytales unlike any they've read before. It tells tales of the mysterious Mr. January, who struck a cursed deal with the town's founders. Every thirteenth Halloween, he will take three of their children, who are never heard from again. It's up to our trio to break the curse--because Eden Eld's thirteen years are up. And Eleanor, Pip, and Otto are marked as his next sacrifice.
Call Number: FIC MARISBN: 9780593117026Publication Date: 2020-08-18
The Detour by
Livvy Flynn is a big deal-she's a New York Times-bestselling author whose YA fiction has sold all over the world. She's rich, she's famous, she's gorgeous, and she's full of herself. When she's invited to an A-list writer's conference, she decides to accept so she can have some time to herself. She's on a tight deadline for her next book, and she has no intention of socializing with the other industry people at the conference. And then she hits the detour. Before she knows it, her brand new car is wrecked, she's hurt, and she's tied to a bed in a nondescript shack in the middle of nowhere. A woman and her apparently manic daughter have kidnapped her. And they have no intention of letting her go. From S. A. Bodeen, the author of such thrilling novels as The Compound, The Fallout and The Raft, comes The Detour, a chilling account about a kidnapping and one girl's desperate attempts to escape her captors. "[A] tongue-in-cheek homage to Stephen King's Misery." --Publishers Weekly
Call Number: FIC BODISBN: 9781250090676Publication Date: 2016-10-04
Horror/Suspense
All the Lovely Bad Ones by
Master storyteller Mary Downing Hahn tells the eerie tale of a mischievous brother and sister who pretend their grandmother's Vermont inn is haunted and awaken the real spirits who inhabit the place. Travis and his sister, Corey, can't resist a good trick. When they learn that their grandmother's quiet Vermont inn, where they're spending the summer, has a history of ghost sightings, they decide to do a little "haunting" of their own. Before long, their supernatural pranks have tourists flocking to the inn, and business booms. But Travis and Corey soon find out that they aren't the only ghosts at Fox Hill Inn. Their thoughtless games have awakened something dangerous, something that should have stayed asleep. Can these siblings lay to rest the ghosts they've stirred? Also available as a graphic novel!
Call Number: FIC HAHISBN: 0547248784Publication Date: 2009-08-17
Ghostlight by
One teen's summer job scaring tourists with ghost stories takes a terrifying turn when he accidentally summons the spirit of a dead girl--and she has demands. . . . The award-winning author of Airborn delivers a roller-coaster ride of a story about the wakeful and wicked dead. Rebecca Strand was just sixteen when she and her father fell to their deaths from the top of the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse in 1839. Just how they fell--or were they pushed?--remains a mystery. And their ghosts haunt the lighthouse to this day. . . . Gabe tells this story every day when he gives the ghost tour on Toronto Island. He tries to make it scary enough to satisfy the tourists, but he doesn't actually believe in ghosts--until he finds himself face to face with Rebecca Strand. The true story of her death is far more terrifying than any ghost tale Gabe has told. Rebecca reveals that her father was a member of the Order, a secret society devoted to protecting the world from "the wakeful and wicked dead"--malevolent spirits like Viker, the ghost responsible for their deaths. But the Order has disappeared, and Viker's ghost is growing ever stronger. Now Gabe and his friends must find a way to stop Viker before they all become lost souls. . . .
Call Number: FIC OPPISBN: 9780593487938Publication Date: 2022-09-06
Escape by
WESTWORLD meets CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY meets JURASSIC PARK, as kids win a chance to enter the place of their dreams -- and find that it quickly turns into a nightmare. It's all anyone talks about, and it's all Cody dreams about. It's the biggest adventure park in the world, and it's more than mere rides and rollercoasters: At ESCAPE, you can do anything you want, be anyone you want, and there are no adults to tell you no. Cody's a nobody, but for some reason he receives an invitation and the opportunity of a lifetime. At first, it's the most fun he's ever had. But after a few days, everything in the park starts to go haywire. One at a time, rides malfunction. Simulations turn deadly. His fantasy world glitches, and the games become races for survival. A voice comes over the intercoms, then-ESCAPE was never a theme park for the rich and famous. It was a place for punishment. They have less than a week to escape from the park before it floods. Only five kids will be allowed to leave. It started out as a fight to get to the coolest rides. Now, they have to fight to survive.
Call Number: FIC ALEISBN: 9781338260472Publication Date: 2022-06-07
The Nest by
"The Nest leaves a lasting mark on the memory." --The New York Times Book Review Steve just wants to save his baby brother--but what will he lose in the bargain? Kenneth Oppel's (Silverwing, The Boundless) haunting gothic tale for fans of Coraline, is one of the most acclaimed books of the year, receiving six starred reviews. Illustrations from Caldecott Medalist Jon Klassen. For some kids summer is a sun-soaked season of fun. But for Steve, it's just another season of worries. Worries about his sick newborn baby brother who is fighting to survive, worries about his parents who are struggling to cope, even worries about the wasp's nest looming ominously from the eaves. So when a mysterious wasp queen invades his dreams, offering to "fix" the baby, Steve thinks his prayers have been answered. All he has to do is say "Yes." But "yes" is a powerful word. It is also a dangerous one. And once it is uttered, can it be taken back? Celebrated author Kenneth Oppel creates an eerie masterpiece in this compelling story that explores disability and diversity, fears and dreams, and what ultimately makes a family. Includes illustrations from celebrated artist Jon Klassen.
Call Number: FIC OPPISBN: 9781481432320Publication Date: 2015-10-06
Horror/Suspense
Lockwood and Co. : the Screaming Staircase by
*NOW A NETFLIX SERIES* Dive into the first book of this frightfully fun series and join the ghost-hunting gang as they defend our world from the most fearsome phantoms! A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all nature of ghosts, haunts, spirits, and specters are appearing throughout the city, and they aren't exactly friendly. Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see-and eradicate-these supernatural foes. Many different Psychic Detection Agencies have cropped up to handle the dangerous work, and they are in fierce competition for business. In The Screaming Staircase, the plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood & Co, a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision. After an assignment leads to both a grisly discovery and a disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and their sarcastic colleague, George, are forced to take part in the perilous investigation of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in England. Will Lockwood & Co. survive the Hall's legendary Screaming Staircase and Red Room to see another day? Readers who enjoyed the action, suspense, and humor in Jonathan Stroud's internationally best-selling Bartimaeus books will be delighted to find the same ingredients, combined with deliciously creepy scares, in his thrilling and chilling Lockwood & Co. series.
Call Number: FIC STRISBN: 9781423164913Publication Date: 2013-09-17
The Forgotten Girl by
"This ghost story gave me chill after chill. It will haunt you." -- R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps "Do you know what it feels like to be forgotten?" On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel, sneak into a clearing in the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris carefully makes a perfect snow angel -- only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore, right beneath her. Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris: She begins having vivid nightmares. She wakes up to find her bedroom window wide open, letting in the snow. She thinks she sees the shadow of a girl lurking in the woods. And she feels the pull of the abandoned grave, calling her back to the clearing... Obsessed with figuring out what's going on, Iris and Daniel start to research the area for a school project. They discover that Avery's grave is actually part of a neglected and forgotten Black cemetery, dating back to a time when White and Black people were kept separate in life -- and in death. As Iris and Daniel learn more about their town's past, they become determined to restore Avery's grave and finally have proper respect paid to Avery and the others buried there. But they have awakened a jealous and demanding ghost, one that's not satisfied with their plans for getting recognition. One that is searching for a best friend forever -- no matter what the cost. The Forgotten Girl is both a spooky original ghost story and a timely and important storyline about reclaiming an abandoned segregated cemetery. "A harrowing yet empowering tale reminding us that the past is connected to the present, that every place and every person has a story, and that those stories deserve to be told." -- Renée Watson, New York Times bestselling author of Piecing Me Together
Call Number: FIC BROISBN: 9781338317244Publication Date: 2019-11-05
The Girl in the Locked Room by
Ghost story master Mary Downing Hahn unrolls the suspenseful, spine-chilling yarn of a girl imprisoned for more than a century, the terrifying events that put her there, and a friendship that crosses the boundary between past and present. A family moves into an old, abandoned house. Jules's parents love the house, but Jules is frightened and feels a sense of foreboding. When she sees a pale face in an upstairs window, though, she can't stop wondering about the eerie presence on the top floor--in a room with a locked door. Could it be someone who lived in the house a century earlier? Her fear replaced by fascination, Jules is determined to make contact with the mysterious figure and help unlock the door. Past and present intersect as she and her ghostly friend discover--and change--the fate of the family who lived in the house all those many years ago. A thrilling and unputdownable spinetingling ghost story from a bestselling master of the genre!
Call Number: FIC HAHISBN: 9781328850928Publication Date: 2018-09-04
Odd Occurrences by
Two best friends. One goes missing. And a paranormal podcast that hopes to reunite them, but not before unleashing horror in many forms. When Zeus's best friend gets trapped inside the House of Mystery and Mirrors at Carnival Nocturne, Tobin's existence is erased from the world, and Zeus is the only person who remembers that his best friend ever lived. Zeus is determined to return to the carnival and rescue his friend--that is, if he can only find it. Together with Tobin's sister, Jana, Zeus concocts a plan to conjure Tobin's captors on Halloween night via his paranormal podcast, Odd Occurrences. Listeners are invited to call in and share their supernatural experiences with the audience. From ghostly encounters to haunted dolls, terrifying escape rooms with deadly consequences to alien lake creatures, Zeus hopes that someone's story will produce a clue that leads him to the mysterious carnival--and ultimately, back to Tobin. But little does Zeus know that Tobin is almost out of time.
Call Number: FIN NANISBN: 9780316334334Publication Date: 2022-09-27
