Spooky books for readers of all ages!
Books are such a fun way to welcome in a new season or a holiday. One of my favorite things to do when my kids were little was to peruse the library and browse local bookstores for seasonal books to inspire us.
With all of our seasonal books, I’d put a book basket on the middle of the kitchen table as a centerpiece, adding heart garland and bows to the basket for Valentine’s day, flowers for spring, bats and pumpkins for Halloween, and so on. Because I only did that for a holiday or change in seasons, I found the kids choosing books over toys more often. Moving the books to a new spot made them seem special. And swapping them out at the library whenever we read them all allowed us to read a lot of books each holiday/season. Added bonus? At least a handful of times a year, the library books stayed in one spot and I didn’t have to hunt for lost books.
This would also work well in a corner of the family room or playroom … with a blanket or beanbag chair, a few decorations on the wall or hanging down from the ceiling, and mood lighting, you could create a cozy reading spot that is always changing.
My kids are now older, but my love of books remains … here are a few fun titles for ALL age levels to bring on the Halloween spirit with your family! (Yes, Mom, there are spooky titles here for you, too!)
Leonard Builds a Haunted House (picture book) by Mike Ciccotello
(ages 4 – 8)
Leonard needs to rent a Boo-Haul and move to a new home that he builds on his own. Will it be haunted enough for his ghostly family?
Aggie and the Ghost (picture book) by Matthew Forsythe
(Ages 4 – 8)
Aggie’s house is haunted, but she’s not afraid to lay down the rules and bring some peace back to her home. Sweetly illustrated, this is one ghost story your little ones will love.
🔦 When my kids were little, Halloween books were never very scary. To set a spooky mood, we would read Halloween books at bedtime with the lights out. Reading by flashlight, and making faces with the flashlight under our chins throughout the book, added a spooky, fun vibe to bedtime stories!
🏚️ Mom Tip: Cut doors and windows out of a box, and decorate with Halloween stickers, pipe cleaners (white ones make great skeletons), some stretchy spider web and plastic spiders, and bats. The box can be big enough for your kids to play in, or small enough to be a haunted house for their stuffed animals. If you don’t have a box, grab some butcher block paper, crumple it up, and tape it to the wall to look like a tree with branches and hang your bats from the tree, add a spooky moon and some pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns on the floor under the tree
Nightmare King by Daka Hermon
(ages 8 – 12)
More suspenseful than graphic, though the nightmare scenes are scary
Shane battles The Nightmare King every time he falls asleep. Will he be able to bring his nightmares to an end? This book for middle schoolers is laced with just enough fear to get them in the Halloween mood.
Ghosts: A Graphic Novel by Raina Telgemeier
(ages 8 – 12)
My kids all went through a phase where the only books they wanted to read were graphic novels. Ghosts is a perfect Halloween book for kids who aren’t looking for a big scare, but just want a themed book.
Nightmare House by Sarah Allen
(ages 10 – 14)
This book is scary enough to keep your middle schooler turning pages. It’s about a girl named Penny who has to overcome her own anxieties to save the people around her from the Fear Maker.
Live Your Best Lie by Jessie Weaver
(Ages 12 – 18)
Contains: murder, toxic relationships, bullying, abuse, and kidnapping
A girl who has everything loses it all … at a Halloween party, no less. And her friends are left to find out what happened to her. This book takes social media to the next level.
The September House by Carissa Orlando
(Adult)
Do you want a book that will keep you up at night? Not just because it’s so good (it is!) but because you won’t be able to slow the creepy visions in your head once you put it down? Then this book is for you— a haunted house, ghosts, and Margaret, the main character who clearly was made to own this house.
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
(Adult)
If a strange family knocked on your door asking to come in, claiming they once lived in your house … would YOU let them in??? Find out what happens when the couple in this book does, and feel the fear creep over you one chapter at a time.
