Seven Ghosts by Chris Priestley

4 stars Embark on a tour of Grimstone Hall and learn of the ghosts who reside there in this wonderfully creepy collection of ghost stories. The finalists of a ghost story writing competition visit the most haunted house in England where all the ghosts are children. But Jake can’t shake the feeling that there is…

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Freeze by Chris Priestley

3.5 stars Delightfully creepy. Sure to send a shiver down your spine. Maya’s class is given the task of writing winter-themed creepy stories. Seems simple enough. But then some seriously strange things start to happen. And Maya can’t shake that there’s something off about the new girl in her class. Are Maya and her friends…

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Hide and Don’t Seek: And Other Very Scary Stories by Anica Mrose Rissi

Illustrated by Carolina Godina 4 stars Delightfully creepy and well written. Nice variety of story structures including poetry, short stories, an epistolary, a play, chat fiction told through text messages, metafiction, and even stream of consciousness from a family dog. In terms of kid’s horror, I think this one hits the mark well for middle…

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Up to No Ghoul (The Ghoul Next Door #2)

By Cullen Bunn Illustrations by Cat Farris 4 stars A fantastic follow-up to the wonderfully creepy The Ghoul Next Door. This one picks up right where the last one left off, with Grey and Lavinia forced apart. But when a new threat rolls in to Ander’s Landing, they must break the rules to save the town….

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Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

4 stars Delightfully creepy. Perfectly macabre. As with many macabre stories, while reading this I often found myself wanting more information, to know what happened after the end. But the unknown has a special place is each of these tales, which adds to their unsettling charm. Great artwork that wonderfully captures the tone of the…

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Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1) by Katherine Arden

5 stars A delightfully spooky tale featuring a mysterious book, a class field trip to a farm, and an unexpected villain. Perfect for young readers looking for an engaging story that is thrillingly creepy. No gore or intense violence. This one uses unsettling elements to scare the reader. There’s an ominous vibe throughout the book…

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The Ghoul Next Door (The Ghoul Next Door #1)

By Cullen Bunn Illustrated by Cat Farris 4 stars I read an ARC copy in which only the first few pages are in color. Even with that I was blown away by the story and artwork. I read this fairly quickly because I did not want to put it down. The perfect balance of adorable…

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