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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The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw (Audiobook)

5 stars Beautiful and unsettling. A mermaid in human form and a plague doctor travel together after the mermaid’s daughters devour the kingdom. On their journey, they come across a village of ageless children ruled by three “saints” with mystifying abilities to bring back the dead. As the pair investigate, they uncover the saint’s dark…

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Deadendia: The Broken Halo (Deadendia #2)

by Hamish Steele 5 stars Another perfect volume from Hamish Steele. Action-packed with a whirlwind of character development. Following the aftermath of the destruction of Dead End, the characters mostly split up and have their own adventures. Barney and Logs find out happily-ever-after has a few road bumps, Norma works to control her new ghost…

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The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers and Other Gruesome Tales

by Jen Campbell, Illustrated by Adam de Souza 5 stars A delightfully dark collection of tales spanning the globe. From Korea and Japan to Norway and Ireland to Nigeria and South Africa. A nice selection, all with a gruesome or spooky leaning. I especially enjoyed that Campbell’s selection highlighted many brave, creative, clever, and quick…

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Deadendia: The Watcher’s Test (Deadendia #1)

by Hamish Steele 5 stars A fantastic adventure featuring demon-possessed pugs, ghost collectors, spells gone awry, a celebrity-themed amusement park, and a cast of unforgettable characters. A little bit of romance, some mystery, and a whole lot of creepiness make for a very fun reading experience. I’ll admit, I watched the Netflix adaptation first. While…

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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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