Skip to main content

Great Ghost Stories

Image
By
We are almost to Halloween! Since the spookiest day of the year is less than two weeks away, maybe you're feeling like you don't have time to commit to reading a whole book -- and I get it. Or, maybe you're wanting to tell a scary ghost story every night from now until Halloween -- an amazing idea. Or, maybe you want to read a really scary story, but want it to be over sooner rather than later.

If you fall into any of these categories, have I got a list for you. Here are some of the best collections of ghost stories to scare your pants off.

By Anica Mrose Rissi
Illustrated by Carolina T. Godina
New York: Quill Tree Books, 2021. Horror.

This collection of 20 short stories has nods to all the classic scary story tropes in a way that transforms even the happiest childhood experiences into moments of terror. The illustrations are perfectly atmospheric and a mix of scare levels ensures readability for all types of crowds. Perfect for telling and re-telling, this collection of short stories is absolute nightmare fuel.

By Illustratus
San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2019. Horror.

If you're looking for some really scary stories, this is a good place to start. This collection of 13 original tales, the "only true ghost stories," will certainly prompt readers to sleep with the lights on. Haunting images enrich the scary stories and bring the nightmares to life.




By Pat McKissack
Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
New York: Knopf, 1992. Horror.

An oldie but a goodie, this Coretta Scott King Award winning book tells ten original ghost stories inspired by African American history and written to be told in the half hour right before nightfall -- the dark thirty. Rooted in the African American oral storytelling tradition, these scary stories are perfect to read aloud and Brian Pinkney's eerie illustrations help to set the mood.


By Alvin Schwartz
Illustrated by Stephen Gammell
New York: Lippincott, 1981. Horror.

We would be remiss not to mention the book that inspired a million nightmares. This anthology of ghost stories from American folklore is a classic for a reason -- the stories and creepy illustrations are certain to frighten even the bravest readers. Read aloud or, if you're brave, by yourself. 



Edited by Jonathan Maberry
Illustrated by Iris Compiet
New York: HarperCollins, 2020. Horror.

Presented by the Horror Writer's Association and curated by master of horror Jonathan Maberry this anthology is a tribute to Alvin Schwartz's legendary horror series. Scary stories from favorite authors like R.L. Stine, Kami Garcia, Courtney Alameda, and Jonathan Auxier are highlighted by ghastly illustrations. The title says it all -- read these stories, and then buy a nightlight.






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Faker

By
Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Bletchley Riddle

By
  The Bletchley Riddle By Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Fiction. 392 pages. It's spring of 1940, Hitler has swept through most of Europe, and people believe England will be next. Half Polish-Jewish, half American Jakob has been recruited from Cambridge to Bletchley Park where they are working on deciphering the enigma machine. Jakob's sister Lizzie, meanwhile, is being forced to move from London to Cleveland to live with her grandmother after her mother disappeared in a 1939 attack in Poland. Lizzie manages to escape the keeper her grandmother sent for her to bring her to America and makes her way to Bletchley, where she's eventually given the task of delivering messages between departments. When secret messages begin appearing with Lizzie's belongings, she must decipher them to find the truth about her mother's past and location, while keeping the secrets away from the MI5 agent that seems a little t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dragon Run

By
Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013.  336 pgs.  Fantasy      Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life.  He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines.  Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...
1 comment
Read more