If You Like: Scary Books to Listen To

I am a sucker for a good audio book. If you like scary audios like Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab, or my personal favorite The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud, then these five new scary listens just might make you spookily happy.

Also, there is something about listening to a scary story that just makes the tale all the creepier. It could be that when I listen to scary stories I imagine the times that I sat around a campfire with friends telling tales that would hopefully keep us up all night in our tents listening to every little wilderness sound. Or when we were huddled around a dark living room in sleeping bags trying to scare each other so that we would stay up all night together. I don’t know. But there is something about listening to a good scary story. If you too like listening to scary stories and in honor of Halloween and all things that are deliciously terrifying, here are some of my more recent favorite audio books to listen to. 

These books can be found on Libby by Overdrive. 

Camp Sylvania 

By Julie Murphy 

Narrated by Katie Ladner 

HarperCollins Publishers Inc. | Balzer + Bray, 2023 

Duration: 06:29:52 

Maggie is horrified to learn that her mother sent her to Camp Sylvania (a fat camp) instead of the performing arts camp that she thought she was going to for the summer. When Maggie notices that things aren’t what they seem—and that there may be a vampire at camp—she and her friends have to figure out a plan to save themselves and the rest of the campers. 

Cinders and Sparrows 

By Stefan Bachmann 

Narrated by Justine Eyre 

HaperCollins Publishers Inc. | Greenwillow Books, 2020 

Duration: 06:50:51 

Zita Brydgeborn received a letter stating that she had inherited a distant castle. It comes with random servants and in entrenched in a battle between good and evil (with a fair bit of monsters and relatives that are from the beyond) that could potentially consume her. As Zita tries to untangle the truth of her past, who she is, and what is going on; she must also learn magic and make a stand that could make or break everything. 

Ghosts, Toast, and Other Hazards 

By Susan Tan 

Narrated by Dana Wing Lau 

Books on Tape | Listening Library, 2023 

Duration: 05:15:25 

Mo is a twelve-year-old girl who has had many hard things happen to her in a short amount of time. Due to a fire, her family loses their home and she is terrified of potential fire dangers. Mo also is sad that her step-dad (that she viewed like her real dad) left and started another family. And to top everything off, the town that they move to (they moved into her uncle’s house) has a mysterious past with a ghost elephant that not everyone can see but for some reason tends to haunt Mo. 

Grave Thief 

By Dee Hahn 

Narrated by Tim Campbell 

Blackstone Audio, Inc. | Blackstone Publishing, 2022 

Duration: 07:32:03 

Spade is a grave thief that comes from a family of grave thieves. When he is assigned to rob a specific grave, things don’t go as planned. In order to save his family from what happened, Spade must go on a quest with Ember (the Queen’s niece) and ultimately square off with the petrifying monster that terrifies the neighborhood. Lots of questing, adventure, and mystery all thrown in with graveyards, monsters, and magic. 

Ophie’s Ghosts 

By Justina Ireland 

Narrated by Bahni Turpin 

HarperCollins Publishers Inc. | Balzer + Bray, 2021 

Duration: 08:04:37 

Ophie didn’t always know she could see ghosts—but she can. When her family has to move in with relatives in 1920s Pittsburgh, Ophie and her mom get jobs as servants in a wealthy house. Ophie starts seeing ghosts all around the city and even at work. She decides that she wants to help one ghost in particular that died suddenly and unjustly. Only, things aren’t all as they seem and Ophie and those around her may be in more danger to all the ghosts than Ophie first thought.