For little kids, Halloween is pretty straightforward: picking the perfect costume (and then changing their mind again the night before), watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! and generally getting excited for all things that (gently) go bump in the night. But what about older kids who feel too old for trick-or-treating, too old to dress up, and too old to get a kick out of you telling them their spaghetti dinner is brains? They’re left to find their own creepy-crawly tween/teen entertainment on All Hallow’s Eve. In lieu of them TPing your crotchety neighbor’s house or watching a horror movie that will scar them for life, encourage them to make some easy Halloween treats, cozy up under the covers, and read one of these unbelievable stories that are guaranteed to make them sleep with the lights on.
Note that these are actually-scary stories perfect for older kids, so be prepared to find said kid in your bed once they’ve finished reading. From dolls coming alive to a boy imprisoned by a witch to a school trip gone horribly wrong, these books will give you goosebumps and make you extra jumpy; just make sure you don’t read these while you’re home alone. If you do, you’ll be faced with the terrible dilemma of a) reading in silence so you can hear the footsteps coming for you, or b) turning up the TV so you don’t hear anything at all. You can also read these stories along with your older kids while on doorbell duty — and watch as they jump out of their skin every time the doorbell rings. Trick or treat…
Our mission at SheKnows is to empower and inspire women, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.
A version of this story was originally published in October 2019.
-
Haunting Vintage Images
Image Credit: Quirk Books. You know what makes a spooky book even scarier? Archival images of haunted-looking children. This tale follows runway Jacob as he flees to an abandoned island and stumbles across the seemingly abandoned Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The house isn’t as empty as it seems.
-
A Creepy Graveyard Tale
Image Credit: HarperCollins. Bod seems like a totally normal boy — except for the fact that he lives in a graveyard. He’s been raised by ghosts and a guardian who straddles the world of the living and the dead. His parents were killed, and their murderer is still on the loose. He’s ready to attack Bod if he ever leaves the safety of the graveyard.
-
A R.L. Stine Series for Older Kids
Image Credit: Amazon. Your kids might already love R.L. Stine for his Goosebumps series. But if they’ve outgrown it, this Halloween you can introduce them to the Fear Street series, which contains four spine-chilling tales about disappearences, deaths and a truly evil setting.
-
Scary Stories for Witches
Image Credit: Amazon. From the brilliant mind of J.A. White comes the story of a boy imprisoned by a witch who must tell her a new scary story each night to stay alive. But what happens when he runs out of pages?
-
A Bone-Chilling Anthology
Image Credit: Amazon. This incredible collection of terrifying tales and psychological thrillers hand-chosen by April Genevieve Tucholke will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up — in the best way, of course. With over 14 different authors, there’s something for everyone in this collection.
-
Mysterious Twins
Image Credit: Amazon. Ghosts, a family curse, buried secrets, and two girls who have to figure it all out. What really happened to their moms? Are they twins? Does one of them have the power to see the Ghost Road? Be prepared to be captivated until the very last sentence.
-
A Haunted Kitten
Image Credit: Amazon. A stray kitten turns into a threatening follower. The street sign down the block starts taunting you. Even your own shadow is “out to get you.”
Spooky things love hiding in plain sight, and these 13 tales of weirdness and woe by author Josh Allen will give you chills.
-
Classic Tales
Image Credit: Amazon. Nothing goes better with gooey s’mores and a glowing campfire than a ghost story. Vampires, werewolves, witches, Bloody Mary, the Wendigo, and other frightening specters populate the pages of this compelling collection of S.E. Schlosser’s best ghost stories and her favorite horror classics from Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Dickens and more.
-
Dolls: They’re Alive
Image Credit: Barnes and Noble. This classic by Betty Ren Wright is the unbelievable tale of dolls that come to life. Dolls can’t move by themselves…right? But what if every night when you go into the attic, it’s filled with an eerie light and the dolls have moved again?! Are the dolls trying to tell you something or what?
-
Terrifying Tales to Keep You Up at Night
Image Credit: Amazon. An enjoyable creepy collection of tales by Marie Leach; there’s the one about the fellow who saw two eyes staring at him from the foot of the bed, and the one about the family that ran away from their malevolent household spirit only to find that it had come with them.
-
A Mystery in a New Town
Image Credit: Amazon. This amazing adventure is a high-stakes middle-grade mystery series about Harper Raine, the new seventh-grader in town who must face down the dangerous ghosts haunting her younger brother.
-
The Spooky Field Trip
Image Credit: Amazon. A school trip that’s eerily familiar goes horribly wrong; you’ll be on the edge of your seat from start to nerve-wracking finish.
-
Real Ghost Stories at Camp
Image Credit: Amazon. Camping with Desmond Cole is a lot of fun — until he starts telling ghost stories around the campfire. Most kids tell creepy stories that are totally fake, but Desmond tells totally true stories that will give you goosebumps. So, settle in while Desmond, Andres, and their ghost friend, Zax, take turns trying to tell the scariest story of all.
-
Spookiest Illustrated Book
Image Credit: Amazon. A timeless collection of chillingly scary tales and legends, in which folklorist Alvin Schwartz offers up some of the most alarming tales of horror, dark revenge, and supernatural events of all time.
-
The Secret Door
Image Credit: Amazon. In Coraline’s family’s new flat are 21 windows and 14 doors. Thirteen of those doors open and close. The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own. Only it’s quite different…
-
Pin it!
Image Credit: BonnieAzoulay/SheKnows Pin these scary YA books.
-
Everyday Horror
The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror, by Daniel Lavery (born Mallory Ortberg) is a twist on classic fairy tales, aka “children’s stories made horrific” thanks to some psychological terror. Lavery’s voice and wit truly shine — and we’re all about supporting LGBTQ authors.
More Stories from Parenting
Leave a Comment