Book picks similar to
Haunted Houses by Robert D. San Souci


horror
short-stories
paranormal
middle-grade

Home Sweet Horror


James Preller - 2013
    Have a seat. Let us tell you a story. But be warned. Home Sweet Horror isn't just any tale. This is a Scary Tale.Meet Liam Finn, who's just moved into a new home with his father and sister. But this old house that seems empty, isn't . . . Bloody Mary is here. Called back from the dead by a game, she's just dying to talk.

The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee


Erin Petti - 2016
    In fact, she has curiosity and adventure in her blood. She spends her time running science experiments, practicing Spanish, and daydreaming about exotic landscapes. But Thelma gets more than she bargained for when a strange woman sells a jewelry box at her father’s antique shop. That night, a ghost kidnaps her father, and the only clues are the jewelry box and a word the ghost whispered in her ear: “Return.” Now it’s up to Thelma to get her dad back, and it might be harder than she thought—there’s someone wielding dark magic, and they’re coming after her next.

Thirteen Chairs


Dave Shelton - 2013
    They argue, they laugh, and they tell their stories. Some tell their own stories, some tell stories they have heard elsewhere. Some of them are true, some are not. But each tale draws you closer.One by one, the storytellers depart, until suddenly it's just you and the narrator, alone in the dark...

Stonewords: A Ghost Story


Pam Conrad - 1990
    Zoe Louise was more than 100. From that day on -- living in the same house, separated by a staircase and a century -- Zoe and Zoe Louise have been an important and permanent part of each other's lives.Now Zoe is older. And although Zoe Louise never grows up, she is changing in dreadful, frightening ways. Time is running out for Zoe's best friend -- and Zoe is the only one who can help her. To do so, she must travel back 100 years in time and somehow alter the past. But in changing the past, must she also change the present? If she saves her friend's life, will she lose Zoe Louise forever?1990 Notable Trade Books in the Language Arts (NCTE)1991 Choices (Association of Booksellers for Children)Children's Books of 1990 (Library of Congress)1991 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)1991 Best Juvenile Mystery (Mystery Writers of America)Parenting Honorable Mention, Reading Magic Award1995 California Young Reader Award

The Crossroads


Chris Grabenstein - 2008
    Fifty years ago, a crazed killer caused an accident at the nearby crossroads that took 40 innocent lives. He died when his car hit a tree in a fiery crash, and his malevolent spirit has inhabited the tree ever since. During a huge storm, lightning hits the tree, releasing the spirit, who decides his evil spree isn’t over . . . and Zack is directly in his sights.Award-winning thriller author Chris Grabenstein fills his first book for younger readers with the same humorous and spine-tingling storytelling that has made him a fast favorite with adults.

The Ghost Belonged to Me


Richard Peck - 1975
    Others lost, like me in the black water. Save them!"When Alexander first sees the eerie glow in the dormer window of the barn, it sets his heart pounding. And when he ventures into the barn in the dark of night, his breath catches in his throat. Suddenly Blossom Culp's words come back to him: "You can make contact with the Unseen...." Now there's a girl ghost standing right in front of him, telling him of great danger ahead. But is there time for Alexander to act on her warning?

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales


Chris Van AllsburgSherman Alexie - 2011
    Thousands of children have been inspired to weave their own stories to go with his intriguingly titled pictures. And now, some of our most imaginative storytellers attempt to solve the perplexing mysteries of Harris Burdick. Enter The Chronicles of Harris Burdick to read this incredible compendium of stories: magical, funny, creepy, poignant, inscrutable, these are tales you won't soon forget.(front flap)

Haunted


Susan CooperMal Peet - 2011
    Some will make you scream, some will make you shiver, but all will haunt you gently long after you've put the book down.

In the Stone Circle


Elizabeth Cody Kimmel - 1998
    From the moment they arrive, though, things prove to be anything but dull.

The Seer of Shadows


Avi - 2008
    The place is New York City. Horace Carpetine has been raised to believe in science and rationality. So as apprentice to Enoch Middleditch, a society photographer, he thinks of his trade as a scientific art. But when wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht orders a photographic portrait, strange things begin to happen.Horace's first real photographs reveal a frightful likeness: it's the image of the Von Machts' dead daughter, Eleanora.Pegg, the Von Machts' black servant girl, then leads him to the truth about who Eleanora really was and how she actually died. Joined in friendship, Pegg and Horace soon realize that his photographs are evoking both Eleanora's image and her ghost. Eleanora returns, a vengeful wraith intent on punishing those who abused her.Rich in detail, full of the magic of early photography, here is a story about the shadows, visible and invisible, that are always lurking near.

Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods: Twenty Chilling Tales from the Wilderness


Hal Johnson - 2015
    Meet the Snoligoster, who feeds on the shadows of its victims. The Hodag, like a spiny-backed bull-horned rhinoceros. The Hoop Snake, which can chase prey at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour and then, with one sting of its tail, cause it to turn purple, swell up, and die.Illustrated throughout, including eight drawings printed with glow-in-the-dark ink, Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods is for every young reader who loves a good scare. The book was originally published in 1910 by William Thomas Cox and is now inspiringly retold by Hal Johnson, author of Immortal Lycanthropes. The creatures are all scales and claws, razor-sharp teeth and stealth, camouflage and single-minded nastiness. Straight out of the era of Paul Bunyan, they speak to an earlier time in American history, when the woods were indeed dark and deep and filled with mystery. The tone is smart and quirky. The illustrations have a sinewy, retro field-guide look. Read them around a campfire, if you dare.Cover design by Colleen A.F. Venable

The Fearsome Foursome


Amicus Arcane - 2016
    With eerie illustrations throughout and a beautiful three-piece cloth cover, the books are designed to look like they came straight from the library in the Haunted Mansion. Tales from the Haunted Mansion is a fun, spooky ride, just like the attraction from the Disney Parks. And if readers are familiar with the ride, they'll see elements of it throughout the entire story, from items straight of the Mansion (are those pictures stretching?) to lyrics from the narration that is heard in each Doom Buggy. In this bone-chilling book, you will hear the terrifying tales of the Fearsome Foursome--four kids who look to out-scare each other. But just wait until they hear my spooky stories. Who am I? I am Amicus Arcane, your librarian and host. Your Ghost Host. So read on... if you dare!

The Gathering


Dan Poblocki - 2016
    You step into it.Some houses are more than just haunted... they're hungry. Dash, Dylan, Poppy, Marcus, and Azumi don't know this at first. They each think they've been summoned to Shadow House for innocent reasons. But there's nothing innocent about Shadow House.Something within its walls is wickedly wrong. Nothing -- and nobody -- can be trusted. Hallways move. Doors vanish. Ghosts appear. Children disappear.And the way out?That's disappeared, too...Enter Shadow House... if you dare.Don't just read about Shadow House -- explore its haunted depths with the free app!

A Curious Tale of the In-Between


Lauren DeStefano - 2015
    She doesn't have too many friends amongst the living, but that's all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix.Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and is looking for answers. Together they arrive at the door of the mysterious Lady Savant, who promises to help. But this spiritualist knows the true nature of Pram's power, and what she has planned is more terrifying than any ghost.

The Haunting Hour: Chills in the Dead of Night


R.L. Stine - 2001
    StineRead the spine-tingling story of a babysitter who loves evil tricks...the terrifying tale of a boy who dared to lie down in the tomb of an ancient mummy...the ghastly story of two boys just dying to have the scariest Halloween ever—and more.These are the original stories that inspired the hit TV show R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour. This bone-chilling collection of ten of the author’s most frightful tales is guaranteed to give you chills in the night and turn any dream into a nightmare.