Book picks similar to
The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee by Erin Petti
middle-grade
fantasy
ghosts
mystery
The League of Beastly Dreadfuls
Holly Grant - 2015
Join the League. . . . Anastasia is a completely average almost-eleven-year-old. That is, UNTIL her parents die in a tragic vacuum-cleaner accident. UNTIL she’s rescued by two long-lost great-aunties. And UNTIL she’s taken to their delightful and, er, “authentic” Victorian home, St. Agony’s Asylum for the Criminally Insane.But something strange is going on at the asylum. Anastasia soon begins to suspect that her aunties are not who they say they are. So when she meets Ollie and Quentin, two mysterious brothers, the three join together to plot their great escape!
Potkin and Stubbs
Sophie Green - 2019
One rainy night she meets Nedly, the ghost of a boy that no one else can see. Nedly has been looking for someone to believe in him ever since the investigation into his disappearance went cold. When they discover that his death is connected to a series of mysterious murders, Lil and Nedly set out to expose those responsible, with the help of a down-on-his luck private investigator, who might hold a clue to Lil’s hidden past.Atmospheric, spooky, warm at heart, POTKIN AND STUBBS is the first in a hardboiled detective trilogy for readers aged 9+.
The Headless Cupid
Zilpha Keatley Snyder - 1971
When she shares her secrets, strange things start happening in their old house. They suspect Amanda until they learn the house was long ago haunted by a ghost that cut off the head of a wooden cupid on the stairway. A Newbery Honor Book.
The House with Chicken Legs
Sophie Anderson - 2018
A real friend. Not like her house with chicken legs. Sure, the house can play games like tag and hide-and-seek, but Marinka longs for a human companion. Someone she can talk to and share secrets with. But that's tough when your grandmother is a Yaga, a guardian who guides the dead into the afterlife. It's even harder when you live in a house that wanders all over the world . . . carrying you with it. Even worse, Marinka is being trained to be a Yaga. That means no school, no parties--and no playmates that stick around for more than a day. So when Marinka stumbles across the chance to make a real friend, she breaks all the rules . . . with devastating consequences. Her beloved grandmother mysteriously disappears, and it's up to Marinka to find her--even if it means making a dangerous journey to the afterlife. With a mix of whimsy, humor, and adventure, this debut novel will wrap itself around your heart and never let go.
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle
Eva Ibbotson - 2005
But times are hard at Clawstone, as the fancier castle down the road attracts all the tourist traffic. Determined to save the castle and the herd, Madlyn and Rollo audition a cast of ghosts to add some thrills to the Clawstone tours, and soon visitors are pouring through the gates. But just when things are looking up, the ghosts and children find themselves facing a great mystery, and some very sinister enemies. Will Madlyn, Rollo, and their ghostly friends find a way to save the day?
The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden
Emma Trevayne - 2015
A bad business.And for Thomas Marsden, on what was an unremarkable spring night in London, it becomes a very spooky business. For lying in an unmarked grave and half covered with dirt is a boy the spitting image of Thomas himself.This is only the first clue that something very strange is happening. Others follow, but it is a fortune teller’s frightened screams that lead Thomas into a strange world of spiritualists, death and faery folk.Faery folk with whom Thomas’s life is bizarrely linked. Faery folk who need his help.Desperate to unearth the truth about himself and where he comes from, Thomas is about to discover magic, and ritual, and that sometimes, just sometimes, the things that make a boy ordinary are what make him extraordinary.
Skeleton Creek
Patrick Carman
. . and Ryan and Sarah are trying to get to the heart of it. But after an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam to search things out. . .and then email the clips for Ryan to see. In a new, groundbreaking format, the story is broken into two parts -- Ryan's text in the book, and Sarah's videos on a special website, with links and passwords given throughout the book.Skeleton Creek, one of Mr. Carman’s most popular series, has won or been nominated for many awards including:Nevada Young Readers’ AwardPennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice AwardsNew Mexico Land of Enchantment Book Award shortlistChildren’s Book Council book of the year nomineeDelaware Diamonds ShortlistOregon Battle of the Books Shortlist
Just South of Home
Karen Strong - 2019
At last, she can spend her summer months reading her favorite science books and bossing around her younger brother, Ellis, instead of being worked to the bone by their overly strict grandmother, Mrs. Greene. But when their cousin, Janie, arrives for a visit, Sarah's plans are completely squashed. Janie has a knack for getting into trouble and asks Sarah to take her to Creek Church: a landmark of their small town that she heard was haunted. It's also off-limits. Janie's sticky fingers lead Sarah, Ellis, and his best friend Jasper to uncover a deep-seated part of the town's past. With a bit of luck, this foursome will heal the place they call home and the people within it they call family.This debut middle-grade novel will be available from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers in May 2019.
The Forgotten Girl
India Hill Brown - 2019
There, Iris carefully makes a perfect snow angel - only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore, right beneath her.Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris: She begins having vivid nightmares. She wakes up to find her bedroom window wide open, letting in the snow. She thinks she sees the shadow of a girl lurking in the woods. And she feels the pull of the abandoned grave, calling her back to the clearing...Obsessed with figuring out what's going on, Iris and Daniel start to research the area for a school project. They discover that Avery's grave is actually part of a neglected and forgotten Black cemetery, dating back to a time when White and Black people were kept separate in life - and in death. As Iris and Daniel learn more about their town's past, they become determined to restore Avery's grave and finally have proper respect paid to Avery and the others buried there.But they have awakened a jealous and demanding ghost, one that's not satisfied with their plans for getting recognition. One that is searching for a best friend forever - no matter what the cost.The Forgotten Girl is both a spooky original ghost story and a timely and important storyline about reclaiming an abandoned segregated cemetery.
The Menagerie
Tui T. Sutherland - 2013
Sutherland, and her sister, Kari Sutherland, comes the Menagerie series, perfect for fans of Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven series and The Spiderwick Chronicles.In the small town of Xanadu, Wyoming lies the Menagerie, a top secret facility filled with unicorns, dragons, phoenixes, and other fairy tale creatures. At least, it was a secret—until six griffin cubs escaped.If Logan and Zoe don’t get the cubs back fast, the entire Menagerie will be shut down. The race is on and the resulting adventure is only the beginning of a thrilling series that will leave readers wanting a magical menagerie of their very own.
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
Who Could That Be at This Hour?
Lemony Snicket - 2012
Far from anyone he knew or trusted, a young Lemony Snicket started an apprenticeship for a secret organization shrouded in mystery and secrecy. He asked questions that shouldn't have been on his mind. Now he has written an account that should not be published that shouldn't be read. Not even by you. Seriously, we recommend that you do NOT ask your parents for this, the first book in his new ALL THE WRONG QUESTIONS series.Lemony Snicket, in case you don't already know, grew up to be the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events series.
Tilly and the Bookwanderers
Anna James - 2018
A curl-up-on-the-sofa debut from a uniquely talented author.Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents' bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.One day Tilly realises that classic children's characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of `book wandering' - crossing over from the page into real life.With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face.
The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural
Patricia C. McKissack - 1992
During that special half-hour of twilight--the dark-thirty--pick one of these spine-tingling tales and savor it...-A white bus driver who refuses a ride to a penniless black woman later encounters her ghost.-Phantom pictures etched on the windowpanes of a man's house proclaim his guilt in a lynching. -A retired Pullman porter hears a ghostly whistle and knows it's the last train he'll ever ride. Mesmerizing and breathtakingly original, these tales are inspired by African American history and range from the time of slavery to the civil rights era of the twentieth century. With her extraordinary gift for suspense and her sure sense of storytelling, Patricia C. McKissack has created a heart-stopping collection of lasting value, a book not quickly forgotten.
The Ghost of Fossil Glen
Cynthia C. DeFelice - 1998
Her friend Karen calls Allie a liar and doesn't want to hear "stuff like that." But her old pal, Dub, listens eagerly as Allie tells him about the voice that guides her down a steep cliff side, the girl she imagines who begs, "Help me," and a terrible nightmare in which that girl falls to her death. Who is that girl? Is she the ghost? And what does the ghost want from Allie? 01 Nutmeg Children's Book Award Masterlist, 00-01 Sunshine State Young Reader's Award Masterlist (Gr. 6-8), 00-01 Young Hoosier Book Award Masterlist (Grds 4-6),00-01 William Allen White Children's Book Award Masterlist, 00-01 Land of Enchantment Book Award Masterlist (Gr. 3-6), 00-01 Sequoyah Children's Book Award Masterlist, 00-01 Young Reader's Choice Award Program Masterlist, 00-01 South Carolina Book Award Masterlist(Grds 3-8), and The 2000 Texas Bluebonnet Award