Book picks similar to
Out of the Dark by Betty Ren Wright
horror
ghosts
middle-grade
young-adult
The Accident
Diane Hoh - 1991
Her voice is faint and hollow, like a distant echo. The voice of a young girl.Strangest of all is her request."I beg you to trade places with me, Megan. For just one week. Let me live again."Megan is overcome with fear. Yet she is drawn to the shadow in the mirror, unable to look away. Fascinated by the oddly soothing voice, she listens to a tale of a horrible accident many years before. A tale she would never forget.Gradually, Megan begins to realize that she has no choice. As terrified as she is, she knows she must make the trade....
Magic Elizabeth
Norma Kassirer - 1966
But soon Sally uncovers a mystery about a beautiful old doll in a portrait -- and a little girl who looks just like Sally herself! In search of clues, Sally is drawn toward the attic and the old mirror that sits there. And when she looks into it, something magical happens....
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 Trespassers
Zilpha Keatley Snyder - 1995
She is trying to entertain her little brother, Grub, when they accidentally find a way to sneak into Halcyon House, a magnificent mansion that has been deserted for years. Inside they discover a wonderful surprise -- a playroom full of fabulous old-fashioned toys. Despite the spookiness of the house and the rumors about a ghost that haunts it -- and despite the fact that they don't belong there -- the playroom becomes their secret hideaway. Then the owners suddenly return to Halcyon House. Neely befriends Curtis, a boy her own age whose wild boasts and black moods make her uneasy. When Neely is warned to protect her little brother, she thinks first of the ghost -- or could there be a present-day evil lurking in Halcyon House? Zilpha Keatley Snyder's mesmerizing characters and vivid details will pull readers into an everyday world charged with mysterious menace in this suspenseful, haunting story. From the Hardcover edition.
The Hunt for the Seventh
Christine Morton-Shaw - 2008
Six dead children. A garden of statues.With every step he takes around the carefully manicured grounds of Minerva Hall, Jim is haunted by the ghosts of children, long dead, whom no one else can see. Urging him to "find the Seventh," the children leave him cryptic clues pointing to a devastating ancient prophecy that only he can stop from being fulfilled.Jim befriends another boy--Einstein, who lives at the Hall. Einstein is autistic and very, very smart. If anyone can help Jim find the Seventh, perhaps he can--Einstein clearly knows more than he is saying. At the same time, the dead children seem to be leaving Jim some sort of macabre treasure trail.If Jim doesn't figure out the clues, innocent people will die. But how can Jim find the answers while the dangers of the Hall grow ever more threatening? And even if he can, the real question is--is Jim already too late?Linking ancient rites with modern mystery, Christine Morton-Shaw has crafted an eerie thriller that will keep readers guessing until its startling conclusion.
A Drowned Maiden's Hair
Laura Amy Schlitz - 2006
It seems the sisters need Maud to help stage elaborate séances for bereaved, wealthy patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing her role as a "secret child," she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience – until a shocking betrayal makes clear just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with tantalizing details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this lively historical novel features a winning heroine whom readers will not soon forget.
The Ghost in the Third Row
Bruce Coville - 1987
But nothing can compare to seeing a ghost, a woman in white, sitting in the audience! Nina senses that she has nothing to fear from this apparition, but she is intrigued. Nina learns that fifty years ago, a beautiful actress was murdered--on this very stage! According to legend, she has haunted the theater ever since....Strange things begin to happen---scripts are ripped up, sets are knocked down, a costume is torn to pieces--and everyone thinks that the ghost wants to stop the show from going on. Everyone, that is, except for Nina and her best friend, Chris, who decide to do some ghost hunting of their own. But only the Woman in White can lead them to the answer!
Short & Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales
Robert D. San Souci - 1987
Those who are found the next day, if they are still alive, will have gone mad.” Chills and thrills to make your flesh crawl with fear! Turn the lights down low and grab your favorite reading chair. But first, you’d better check behind you. . . . Ghosts, monsters, murders, and madmen! These thirty stories have been collected for your reading displeasure from all over the globe, and represent the world’s best scary stories and frightening folktales, featuring famous authors such as Washington Irving and the Brothers Grimm. Welcome to a chilling world of hair-raising tales!
London, 1850
Sebastian Rook - 2004
For a thousand years, an ancient and all-powerful vampire god has lain dormant in the Mayan jungle. In 1850, he awakes -- and sets out for Europe...London, 1850. An enormous ship has just reached port. From its hull, a flock of bats ascends and disappears into the streets. Jack Harkett intends to board the ship, in search of food or money. Instead, he encounters a boy his own age -- running for his life! The boy recounts horrific tales about a vampire plague that's killed the entire crew.With no one to turn to but each other, the two boys vow to stop these horrors from continuing. Their pledge will take them on dangerous adventures from London to Paris and finally to Mexico, to confront the beast who started all this destruction....
Still More Tales for the Midnight Hour
Judith Bauer Stamper - 1989
A collection of thirteen original scary stories.
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
Ghost Cat
Beverly Butler - 1984
But everything changes when the ghost of a beautiful cat appears to her one morning. The cat draws Annabel into a frightening mystery. Many years ago a woman disappeared. Now she --and her cat -- are crying out to Annabel for help. How could Annabel have conjured up these ghostly spirits? And now that they've contacted her... what do they want her to do?
Ghost Cadet
Elaine Marie Alphin - 1991
She probably won't like him; no one else seems to. So the last thing Benjy expects to do is make a friend--especially one who's a ghost!Cadet William Hugh McDowell was killed at the Civil War battle of New Market more than one hundred years ago. He's doomed to haunt the battlefield until he finds his grandfather's gold watch--the watch he'd hidden from the Yankees just before he died.If Hugh's spirit is ever to rest in peace, Benjy must help him find the watch and get it back to its rightful place in history. Benjy is scared. After all, no one has ever depended on him for anything. Now Benjy's new best friend is betting all eternity that he will succeed.
Stacey and the Missing Ring
Ann M. Martin - 1991
Stacey would never take anything from anyone!Even worse for the Baby-sitters, the Gardellas are threatening to tell their other clients about the missing ring.Will everyone in Stoneybrook think the Baby-sitters are stealers? Not if Stacey can help it. She's going to find out what happened to that ring!
Frost Hollow Hall
Emma Carroll - 2013
They were great tall things, the ironwork all twisted leaves and queer-looking flowers. And they were very definitely shut.'Tilly's heart sinks. Will's at the door of their cottage, daring her to come ice-skating up at Frost Hollow Hall. No one goes near the place these days. Rumour has it that the house is haunted . . . Ten years ago the young heir, Kit Barrington, drowned there in the lake. But Tilly never turns down a dare.Then it goes horribly wrong. The ice breaks, Tilly falls through and almost drowns. At the point of death, a beautiful angel appears in the water and saves her. Kit Barrington's ghost.Kit needs Tilly to solve the mystery of his death, so that his spirit can rest in peace. In order to discover all she can, Tilly gets work as a maid at Frost Hollow Hall. But the place makes her flesh crawl. It's all about the dead here, she's told, and in the heart of the house she soon discovers all manner of dark secrets . . .'Frost Hollow Hall' is a thrilling historical fiction debut. Told in Tilly's unique voice, it is a tale of love and loss, and how forgiveness is the key to recovery.