Book picks similar to
The Thing at the Foot of the Bed by Maria Leach
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The Ghost Next Door
Wylly Folk St. John - 1971
So when Sherry came to visit her Aunt Judith, no one could explain the odd things that started to happen. Who was the elusive friend Sherry said she saw in the garden? Was she an imaginary playmate - or could she be the ghost of Miranda who had drowned in the pond years ago? Uncanny reminders of Miranda began to turn up - a blue rose, a lost riding whip... Lindsey and Tammy, who lived next door, decided to delve into the meaning of the apparent psychic phenomena. They soon found themselves drawn deeper and deeper into an intriguing mystery.
Bruce Coville's Book of Ghosts: Tales to Haunt You
Bruce Coville - 1994
In stories that range all the way from the humrous to the frightening, Bruce Coville and other authors show that ghosts can touch our souls in ways both terrifying and wondrous!Introduction: Restless spirits / Bruce Coville --The ghost let go / Bruce Coville --The grounding of Theresa / Mary Downing Hahn --A true story / James D. Macdonald --The pooka / Michael Markiewicz --Ghost walk / Mark A. Garland --For love of him / Vivian Vande Velde --Ghost stories / Lawrence Watt-Evans --Mrs. Ambroseworthy / Jane Yolen --Not from Detroit / Joe R. Lansdale --Jasper's ghost / Nancy Etchemendy --The secret of city cemetery / Patrick Bone --The ghost in the summer kitchen / Mary Frances Zambreno
The Wicked, Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House
Mary Chase - 1968
At age nine, she already has a reputation as a hard slapper, a loud laugher, a liar, and a stay-after-schooler. The other kids call her Stinky. So sometimes when Maureen passes the crumbling (and haunted?) Messerman mansion, she imagines that she is Maureen Messerman–rich, privileged, and powerful. Then she finds a way into the forbidden, boarded-up house. In the hall are portraits of seven young women wearing elaborate gowns and haughty expressions. Maureen has something scathing to say to each one, but then she notices that the figures seem to have shifted in their frames. So she reaches out her finger to touch the paint–just to make sure–and touches . . . silk! These seven daughters of privilege are colder and meaner than Maureen ever thought to be. They are wicked, wicked ladies, and Maureen has something they want. . . .
Scary Stories for Sleep-Overs
R.C. Welch - 1991
Turn a camping trip or slumber party into an adventure in fright, or for the extra-fearless, read Scary Stories alone!
Boris and Bella
Carolyn Crimi - 2004
Her slime is the slimiest and her grime is the grimiest. Alas, she is neighbors with Boris Kleanitoff, a persnickety ghoul so tidy he vacuums his vampire bats. What could ever bring these two together? Why, a hoppin' Halloween party, of course!
Something Upstairs
Avi - 1988
None of the things which Kenny called his own remained. Even the painted walls and skylight were gone. Baffled, he wondered if other things even outside had changed. Kenny went to one of the windows and looked down. On a stoop across the dark street a man was standing, gazing straight at Kenny's window. He was wearing what appeared to be a long black cape which reached his knees, and a hat, triangular in shape. Its brim obscured his face. As if suddenly realizing he was being observed, the man moved quickly into the shadows. Keeping his face averted, he fled up the street.
Anyone But Ivy Pocket
Caleb Krisp - 2015
Dumped in Paris by the Countess Carbunkle, who would rather run away to South America than continue in Ivy's companionship, our young heroine (of sorts) finds herself with no money and no home to go to ... until she is summoned to the bedside of the dying Duchess of Trinity. For the princely sum of £500 (enough to buy a carriage, and possibly a monkey), Ivy agrees to courier the Duchess's most precious possession – the Clock Diamond – to England, and to put it around the neck of the revolting Matilda Butterfield on her twelfth birthday. It's not long before Ivy finds herself at the heart of a conspiracy involving mischief, mayhem and murder. Illustrated in humorous gothic detail by Barbara Cantini, Anyone But Ivy Pocket is just the beginning of one girl's deadly comic journey to discover who she really is ..'
The Magic Christmas
Francine Pascal - 1992
Their grandparents should know they're too old to play with dolls! Then the twins learn that the dolls are a family legacy from a past generation of twins. But that's not all that's special about the dolls. Before they know it, Jessica and Elizabeth are thrown into the most magical adventure of their lives. And along the way they learn what being twins - and best friends - really means.
The Dagger in the Desk
Jonathan Stroud - 2013
It lurks in the shadows, spreading fear and icy cold – and it carries a sharp and very solid dagger...The headmaster wastes no time in enlisting the help of ghost-hunters Anthony Lockwood, Lucy Carlyle and George Cubbins.Can Lockwood & Co. survive the night and save the day?
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)
The Curse of the Blue Figurine
John Bellairs - 1983
But then he takes an old scroll and a seemingly harmless figurine from the church basement, accepts a magic ring from a mysterious stranger--and is plunged into a terrifying adventure that may cost him his life.
The Doomspell
Cliff McNish - 2000
Like thousands of other children before them, they have been snatched away by the Witch. But this time the Witch has met her match. Rachel discovers that she has extraordinary gifts: she can transform herself into a feather, or fly on an owl’s back, just as the Witch can. The Witch is excited she has found someone to use for her own evil purposes. But for the Witch’s victims, Rachel is their only hope.Reviews'High fantasy, richly imagined and refreshingly well-written — an excellent novel.' The Sunday Times 'Brilliant, breathless and filled with action from page one.' Kids Out'Gripping, racy, children have been fighting to borrow it.' The Guardian'An incredible world in which the reader will become totally absorbed.' The Bookseller'A vivid world of magical possibilities.' The Times 'A thrilling and magical read - there is a real build up of suspense with plenty of twists and turns. It is full of brilliant descriptions of events, characters and places.' Library and Information Service for Schools 'Places him firmly among much more well-known names such as Philip Pullman and C.S.Lewis - Ithrea is a truly complete world, and the characters are beautifully conceived to obtain an emotional response from the reader.' BookMonster
The Children of Green Knowe
Lucy M. Boston - 1954
M. Boston's thrilling and chilling tales of Green Knowe, a haunted manor deep in an overgrown garden in the English countryside, have been entertaining readers for half a century.There are three children: Toby, who rides the majestic horse Feste; his mischievous little sister, Linnet; and their brother, Alexander, who plays the flute. The children warmly welcome Tolly to Green Knowe... even though they've been dead for centuries.But that's how everything is at Green Knowe. The ancient manor hides as many stories as it does dusty old rooms.And the master of the house is great-grandmother Oldknow, whose storytelling mixes present and past with the oldest magic in the world.
Book of Enchantments
Patricia C. Wrede - 1988
This witty and charming collection of ten short fantasies includes a story, set in the Enchanted Forest, about Queen Cimorene's Frying Pan of Doom; a zany yarn about a magical blue chipmunk with a passion for chestnuts; and an eerie tale of a caliph who turns his vizier's daughter into a wolf.