Reddit mentions: The best spine-chilling horror books for children

I saw that you're always looking for YA with strong female characters? Let me crack my knuckles, I love exercising the Masters degree I never get to use.

• Legend by Marie Lu is hugely wonderful. It's a 3-book dystopian trilogy, but the girl is kick-ass. This is probably my favorite YA dystopian.
  
• Matched by Allie Condy - in case you haven't picked this one up yet, it's a dystopian "arranged marriage break out of your shell" bit. It's pretty good.
  
• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. This was SO GOOD. Everyone needs to read this book. It's got a kick-ass heroine, a hilarious and dry wit, it's soulful, it's sweet, it's got twists I actually DID NOT EXPECT!! A+ would wipe my memory and reread. (she's a female paladin, need I say more?!)
  
• You gotta have the Vampire Academy series as well. I thought it was just going to be a silly "vampire boarding school" book but it's actually a whole lot more.
  
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is an amazing YA book dealing with living overseas, finding love and home ... it's pretty great. Its sequel (Lola & the Boy Next Door) is also great, for different reasons.
  
• Love Letters to the Dead is about a girl who writes letters to deceased celebrities, and it helps her cope with her older sister's death. A really relateable read.
  
• My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick is a lovely, sweet book about finding family everywhere.
  
  I could keep going if you want, just let me know! :D

My 14 month old twins LOVE to read. Some of our favorite books include:

The Dreamers series by Emily Winfield Martin. All of her books are amazing. The art is beautiful and there’s whimsy to her stories. There are two more books outside of this set I linked and they enjoy them both.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is very well liked by them, although it’s not my favorite. They love the bright colors and the fun attitude. It was one of the first ones I read to them when they were newborns (with the big paper back size) because the colors and shapes were bold.

Mama Loves You So is a short and sweet story. I love the illustrations and my girls love it too.

Wish is especially great for those who have struggled with infertility or loss. And even if you haven’t, it’s a lovely story. Warning: I still cry every time I read it to them.

Every Little Thing for you Bob Marley fans

Take Heart My Child is a sweet book for those of you who are sentimental. They don’t always love to sit still for it now, but it’s great for newborns.

And in general, they LOVE the books you can interact with and touch a feel like the dog/animal books with different furs. They like this Monster book that has a bunch of textures. They like this Dont Touch the Button book that is fun and interactive. They love flip the flap books, especially ones with animals and they helped them learn the sounds very easily. They also like the little puppet books.

I don't read much historical fantasy, but I have read some and some more alternate history if you are in to that. I haven't read the one you spoke of in your post, so not sure exactly what balance of history and fantasy (or time period) you are looking for. However, I will list here for you many that I have read:

The Shadow of Albion - Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill Alternate England

Black Ships - Jo Graham This one is about Troy. some romance

His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik Napoleonic War with dragons.

Daughter of the Forest - Juliet Marillier The author says it isn't historical, but it is based somewhat on history/legend. Ireland as it is being exposed to Christianity. Based on The Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale "The Wild Swans" Definitely a good bit of romance in this one.

The Wild Swans - Peg Kerr Another based on the Anderson Fairy Tale. 2 stories in one. One set in the 1800 about a curse, and the other set in the 1980s about AIDS. Not my favorite, but an interesting parallel.

Bright Sword of Ireland - Juliene Osborne-McKnight This one is more mythic and definitely has "romance". It's about Mebd's daughter. Not my personal favorite, but the ending definitely stuck with me. Also deals with interactions with Christianity

Newton's Cannon - Gregory Keyes Okay, haven't read this one yet, but I've been meaning to get around to it.

Young Adult

Sorcery and Cecilia OR The Enchanted Chocolate Pot - Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

A Matter of Magic - Patricia C. Wrede

A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

These above are set in London/England in 1700-1900?. They are all relatively light reading.

The Fetch - Laura Whitcomb This one is set during the Russian Revolution. Teen love.

A Certain Slant of Light - Laura Whitcomb This one is set in the present day, but one of the main characters is a ghost from the late 1800s.

There're also quite a few novels in historical fantasy romance. But most of them are definitely more on the romance side.

*edited for formatting

Seven Chinese Brothers is an all time classic. I bought it for my girls. Younger but fun.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School used to be pretty short, but I think someone's turned it into a series now? Still super fun.

Miss Nelson is Missing is another classic. Bought this again for my kids too.

For slightly older, The Three Investigators was my go-to. Read everything a few times. Chapter book.

The Boxcar Children is another neat series of mysteries I loved as a young boy. Chapters also, IIRC.

Someone else mentioned Joe Hill, and I'd wholeheartedly agree. Horns might be best. NOS4A2 is great, but it's a conscious attempt to write in the Stephen King mold, so you may not like it.

Peter Straub is a favorite. Ghost Story seems the most obvious choice for you. I love it, although the book's values, particularly when it comes to sex, are a bit Victorian. A complaint that can't be made about Straub's other books.

When it comes to ghosts, I think short stories are usually the stronger choice. To that end, there's a collection that Roald Dahl put together that is really excellent. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories.

I got the impression you'd appreciate something with a basis in horror/mystery but just a little bit fun. I highly recommend Darren Pillsbury's "Peter and the Monster" series obviously you would want to start with the first one (Peter and the Dead Men, but you can also buy collections). I started reading back when he just has a blogspot and would update with chapters as journal entries. Although he intended them for young adults, a huge percentage of his readership has turned out to be adult-adults haha.

Anyway, they're really fun reads, I highly recommend.

Hello there! Thanks for the contest. All I know about lorises is that they have super huge eyes.

And a used copy of [this] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0590566466/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1DOHIJA2W76CH&coliid=I2XESPFF02GTAW) Goosebumps book is only a penny! It was my favorite series as a kid and the pick your own adventure books are always fun

Step one

Step two

Step three

What?

I'd like this book for my daughter.

I feel greedy but I saw these below and they are absolutely amazing, especially since they'll fit a larger guy like myself, so I added them to my list and figured I'd put them here.

Or Munch by Emma McCann? https://www.amazon.com/Munch-Emma-Mccann/dp/1857337328

Munch is a little monster with a very big appetite. He eats 17 slices of toast with banana jam for breakfast and 11 slices of toast with broccoli jam for dinner. One morning, as he is enjoying his huge breakfast, the newspaper headline catches his eye: A GIANT MONSTER GOES ON A RAVENOUS RAMPAGE! Munch decides to stay home and protect his house. All is well until Munch notices that his precious toaster has disappeared.

See How They Lie by Sue Wallman - £1.99. UKYA thriller; another one I haven't read but Sue's first was a great debut and this has been getting excellent reviews.

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Night-Monster-Island-Deadmans/dp/1081402687/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Halloween+Night+on+Monster+Island&qid=1569178057&s=books&sr=1-1

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Nightmare-Monster-Island-Deadmans-ebook/dp/B07VHZF4WD/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Halloween+Night+on+Monster+Island&qid=1569178394&s=digital-text&sr=1-2

The 5 star Halloween book your young one will want to read. Like a rollercoaster, it's quickly paced with thrill after thrill. Halloween Night on Monster Island is aimed at 2nd-7th graders and is a great read-aloud during the month of October in any classroom or even right before bedtime.

A Certain Slant of Light

So it's marketed as a YA romance/horror novel, but it's actually really beautifully written and goes much deeper than that. I would say it truly blurs the line between YA and Adult, seeing as the main characters are in fact both adults and teenagers at the same time.

There more aimed at the teenaged demographic, but check out The Wereling books.

They're surprisingly down to earth yet incredibly fun reads. And the transformations are handled really well. I read these books at least a half dozen times over the years.

Maybe the Monster of the Month Club?

>School Library Journal:
Gr 4-6--When Rilla Harmony Earth receives a subscription to the Monster of the Month Club, she expects to get a year's worth of stuffed animals. However, when she opens the January shipment, she is greeted by a live creature with seven eyes, fluffy silver fur, and a taste for popsicles and frozen yogurt. She manages to hide him from her mother, the guests at their bed-and-breakfast inn, and the members of her home-schooling group. However, when February arrives, bringing a new monster that requires constant companionship, Rilla decides that she's had enough...and there are still 10 months to go! The girl's creative ways of concealing and feeding her strange pets are funny and her unusual home situation adds interest, as do the occasional, humorous black-and-white illustrations. An unresolved subplot involving her absent father is a bit distracting, but this is still an enjoyable fantasy.--Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL

Hello! I'm a YA writer in love with communities like this. I'll be at SpookyEmpire's ScreamFest in Orlando to sign copies of both Westward to Strange and Bogey

website

@raylittsbooks
delinquentagent

Nice to meet all of you! Stop by and say hello if you're in Orlando for ScreamFest.

Besides the characters, the history, and the language, J.S. & Mr N is also the most wonderfully spooky book I have ever read.

Roald Dahl edited a collection of ghost stories which have the same kind of sense, coincidentally or not many of these stories are also written by women:

http://www.amazon.com/Roald-Dahls-Book-Ghost-Stories/dp/0374518688

Lots of the other fantasy and sf books that people mentioned are great, I think, but none of them will scratch the same itch as the one you just finished. Sadly.

The audiobook version of the book was excellent, you can do like me and listen to it after you have read it. You will hear a lot of things you did not read because you were racing to find out what was going to happen.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

You've totally just made me think of the perfect book to recommend and now I can't remember the name of it. ಠ_ಠ

Edit: Someone on TOMT helped me figure it out! It's called A Certain Slant of Light.

Oh I loved the Deadtime series! Invasion of the Appleheads is probably the one you want :)

Creepy Pumpkin patch, A fun Halloween children's story is free for the next few days!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XTJ6VXY

Reminds me of this book, which I used to love despite the fact that it gave me nightmares.

Probably not recommended reading until she's around eight to ten years old, but Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs springs to mind. Nothing like a dose of existentialism dipped in snot to get little minds questioning things :)

Shrek looks like Raymond Briggs "Fungus The Bogeyman" Character -https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fungus-Bogeyman-Raymond-Briggs/dp/0141342692

Reminds me of a Scholastic book I had when I was a kid.

Deadtime Stories: Invasion of the Appleheads

So, I found this picture showing multiple YA fiction books with dead girls on the cover.

The one that fits your story might be "A Certain Slant of Light" by Laura Whitcomb.