Today’s post is sponsored by Media Masters Publicity and The Black Market!
Title The Black Market
Author Jed Alexander
Intended Target Audience Middle Grade
Publication Date September 9th 2025 by Union Square Kids
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When Martin’s great-aunt brings him an unusual pair of shoes, Martin is determined to find the strange marketplace where she bought them—the Black Market, a constantly relocating swap meet where the world’s strangest and most dangerous items are exchanged by some very suspicious (and disguised) characters. Though his aunt has sworn him to secrecy, he enlists the help of his best friend Jess to find the Black Market on Halloween. Soon, Martin trades his shoes for the legendary Bag of Dirty Tricks and discovers that not all fun is good and harmless.
Author-artist Jed Alexander’s debut novel is filled with scares, determined, relatable kids, and uncanny pranks; accompanied by Alexander’s classic-style and atmospheric illustrations.
I’ve done my best to include books that fall at different places on the spooky spectrum so that every reader can find the right book for them. Got a suggestion you don’t see in the list below? Please leave it in the comments – I’d love to hear from you!
Searching for further thrills and chills this Halloween? Check out these lists I created for Halloween 2019, Halloween 2020, Halloween 2021, Halloween 2022, Halloween 2023, Halloween 2024 as well as this list of 45 Middle Grade Ghost Stories for even more scary (and not-so-scary) young adult books to choose from in addition to the ones in today’s post!
If you enjoyed this post and found it helpful, I hope you’ll consider checking out Pop! Goes The Reader’s Patreon! Members receive access to at least three exclusive posts and rewards there every month, including curated book lists like this one on a specific theme, genre or subject. Membership on Patreon makes a real, tangible difference in helping to support Pop! Goes The Reader and allowing me to do what I love and makes posts like this one, that are accessible to all readers, possible. Thank you!
Upcoming publication dates listed below may be subject to change.
Publication Date January 21st 2025 by Abrams Fanfare
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The second graphic novel in this original series inspired by the hit television show Are You Afraid of the Dark? features three chilling stories based on Ghanaian urban legends and folktales and written by New York Times bestselling author Roseanne A. Brown.
Izzy’s sister has been acting strange. Izzy knows that something is going on with her twin, Grace; hurrying off to hang with other kids, avoiding her at school, and going to bed earlier than usual. When Izzy learns that her twin sister has been sneaking off at night to hang out with the mysterious Midnight Society, she surprises them at their night of storytelling and threatens to tell their parents about Grace’s new hobby. But in order to prevent Izzy from telling on her, the Midnight Society proposes a scare-off! If Izzy wins, Grace is booted from the Midnight Society. If Grace wins, Izzy won’t tell anyone about the Midnight Society. What follows are three terrifying tales that may determine the fate of not only the Midnight Society, but also the twins’ relationship.
In “The Tale of the Bushwalkers,” a girl who cheats in school discovers that monsters may be prowling her campus, ready to eat cheating students. In “The Tale of the Spirit Drum,” a young boy tests his luck when he comes into possession of a drum that can make his dreams come true. And in “The Tale of the Sinister Sisters,” two twins must survive the night by themselves as malignant spirits take their form to pit the twins agains each other.
Drawing from urban legends, folklores, and stories rooted from Ghana, New York Times bestselling author Roseanne A. Brown crafts all new stories inspired by the hit television series, brought to life by artists Shazleen Khan, Bill Masuku, and Gigi Murakami!
Publication Date February 4th 2025 by Shadow Mountain
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A curious girl named Raven — think Wednesday Addams meets Sherlock Holmes — uses her budding skills as a mortician and a scientist to investigate an old and mysterious death at her small town’s haunted hotel.
Raven Gallows lives in a funeral home and is determined to become a famous detective. Her first case is one close to home — find the truth surrounding her mother’s puzzling death six years ago.
When a mummified man falls out of the wall at the Moonrise Manor Hotel, Raven is shocked to discover the body is clutching her mother’s silver locket.
Raven gathers her friends — Cosmina Wilde, who thinks she can talk to ghosts, Miles Farnsworth, who works at the haunted hotel, and Eric Wong, who possesses unparalleled computer skills — and sets out to learn the identity of the mummy. As they follow the clues, they discover more than they bargained for, including a stash of stolen art and a legend of a secret society.
The Secret of Moonrise Manor is a story about family, friendship, and the courage it takes to pursue the truth.
Publication Date February 4th 2025 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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A ghost must team up with the living girl she’s been haunting in order to defeat a monster out of her nightmares and save her little brother, from the author of The Curse of Eelgrass Bog.
Maudie isn’t your typical twelve-year-old girl — she’s the ghost of one. Along with her best friend Kit and little brother Scratch, she haunts a cottage in the woods, doing her best to scare off the vacationers and forget her old life.
But everything changes when Kit and Scratch go missing. Maudie knows something terrible must have happened, and she’s right: Longfingers — a monster from her own nightmares, with spidery fingers and needle-sharp teeth — has stolen her friends away.
Longfingers makes Maudie a twisted deal: find the key to a door in a mysterious cabin, or she’ll never see her friends again. With nobody else to turn to, Maudie has to beg for help from Gianna, the living girl she’s been haunting. Together, the girls search for a way to thwart the monster and save Maudie’s friends.
But Maudie’s keeping secrets about the cabin and her past. Unless she finds a way to finally face the truth, she may never be able to rescue her friends from Longfingers’s grasp.
Publication Date February 4th 2025 by Scholastic Inc.
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One twin died. One twin lived. But did the dead twin ever let go?
From K. R. Alexander, a bestselling master of such middle-grade frights as The Collector and The Fear Zone, comes the story of a girl whose life is inextricably linked to that of her dead twin… who refuses to go away, and wants to take control.
Publication Date February 4th 2025 by Delacorte Press
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A chilling middle school novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Mystery of Locked Rooms, three kids must discover who — or what — is terrorizing them after receiving an ominous meme on Halloween night.
On Halloween night, Josie and her two best friends, Jackson and Alison, sneak into the infamously haunted Bachelor’s Grove cemetery. They are hoping to prove the existence of a famous ghost to secure coveted editorial spots on the school newspaper. Instead, they are chased out by a security guard before they gather any evidence…or so they think.
Later, a sinister meme appears on their phones. It’s an image of the “phantom farmhouse,” an evil apparition rumored to appear to unlucky visitors at Bachelor’s Grove — luring them in…and never letting them out — with the words I’m watching dripping down the screen.
Soon, strange and scary things begin to happen all around them. When a second meme from the same number arrives, this time with a countdown, they realize they have only three days to figure out who is terrorizing them. As they investigate, the trio must use their journalistic skills to uncover the truth, or risk becoming a part of the graveyard’s sinister past forever.
Publication Date February 4th 2025 by Scholastic Press
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A spooky tale of virtual school gone very, very wrong…
Not every kid would be thrilled to move to rural Alaska, but sixth grader Lucy is eager to leave her bullies behind and start over. However, it turns out that Lucy’s new school does remote learning from October to April, when the roads become too icy to navigate safely.
Being the new kid is hard enough – how is she going to make friends when she can’t meet anyone in person?! Luckily, the sixth grade class at White Pine Secondary School is tiny (just thirteen students) and they’re all super nice and really welcoming. While chatting on zoom, they ask Lucy lots of questions about living in the big city, some of which strike Lucy as a little odd but she just chalks it up to the fact that her new classmates have spent their whole lives in a VERY small town.
As the ice starts to thaw, Lucy grows increasingly excited about meeting her new friends in person! But when she enters the school’s address on her phone’s GPS, it leads her to a crumbling, clearly abandoned building with a rotted wood sign in front – a sign that reads White Pine Secondary School. There’s nothing else in sight…except a tiny cemetery with snow-dusted headstones poking out of the frozen ground. Headstones with some very familiar names on them…
Lucy doesn’t know what to believe. Are her new “friends” pulling an elaborate prank? Or is truth far, far more horrifying?
Publication Date February 11th 2025 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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A darkly inventive fantasy for fans of Tim Burton about a girl who can see Nightmare creatures from the forbidden Labyrinth of Souls.
In the Kingdom of Spinar, there are seven rules for safeguarding your soul from the Sorrows and Nightmare creatures — most importantly: never, ever enter the Labyrinth of Souls.
Ix Tatterfall has always been an outcast with big secrets: She can cross into the Labyrinth, home to the powerful Sorrows, and she can see strange Nightmare beasts when no one else can. Some, like the shadowy Inklings or bothersome Stubbed Toads, are merely a nuisance. Many more — like the Jimber-Jawed Hounds — are dangerous. Even deadly.
But something is very wrong in the Labyrinth. A terrible new Nightmare — a raggedy scarecrow called Jack — has been ravaging the misty maze, gobbling up wraiths and lost souls and allowing Nightmares to seep into the Waking World.
On one forbidden trip, Ix comes face to face with Jack. Worse, she’s apprehended by Candle Corps, an elite magical group that protects the kingdom against Nightmares. Instead of exile, Ix is allowed to enter the mysterious Candle Corps Academy. For the first time, she’s surrounded by others who can see what she sees: Morrigan Bea, a hot-tempered girl who might be a monster; Ollie Pembrooke, a shy boy who loves books and Dreamchaser dogs; and Hanky the Inkling, Ix’s faithful Nightmare companion.
But more and more Nightmares are bleeding into Spinar. Raggedy Jack is on the hunt for something — someone — from the Waking World.
Ix Tatterfall herself.
Publication Date March 18th 2025 by Amulet Books
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An action-packed, spine-tingling ghost story about twins with supernatural powers—perfect for fans of Five Nights At Freddy’s and the Goosebumps series.
Thirteen-year-old twins Gabby and Trent Manning are Connecticut’s youngest paranormal investigators. Both have inherited “the gift” from their grandparents, the Mannings, whose legendary ghost hunts inspired several books and movies — but whose names have been nearly forgotten since their untimely deaths years ago.
Armed with EMF machines, flashlights, and recording equipment, the twins’ mom drags them all over New England in an attempt to bring their family back into the limelight. Never mind that Gabby is tired of being known as a Ghost Twin, and Trent finds most of the haunts to be pretty frightening. Their mom thinks their latest destination is exactly what the family needs to go viral: the abandoned Majestic Theater, the site of the late Mannings’ infamous failed exorcism.
However, nothing about this investigation goes according to plan. After a terrifying séance-gone-wrong on the stage, their mother goes missing in the building, and it’s clear that a powerful demon is haunting the theater. Will the twins be able live up to their grandparents’ legacy – and vanquish the demon — before it’s too late?
Featuring articles, interviews, and other found media throughout, The Many Hauntings of the Manning Family is packed with scares that will leave readers sleeping with the lights on.
Publication Date March 25th 2025 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
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Last Kids On Earth meets Goosebumps in this monster mash of a series featuring all your favorite creatures going head-to-head in epic battles.
We found out in the first book in the Versus Universe what happens when a vampire goes up against a werewolf, and now we’ll see who comes out on top when it’s my mummy vs your ghost.
Seasoned trainers Hayden and Gabe return to the battlefield with an ancient mummy ready to bring the heat. But the cold can burn just as bad, and new coaches Lilly and Amos have a centuries-old ghost with the power to freeze anyone out of a win. It’s the undead going head-to-head! But who will end up with the win of their afterlife?
My Mummy vs. Your Ghost is the second book in an epic horror series from bestselling author Paul Tobin featuring all your favorite monsters – from vampires and werewolves, to the monster in your closet and zombies, and witches and warlocks – daring to answer the question: Who would win in a fight?
Publication Date April 1st 2025 by Penguin Workshop
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Maxwell Dark is on a mission to help kids hunt down and defeat the nightmares haunting them in this chilling horror graphic novel filled with monsters and mayhem.
I’m Maxwell. Please don’t call me Max. I have a gift that I was born with, although most of the time it feels like a curse.
That gift — or curse — allows twelve-year-old Maxwell to sense, experience, and enter other kids’ nightmares. He drifts from town to town, drawn by the darkest dreams, till he can help people defeat whatever is truly haunting them. With seventy-three clients and counting, he’s seen every monster there is to face.
Or so he thinks, until he meets Sid. Sid’s dreams start off as typical nightmare fare, but soon they get weirder. Creepier. Impossible to ignore. As Maxwell goes deeper and deeper into Sid’s nightmares, he starts to realize he may be trapped in one of his very own…
Publication Date April 1st 2025 by Sourcebooks Young Readers
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A scavenger hunt takes a sinister turn in the third novel in the Eek! series, tales to scare you silly!
The competition just got scary.
In the small town of Farlow, mysterious advertisements appear for a summer scavenger hunt. Twelve-year-old Maggie and her friends can’t wait. They have their team, and more than bragging rights, they want that huge cash prize.
On the big day, a strange man welcomes everybody to the game. The first items are ridiculously easy (“An egg? Seriously?”), but they quickly grow more difficult. Even a little scary. Okay, a lot scary. When the game moves to the cemetery, nobody wants to play anymore. Except now it’s too late to quit…
Publication Date April 8th 2025 by Abrams Fanfare
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From author Eric Colossal comes an exciting new middle-grade graphic novel about friendship, growing up, and catching ghosts.
The sleepy seaside town of Crater is falling apart. The buildings are run-down, the streets are full of potholes, and the power is unreliable. However, it’s the only home Lily Cole has ever known, and despite her protests, Lily’s family will be moving away at the end of the summer. Now, Lily is determined to spend as much time as possible with her friends before she leaves, riding bikes, hanging out, and playing stickball.
When a foul ball leads the kids into an abandoned mansion on the edge of town, the gang is shocked to discover that Crater is haunted by thousands of ghosts, and they’ve stumbled upon the tools to hunt and trap them! With ghost traps fully charged and bikes at the ready, join Lily and her friends in the spookiest summer of their lives.
Funny and full of heart, Ghost Town is the perfect read for fans of Snapdragon, Beetle and The Hollowbones, and This Is Our Pact.
Publication Date April 22nd 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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Ghostbusters meets The Baby-Sitters Club in this supremely sweet and spooky story about four seventh graders who start a small business helping their local neighborhood spirits pass on to the other side.
All Raveena wants is to bring back her school’s beloved arts program. It’s been six months since her music-loving grandmother passed, and four since Hollows’ Peak Middle School cut its entire arts budget. Now Raveena has no way to practice music, and worse, no way to honor Grandmama’s memory.
But Raveena’s world turns on its head when she and her friends stumble upon an otherworldly discovery: an old-fashioned telephone with the ability to contact ghosts!
With her newfound possession, Raveena devises the perfect plan to raise funds for the arts program: Spirit Service, an agency that guides deceased townspeople to the afterlife by reconnecting them with their living loved ones. The best part? There are tons of spirits in need of assistance — and people willing to pay big bucks to communicate with them.
But not all spirits are interested in peacefully moving on…
To keep their neighborhood safe, Raveena and her friends must dive into the history of their town and the mysterious phone, and in the process, uncover secrets that are much closer to home.
Publication Date May 6th 2025 by Running Press Kids
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Learn how to find Kraken, Mothman, Microbats, and more in this fun, fact-filled, STEM-based cryptozoology book for fans of The Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures.
For years the kraken was considered a mythical beast. Then, in 2004, high-tech cameras captured a photo of a living giant squid. Advances in technology have provided scientists with new tools to study previously undiscovered/unresearched habitats: high-tech cameras, forensic analysis, underwater robots, bioacoustics, infrared sensors, drones, remote control photography and measurement tools, airborne DNA, footprint identification, and more.
Catching Cryptids explores these technological advances in a fun way by pairing them with mythical creatures and discussing how modern technology could be used to locate or “catch” these beasts. The book includes a mini history of each cryptid, along with interesting facts about the corresponding field of science, and spot illustrations throughout.
Featuring over 45 creatures found on land, in water, and among the skies, Catching Cryptids will leave readers wondering what’s next? The phoenix? Dragons? The possibilities are endless!
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Publication Date May 13th 2025 by Union Square Kids
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Maya Murtagh can’t wait to spend a week at Black House, a looming seaside mansion that was once home to her favorite mystery author, Augusta Black. After a falling out with her best friend and journalism partner, she needs ideas for a juicy new story that will repair their friendship and earn them a coveted regular column in the school newspaper. Black House is the perfect place to spark inspiration.
But when Maya and her family arrive at the mansion, the host who greets them is totally creepy. So are the thirteen doors inside Augusta Black’s old office, each one carved with an eerie symbol. Add in the unshakeable feeling that someone — or something — is watching her, and Maya becomes convinced: there’s a mystery to be solved here, real…or supernatural. Each of the thirteen doors hides a secret but opening them leads to dire consequences. When too many doors are open and Maya and her cousins are unable to close them, not only are they and the mansion at risk, so are their parents who are left stranded in town. Maya receives some help from an unexpected place, but will it be enough to save them?
Told over the course of one thrilling day, The Thirteen Doors of Black House is a fast-paced mystery that is sure to hook young readers. A little bit spooky, and a little bit funny, it perfectly pairs the magic of vacationing with your family with the magic of an old, storied house.
Publication Date May 13th 2025 by Tundra Books
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Set in the ’60s at a summer camp, The Mystery Of The Haunted Dance Hall is a spooky, atmospheric middle-grade story for fans of classic ghost stories, unlikely friendships and intriguing mysteries.
Bee’s mom has a job in New York City for the summer, so Bee is being sent to summer camp. She’s not excited about it. Being around other people is hard for her, plus she knows nothing about campfires, she’s not a good swimmer and she’s never even been in a canoe.
When she first arrives, things go pretty much as she expected. The other girls either make fun of her or ignore her, and the woods surrounding the camp give her the creeps: she keeps hearing elusive music coming from somewhere in the distance, and there’s something unearthly about it.
But then Zippy comes on the scene — an oddball like Bee, but with a lot more confidence and hard-won knowledge gleaned from many summers spent at this exact camp. And most importantly, Zippy has also discovered mysterious behavior going on at the camp: the older girls from the Hawks cabin are sneaking out to do…something. They’re always exhausted, and their flashlight batteries are running out at an alarming rate. But their counselors are never woken up by girls sneaking out, no one on staff doing nightly rounds ever sees them outside the cabin, and even when they start doing a bed check at night, the girls all seem to be in their bunks.
Zippy and Bee are on the case, and with the help of an unlikely ally, they try to figure out what the Hawks are up to. But they soon discover there’s more going on than just the usual summer-camp hijinks. How are the Hawks getting out at night? What is the deal with the (very cute) mysterious boy who seems to be working with the groundskeeper? Where is the distant music coming from? And what does the reclusive camp founder know about all of it?
Publication Date May 20th 2025 by Scholastic Press
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There’s a ghost in the walls, and V must decide if it is an ally or an enemy. The wrong decision could destroy her and her family.
From Schneider Honor Award winning author Meg Eden Kuyatt comes a chilling and insightful novel-in-verse.
After a hard school year, V has been sent to her Grandma Jojo’s house for the summer in order to get away from it all. But unlike neurodivergent, artistic, sock-collecting V, Jojo is uptight, critical, and obsessed with her spotless house. She doesn’t get V at all. V is sure she’s doomed to have the worst summer ever.
Then V starts hearing noises from inside the walls of the house…Knocks, the sounds of a girl crying, and voices echoing in the night.
When V finds a ghostly girl hiding in the walls, they seem to have an immediate connection. This might be V’s chance to get back at her perfect grandmother by messing with her just a little bit.
But the buried secrets go much deeper – and are much more dangerous – than V even suspects. And they threaten to swallow her and her family whole if she can’t find a way to uncover the truth of the girl before it’s too late.
A contemporary novel-in-verse with a ghostly twist by the author of Good Different, this book is about the power – and danger – of secrets. The Girl In The Walls will grab you and not let go until the very last page.
Publication Date May 27th 2025 by Aladdin
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Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters meets Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces in this middle grade supernatural mystery following a girl whose discovery of a magical clearing near her summer camp ends up putting her best friend in danger.
Pina’s first trip to summer camp is a chance to escape her overbearing parents and finally go on an adventure with her best friend, Jo. But Camp Clear Skies hides a secret: a clearing in the deep woods the older kids call “the Glade.” After falling asleep here, Pina and Jo are able to enter one another’s dreams, transforming into superheroes and knights in shining armor, fighting back their nightmares in epic adventures.
At first, the friends think they’ve discovered a secret more exciting than any video game — until Pina’s nightmares start leaking out into waking life. Worse, something seems to have followed them back from those dreams…and whatever it is, it’s taking over Jo. Jo has always been the superhero in their friendship, but Pina can’t just abandon them to their fate.
To save her friend, Pina journeys deeper into the Glade than she ever has before, facing the worst of her own fears and Jo’s. There, she must confront the consciousness trying to steal her friend’s body and learn what happened twenty years ago that shut down Camp Clear Skies and changed the Glade forever.
Publication Date July 1st 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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From beloved graphic novelist Whitney Gardner comes a big-hearted, touching, and spooky coming-of-age story about a young aspiring songwriter who forms a ghostly partnership with the pop star who haunts her secondhand piano.
The piano is free, but fame has a price.
On the sleepy streets of Cascade Cove, lonely Margot knows that when she stumbles across a discarded synthesizer with a “not haunted” sign, she’s discovered the key to realizing her dreams. Determined to become a real songwriter and earn her absent father’s admiration, Margot dives headfirst into trying to gain followers and fans online. But her musical journey takes an unexpected turn when she realizes the (not haunted) piano is very much…haunted.
Enter Vision, teen pop sensation of 1979 whose untimely demise left her spirit intertwined with the keys of her synthesizer. Though Margot and Vision couldn’t be more different, the girls form an unlikely bond fueled by their shared passion for music.
But as Margot’s obsession with fame and recognition grows, she may come dangerously close to losing what she loves about music…and herself.
Publication Date July 15th 2025 by Aladdin
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A girl gets caught in a deadly game of hide-and-seek in this first book in the Ghosts of Fear Street series from the master of children’s horror, R.L. Stine — now with a reimagined look!
Do you believe in ghosts? Don’t say no until you take a walk down Fear Street. Past the woods, where no birds sing. Past the lake, where something lurks beneath the water. Past the cemetery, where everyone is dying to meet you.
New kid in town Randy discovers there’s much more at stake than she thought in the town’s annual after-dark game of hide-and-seek. Turns out, the seeker is the spirit of a long-dead kid from town, and anyone he tags “it” turns into a ghost! Even worse, the spectral seeker has a particular fondness for new kids…
Publication Date July 22nd 2025 by Walker Books US
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An atmospheric retelling of Frankenstein, full of adventure and as thrilling as a lightning strike.
Stitch and his friend Henry Oaf were brought to life by the genius Professor Hardacre. But when his wicked nephew takes over the laboratory, they soon discover that the new professor’s sights are set on Henry as his next experiment. Can Stitch and Henry escape his clutches and make their way in a world they were never built for — and that may only ever see them as monsters?
Literary yet accessible, warmhearted yet chillingly gothic, this beautiful novel, described by the London Times as “exceptional,” explores themes of life and death, friendship and acceptance, all through a page-turning adventure about what it means to be human.
Publication Date July 22nd 2025 by Quill Tree Books
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New York Times bestselling, acclaimed horror author Paul Tremblay delivers an unforgettable middle grade debut in this bone-chilling tale of an unsettling, unbreakable friendship.
When Casey Wilson’s parents tell him that his friend is coming for a sleepover, he has no idea who that might be. Ever since the Zoom Incident, everyone treats him like a pariah, and his tics are worse than ever.
When Morel appears, he’s not like any friend Casey has ever met. His skin is like clay, and he doesn’t speak. But Casey’s parents are charmed by the strange kid, and it’s nice to have someone to talk to besides his sister, Ally, who is away at college. As his normally loving parents grow distant from Casey, they gush and fawn over Morel. Casey knows something is wrong — but with no end in sight to the sleepover, he’s exhausted. And in the dark, out of the corner of his eye, Morel doesn’t look like a kid at all…
Publication Date July 22nd 2025 by Storytide
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The pulse-pounding sequel to Dead Good Detectives, from the UK’s bestselling author of the Land of Roar series. A hauntingly fun read!
Sid Jones successfully freed a pirate ghost named Bones from spending eternity trapped in a graveyard prison and, along with her best friend, Zen, helped Bones complete his unfinished business on Earth. But there are plenty more ghosts who are trapped in the in-between like Bones was. While they try to help the others, Sid, Zen, and Bones will have to avoid being caught by Old Scratch, the creepy specter who guards the prisoners.
When their ghost friends start disappearing bit by bit, the pressure is on to free them all before they disappear completely and become wraiths, never to be at peace. But Sid soon finds out that Old Scratch isn’t the only terrifying ghoul guarding the prisoners. With a mysterious figure tracking her every move, Sid will have to find the power within herself to save her friends — before she gets turned into a ghost, too.
Publication Date July 22nd 2025 by Random House Graphic
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A lonely boy must defend his fellow monsters, home, and absent-minded mad scientist dad from an angry mob and an evil carnival proprietor in this macabre and zany coming-of-age story!
Stitch Head was the first creation to be born — and the first to be forgotten.
He’s the adorably monstrous creation of Professor Erasmus Erasmus, a man who has breathed life into over three hundred creatures with all manner of fangs, tails, and eyes. But as good as Erasmus is at giving life, he’s equally bad at taking care of it. And so the duty falls to Stitch Head to ensure his siblings don’t tear Castle Grotteskew apart.
Despite having a handle on the threats within the castle, however, no one is prepared for the conniving Mr. F — the ringleader of a traveling circus of wonders and oddities—to show up at Grotteskew’s front door. He offers Stitch Head a new chance at family — one that will make him known by the whole world and forgotten by no one.
The terms of Mr. F’s deal may be glowing, but there’s something dark lurking behind his eyes. As Stitch Head will learn, not every monster is a meanie…and some seemingly normal folk can be the nastiest beasts of all!
Publication Date July 29th 2025 by Andrews McMeel Publishing
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Poe, Rice, and Shelley are three monster kids who hide from the outside world. But when they learn about “Halloween,” they realize it’s their one night of the year where they can be their true selves — scales and all. This quirky, heartwarming (or should we say, heart-worm-ing?) graphic novel is perfect for fans of Nimona and Sheets.
Poe was only a little monster when the hunters came for her parents. If it weren’t for one of the hunters taking pity on her, she knows she’d have met the same fate, too.
Ten years later, Poe lives with her two “siblings” — more monster kids in hiding — Rice and Shelley. Under her protective eye, Poe makes sure that the siblings have everything they need, but Rice and Shelley want more out of life than running away. So when their most recent home is slated to be demolished by a real estate group, the monster kids venture out to find their place, and end up getting whisked away to a Halloween party that changes their lives.
Debut creator Margaret Rae and Brian Nathanson (author of The Many Deaths of Barnaby James) are experts in the spooky, haunting craft. They’ve woven a story full of heart, humor, and hope — one that examines the masks in which we all live. With quirky, stunning illustrations by Beck Kubrick and colorist Tom Philipson, Masks is the quintessential graphic novel about accepting who you are, masks and all.
Perfect for fans of ND Stevenson’s Nimona and Brenna Thummler’s Sheets, with kid-friendly elements of The Witcher and a little bit of Peter Pan.
Publication Date July 29th 2025 by Storytide
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From the author of Peril At Price Manor comes a new spooky and bighearted stand-alone novel about two girls trying to figure out if they’re still friends who discover their vacation rental home is haunted.
It was the perfect winter break getaway…until the ghost showed up.
The last time Iris’s and Violet’s families went on a trip together, the girls turned their rental home into an epic haunted house — and Iris has brought all her spookiest supplies to the cottage they’re calling home for the next week, ready to re-create the magic they’d shared. But in the years since, Vee (don’t call her Violet) has become closed off and short-tempered and wants nothing to do with anyone, especially not her mom’s new boyfriend.
Vee’s bad mood feels inescapable in the cottage. And soon strange things are happening that make it seem like the house itself is angry, too — doors are slamming, rooms that were perfectly neat a second ago are suddenly a disaster, and Iris hears pacing footsteps long after everyone’s gone to sleep. Iris and Vee soon discover that the cottage has a secret history and that there’s no need to stage a haunted house after all…because they’re already in one.
Publication Date August 5th 2025 by Delacorte Press
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A sleepover at an amusement park turns into a night of terror in this scary middle school read from the New York Times bestselling author of Mine and Camp Scare.
Tonight is Brie’s chance to finally be accepted by the Ems — the most popular girls at school. If she can just keep one potentially reputation-ending secret under wraps, she’ll have the best night of her life, screaming on scary rides and running the Wildwoods amusement park with her new friends.
But when the Ems take a game of truth or dare too far, Brie ends up alone in a creepy abandoned section of the park. There, she meets a group of cool older teens that invite her to join them. They seem friendly enough.
Little does Brie know she’s about to come face to face with a reawakened evil that wants to take her on the ride of her life…make that her death.
Publication Date August 5th 2025 by First Second
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Welcome to the second venture into the Archives of the Unexplained, a middle grade fiction graphic novel series exploring historical and mysterious hair-raising events. In this dive we look into the House of Blood 1987 and the Guyra Ghost!
Creepy is having a comeback! Open the Archives of the Unexplained as we delve into unearthly real-life stories, explore the unknown, and examine the elusive facts of history’s many mysteries. Each book in this series takes one or two high-interest and relatively focused events and presents a lively, thorough, but open-ended examination of what occurred.
Minnie and Jackson’s new house has some stories to tell. As does Theo, the mysterious boy they meet in the park. Theo is full of unbelievable tales―the flying rocks and breaking glass of the Guyra Ghost house and the crimson-drenched floors of the Atlanta blood house. And what does this mysterious boy know about their new home? If only walls could talk.
Publication Date August 5th 2025 by HarperCollins
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Paloma Ferrer might just have things figured out. She’s settled in at her new school. Her little sister has been way less annoying than usual. And, best of all, she’s finally gotten a handle on her ability to speak to ghosts. Everything is going great…until Rafaela de la Cruz comes to town.
Everyone knows Rafaela. She and her family are stars of a paranormal reality show, and rumor has it that Rafaela has moved to town to get away from her life of fame. But with Rafaela around, Paloma knows no one will be interested in her seances anymore.
To make matters worse, chaos has begun to surround Paloma wherever she goes — doors slamming shut with no one behind them, objects flying across the room and smashing against the wall. Something destructive has latched onto Paloma, and if she can’t figure out what it is, she’s going to have more problems to deal with than just her waning popularity.
Middle school medium Paloma Ferrer and her Cuban-American family are back for an adventure filled with surprising friendships, mischievous spirits, and a whole lot of magical mayhem.
Publication Date August 5th 2025 by Scholastic Press
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A new terror descends upon the haunted town of Beacon Point in the sequel to Scarewaves by Internet horror superstar Trevor Henderson, complete with new spine-tingling illustrations!
It’s been six months since the events of Scarewaves, and in that time, Beacon Point has enjoyed an uncommon period of peace and quiet – but nothing lasts forever…
Mary, Byron, Rebecca, and Luke have done their best to move on with their lives and forget the strangeness that lurks beneath the surface of Beacon Point. But while Alan Graves, the enigmatic radio host, may be long gone, his specter looms large over the group – literally.
When strange but beautiful lights begin to appear in the night sky, the kids have good reason to be wary. Soon, they each encounter strange events that spell out paranormal activity. With the help of Alan Graves, now broadcasting from beyond the grave, the kids discover what’s really behind these strange encounters, and they’ll have to work harder than ever before to make it out of this alive…
Publication Date August 12th 2025 by Viking Books for Young Readers
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For fans of Small Spaces and Goosebumps comes a delightfully creepy tale of a girl who must defend her family home from a babysitter with a monstrous secret!
Gwen doesn’t want to admit that everything has been different since her mom died. There’s no time for all these feelings now that she has her younger brother and twin sisters to look after. Especially not after the move into their late grandmother’s creaky old house on a tiny, damp island where someone — or something — is waiting for them.
Esme Laverne. Gwen isn’t fooled by the beautiful babysitter with the hungry eyes and too-sharp teeth, even though everyone else is. How does no one notice the sinister threats beneath her sickly sweet words? It quickly becomes clear that if Gwen wants Esme gone, she’ll have to handle it herself.
In order to protect her family, Gwen will have to fight off terrifying creatures and literal nightmares come to life. But as rot begins to eat away at the house’s walls and Esme’s power grows, Gwen must face everything she’s been running from and embrace what she’s truly scared of before she can defeat the monster in her home…for good.
Publication Date August 12th 2025 by HarperCollins
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Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!
Get ready for a terrifying spin on some of literature’s most beloved tales — no story is safe! From Captain Hook’s run-in with dark magic to Sherlock Holmes narrowly escaping graveyard spirits to a happily never after for Cinderella, this horror anthology is anything but a bedtime story. In this terrifying new collection for young readers, the best-loved stories from the literary canon are revisited and reimagined with a deadly twist by some of the top authors working in middle grade today.
Featuring tales from New York Times bestselling authors Jonathan Maberry and Kelley Armstrong, Carlos Hernandez, Lisa Morton, Maurice Broaddus, and many others, this collection will haunt you long after you turn the last page. Read on — if you dare!
Publication Date August 19th 2025 by Union Square Kids
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For fans of M.T. Anderson and Sheets, here is a middle-grade graphic novel tale of understanding, compassion, and friendships that cross the line between life and death.
Casey is a young boy wandering the world as a spirit…but he’s not dead, as far as he knows. Stumbling upon the Ghost Circus, a bizarre traveling show filled with phantom performers who entertain other ghosts, Casey meets Creepy Girl, a ghost who cannot move on, and Polterghost, a silent sheet ghost.
The three strike up a tentative friendship, and realize that none of them truly fit in at the circus. Sensing a common cause, Casey and Creepy Girl agree to work together to find out why Casey has crossed over to the ghost realm, and what happened in Creepy Girl’s past that is holding her back. But as they investigate, they discover that the Ghost Circus itself is not all that it seems, and a bigger mystery is at hand.
Will the spectral trio be able to free the souls trapped in the Circus, or will they all go down in the end?
Publication Date August 26th 2025 by Clarion Books
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Few campers at Camp Apple Hill Farm have found the mysterious cabin rumored to be hidden deep in the woods — but those who have whisper of a mysterious woman who tells tales of horrors beyond imagination. Are you brave enough to visit Cabin 23?
When Gen Farías’s brother, Lorenzo, is arrested, everything changes. Gen’s neighbors look at him and his family with suspicion, his parents are distraught, and no one will tell Gen what’s happening. But the worst part is what only Gen knows: It’s all his fault. If he hadn’t forgotten to leave their bedroom window unlatched the night of Lorenzo’s arrest, maybe his brother would have never been caught. Guilt haunts Gen — guilt, and a terrifying shadow that crouches each night on the tree branch outside his window, watching him with penetrating eyes.
Gen’s parents decide to move to Los Astros, a beautiful village nestled in the mountains, to try to regain some sense of normalcy. But Los Astros, Gen soon discovers, is no ordinary town. There are creepy wicker figures on every lawn and strange stories of children who go missing. Beneath its idyllic facade, Los Astros has a secret—one Gen must uncover if he doesn’t want to go missing himself.
Publication Date August 26th 2025 by Aladdin
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Lindsay Currie’s Scritch Scratch meets The School for Invisible Boys in this fun romp of a middle grade novel about a newly dead boy who faces a spooky new school hiding an unearthly mystery.
After an unlucky collision between a coconut and the top of his head, twelve-year-old Finn joins the ranks of the recently deceased…and of the students at Phantom Academy. The academy is a spectral boarding school for underage ghosts finding their footing in the afterlife, and Finn is the new kid at school.
He doesn’t understand why ghosts have to take tests and do homework. Or why making friends doesn’t get any easier even when all the students have a very big thing in common. As the new class of middle schoolers get to know each other, it becomes clear something is happening behind the scenes of their new academy.
Can Finn and his classmates figure out their afterlife and crack the mystery?
Publication Date August 26th 2025 by Feiwel & Friends
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From R.L. Stine, the master of horror for young readers, comes three chilling novellas, all set in the small town of Hollow Hills.
Tony has a love of old comics…but when he goes poking around where he doesn’t belong, will he find himself discontinued? Kylie is thrilled to have a summer job at the local pet store…but will the store’s more gruesome creatures rub off on her? Teddy knows his new substitute teacher has a monstrous secret…but will telling the truth mean risking Mr. Howell’s wrath?
Laced with Stine’s signature humor and a hefty dose of nightmarish fun, Stinetinglers 4 is perfect for fans of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and Stine’s own Goosebumps books who want even more scares. These chilling tales prove that Stine’s epic legacy in the horror genre is justly earned. One thing’s for certain, the residents of Hollow Hills are in for a handful of horrors…they just don’t know it yet.
Publication Date August 26th 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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Rick Riordan meets R. L. Stine in this fast-paced debut middle grade horror packed with adventure about a Mexican American boy who starts hearing the voice of a haunted doll while visiting family in Mexico City.
Diego feels trapped. He’s confined in an arm cast, stuck with his tía and tío for a week in Mexico City, and smothered with the sickening fear that he’s the one who really caused his parents’ divorce. But most of all, he’s trapped in his own secret. Because ever since he got to Mexico City, he’s started having strange dreams of a doll calling his name.
Then Diego learns of La Isla de Muñecas, an island full of legendary magic that can make children’s wishes come true. If Diego can harness the power there, maybe he could fix everything that has gone wrong in his life.
So, with the help of two new friends, Diego takes a boat to the legendary island. From the moment the kids step ashore, nothing is as it seems — with dolls disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, Diego is more trapped than ever before, and as the night goes on, he’s not sure he can escape.
Publication Date August 26th 2025 by Aladdin
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A boy’s worst fears about the dentist may prove true in this bone-chilling middle grade horror perfect for fans of Goosebumps and Christopher Pike.
Eddie has always been afraid of the dentist. He even bit the last one he went to (by accident). And Dr. Yankum, the eccentric new dentist in town, isn’t making matters any better. He pulled two of Eddie’s teeth — teeth Eddie swears were perfectly healthy. And he finds out he’s not the only kid in town who has had unnecessary extractions. Who or what is Dr. Yankum? And what does he want with their teeth?
When the doctor starts dating Eddie’s mom, Eddie knows it’s only a matter of time before her teeth go missing too! Eddie and his best friend, Darryl, band together and put their sleuthing skills to the test to uncover the truth about Dr. Yankum. But they’re not prepared for what they find…
Publication Date August 26th 2025 by Delacorte Press
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Full of chills and twists, a twelve-year-old boy is thrilled that he’ll get to play endless games at his family’s arcade, but soon realizes he’s in the fight of his life when he’s forced to save himself and his possessed Uncle from a sinister video game.
Danny is spending a week with his Uncle Bill who runs a massive retro arcade called PixelWorks. His only plan is to play as many games as possible from open to close, but he wasn’t expecting to find the Holy Grail of arcade collectors, a gruesome looking game titled Grin.
Anyone who plays the game becomes surprisingly violent, and soon with the help of his friend Jodi and a knowledgeable videogame streamer, Danny realizes that Grin holds the soul of a dead serial killer.
Soon, the killer makes the jump into Bill’s body, and it’s up to Danny to figure out a way to stop him for good.
Publication Date August 26th 2025 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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From the creator of The Sleepover comes a horror graphic novel for kids about two brothers and their friends who set out to uncover what terrors may be lurking in their nearby creek. Perfect for fans of Goosebumps!
There’s nothing that Wade and his younger brother, Andrew, love more than fishing together. As summer draws to a close, they’re excited for one last hoorah before classes begin and they end up at different schools for the first time. But a typical fishing trip with their best friends, Camilla and Tommy, quickly takes a darker turn. As heavy fog creeps over the creek, Andrew hooks something big — too big. In a moment of chaos, the brothers end up overboard. There, in the murky depths, they get a glimpse of what waits at the end of the line. And it seems far more monster than fish.
Wade and the others wonder if the recent hurricane that hit the area may have stirred up more than just water, unleashing something horrible from below. Their parents don’t believe they saw anything at all. But if there really is something out there, the kids know someone needs to stop it. So, they decide to do what they do best and go fishing for their biggest catch yet: evidence of a real-life river monster. Will these four friends be able to prove everyone wrong and save the creek, or are they about to discover they’re in way over their heads…and in deep trouble?
Publication Date August 26th 2025 by Storytide
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The Ghost Show is coming…are you ready? Three friends must face their deepest fears in this spine-tingling horror novel by USA Today bestselling author J.W. Ocker that’s perfect for fans of R.L. Stine and Mary Downing Hahn.
When mysterious ads for the Ghost Show appear around town, nobody can tell what it is. A band? A movie? A game? But that magic word — ghost — excites Hazel Gold, or Zel to her friends. As founder of her school’s Creepy Club (three members strong!), she’s always looking for paranormal activity.
Turns out the Ghost Show is a black, five-story skull that appears on the edge of town as a supernatural attraction. Stepping inside, the Creepy Club is greeted by the eccentric Amadeus Everest Mancer, a self-proclaimed ghost catcher who guides them through an aquarium full of vaporous floaty things — sheets that cover gobs of dripping red goo.
Then Mancer offers Zel what she’s always wanted: the chance to see a real ghost. But it turns out to be more than she bargained for. To stop him, the Creepy Club must fight a massive ghost infestation and free the trapped souls within, culminating in chilling battle that blurs the line between reality and the supernatural.
Publication Date September 2nd 2025 by Scholastic Press
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The next evolution in storytelling from New York Times bestselling, Newbery Medal Winning author Erin Entrada Kelly!
Twelve-year-old Lila has two goals for the summer:
1. Win back the friends who ditched her for being “too dramatic”
2. Stop being so dramaticBut then Lila’s estranged Grandpa Clem dies, throwing a wrench in her plans. Now she’ll have to spend the summer in Ohio while her parents decide what to do with Grandpa Clem’s creepy Victorian Inn. It’s supremely unfair. How can she show off the “new and improved” Lila from so far away?
Even worse, strange things keep happening. En route to Ohio, the family gets into a scary car accident. No one’s hurt, but the remainder of the trip is… odd. At every rest stop, Lila sees people in weird old-fashioned clothes. People no one else can see or hear…
Lila convinces herself it’s just her overactive imagination until the day of the funeral when she spots an old man sitting in her grandfather’s favorite chair. She does a double take – it’s him, Grandpa Clem. He tells Lila that he didn’t die of a heart attack: he was murdered. Possibly by someone who wants to control the inn. Because it’s not a normal bed & breakfast: it’s a portal between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. A hotel for ghosts passing onto the afterlife.
With the help of her skeptical brother, Caleb, and their new ghost-obsessed neighbor, Teddy, Lila – the girl who’s vowed to be less dramatic – must uncover her grandfather’s killer AND stop the evil spirits desperate to make their way back into the human world.
Enter the world of The Last Resort! Ghosts from the story will emerge from the pages of the book, allowing readers to talk to spirits from the past and help solve the mystery!
Publication Date September 2nd 2025 by Storytide
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In this beachside ghost story that’s perfect for fans of Erin Entrada Kelly and Wednesday, twelve-year-old Barnaby is forced to spend his summer helping his grandpa move, only to be confronted by Maxwell — a moody ghost boy with some unfinished business.
Barnaby had grand plans for his summer. He should’ve been spending his days watching movies and gaming with his friends. Instead, his parents drag him to the boring beach town of Sunnyside to help his grandpa move.
Just when he thinks this summer can’t get any worse, a ghost boy named Maxwell shows up in their vacation rental home to kick Barnaby and his family out.
Barnaby tries everything to get rid of Maxwell on his own. But when his attempts fail and Maxwell actually becomes stronger, Barnaby realizes that there’s only one solution to his ghost troubles: helping Maxwell figure out his unfinished business. If he doesn’t, the ghost might ditch the rental home for Barnaby’s body instead.
With the clock counting down to the end of the trip, Barnaby is forced to enter an uneasy truce with Maxwell to find the truth — or be haunted forever.
Publication Date September 2nd 2025 by Graphix
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While staying with his great-aunt Kathryn, Evan Ross visits an eerie old toy store. Among the dusty shelves, he finds a can of something called “Monster Blood.” The odd, sticky substance really does look like the blood of a creature. It has a greenish glow and sometimes feels warm to the touch. But the most alarming thing about the toy ooze is the way it keeps growing ― overflowing its container, then a bathtub, then filling up a whole trash can. Evan worries that all that growing has given the Monster Blood a monstrous appetite…
Publication Date September 9th 2025 by Union Square Kids
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When Martin’s great-aunt brings him an unusual pair of shoes, Martin is determined to find the strange marketplace where she bought them — the Black Market, a constantly relocating swap meet where the world’s strangest and most dangerous items are exchanged by some very suspicious (and disguised) characters. Though his aunt has sworn him to secrecy, he enlists the help of his best friend Jess to find the Black Market on Halloween. Soon, Martin trades his shoes for the legendary Bag of Dirty Tricks and discovers that not all fun is good and harmless.
Author-artist Jed Alexander’s debut novel is filled with scares, determined, relatable kids, and uncanny pranks; accompanied by Alexander’s classic-style and atmospheric illustrations.
Publication Date September 9th 2025 by Abrams Fanfare
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Author-illustrator Nathan Hale tells some of the spookiest stories in US history in Bones and Berserkers, the 13th book in the #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novel series.
Bones and Berserkers is the unlucky 13th book in the New York Times bestselling Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series, and you know what that means? It’s time to gather around the gallows and tell the spookiest stories in US history!
In this chilling collection, learn about the devil baby who terrorized New Jersey; a haunted well full of restless Confederate soldiers; a demon cat whose appearance has been an omen for some of the darkest days in American history; and a massacre by a murderous butler whose motives remain unknown to this day.
Full of a frightful mix of folk tales and facts, this newest entry is sure to fascinate readers…if they’re brave enough to read to the end.
Publication Date September 16th 2025 by Delacorte Press
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Abandoned in a cemetery and raised in a funeral home, a girl who can see and smell the supernatural must solve the mystery of a priceless heirloom stolen from her family’s business. Perfect for fans of Netflix’s Wednesday and Beetlejuice!
13-year-old Mystery — who was abandoned in a cemetery and raised in a funeral home — is plagued by sleep paralysis and the smell of ghosts, but she’s used to that. Even though her life might seem “strange” on the outside, she loves it.
That is until a priceless heirloom goes missing and her family’s funeral home is in danger of being shut down. To clear her Tia’s good name, Mystery embarks on an adventure to figure out what really happened to the misplaced necklace.
But to do so, she must contend with the angry patriarch of the town’s wealthiest family, a sleep paralysis demon, a graverobber, and the ghastly half-vampire, half-ghost that’s lurking in the Olde Ellis Town Cemetery.
Publication Date September 23rd 2025 by Delacorte Press
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From award-winning author Tehlor Kay Mejia comes a spine-tingling tale of transformation, mystery, and the monsters we face — inside and out.
What big teeth…
For twelve-year-old Evan, summertime has always meant carefree days with her family and unlimited time with her best friend, Billie. This year, with her parents on the brink of divorce, she’s staying at Billie’s summer cabin. But Billie only seems to care about crushes these days, and to make matters worse, Evan’s mom’s health obsession has climbed to new heights. The more Evan tries to appease her mom and control her hunger, the sharper it seems to get, until it threatens to drag her under.
As Evan tries to cling to the good things in her life, a sinister presence in the woods begins to stir. Kids are scared, and adults think everyone should go home. Determined to stay, Evan starts hunting for the creature and begins to wonder — is it just her imagination, or is the monster inside her?
Publication Date September 23rd 2025 by Feiwel & Friends
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To save the only life he’s ever known, a tween vampire has to destroy it first in Defanged, a new speculative middle grade from author H.E. Edgmon.
Lux Priddy is a regular 12-year-old: he goes to school, hangs out with his best friend, Emma, and loves to pet every dog he sees. Except for one little thing – Lux is a vampire. And even though vampires came out of the coffin and into the public eye before he was even born, not everyone is happy about it. So when a group called Vampirism Sucks develops a cure, most people are thrilled. Lux? Not so much.
Humans might think his life is miserable, but he’s never known anything else. And he doesn’t think he even wants to be human. After all, what makes being a human better than being a vampire? After an epic escape out the window of a Vampirism Sucks facility, Lux finds himself in a secret underground vampire city – one filled with “bad” vampires, the kind his parents have always warned him about. But even though he’s been taught to fear them, the people of Nox Urbus are the only ones that seem to understand him. And when the so-called cure stops being optional, Lux is forced to make a choice: go back home and submit to the treatment, or stand up and fight a corrupt system for the right to be himself.
Publication Date September 30th 2025 by HarperCollins
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For fans of Not Quite A Ghost and Ghost Squad, acclaimed middle grade author Ellen Oh of Spirit Hunters and an APALA Honoree delivers a new spooky novel about young hero Rory and the creepy house next door. Filled with scary spirits, mysterious noises, and malevolent forces, the house has tormented many souls, and Rory must do everything he can to prevent the new neighbors from becoming its next victims. We Need Diverse Books cofounder Ellen Oh delivers another heart-pounding story that you won’t be able to put down.
Home is where the sinister lives. Rory Parker knows not to step a foot in, on, or around the house next door. He’s seen things creeping in the shadows, has had encounters with spirits, and lost a best friend to the house’s malevolence. But when his new neighbors, Jack and his lovable family, move into the house next door, Rory makes it his duty to protect them at all costs.
But the vicious forces lying within the house are plotting something evil, something that puts Jack’s little sister in extreme danger. Soon, Rory understands he’ll need the help of his new friend and some friendly ghosts in order to stand a chance at defeating whatever lurks within its walls for good. But what exactly lives in the house next door, and will Rory and Jack find out in time to save the day, or can its evil never be evicted?
Publication Date September 30th 2025 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
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The Lost Library meets Not Quite A Ghost in this middle grade horror novel about a girl uncovering secrets about her new, haunted home.
The only thing worse than having ghost hunters for parents is having fake ghost hunters for parents. Luna Catalano would know. Her moms are haunted house flippers who use their home reno skills and pretend psychic powers to turn spooky old houses into ghost-free modern homes. Not only does their job require the family to move all the time – meaning Luna is completely friendless – but the only thing haunting any of those houses is bad decor. For once Luna wishes there was an actual, for-real ghost.
When they move yet again, Luna isn’t expecting much. But this house feels…different. Things start out innocent enough – items not where they should be, strange noises – but soon things turn sinister. Her moms are waking up with cuts and bruises, and disturbing drawings showing them with even worse injuries are being left in Luna’s room. With the help of her next-door neighbors and a mysterious woman who seems to know a lot about the home, Luna starts to piece together what exactly happened in that house before she moved in. But not everything is as it seems. In order to save her moms, Luna will have to get the story right before everything goes completely wrong.
Stonewall Honor-winning author Justine Pucella Winans returns with another middle grade horror with heart about friendship, family, and the stories we tell when real life feels too scary.
Publication Date October 7th 2025 by Groundwood Books
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A collection of jaunty and mischievously unsettling poems for middle-grade readers from award-winning poet Shannon Bramer and artist Cindy Derby, who brought us Climbing Shadows (NCTE Notable Poetry Book and Verse Novel, shortlisted for the Rocky Mountain Book Award).
Shannon’s twenty-eight poems in Nightmare Jones send delightful shivers down the spine. Written in a variety of styles and forms, they encompass magic realism and influences from fairy tales, folklore and ghost stories, alongside more contemporary explorations of unusual creatures, misunderstood monsters and commonplace human fears (both ridiculous and sublime!). Cindy Derby’s evocative line and watercolor illustrations inhabit these weird and wonderful works with her characteristic flair for the strange and witchy wonders of the world.
In these poems what makes a person scared might also make them sad, or even make them laugh, as Bramer writes from a place of wonder, empathy, curiosity and reverence for the deep dark woods we all have inside us. If you’ve ever wanted to spend some time in a witch’s garden or wondered what spiders do with our worries, this is the poetry book for you!
Publication Date October 14th 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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Sel struggles to adjust to his new normal as an insidious new illness threatens Tremorglade in this edge-of-your-seat third book in the Bite Risk trilogy that’s The Last Kids On Earth meets Stranger Things.
Sometimes the cure is worse than the sickness, and the only thing that spreads faster than a fever is suspicion…
Sel Archer and his friends just saved Tremorglade. Again. But Sel didn’t walk away completely unscathed this time. Now he has exciting but dangerous new Ripper abilities to keep on a leash, just as clamors for a cure to the Rippocalypse begin to grow louder by the day.
But when the hunt for a cure takes a dangerous turn, suddenly the Frozen Fever isn’t just a myth. It’s real…and it’s spreading. Sel and his friends will have to act fast to stop it before it arrives in Tremorglade, and his new abilities just might be the answer. Not everyone agrees, though, and when the Town of the Turned turns on him, will anyone listen in time to be saved from transforming into something much worse than a Ripper?
Publication Date October 14th 2025 by Little Simon
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A simple pet-sitting job turns into a beast of a time in this twenty-sixth installment of the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol series!
Andres and Desmond are pet-sitting a toy poodle for a night. How hard could it be? But when the dog transforms into a monster with three heads, the Ghost Patrol realizes they may have bitten off more than they can chew!
With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol chapter books are perfect for emerging readers.
2 Responses
Do you have a rating system for most shrieks (or something) to indicate the scary level?
Love your Blog! Thank you for doing this.