Today’s post is sponsored by I. M. Eerie and The I Scream Truck!
Title The I Scream Truck
Author I. M. Eerie
Intended Target Audience Middle Grade
Publication Date August 25th 2026 by Aladdin
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Asking too many questions about the new ice cream truck puts a boy on thin ice in this entry in the bone-chilling middle grade horror series An Eerie Tale, perfect for fans of Goosebumps and Christopher Pike.
John’s sister has always warned him that curiosity killed the cat. But he can’t help it — nosiness is in his nature. So when Mr. Dandy’s neighborhood ice cream truck is suddenly replaced by Mr. Twisty’s horror-themed truck, John has questions. Did Mr. Dandy really retire to Florida? Why does Mr. Twisty seem as sinister as his truck? Something about him makes John’s blood run cold.
Putting his curiosity to work, John discovers Mr. Twisty is making mysterious nighttime deliveries to his neighbors. Who needs ice cream at two o’clock in the morning? Clearly something strange is happening, and John is determined to figure out what. But sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong might have serious consequences…
It’s nearly that time of the year again! As the days begin to grow shorter and we unpack our coziest sweaters and enjoy glasses of fresh apple cider (preferably around a warm, crackling fire), I thought it would be fun to once again explore the scary (and not-so-scary) books published this year to help make sure our to-be-read lists are ready for spooky season. I know readers’ mileage may vary when it comes to how frightening they’d like their books to be, so 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 and Halloween 2025 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 6th 2026 by Scholastic Inc.
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Twin sisters. One dead, one living. But which is which in the latest horror novel from master storyteller K.R. Alexander.
Chelsea has now traded places with her evil twin… and finds herself trapped in a ghost space while Angelica takes over. Is it possible for her to get her life back?
Publication Date January 6th 2026 by Delacorte Press
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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Locked Rooms, when a centuries old crypt key is lost — unleashing a dark force — it’s up to the son of the local crypt keeper to end the haunting for good.
Thanks to his mother’s job at a local graveyard, twelve-year-old Will Stone has some unique talents. For one, he knows exactly how a burial vault works and why they’re used. For another, he’s great at genealogy and can decode centuries old records. Not your normal every day after school activities, that’s for sure!
But when a centuries old crypt key is lost, his normally peaceful existence at Graceland cemetery is shattered. Trees wither and die. The lake becomes covered with a sinister green slime that threatens to choke out anything living in it. And suddenly, the graveyard’s reputation isn’t the only thing in jeopardy…Will and his friends’ safety is, too.
Suddenly, Will is forced to consider that the lost key might be an even bigger problem than he originally thought. A dark force has been unleashed within the cemetery gates, and along with his friends Stash, Michelle, and Henry, Will must use his unique skill set to figure out which restless spirit is draining the graveyard of life, and how to end the haunting for good.
Publication Date January 13th 2026 by Hachette Children’s
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The perfect book for adults and children to share, Monsters is set to become a bone-chilling classic that will lurk under every bed!
Ever wondered what terrorised the Scape Ore swamp in 1980s South Carolina? Or who visits the naughty children in Northern Europe to punish them on Christmas Eve? Or how bloated undead feeders got upgraded to a shape-shifting castle-dwelling Count?
From well-known and well-feared monsters like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, to the lesser-known, but just as weird and wonderful Japanese Sea Serpent and Chinese Hopping Vampires, this terrific book is the must-have guide to monsters from all over the world.
Each monster is brought to life in a bright and bold way by the fantastically stylish illustrator of the bestselling Stories For Boys Who Dare To Be Different series, Quinton Winter. These illustrations feature alongside the fascinating folklore and history which surrounds the monsters, researched by author and monster enthusiast, Sarah Banville.
Get ready to dive into Monsters, but beware of what you might find there…
Publication Date January 13th 2026 by Little, Brown Ink
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Enter the Bizarre Bazaar, a phantasmagorical graphic novel series sure to enchant or entrap its curious customers! In this spine-tingling mystery, there’s evil lurking in the shadows just outside the Buford family farm!
Lucy and Frida Buford have never stepped foot outside their family farm in the Carolina Inner Banks. It’s the dead of July, and in the midst of yet another boring summer making jam for the family business, the girls are clamoring to be taken to the elusive town they’ve never been allowed to visit. Their father has always said that the outside world is a dangerous place, but danger is closer to home than they even know.
There’s something in the nearby woods uprooting trees, scaring fish from the water, and scratching at Lucy’s window in the middle of the night. Lucy can’t shake the feeling that there’s a monster out and about — one with two pointy fangs who only comes out at night.
It’s up to these two sisters to discover what this monster wants. But the further they stray from home, the weirder things become. What’s really going on beyond the Buford family farm?
Publication Date January 27th 2026 by Little Simon
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A fearless eight-year-old runs his own ghost patrol in this graphic novel based on the first book of the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol chapter book series!
Andres Miedoso just wants everything to be normal-boring. But after moving to a new town called Kersville, it quickly becomes clear that this place is anything but ordinary. His new neighbor, Desmond Cole, runs a Ghost Patrol, taking on any monster-catching job no matter how spooky, icky, or risky it might be.
Grown-ups always have a lot of advice for new kids in town. But they never say what to do when the house—no, the entire town—is haunted!
Perfect for emerging readers, this full-color graphic novel tells the spooky story better than ever before.
Publication Date January 27th 2026 by Little Simon
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Liv Livingston and her friends are off to a weekend camp retreat in book six of the Spirited graphic chapter book series.
Liv Livingston packs for a supernatural weekend getaway at the lake! The van Pires have invited her and Howl to the lake home for campfires, swimming, and spooky tales of what lurks in the forest outside of town. But nothing is ever that simple in the ghostly town of Gloomsdale. Strange footprints surround their campsite. And the lake shifts and bubbles, as if something dwells underneath…ready to surface.
Publication Date February 3rd 2026 by Scholastic Press
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For fans of India Hill Brown and K. R. Alexander, a chilling ghost story about the way history haunts us.
“This house is in my skin, my bones, my blood. It holds generations of our souls.”
Maggie doesn’t mind moving in the middle of the school year. It’s not as though she had any friends to say goodbye to.
And when she arrives at Oak Grove, she’s not at all surprised to find that the town has been whispering about her family for hundreds of years. The Havercroft women have always had a reputation for being “different”.
Only maybe the town is right. Her family and their house are haunted. The walls breathe, the floorboards whisper, and the ghosts of her ancestors are trying to break free.
They’re trapped, and Maggie is the only person who can free them.
Publication Date February 3rd 2026 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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From the team behind the New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Medal–winning Creepy Carrots! and its sequels comes the second entry in a spin-off chapter book series in which Jasper Rabbit tells the story of a badger who discovers broccoli can bite back!
Jasper the Rabbit is back! A little older and wiser, he collects creepy stories to share as cautionary tales. If you’re ready for some chills and chuckles alike, tune in as Jasper weaves the yarn of Thadeus Badger and the sticky situation he found himself in.
Now, Thadeus is a typical badger. He and his best friend, Oliver Possum, love burgers as much as they dislike exercise. And they hate eating veggies even more. But when they make a deal with Oliver’s parents to eat an entire salad…well let’s just say the chompers might soon become the chomped. This is a creepy tale after all and even the healthiest things can turn on you.
Join Jasper and Thadeus in this second Creepy Tale chapter book and learn from Thadeus’s mistakes before it’s too late!
Publication Date February 10th 2026 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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In the sequel to darkly inventive The Labyrinth of Souls, a girl must face a mysterious monster made of nothing but darkness and shadows that no one else can see.
For fans of Tim Burton, V.E. Schwab, and stories with a dash of the strange and macabre.
Ix Tatterfall is no stranger to the odd and the eerie. Her unusual lineage provides unique abilities, such as a strong Darklight power and unencumbered travel into the deadly Labyrinth of Souls. But even Ix is unprepared for the Nowhere Beast, a creature that threatens to consume everything she holds dear.
When the ghosts of Candle Corps past begin to rise from the catacombs, Ix and her friends are called to partake in an ancient magical tradition called the Reckoning, meant to reinforce the seals of protection at their magical school that hold the most dangerous Nightmare creatures from the Labyrinth at bay.
But the Reckoning quickly transforms into more than a test of their courage and skill; it is a race against time to save their world from the monstrous shadow beast created from the hopeless depths of Nothing from a land called Nowhere.
With the help of a mischievous Sorrow, a shadowy Scavenger Prince, and her loyal friends, Ix must navigate the pits of loneliness and confront her deepest fears. But does she know that the darkness inside her heart can be just as treacherous as the monster lurking in the shadows?
Publication Date February 17th 2026 by Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
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From the master of spine-tingling horror for young audiences, A Nightmare on Nightmare Street is full of strange sounds, terrifying visions, and things that go bump in the night.
Twelve-year-old Joe Ferber, his sister Sadie, and their parents have just moved into a house that has all the hallmarks of a horror movie–tombstones in the basement, a creepy doll lying around, strange noises in the wall, and so on. As Joe tries to fall asleep on the first night, his nightlight begins to flash and change colors, and the creepy doll appears in his bed…and then twelve-year-old Shawn Hannigan wakes up from a dream.
Shawn and his little sister, Addie, are seemingly living in the same house with their mother. But when they arrive at their new school for the first day, the teachers are all wearing animal masks, and the principal’s office is pitch black and full of noises. At the end of the day, a stranger claiming to be Shawn’s mom picks him up and tells him he doesn’t have a sister…
As more and more strange things happen to each of them, Shawn and Joe have to figure out what is real, and what is a nightmare…
Publication Date March 3rd 2026 by Scholastic Press
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India Hill Brown meets Sharon Draper in a spooky, poignant, tour-de-force from Shakirah Bourne – an ode to Black Boy friendships, the richness of Caribbean history, and the power that comes from reclaiming your past.
Jermaine is NOT destined to be popular at his new elite school. First, he’s the poorest kid in class – no phone, no cool sneakers, no chance. Second, he loves science and can’t keep himself from gushing about geology. But after being bullied at his old school, he’s desperate for the status and protection that comes from joining the “Turbo Jets”…even if that means abandoning Brody, a fellow outsider who truly wants to be Jermaine’s friend.
As part of a hazing ritual, the Turbo Jets dare Jermaine to break into the notorious “haunted Chase Vault” – the crypt that once housed one of the cruelest enslavers in Barbados and his family. Then they lock him inside as a “joke.”
Luckily, Jermaine makes it out unscathed. There’s just one problem.
Someone else left the crypt with him.
Someone desperate to learn how she died…and get her revenge.
Jermaine is relieved someone else can see the ghost: his ex-best friend Brody. But freeing her won’t be easy. It means ditching the Turbo Jets, teaming up with Brody, and unearthing ugly secrets from the island’s colonial past. Will Jermaine really risk everything to help the suffering spirit find peace?
Publication Date March 3rd 2026 by Scholastic Paperbacks
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Siblings Harper and Dylan are reluctantly spending their summer at Camp Bigfoot. Run by an eccentric guy everyone calls Uncle Squatch, Camp Bigfoot is a classic summer camp with wooden cabins, forest trails, lots of outdoor activities-and the occasional Bigfoot sighting.
Uncle Squatch loves wearing a Bigfoot costume and trying to scare unsuspecting campers. But when a Bigfoot is spotted under a full moon, panic fills the camp. Is this Uncle Squatch’s usual prank, or a real Bigfoot? Harper and Dylan are scared to find out!
Publication Date March 24th 2026 by Greenwillow Books
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Ferris meets Ghosts of Tupelo Landing in this cozy ghost story about family, environmental activism, food, and friendship.
Basil Theriot has spent her entire life in New Orleans — in her family’s famed Cajun restaurant in the French Quarter, really — but she’s never been out to the bayou where her grandfather grew up. She’s also never seen a ghost, even though dozens of ghost tours pass by the restaurant every day and her best friend Tommy is determined to be a ghost hunter.
But then Grandpere’s ghost appears. And he has a mission for her.
Basil wouldn’t mind being haunted if Grandpere could be helpful and share his secret recipe that might save the restaurant. But instead, he’s intent on connecting Basil with her Cajun heritage. He sends her out to the bayou to meet his friends: an airboat captain, a shrimper, and a scientist rebuilding Louisiana’s fast-disappearing coastline.
For fans of Gracie Under The Waves and A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall, Grandpere’s Ghost Swamp has a little bit of everything: a pinch of spookiness, a dash of environmental activism, and a heaping of family.
Publication Date April 7th 2026 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
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This new spooky mystery series by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Goosebumps.
Olive Oakes loves a good mystery. She keeps a notebook with her at all times, ready to jot down observations about anything that seems out of the ordinary. Along with her cousin Eli, Olive is always looking to follow the clues.
When Olive and her family visit a town called Whispering Woods, she uncovers a strange backstory to the traveling carnival that comes through the area once a year. With rumors of missing kids and ghost sightings, it’s the perfect opportunity for Olive to investigate! The people of Whispering Woods are very secretive, but Olive is ready to solve the mystery of the haunted carousel.
Publication Date April 7th 2026 by Abrams Fanfare
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Pixar animators Sequoia Blankenship and Rob Thompson deliver a madcap adventure through Hollywood as Feo, a down-on-his-luck chupacabra, must transform into a famous movie monster to save his hometown
This heartfelt debut graphic novel from two seasoned Pixar animators is a funny, fast-paced adventure about the power of friendship and the importance of believing in yourself.
When the tiny Mexican town of Cabrito Viejo is in danger of being bought out by a nefarious film studio, Feo, the mythical but feisty chupacabra, teams up with Camila, a plucky mechanic and local monster enthusiast, to hatch a plan to save their home.
Inspired by her father’s collection of monster movies, the pair head to Hollywood to convince famed screenwriter Doctor Acula to put Feo’s name up in lights. But Feo isn’t exactly the terrifying fiend that local legends make him out to be.
Can the unlikely duo really save the village by making the chupacabra Hollywood’s next great monster?
Publication Date April 21st 2026 by Penguin Workshop
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Beware of Cabin 13! When a devious ghost possesses Leah’s doll, she must face her biggest fear—befriending the teen girls in her cabin to save the other campers from an evil spirit.
Twelve-year-old Leah is nervous to attend sleepaway camp for the first time. She’s worried about meeting new friends, living out in the woods, and being away from her family—the totally normal, non-supernatural scary stuff that all new campers think about.
But Leah didn’t expect to also have to fear the ghost in Cabin 13. It’s a good thing she brought Beverly, her beloved doll, for comfort…
Between getting picked on by the older mean girls in her cabin, participating in a séance gone terribly wrong, and befriending (then unfriending) a possessed doll, Leah’s summer at Camp Cottontail goes from boring to straight-up spooky!
Publication Date April 21st 2026 by Aladdin
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A girl who’s used to battling the monster of her own mind discovers there’s a sinister evil lurking in her small town in this atmospheric paranormal novel that’s perfect for fans of Tracy Wolff and Maggie Stiefvater.
Stories of dark magic and even darker creatures have always swirled about Mina Murray’s town of London, Georgia. Mina knows they aren’t true—and are likely perpetuated only to drive the quirky tourist-trap ghost tours of downtown—but that doesn’t stop her from collecting the stories and drawing them in her sketchbook. Something about the possibility of real monsters helps her deal with the monster in her own head: her OCD, which convinces her danger lurks everywhere.
But when a body is found drained of blood and a classmate goes missing, Mina is thrust into a tangled web of London secrets…that she seems to be at the center of.
Publication Date May 19th 2026 by HarperCollins
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Get ready for a monstrously good time in Camp Scream #1: Shriek Week, the laugh-out-loud, lightly spooky start to a new series perfect for fans of the Tales from Cabin 23 series. With black-and-white illustrations throughout and just the right mix of chills and chuckles, this is one summer camp you’ll never forget!
Publishers Weekly raves that “classic kid-meets-monster mayhem and fast-paced narration pave the way for a goofy yet sincere adventure about learning how to fit in and finding the courage to stand out!”
Max and his best friend Kiana can’t wait for their first-ever sleepaway camp. But when they arrive, there’s one tiny surprise: they’re the only humans… and everyone else is a monster! There are vampire bunkmates, werewolf counselors, and a mummy in arts and crafts.
With the big talent show just days away, Max and Kiana will have to navigate spooky surprises, creepy creatures, and ghoulish games. Can two ordinary kids survive a week at Camp Scream—and maybe even make some monster-sized friendships along the way?
Camp has never been this creepy—or this fun!
Publication Date May 26th 2026 by Astra Young Readers
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In this riveting middle-grade fantasy, New York Times bestselling author David Elliott and E.M. Elliott tell the story of a forest-dwelling boy forced to confront the mysteries of his life.
Trapped in a dark forest with his cold-hearted parents, Bonebag leads a cruel and isolated existence. However, he feels deep in his bones that things weren’t always this way: he has known happiness before. Why does it feel like it was in a past life?
When Bonebag discovers a locket that burns him to the touch, and a ghostly girl beckons him into the deep woods, he must grapple with the riddle of where he came from and how he came to be. Only then can he begin to rewrite his fate.
From New York Times bestselling author David Elliott and his son, E.M. Elliott, this powerful middle-grade fantasy will take readers on a quest that tackles the mystery of belonging with high-octane twists and turns along the way.
Publication Date June 2nd 2026 by Chicken House
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From award winning author Lucy Strange, The Island At The Edge Of Night is a dark, suspenseful mystery set on an island where science and magic blur and danger and secrets unfold.
Faye Fitzgerald does not remember what she’s done to land herself at the Auk Island School. She remembers so little about the night that changed her life. Growing up surrounded by nature with her botonist father in the Forest House, she can’t cope with the bleak and treeless island where the school sits in seclusion.
Where she and the other children are treated more like prisoners than pupils.
While her fellow students begin to defy the horrible headmaster within the walls of the school, something is begging for Faye’s attention on the outside. “The Knife,” the only mountain on the island, is calling for her. And it will draw her into a web of secrets that she could have never thought possible.
In this gripping mystery that weaves in and around the line between science and magic, a murdered prince, a majestic stag, and a key that will open any door lead Faye on a dangerous journey across the desolate landscape to uncover what happened and the truth about her father’s scientific discoveries.
The Island At The Edge Of Night is a masterfully written, gripping mystery rooted in family and the healing power of nature from the Queen of Gothic.
Publication Date June 2nd 2026 by Aladdin
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A leader-in-training at a beloved summer camp must figure out how to stop a decades-old curse in this middle grade companion novel to the “tightly paced” (Publishers Weekly) The Ghost of Spruce Point.
Frankie Wilkins waits all year for her favorite thing — summers in coastal Maine. This time, she and her best friend, Parker, are Leaders-in-Training at Camp Asticou on nearby Walker Pond. For Frankie, it’s not just about proving her skills but also the hope that a successful LIT run will convince her dad and stepmom to stay in the area, rather than move them all to Long Island.
During their first night there, the LITs learn about a local legend called The Bride of Rippowam. A young woman named Eugenie fell in love with a sailor, but after a tragic accident, she and her fiancé, Raleigh, both drowned. And weird happenings have occurred at the camp ever since, with incidents increasing in recent years.
People suspect that something is keeping Eugenie from officially crossing over, and Frankie realizes Eugenie is trying to send urgent messages about what really happened with her and Raleigh. With their campers in danger, Frankie, Parker, and the rest of the LITs are determined to help Eugenie cross over. But are they willing to break almost every camp rule to do so, and will they find what Eugenie is after — and why — before tragedy strikes again?
Publication Date July 7th 2026 by Yellow Jacket
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The end is nigh. Bring snacks!
When Sebastian accidentally releases a long-imprisoned vampire-goddess after a rough day at school, he sets off a chain of events that will result in the destruction of reality as he knows it, unless he can find a way to stop it.
Seventh-grader Sebastian Onizuka is having a terrible Friday. He overslept after making a video game, spilled orange juice on his pants so it looked like he peed on himself, and then accidentally freed a vampire-goddess from a cursed stone obelisk in the detention room.
Wait, what?
Centuries ago, twelve-year-old goddess Maggorthulax was imprisoned to stop her from devouring the universe. But now that she’s free, Maggorthulax–or Maggie as she likes to be called–is going to destroy reality during the upcoming solar eclipse.
Despite being the Princess of the Abyss, Maggie would rather eat shrimp chips, blip bullies in and out of existence, and binge-watch episodes of The Adventures of Toilet Man than fulfill her evil destiny. Besides, she’s never had a friend before meeting Sebastian, so she’d like to hang out a little longer before wiping out the universe. There’s just one catch…there’s nothing she can do to stop the end of the world.
In this laugh-out-loud book about friendship and bravery, Sebastian and Maggie have six days to find an ancient spell, navigate middle school, and save the world.
Publication Date July 7th 2026 by Scholastic Press
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Two friends must dig into their town’s forgotten past and uncover the forgotten truth — before their whole town goes up in flames. For fans of Small Spaces and Mary Downing Hahn, a spooky ghost story from the award-winning author of The Forgotten Girl and The Girl in the Lake.
Burn it all down.
Gianna and Carter John are best friends, but they couldn’t be more different. Gianna is small for her age, gets straight A’s, and is the teacher’s favorite. Meanwhile, Carter John gets in trouble no matter what he does, just because he’s tall and his voice is loud.
Then one day while working on a class project in the town library, Carter John gets in trouble yet again and reaches his breaking point. As his anger builds, a stack of books flies off the shelf, hitting the librarian.
Now everywhere he goes, strange things are happening. The smell of smoke hangs in the air. Sparks fly when Carter John gets in trouble. And he hears the voice of a young girl singing a song…a song about burning…
When fires start breaking out around town, Carter John and Gianna are determined to figure out who’s responsible. They are certain that these are no normal fires…Something terrible once happened where the town library now stands, and someone’s trying to send them a message about it.
But who is she―and why is she determined to get revenge?
From the author of The Forgotten Girl and The Girl in the Lake, this is both a bonechilling ghost story, and a book about the history of segregated libraries.
Publication Date July 14th 2026 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Bellwoods Game comes an eerie illustrated middle grade novel about a girl whose new friend and neighbor may have moved into a haunted house.
Some spirits never leave.
When a new family moves into the creepy old house across the street, sixth-grader Flora finds her wish for a best-best friend has come true. Her new neighbor Mac is sweet and charismatic. With Mac by her side, Flora feels like the upcoming school year will be a fresh start for her—no more anxious or klutzy Flora!
But despite their new friendship, not all is perfect. Mac fits in better with their classmates than Flora ever did. Mac’s family seems to be holding back a big secret, something about a mysterious ex-best friend named Daphne who Mac won’t ever talk about. And Mac’s little brother, Danny, gives Flora the creeps. Strange things keep happening whenever he’s around.
Is Flora’s mind playing tricks? Or could it be that Mac’s house is as haunted as it looks?
Publication Date July 14th 2026 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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The “[b]y turns chilling and funny” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) second book in the bestselling and award-winning Bunnicula series is now a spooky graphic novel that will send a shiver down your spine and leave you howling with laughter!
The Monroes have gone on vacation, leaving Harold, Chester, and Bunnicula at Château Bow-Wow—not exactly a four-star hotel. On the animals’ very first night there, the silence is pierced by a peculiar wake-up call—an unearthly howl that makes Chester observe that the place should be called…Howliday Inn.
But the mysterious cries in the night (Chester is convinced there are werewolves afoot) are just the beginning of the frightening goings-on. Soon, animals start disappearing, and there are whispers of murder. Is check-out time at Château Bow-Wow going to come earlier than Harold and Chester anticipated?
Publication Date July 14th 2026 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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The girls of Spirit Service get involved in a heated competition with an all-boy group with nefarious intentions in this second book in the sweet and spooky Spirit Service middle grade series that’s Ghostbusters meets The Baby-Sitters Club.
Spirit Service is booming, and with “Holloween” night approaching, guiding spirits to the afterlife has never been easier. But all is not well. Raveena Gill and her besties have come across an impossible creation: another phantom phone! Worse, this phone belongs to a boys-only anti-paranormal league, and the boys seem bent on trapping spirits for their own gains.
To keep the copycat phone out of the boys’ hands, Raveena proposes a wager. The first to vanquish fifty spirits by Holloween will get to keep both phones. If Raveena fails, she’ll lose Spirit Service; if she succeeds, she’ll stop the twin phone from being used for evil.
As tensions between and within the clubs rise, a sinister threat stirs in the shadows. To stop it, they will have to band together to uncover the darker origins of the phones themselves…and this time, both the lands of the living and the dead are at stake.
Publication Date July 14th 2026 by Simon Spotlight
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Three spooktacular books in the You’re Invited to a Creepover series are now available together in one paperback bind-up that will have readers sleeping with the lights on. Now with a fresh new design!
Young horror fans won’t be able to unsee the creepy characters in this three-in-one bind-up! From dreadful dolls to a chilling carnival to a menacing mask, these three stories from P.J. Night’s You’re Invited to a Creepover series deliver frights and fun on every page.
Publication Date July 14th 2026 by Candlewick
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Coming to find you, ready or not!
The first title in a brand new middle-grade horror series by the award-winning author Christopher Edge.
Nobody knows who started the Darkive. It’s a database filled with first-hand accounts of strange, unexplained experiences. Ghosts; paranormal entities; weird anomalies. Each one is stored with a bank of evidence to prove the story. Are you ready to dive in?
Adam didn’t think his summer holiday could get any worse. His camping trip with his best friend, Sol, seems to be doomed. They’ve been arguing, and now they find themselves in a strange, abandoned town, where they are told to take part in a game of hide-and-seek. But the rules are hard to follow. And who, or what, are they hiding from?
Publication Date July 21st 2026 by Balzer + Bray
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Born skeptic Lilac Black does not believe in ghosts ― until she is thrust into the secret world of seers and spirits at the Spindlewood School. Perfect for fans of The Clackity and The Swifts.
Lilac Black knows the séances her uncle runs for a living aren’t real. So when she pretends to talk to a spirit to get him out of a tight spot, she expects a scolding, not a celebration. She certainly doesn’t expect an invitation to her uncles’ alma mater, the top-secret Spindlewood School of Seeing.
Irresistibly curious, Lilac decides to attend. But as the only Unseeing student at a boarding school full of Seers, she has to bluff her way through classes and act afraid of spirits everyone else can See. Making new friends, like the intriguing Emmanuelle, only complicates Lilac’s web of lies. And as if her big deception wasn’t enough, something is very wrong on campus.
Spirits send cryptic messages warning of danger, and every ghost on the island seems drawn to a hidden door deep in the library basement. A being is waiting down there…something none of the adults dare to talk about. Lilac and her friend Emmanuelle must use all their powers ― or at least their wits and courage ― to save Spindlewood from a terrifying fate.
Publication Date July 21st 2026 by Union Square Kids
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A lot of things have changed in twelve-year-old Dahlia Reid’s life. Her best friend moved away, her mom got remarried, and now Dahlia has a stepbrother, Levi, who isn’t very nice. The one thing she can count on staying the same is Harvest Festival — the big scary event held every Autumn Equinox in the town of Wilcott Head. But when a new family arrives and grows a massive pumpkin patch, some people in town think it’s bad news, even saying the pumpkin farm is cursed. Dahlia, on the other hand, thinks it’s great. She even befriends the new girl, Penelope. After all, they’re both being bullied by the same boy, Julian, at school.
But on the evening of the equinox, the famous jack-o’-lanterns that line the path to the bonfire begin to disappear, and then people begin to disappear too. Dahlia thinks the pumpkins might be cursed after all…especially when they come to life. Dahlia, Penelope, and Levi band together to fight the jacks, undo the curse, and save the town before it’s too late.
Laura Lavoie, author of The Thirteen Doors of Black House, tells an action-packed story full of adventure, thrills, and chills in Beware The Jacks, perfect for fans of Katherine Arden and Lora Senf.
Publication Date July 21st 2026 by Viking Books for Young Readers
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Innocent wishes turn decidedly sinister in this chilling horror for fans of Katherine Arden and R. L. Stine.
Peter and his half brother, Adrian, live in the shadow of Old Splinter — a formerly lavish estate now in ruins. Rumored to have once housed an eccentric magician, it’s now home to little more than spiderwebs and mold. Tasked with renovating the crumbling mansion on behalf of their wealthy uncle, Peter’s stepdad is at his wits’ end. And the cracks are beginning to show in their once-happy cottage.
A mysterious local legend may be their only hope. The wishing claw, a magical hand that grants your deepest desires, has spell-bound townsfolk for centuries. If it’s real — if he can find it — then Peter might just save his family! But wishes are tricky things and they always come with a price. What starts innocently enough soon unearths much more than Peter bargained for, including a dark secret lurking in the walls of the mansion…and a monstrous hunger that comes knocking at his door.
Publication Date July 21st 2026 by Stonefruit Studio
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Black Mirror meets Goosebumps in the first installment of this fast-paced middle-grade horror series by New York Times-bestselling authors Erin Entrada Kelly and Eliot Schrefer featuring tales of technology gone wrong.
Eleven-year-old Sofia Mendoza is a gamer, not a camper. She should be at home building landscapes and fighting monsters in Sandbox, not deep in the forest with six other kids, who might as well be playing her favorite game in tutorial mode.
Even worse, there’s something off about this summer camp. There are creepy, mechanical vultures, cloaked NPC figures, and the only adult is Monarch, a grim woman in combat boots.
And then the game of elimination begins.
Sofia may be caught in the clutches of Camp Forestjaw, but she’ll do anything to survive. Anything. The problem is, in Forestjaw, everything you’ve ever done ― no matter how long ago ― comes back to you…
Publication Date July 21st 2026 by Odd Dot
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The Hardy Boys meets Gravity Falls in this delightfully spooky middle grade adventure about a small town with secrets, the monster lurking in its shadows, and the misunderstood new kid who has to believe the unbelievable to save them all.
Digby Romer has never lived in one place for very long; despite his best intentions, he’s managed to get kicked out of every European boarding school his parents have shipped him off to. Now, his dad has dragged him to live with his aunt and uncle in small-town USA, with hopes that a slower-paced life will finally fix Dig’s so-called “behavioral issues.”
But all is not well here in Transylvania County, even if the locals insist that the legends of cryptids and monsters lurking in the woods are nothing more than lore. On his first night in town, Dig is convinced that he spots a gigantic, fanged beast in the woods―but nobody believes him. And then the school’s PE teacher disappears, replaced by a greasy, suspicious man named Renfield who must have an ulterior motive. When more people begin to disappear, Dig sets off with a ragtag crew ― his smartypants cousin, the bossy class president, and a survivalist loner ― to get to the bottom of things.
Something is hunting in Transylvania County, and these kids might have to break a few rules to find out who. Luckily, if there’s one thing Dig is good at, it’s making trouble.
Publication Date July 28th 2026 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
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An eerie middle grade mystery debut that follows a young girl who returns home to find the people of her little town, including her best friend, chillingly changed after the arrival of the prim and proper Gingham family.
When 12-year-old Joni Bird returns home from summer camp, it’s clear something strange is afoot in Olive Springs. May, her usually head-banging best friend, now wears her hair in a tight bun and calls playing the drums “unladylike.” The ice cream shop only serves vanilla ice cream. The women and girls of the neighborhood all sport big pearl earrings and crisp cotton dresses.
At the heart of it all? The creepy new family in the neighborhood with their soulless, carnival smiles and retro fashion sense: the Ginghams. Everyone they invite to their Thursday night book club re-emerges as dead-eyed, smiling, Gingham-approved “model citizens,” all thanks to Mr. Gingham’s lifestyle guide, The Pillars of Perfection ― and something even more sinister hidden behind his basement door.
Through quick thinking and cunning, Joni and her friend Tyler set out to fight not only to get their friend May back, but to save their whole town from forever falling under the Ginghams’ control.
Publication Date July 28th 2026 by Penguin Workshop
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Get pumped for Pumpkin Fest! It’s Friday Night Fright Night, and Adam’s worst fear is about to come to life…
Halloween is a big deal in Little Pine, but newcomer Adam Gibbons doesn’t get the hype. In fact, he’s actively anti-Halloween — and you would be, too, if you were deathly afraid of pumpkins! Yeah…don’t ask.
When Adam is tasked to team up with pumpkin fanatic Molly to plan Friday Night Fright Night, the middle school shut-in event before Pumpkin Fest, he’s forced to confront his greatest fear head…er…jack-o’-lantern-on.
But it soon becomes clear that there is something strange and supernatural brewing in Little Pine. Mind-controlling pumpkins are possessing people and taking over the town, and it’s up to Adam and his small group of friends to smash the infestation and save the world!
Publication Date July 28th 2026 by Delacorte Press
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When a boy moves into his late grandfather’s mansion, he discovers eerie spell books, creepy dolls, and strange noises. But one doll feels especially off — maybe it’s nothing, or maybe it’s…watching. This creepy middle grade read is perfect for fans of the Goosebumps series.
Garrett never met his grandfather, Burke, but he’s heard the stories from his mother. Burke was an enormously successful writer, but he was also notoriously cruel, especially to his family. After he passes away suddenly, Garrett and his mother are told that his enormous fortune is hers…if they agree to spend a week at his estate.
The house is a monument to Burke’s obsession with puppet-like dolls, and the attic is packed with cryptic notes and ancient books. It’s clear that his grandfather was up to something, but Garrett can only guess what, and his fear only deepens when he finds a creepily detailed doll with ‘Marion’ written on the foot.
As the week progresses, Garrett realizes that the house isn’t what it seems. An old typewriter clicks away on its own. There are sounds in the night that come from the basement. And strangest of all is Marion, who always seems to be watching…
Publication Date July 28th 2026 by Viking Books for Young Readers
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A creepy, monster-filled graphic novel, perfect for readers of Summer Vamp and Hellaween!
When Charlotte Bissett discovers a creepy cool book in her school library called Liber de Monstrum, she can’t help but take it home to investigate. Horror has always brought her comfort — as long as it’s safely within the pages of a book.
That night she reads a few pages out loud before going to sleep. And the next day, some really weird things are going on in the small town of Devilfish Bay. There’s snow outside for the first time in years, Charlotte’s favorite teacher is missing, and the new substitute teacher, Miss Fell, is a little strange. She just might be a werewolf!
Charlotte’s worried she made a big mistake reading from the creepy book. She knows it’s up to her to make things right — but to do so, she’ll have to recruit her friends Molly and Griffin to help. But will they even believe her? And if they do, can this new crew of kid monster hunters actually defeat a real werewolf?
Publication Date September 1st 2026 by Scholastic Press
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The line between the ghost world and our world gets even thinner in this haunting new installment of this multidimensional series where ghosts talk from the pages.
Rosteen is dead. He knows he’s dead. And yet…he’s still around. He died as a kid in the 1980s, but here he is in the 2020s, brought back to The Last Resort by Lila, Tobias, and Caleb – who desperately need his help.
The problem? An evil ghost wants to make a comeback and cause a few more disasters that will inevitably cost people their lives. The only way for Rosteen, Lila, Tobias, and Caleb to stop her is to travel to the sites of some of her more infamous disasters in the past and find objects from those times that will somehow defeat her. And to do that, they’ll need to bring back another ghost – the one that killed Lila and Caleb’s grandfather.
Rosteen has nothing left to lose…except his new friends, who could lose everything and become ghosts themselves if they make one wrong move.
Enter the world of The Last Resort! Talk to ghosts that come to life and help solve the mystery!
Publication Date September 1st 2026 by Norton Young Readers
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Mischievous brothers Link and Hud are back for a Halloween-themed entry in the hilarious series from real-life brothers Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey.
It’s October. Halloween is almost here, and brothers Lincoln and Hudson Dupré are excited about their first time trick-or-treating without their parents. But odd and spooky things start happening on their cul-de-sac―things they get blamed for. Link and Hud must face down zombies, a suspected werewolf, and a (definitely) haunted house to find the real culprit and save Halloween.
The latest entry in the hybrid graphic novel series Book Riot says is “full of Black boy joy, brother love, and silliness” brings more chaos, more laughs, and more adventures as Link and Hud use their imagination to get in (and out) of all kinds of trouble. Drawn from the imaginations and experiences of brothers and cocreators Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey, Link + Hud illuminates a world of adventure made possible with a partner in crime by your side.
Publication Date September 1st 2026 by Tundra Books
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After eating a glowing green egg, aspiring journalist Florence Fortescue can suddenly see that her house is overrun with ghost chickens in this delightfully bizarre and hilarious first book of a new early middle-grade series for readers aged 8 to 12!
Ten-year-old aspiring journalist Florence Fortescue did NOT want to move to the country, leaving her best friend and city life behind.
To make matters worse, Florence is shocked to discover a Minions-esque flock of ghost chickens running amok all over her new house — and her parents are oblivious! Clearly, Mom and Dad need to take their precious daughter back to the city RIGHT NOW. If only she could convince them…
Using her journalistic skills, Florence cooks up a sizzling exposé in her homemade newspaper: TERROR IN THE HAUNTED COOP! But when that plan fails, Florence has to enlist the help of her weird new neighbor, two bizarre dogs and maybe even the ghost chickens themselves!
Publication Date September 1st 2026 by Random House/Star Wars
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Explore the darkest corners of the Star Wars galaxy in this chilling horror-themed middle grade novel by New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.
Pursued by Imperial forces, a young girl named Bia must flee her home planet of Coruscant and find her mother. All the time, she is hunted by a figure in black, a presence more horrifying than she has ever encountered before. Can Bia escape — and what does she have that the Empire wants so badly?
Horror readers and Star Wars fans of all ages will thrill to this fright-filled middle grade novel.
Publication Date September 1st 2026 by Holiday House
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For fans of R.L. Stine, this supernatural horror follows twelve-year-old Sam to his unsettling family home in Singapore, where his journey to unearth details of his dead mother’s life entangles him in a deadly decades-old mystery.
Lonely twelve-year-old Sam Wells has never known his mother. So when his maternal grandmother calls with a plane ticket to Singapore, he hopes the trip will give him the answers he’s been looking for. But his imposing family home isn’t what he expected. His grandmother is a stranger. Spiders crawl over impassible mounds of hoarded mementos. The house is such a labyrinth that Sam can barely make his way through the boxes, let alone find out anything about his mom.
Until he meets her ghost, frozen in time at age twelve.
Something terrible happened when Priya Malhotra was just a schoolgirl in Singapore. Something twisted enough to keep her trapped. Something that might be happening again. Children are going missing as they did decades before in Sam’s eerily unsettling neighborhood…and the closer Sam gets to the terrifying truth that lurks within the haunted, abandoned factory where the original crimes occurred, the more it seems that Sam will be the next to disappear.
To save himself, he’ll have to untangle the mystery. But if he does, will he lose his mom forever?
Publication Date September 8th 2026 by First Second
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For fans of Stranger Things and Goosbumps comes a graphic novel filled with thrills, chills, and friendship.
Riz is determined to prove to his dad that movies matter and ghosts are real, but he and his friends might be in over their head when they investigate the local creepy mansion.
Riz Choudhry lives for two things: movies and anything spooky. His dad? Not so much. While Riz dreams of filmmaking and jump scares, his father dreams of Riz going to med school or law school―and neither one includes ghosts.
But the film club is Riz’s safe haven, a place where other supernatural-obsessed first-gen kids swap scary stories from their cultures. So, when the group decides to film a documentary about the creepy old mansion in town, Riz is all in. But there’s a problem. His dad wants Riz to quit the club. AND the building is about to be demolished. Now Riz and his friends must use the power of filmmaking to save the mansion…before it vanishes forever.
Packed with shivers, laughter, and heart, Don’t Be Scared celebrates friendship, heritage, and daring to fight for what matters ― even if it means disagreeing with your family.
Publication Date September 15th 2026 by Delacorte Press
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The second book in a creepy duology about Mystery James, who was found as a baby in a cemetery, lives in a funeral home, and can smell ghosts. This time, spring break takes a terrifying turn when Mystery suspects a ghost has entered her home…and refuses to leave.
Spring break was supposed to be a time for relaxation, but for Mystery James, it quickly turns into a series of spine-chilling adventures. After a burial at Garcia Graves & Funeral Home, Mystery begins to suspect the ghost of one of Ellis Town’s most eccentric residents may be lingering in her home…or worse, haunting it.
With her trusty arachnid companion, Coffin by her side, Mystery must contend with creepy mortuary salesmen, a sinister presence creeping through her Tia Lucy’s home, and changing friendship dynamics, all while uncovering clues that lead her deeper into an increasingly complex — and personal — mystery.
Soon, the Olde Ellis Town Cemetery becomes the backdrop for a showdown between the past and the present, where Mystery must confront her deepest fears and uncover the truth behind the supernatural events that have plagued her since childhood.
Publication Date September 15th 2026 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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A middle grade horror novel about disappearing kids and a monstrous beast lurking in the woods, from the author of The Curse of Eelgrass Bog.
As the daughter of private detectives, Pira is used to moving around a lot. So when her mothers’ newest case brings them to the small town of Eyrewood, she expects to find a town just like all the other ones she’s left behind.
But Eyrewood is nothing like she expects. Ash is always falling from the skies, the local wildlife is nowhere to be found, and it’s impossible to light a fire anywhere inside the town limits. And worst of all, there are monsters in the woods — monsters that none of the adults believe in.
When Pira joins up with a group of kids intent on fighting the beasts, she discovers that the monsters may be linked to a series of missing kids going back decades — including the older sister of her new friend Jackie. As Pira and Jackie work with their friends to solve the mystery of the disappearances, they’ll have to confront the secrets at the heart of Eyrewood and the danger lurking in every corner.
Publication Date September 15th 2026 by Abrams Books for Young Readers
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Take the plunge into the strangest, spookiest, and most fascinating rivers around the world (if you dare) in this beautifully illustrated companion to Spooky Lakes, the New York Times and Indiebound bestseller from TikTok star and educator Geo Rutherford.
From Geo Rutherford ― the creator of the hit series Spooky Lake Month (over 79 million likes!) ― comes this thrilling nonfiction book that follows the winding histories of 25 mysterious rivers around the world. Readers will explore natural phenomena, scientific oddities, historical events, and environmental disasters, as well as the myths and legends tied to these waterways, which are increasingly threatened by climate change.
Rivers are Earth’s restless travelers ― carving landscapes, shaping history, and holding secrets. Some are forces of destruction, sweeping away everything in their path, while others are lifelines, sustaining civilizations for millennia. And some are both, bringing prosperity and devastation in equal measure.
From deadly whirlpools to lost cities submerged beneath their waves, these rivers challenge everything we think we know about the natural world. There are rivers that catch fire, rivers that boil, and rivers so deep they seem bottomless. Some slither beneath the ground you stand on, while others vanish without a trace.
Who knew rivers could be so…spooky?
Backed by extensive research and packed with all-new content ― including eerie and eye-popping gouache illustrations in full color ― Spooky Rivers takes readers on an adventure through weird and wild waters.
Publication Date September 22nd 2026 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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Jordi Acosta wants nothing more than to be invisible. He’s a six-foot-tall twelve-year-old who wishes he could blend in with the rest of his classmates and avoid trouble.
Over spring break, Jordi’s mom, a wildlife biologist, has him volunteer at the Yaupon Creek Wildlife Refuge, much to his dismay. But Mami is keeping secrets, and when Jordi has a close encounter with a surprisingly humanlike bear, she comes clean: her unofficial job at the Wildlife Refuge is to care for Cryptids, creatures like the Chupacabra that are only supposed to exist in stories.
When a greedy corporation called Harvest Sunrise Energy arrives wanting to expand their drilling operations into Yaupon Creek, cattle start getting injured and fences damaged on their neighbors’ farms. Jordi and his friends realize that the company is manipulating the townspeople to believe the creatures are responsible for the damage they’ve wrought. It’s up to them to save their town from this insidious threat ― and clear their cryptid friends’ names.
Publication Date September 29th 2026 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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A wickedly entertaining supernatural story about three siblings finding their way in the world as ghosts from the bestselling author of the Ivy and Bean series, Annie Barrows.
Everyone at the Ghost Guild knows how the afterlife is supposed to work. But something is amiss with the case of three siblings ― Genie, Fenella, and Tillotson Maconochie ― who are beginning their journey as ghosts in a highly irregular way. They haven’t even been issued their copy of the Ghostology, which would have helped them know how to stay out of trouble. It’s no wonder that they fall prey to the infamous swindler Serena Aster, and end up trapped in her mansion to do her evil bidding for eternity. When they discover that a young orphan is trapped with them, their desire to break free and find their greater ghostly purpose takes on new urgency.
In this page-turning, beautifully illustrated yarn, perfect for fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette For Young Ladies of Mad Science, readers will discover that at the end of their lives, the Maconochie siblings’ remarkable story is only just beginning.
Publication Date September 29th 2026 by Dial Books
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From the co-creator of the #1 New York Times bestselling Spiderwick Chronicles series comes a deliciously dark supernatural middle-grade coming-of-age story, with two-color illustrations throughout.
Timothy’s grandpa has a saying: the best way to deal with bullies is to wump ‘em. But Timothy would never hurt a fly — and not just because he genuinely loves bugs. He’s always been a good kid…until a shadowy monster appears and begins feeding on his darkest thoughts. Facing bullies both at home and at school, Timothy cocoons himself in the monster’s shadows, where he is consumed by a desire for revenge. But how much of himself can Timothy give up before he is completely transformed?
Award-winning author-illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi stuns in this creepy, brilliantly illustrated, and poignant reflection of the darkness — and light — inside of all of us.
Publication Date October 6th 2026 by Oni Press
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Eisner-nominated writer Josh Tierney (World Piece, Iris Complex) joins longtime collaborator Caitlin Soliman (Iris Complex) in this spooky middle-grade graphic novel about ghosts, friendship, and making comics!
Will and Anita are two lonely tweens who find themselves alone together in the art room of the local after school club. After gushing over each other’s work — Will’s writing and Anita’s art — the two team up to make their own comic about a local urban legend — a teen counselor who haunts the club after a tragic demise. Anita and Will research the ghost and develop their story, forming a strong friendship. But can they overcome bullies at the club and problems at home to become great friends and collaborators?
Publication Date October 6th 2026 by Stonefruit Studio
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Black Mirror meets Goosebumps in this fast-paced middle-grade horror series by New York Times bestselling authors Erin Entrada Kelly and Eliot Schrefer featuring tales of technology gone wrong. In this standalone installment, AI has infiltrated the newest toy craze ― a stuffed animal with spooky capabilities and more sinister intentions.
Lewis’s big hope for his first day at a new school is to make a friend. He never expected that friend to wind up being a hyper-intelligent cuddly panda bear. A gift from his dad, his Panda Mo Nium is an exclusive kids-only AI toy and communication device with big ideas of his own. After other students at his school get their own robot pandas, Lewis suddenly has a friend group.
When Mo begins asking Lewis to perform risky and bloody tasks, Lewis goes along despite his nerves…until the line between cute and creepy blurs and he senses evil intentions behind his AI friend’s glowing eyes. What does this robot panda really want from him and the other kids? The truth might be more frightening than Lewis ever imagined.
Publication Date October 6th 2026 by Scholastic Press
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The Forgotten Girl meets Hide and Seeker in this terrifying MG horror that returns the Zombie to its homeland, the island nation of Haiti.
Lena is a descendant of a long line of Mambos – Vodou priestesses. She’s basically been raised to stir things up. There’s no mess she can’t wriggle out of, even when she’s the one who made it in the first place. But there are problems that even Lena can’t fix…She can’t bring her father back from the dead. She can’t make her mother laugh the way she used to. And she can’t forgive the gods for taking her father away.
When a mysterious man arrives in Lena’s small Haitian village and moves into the giant house on its outskirts, she finally has something to distract her from her father’s death.
But the distraction doesn’t last. Strange things start to happen in her village. People start staring at Lena like they don’t recognize her at all. Their eyes go blank. Their steps turn stiff.
Zombie-stiff.
And wherever Lena runs, they follow.
As the village erupts into chaos, Lena must put her skills to the test. She’ll have to save her friends, figure out what’s controlling everyone, and stay one step ahead of the horde. Because if she wants to survive, she might have to do the one thing she swore she would never do again – ask the gods for help.
Publication Date October 6th 2026 by Scholastic Inc.
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Sinister ornaments come to life and trap a family in their home in this new novel from the author of Red Rover and Killer Harvest.
Publication Date October 6th 2026 by Delacorte Press
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Front Desk meets Stephen King! In this perfectly frightening middle grade read, a twelve-year-old boy moves into a creepy motel where breaking the rules doesn’t just mean getting kicked out — it means disappearing for good.
Dylan has a bad feeling about the Good Night Motel. Ever since he and his mom got kicked out of their apartment, their new living arrangements have given him a serious case of the creeps. The roof is sagging; the wallpaper is peeling. The weird twin owners have painted-on smiles like Victorian dolls, and the handyman always seems to be lurking.
And, of course, there are the Rules. Break three, and you’re out for good.
Dylan couldn’t care less until he’s cornered by a kid who claims to know the truth about this place. The real truth. You see, when people break the rules, they don’t just get kicked out of the motel. They disappear.
And Dylan and his mom could be next.
Publication Date October 13th 2026 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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For readers of The Clackity and The Bellwoods Game comes a spooky illustrated middle grade tale of a new kid who teams up with the local witch to uncover the wickedness hiding in their seemingly perfect little town.
Bad things don’t happen in the small, sleepy town of Sapwood Coombe. At least that’s what everybody tells Olive when she moves from New York to Vermont. For her mother it’s a fresh start; for Olive it’s the end of the world.
Until she meets Tamsin.
Tamsin isn’t like other kids. She doesn’t go to school or have any parents. She talks to plants, predicts the weather, and gets her recipes from an old spell book. But Tamsin has secrets — dangerous secrets tied up in the town’s lore. And she’s not the only one…
Bad things don’t happen in Sapwood Coombe. Or do they?
