The nights are drawing in and Hallowe’en is just around the corner. It’s the perfect time of year for some spooky stories. Here’s a collection of picture books, chapter books and middle grade stories sure to give you chills.
The Pumpkin who was Afraid of the Dark by Michelle Robinson & Mike Byrne (Scholastic)
All the pumpkins are excited for Hallowe’en except little Boo. She’s afraid of the dark and doesn’t like any of the scary things that come out at this time of year. She feels lonely and frightened until she meets a little boy who feels exactly as she does. Boo realises she can help the boy feel safe with her Hallowe’en glow.
Young readers who aren’t sure about the spooky side of Hallowe’en will love the gorgeous character of Boo and her friendship with the little boy. They’ll see that everything is a little less scary with a friend and that even when faced with something frightening, we can summon our courage to help someone else.
Fiona the Fruit Bat by Dan Riskin & Rachel Qiuqi (Greystone Kids)
It is wonderful when science and story combine to give young readers both enjoyment and education in a beautiful picture book. Fiona the Fruit Bat will make a wonderful addition to any Autumn collection. This sweet little bat is just learning to fly but she’s hesitant because she can’t see in the dark. Fiona must trust her mother’s encouragement to listen and use other senses to find her way. This is such a lovely story about growing up and learning to do things on your own. Children will be so charmed by Fiona and cheer her on as she learns to echolocate.
The end pages of this book are full of information about fruit bats and echolocation. This is so valuable for teachers using Fiona the Fruit Bat as a part of a science topic or for young readers who want to find out more. Rachel Qiuqi’s illustrations are gorgeous as well as scientifically accurate. From roosting postures to depictions of how Fiona learns to echolocate, each page reveals more of the mysteries of short-tailed fruit bats.
No Home for a Ghost by Jess Rose (Owlet Press)
Ghosts don’t have to be scary. No Home for a Ghost is a story that challenges that stereotype and helps children to think about kindness, welcome and how important home is no matter who you are.
Dylan and his family are very excited to move into their new house – until they realise there’s a ghost living there. Dylan tries to make friends with the ghost but the rest of his family drives it away. The house just isn’t the same once the ghost has gone. Dylan feels terrible and worries about the ghost out in the world all alone. His empathy grows as he thinks about how it might feel to lose a home.
No Home for a Ghost will encourage children to think about their prejudices and how they treat people who are different from them. It will also encourage them to value kindness, acceptance and sharing. Home doesn’t just have to be a house – it can be a school, a community or even a country. We should treat others with respect and live in harmony together.
The Baddies by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler (Scholastic)
Some children absolutely love the villains in stories. This is the book for them! Three horrible baddies – a troll, a witch and a ghost – love being bad and competing with each other about who really is the worst. When they spot a little girl moving into a cottage nearby, they come up with all sorts of nasty plans. Each tries their best to frighten her but, no matter what they do, her kindness wins in the end.
As well as being a fun story to share as a class, The Baddies will have children chatting about how to treat others, role models and how to decide what is right.
Midnight Magic: Witch Trap by Michelle Harrison & Elissa Elwick (Little Tiger)
The Midnight Magic series are the most wonderful rhyming chapter books for young readers. Michelle Harrison has weaved her writing spell over Trixie, Midnight, Nan, Dad and their flying broomstick to create stories that are warm and appealing for Key Stage One and Year 3 readers who are ready for just that little bit more.
In the third book of the series, Witch Trap, Midnight and Trixie are enjoying the Autumn leaves. With a magical wink, Midnight creates a fantastic leaf dragon that soars through the air. It’s all going well until a witch bumps into the dragon and spots Midnight. The next morning, Trixie finds that her beloved pet has been catnapped! Could it be the witch? Trixie comes up with a plan to rescue Midnight before she’s gone forever.
These stories are a celebration of language. Ambitious yet accessible vocabulary, fun rhymes and engaging adventures make them perfect for reading aloud and chatting about together.
Autumn Moonbeam: Spooky Sleepover by Emma Finlayson-Palmer & Heidi Cannon (Uclan Publishing)
I loved the first Autumn Moonbeam book and now she’s back in her second adventure. Full of personality, charming characters and lessons about friendship and following your dreams, this series is perfect for readers who are ready to leap into chapter books. The stories are fun and accessible but with enough mystery to keep readers engaged right to the end.
In Spooky Sleepover, Autumn has just started at the Sparkledale Dance Academy. When the children go to a team-bonding sleepover, strange things start to happen. Is it a ghost or is there some other sort of magic going on?
Diary of an Accidental Witch: Ghostly Getaway by Perdita & Honor Cargill and Katie Saunders (Little Tiger)
The Diary of an Accidental Witch series has been such a hit as a class book for Year 2 upwards. With its unique, quirky diary style and first person point of view that overflows with personality, pages keep turning as readers can’t wait to find out what trouble Bea Black is going to get into next.
Book three in the series – Ghostly Getaway – starts on New Year’s Day. Bea has a whole list of resolutions, including “Get better at all things WITCHY”. A modern Worst Witch at the School of Extraordinary Arts, she needs all the help she can get. The most exciting thing for her Year 7 class this term is their residential. They’re off to Cadabra Castle. Of course there are ghost stories to put the children on edge but this is actually a real haunted castle with turrets, creaks, groans and more strange noises in the night. Bea and her friends will be glad to get back to Little Spellshire and their own beds but first they have a mystery to solve!
Anisha Accidental Detective: Fright Night by Serena Patel & Emma McCann (Usborne)
Anisha Accidental Detective is back with her sixth adventure! In this hilarious mystery, Anisha has two big problems. One – she doesn’t want to go to the school Hallowe’en disco. Two – she doesn’t want to move house. There doesn’t seem like there’s much she can do about either of them. But when spooky things start happening around school, it looks like the disco might have to be canceled. Who would want to ruin the disco? Anisha is determined to find out!
I love this series because it is full of problems kids can relate to wrapped up in Anisha’s slightly wacky, very busy British-Indian family. There is lots love and encouragement to go around and Granny Jas always has a solution. Children will really enjoy the hilarious happenings and brilliant detective skills as they try to solve the mystery along with Anisha.
The Twig Man by Sana Rasoul (Hashtag Press)
Don’t go into the woods alone. An urban myth haunts the town of Hanging Hill. Many scoff at the idea of an evil Twig Man living in the woods who lures children into his branches, snatching them from their families but Ari believes it’s true. When his older sister, Lana, ran away, he never gave up on her. Sure she had been taken by the Twig Man, he summons every ounce of courage to find her.
The Twig Man is a properly creepy story – not one for the faint-hearted. Upper Key Stage Two and Key Stage Three readers will delight in scaring themselves with every spine chilling detail.
Witchstorm by Tim Tilley (Usborne)
Witchstorm is everything you could want in an Autumn story – a mysterious disappearance, a magical amulet, riddles and witches!
Will lives in a narrowboat on the Fens with his Ma and Fa. They believe in witches, storms and spells. His mother is desperate to prove that witches actually exist and find the treasure that will take her to them. When she goes missing, Will is thrown into an adventure that will push him to the edge of danger. Stories and songs weave the connections between witches, humans and wildlife. Will must discover the true way of the witches before darkness takes over.
Witchstorm will be a fantastic class read for Year 4+ and a wonderful book for avid Key Stage Two readers to snuggle up with on dark Autumn evenings.
The Vampire Slayer’s Survival Guide by Katy Birchall (Scholastic)
With vampires, werewolves, witches, monster hunters and a magical castle, The Vampire Slayer’s Survival Guide is the perfect story for Hallowe’en. A wonderful combination of spooky and fun, children will get caught up in the mystery of the weakening enchantments on Skeleton Castle, marvel at a vegetarian vampire who enjoys beetroot juice instead of blood and imagine a community where people will stop at nothing to protect their vampire friends.
This series (Book one – How not to be a Vampire Slayer) is sure to be a huge hit in Year 7 classes studying gothic literature and Dracula. It is such a unique, modern twist on the classic genre. Readers will love spotting the more traditional features while being swept up in a dangerous adventure!
The Mystery of Raspberry Hill by Eva Frantz (Pushkin Children’s)
I absolutely could not put this book down. Translated beautifully from the original Swedish, this gothic ghost story transports readers to a time and place full of unanswered questions. 12 year-old Stina knows she’s going to die but when she’s offered the opportunity to receive new treatments as a part of a research project that could help others in the future, she agrees to travel to Raspberry Hill Sanatorium. On the outside, this hospital looks like a castle in a forest. On the inside, there are mysteries, strict nurses, a strange little boy and stories of a devastating fire. The more time Stina spends there, the more she questions her treatment, the existence of other patients and what her future may hold.
While studying for my teaching degree in Canada, we went on residentials to a converted TB sanatorium. Used as a conference centre with opportunities to learn about outdoor education, it still had the aura of the hospital it once was. The centre employees took great delight in telling us the ghost stories of nurses who once worked there and patients who were rumoured to walk certain corridors after dark. The Mystery of Raspberry Hill took me right back there, complete with the chills and hair-raising goose bumps I felt all those years ago. This is a story to read with the lights on!
The Haunted Hills by Berlie Doherty (Uclan Publishing)
The wilds of the Peak District aren’t the only things that are haunted. Carl is consumed by grief following the tragic death of his best friend, Jack. He blames himself and can’t see any way out of his prison of sadness. His parents hope this break from everyday life will distract Carl and give him a chance to process everything that happened.
While exploring the stormy moors, Carl loses his way and comes across a boy and his dog. They show him back to the cottage despite not knowing him or where he came from. After sharing what happened with a local farmer, he begins to question his experiences. Was there actually someone there or was it the Lost Lad – a local legend – a ghost?
The Haunted Hills is an incredibly atmospheric story. Gloom fills each page as Carl battles his inner demons while trying to discover the truth about the Lost Lad. It is also a story of healing and closure. Learning the truth about the terrible night Jack died, Carl must find a way back to himself.
Aimed at age 10-14, The Haunted Hills is most suited to the very top end of Key Stage Two and Key Stage Three. Themes of loss, grief and depression, as well as the chilling ghost story woven into Carl’s experiences, require careful recommendations and support from adults.
Thank you to all the publishers for sending these fantastic books. It’s definitely going to be a season of very spooky reading!
Scholastic, Greystone Kids, Owlet Press, Uclan, Little Tiger, Usborne, Hashtag Press, Pushkin Children’s
Click on the covers below to find out more or purchase online:
Books by Kate Heap:
Scope for Imagination 
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