The sun is shining, everything’s green, and a warm breeze tousles your hair. It’s camping season! There’s no experience quite like the great outdoors. That’s why camping is one of our nation’s favorite pastimes, and the tradition of campfire tales is a large part of the fun. Humans love sharing stories around campfires… especially scary ones.
If you’re hiking in your neighborhood park, planning a trip to one of our nation’s many beautiful parks, or setting up a tent in your own backyard, here are some stories that will give you chills on summer nights.
Creepy Campfire Stories: Frights to Tell at Night
By Anastasia Garcia, illustrated by Teo Skaffa
The great outdoors has never been so terrifying! Featuring iconic landscapes like the Grand Canyon and Redwood National Park, this book will haunt your dreams long after the last ember of the campfire has faded. Here are just a few of the super-scary stories inside:
A strange museum that won’t stay open after dark.
Sinister plants with a taste for human flesh.
Monsters hidden in the snow―friend or foe?
Mysterious lights in the sky leave messages in a cornfield.
Twin brothers Nox and Noah are identical in every way except one: Noah is sick, and no one can figure out what’s wrong with him. They travel to the town of Evergreen, Maine for specialized medical care, but Nox soon suspects that what’s happening to Noah isn’t natural—and that the people around them are hiding something. His search for answers leads him into the surrounding woods; there, he discovers a hidden world where it’s always nighttime, full of powerful magic and supernatural creatures. Nox must venture deeper into an endless night and successfully bargain with the terrifying Keepers of the forest for a cure to Noah’s ailment, or else neither twin will leave Evergreen alive.
The wilderness is in Jenna’s blood. So, when her best friend is taken by a creature that isn’t supposed to exist, Jenna joins a local scout troop and ventures back into the woods. When the troop stumbles across suspicious signs: huge human-like footprints near the camp, scratch marks on trees, and ominous sounds from the woods, Jenna worries that whatever took her best friend is back to take her too! After the unthinkable happens, the scouts, armed with their wits and toiletries, band together to fight the creature and survive the night.
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 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.
But Maudie’s keeping secrets about 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.
By Fleur Bradley, Ally Malinenko, Josh Roberts, Kim Ventrella, Darcy Marks, Deke Moulton, Erin Petti, Laura Parnum, Sarah Allen, Et al.
Many of the U.S. national parks are huge swaths of wild and barely explored land. While it’s true millions visit the parks each year, most people stay within a mile or so of the popular attractions. Not many people go into the hinterlands where maybe, just maybe, there are all kinds of monsters. In this collection of scary stories set in national parks, 21 amazing authors have chosen a national park, monument, or historic site as a setting for a spooky story. Stories you can read by the campfire, that will haunt your dreams as you lie in your tent, listening to the sounds of nature in the darkness.
In case you need further convincing—each story has a scare rating, and all proceeds go to the National Park Foundation!
*If you order from our Bookshop.org store, you are supporting indie bookstores + ensuring we can continue to offer free virtual visits with schools across the country.
Ally Russell’s novel Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave will publish from Delacorte Press in September 2025. Spooky Middle Grade is excited to help reveal the cover of Ally’s new book, but first . . . let’s tell you what the book is about!
Thirteen-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 Tía’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.
Shh…
Do you hear that? That’s the sound of a scary cover creeping up on you! Here’s your first look at Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave.
Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave Cover by Ally Russell
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!
Lots of things! My fear of everything, including vampire fangs. (I get overwhelmed with terror whenever I see vampire fangs.) My interest in the history of the vampire of Highgate Cemetery in London. And my love of cemeteries.
How did you end up with such a scary cover? It’s almost too scary for ages 10 and up.
Devin Forst, whose artwork is inspired by things from the shadow realm, illustrated the cover. He really brought Mystery James to life, and he brought Baron, the vampiric ghost in the novel, back to life. My lovely designer at Delacorte, Carol Ly, created the perfect cover.
Where is the perfect place to read this book?
In a cemetery. Or a graveyard. Definitely not from inside a coffin.
What’s one piece of advice that you would give to kids who might be struggling with the threat of vampires?
Eat garlic bread with every meal, and never, EVER, ever invite them inside . . . no matter how much they tap on your bedroom window.
Where and when can readers dig up a copy of this book?
You can preorder the book here and it will arrive on your doorstep on September 16, 2025. You will have to give the book permission to enter the house. (I don’t make the rules about vampires. Sorry.) If you do preorder the book, save your receipt and keep up with me via my newsletter or on social media so that you don’t miss the preorder campaign swag announcement.
About the author: Ally Russell is the author of It Came from the Trees. She grew up on a steady diet of Halloween parties, horror films, Unsolved Mysteries, and Goosebumps books. She has always loved scary stories, and got her MFA from Simmons University. She hails from Pittsburgh—ground zero for the zombie apocalypse. Ally lives with her husband and her two black cats, Nox and Fury. She’s afraid of the woods, the dark, and heights.
Welcome to another installment of our author interview series, “5 Questions with…” This time around, we’re talking with Spooky Middle Grade’s Mary Averling, author of THE CURSE OF EELGRASS BOG (January 2024) and the brand-new spooky story, THE GHOSTS OF BITTERFLY BAY, which just came out this week!
1. Mary, tell us about THE GHOSTS OF BITTERFLY BAY. How did you come up with the idea? What inspired it?
BITTERFLY BAY is a fantastical middle grade horror about a group of kid ghosts who haunt a lakeside cabin. They have (perhaps too much) fun freaking out vacationers . . . until something starts haunting them right back. It’s about bravery, storytelling, and the importance of facing the truth, and it’s got MANY weird creatures!
It was inspired by an old cottage my family used to stay at when I was little. I have so many fond memories of that place, but it was built right into a sheer mountainside and surrounded by dark, dense woods. (It also smelled a bit strange and had several creepy carved birds inside). BITTERFLY BAY came from those summertime memories of somewhere strange, comforting, and also super eerie.
2. What books did you like to read when you were a kid? Did those books influence your writing?
I was actually more of a fantasy than a horror reader! I loved Prophecy of the Stones by Flavia Bujour, The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine, The Land of Elyon by Patrick Carmen . . . so many! Even now, I still write my books with a strong fantastical element. I like blurring the line between horror and fantasy.
3. What are you working on now?
I’m revising another middle grade horror with my editor (shhhh, it’s a secret). I can’t say much yet, but it’s about anger and monsters and belonging and, y’know, fire powers. I’m excited to share more soon!
4. What was the most fun thing about writing THE GHOSTS OF BITTERFLY BAY?
I loved thinking up shenanigans for the ghosts’ haunting games! If I was a 12-year-old ghost trying to scare people, what would I do? It was fun to imagine haunting as a game rather than something terrifying . . . but it was also fun writing Longfingers and a more sinister kind of haunting, too.
5. What’s your favorite Halloween costume you’ve ever worn?
When I was five, I dressed up as Barbie Girl. (My title). Pink shiny wig, pink shiny dress, rhinestone wand, plastic high heels, and probably some fairy wings to boot. Not spooky, not scary, but I thought I looked SO cool. I always like sharing pictures of this one, because who’d have thought that twenty years later, this little Barbie Girl would get to publish ghost stories? Why not both?!
We’re back with another author interview in our series, “5 Questions with…” This month we’re talking with Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lora Senf, whose brand-new novel THE LOSTING FOUNTAIN came out on New Year’s Eve (December 31, 2024).
1) Tell me about The Losting Fountain. What’s the premise and what inspired you to write it.
The Losting Fountain is a dark fantasy story about what it means to be lost, to be found, and to discover our place in the world. Ember, Miles, and Sam—all from different times and places—have been called home. Only home is a place none of them have ever been before. They find themselves on an impossible island where lost things go that want to be found.
As their timelines converge, the choices they make will not only determine their own futures but will also have bigger consequences—they will either restore a cosmic balance or destroy the dams that separate two worlds, ending them both. Ember was called because she belonged, Miles because his mother belonged, and Sam . . . well, Sam arranged his own invitation.
The seeds for this book were planted more than two decades ago when a young child mispronounced lost and found. He called it losting fountain. My brain immediately grabbed on to the idea of such a place—What would be the purpose of a place like that? What would happen there? Who might benefit from it and who might…not? It took me many, many years to work up the courage to try to write a book and The Losting Fountain was my first completed manuscript although it is my fourth published novel.
2) You’ve described The Losting Fountain as “lower YA.” What does that mean to you, and what should readers expect from a book in that category?
If I’m being really honest, I have a hard time with the age classification for a lot of books. Sometimes a story is just a story and can be for anyone—side note, this is why I love middle grade books so much. They are the one category that can be for just about any reader.
In the case of The Losting Fountain, lower YA is as good a category as any. There’s more blood on the page and light swearing than I would put in my straight-up middle grade books but I think it could serve as a really nice stepping stone for young readers who are ready to try a book outside middle grade.
3) What is your writing process? Are you a pantser or a plotter or somewhere in between?
Oh, how I wish I had a process! It seems to change with every book. I suppose a few things are consistent across my books. While I don’t outline, I do have to mull a story over—for weeks or sometimes months—before I start committing words to page. I usually keep about a page of notes that would make sense to only me. That page has ideas or scenes that are vital to the story I’m trying to tell. The document serves as a sort of touchstone for me as I draft the manuscript.
As for the actual act of drafting, I write when and where I can. I have a family and a full-time job so if I want to get anything done, I have to be flexible. There are lots of very early morning sessions when I’m writing a manuscript. Sometimes I write during lunch breaks. Sometimes I write in the family room while my kids watch TV. Whatever it takes to get it done.
4) The Losting Fountain is your fourth published novel, all of which range from spooky to scary. Why are you drawn to horror stories? Do you have your eye on other genres in the future?
I discovered horror very early and never looked back. I jumped from John Bellairs straight to Stephen King and while I was probably (definitely) too young for King’s books, I was hooked on scary stories. As a kid with a lot of anxiety, those scary stories gave me a chance to practice being brave. And, honestly, I just love the feeling of being terrified and safe at the same time.
I won’t say never, but I have a hard time seeing myself writing something that doesn’t have a ghost or a monster (supernatural or human). I keep a list of all the books I want to write and every one of those is on the spooky-to-scary continuum. I may surprise myself someday and take a different path, but I sort of doubt it.
5) What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on the fifth Blight Harbor book—this one is a prequel set in the 1990’s and Blight Harbor readers will recognize the cast. The tweens and teens in this book are adults in the Evie Von Rathe books.
I’m also working on an unannounced YA horror that I am very excited about. I’ll share more about it when I can! Oh, and I’m also in the mulling-over stage of an adult horror novel with some pitch-black comedy. I think that will be my next project when these are done.
All that said, I have so much love for middle grade. I have (what I think is) a really good idea for a new series. Time will tell on that one!
Set in a small New England town with a secret history dating back to the Salem Witch Trials, The Witches of Willow Cove is an upper-middle grade series full of magic, mystery, and adventure perfect for readers ages 10 and up. To mark today’s publication of the second book in the series, we’re sitting down with author Josh Roberts for another installment of our Spooky Middle Grade interview series, “5 Questions with …”
1. Tell us about The Curse of Willow Cove and its predecessor, The Witches of Willow Cove.
The first book, called The Witches of Willow Cove, tells the story of a 13-year-old girl named Abby Shepherd, who learns she’s a witch just as a mysterious stranger arrives in town and offers to teach her everything there is to know about witchcraft. The only problem? This stranger might also be responsible for the disappearance of someone close to Abby years earlier . . . and she might have something equally wicked planned this time around.
In The Curse of Willow Cove, Abby has a year of witchcraft under her belt and things are finally starting to go her way—until some of her classmates start vanishing in the night, only to return as something terrifyingly different than before. With the clock ticking and the danger getting closer and closer to Abby’s doorstep, she and her best friend Robby O’Reilly must both decide what they’re willing to risk to save everyone they love . . . before an ancient curse from Willow Cove’s past sinks its teeth into them all.
School Library Journal says that The Witches of Willow Cove series “may be written for middle grade, but the exciting narrative could appeal to young adults,” and that’s exactly what I was going for—a sort of PG-13 story that can genuinely be enjoyed by readers of all ages.
2. What inspired this new book? How did you come up with the idea?
As a lifelong New Englander, I’ve always been interested in the region’s history and folklore, and in particular a mysterious episode from the past called the Great New England Vampire Panic. Back in the late 19th century, farmers and townspeople all across New England became convinced that their dead relatives were rising from their graves as vampires to suck the life from their living relatives. The Curse of Willow Cove began with the question, “What if they were actually right?”
3. Did you love spooky stories as a kid?
My dad was a funeral director and we lived in a spooky old Victorian funeral home for my entire childhood, so in many ways my life was a spooky story. In fact, my dad was the fifth generation in our family to work as a mortician, dating all the way back to the Civil War. I don’t recall reading a lot of scary stories as a kid, but I have always loved inventing them.
The Witches of Willow Cove series borrows heavily from my childhood and teenage years growing up in a New England town just north of Salem, Massachusetts. I became fascinated by the fact that not only were there accused witches all across the state—including one in my hometown—but also that the witch trials did not actually occur in modern day Salem.
That was the kernel of the idea that kicked off the whole series: What if the town you were living in had a secret witch history you didn’t even know about . . . and what if something about your own family history tied you directly to that distant past?
4. What is your writing process?
It changes and evolves with every book. Earlier in my writing career, I was a meticulous outliner. I had to have every scene and chapter mapped out and working perfectly before I could even begin to put words on the page. But what I found is that it made the writing process less interesting for me once I sat down to actually craft the story, because it didn’t leave a lot of room for surprises.
With the first book in The Witches of Willow Cove series, I went entirely the other way—I just started writing without any idea of where it would go. That proved to be a little too exciting because it led to a few dead ends that I struggled to resolve in my early drafts.
Where I’ve landed now is a sort of hybrid writing process where I put together a list of ideas, scenes, themes, characters, and settings that I find interesting, and then I start to write with some checkpoints in mind. I have a vague sense of where I’m going and how I want to get there, but there’s still plenty of room for discovery and surprises along the way.
In every scene, I’m asking myself, “What’s the most exciting thing that could happen here?” Sometimes it’s an idea I’ve already settled on. Sometimes it takes the story in a whole new direction. I love giving myself permission to explore those ideas and see where I end up.
5. What’s next for The Witches of Willow Cove?
As with The Curse of Willow Cove, the next book in the series will jump ahead another year—putting the main cast of characters in high school for the first time. So, a new school, new friends, new rivals . . . and lots of new opportunities for storytelling. It’s tentatively titled The Haunting of Willow Cove and I can’t wait to share it with readers, just as soon as I finish writing it!
Praise for The Witches of Willow Cove series
“Roberts is a masterful storyteller. I loved it!” —Lora Senf, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Clackity
“A delightfully spooky page-turner . . . Roberts spins an engrossing tale of magic, mystery, and friendship.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“The book may be written for middle grade, but the exciting narrative could appeal to young adults . . . A first-tier purchase for public and school library middle grade collections.” —School Library Journal, Starred Review
At Spooky Middle Grade, we firmly believe that spooky books should be celebrated and enjoyed all year long. But even we can admit there’s something a little extra special about reading a spooky book in the fall, when the days grow colder and the nights begin to creep closer and closer into the daylight hours.
So, this Halloween season, settle in with one of our hand-picked recommendations for spooky middle grade books published this summer and fall. And check back in January for our winter 2025 recommendations!
Benji Zeb has to balance preparing for his bar mitzvah, his feelings for a school bully, and being a werewolf in this heartfelt, coming-of-age novel for middle-grade readers. For fans of Don’t Want to Be Your Monster and Too Bright to See.
Benji Zeb has a lot going on. He has a lot of studying to do, not only for school but also for his upcoming bar mitzvah. He’s nervous about Mr. Rutherford, the aggressive local rancher who hates Benji’s family’s kibbutz and wolf sanctuary. And he hasn’t figured out what to do about Caleb, Mr. Rutherford’s stepson, who has been bullying Benji pretty hard at school, despite Benji wanting to be friends (and maybe something more). And all of this is made more complicated by the fact that, secretly, Benji and his entire family are werewolves who are using the wolf sanctuary as cover for their true identities!
Things come to a head when Caleb shows up at the kibbutz one night . . . in wolf form! He’s a werewolf too, unable to control his shifting, and he needs Benji’s help. Can anxious Benji juggle all of these things along with his growing feelings toward Caleb?
After getting bullied at Figueroa Elementary, Stix Hart wants nothing more than to fly below the radar at middle school. He’s heard all the horror stories, but none involved ghosts.
On Stix’s first day of sixth grade, his anxiety is off the charts. It doesn’t help when he spots a kid who reminds him of his old bully, Xander Mack. Soon after, he encounters two other students who take a keen interest in him. He quickly learns the spooky truth—the trio are lost souls in need of a solid. When the ghosts tell him they’ve been stuck in middle school for decades, it’s up to Stix to figure out how to help these not-so-normal new friends.
Solving this paranormal predicament will take some serious sleuthing and tremendous bravery. Can Stix solve this mystery and help these spirits move on before it’s too late?
From the creator of My Life As a Teenage Robot comes the second story in a middle-grade horror series about a horrible bag, the spine-chilling world hidden within it, and a terrifying adventure into the world of GrahBhag. Perfect for fans of Coraline, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and Small Spaces.
Zenith Maelstrom knows he’s forgetting something…
But he can’t quite remember what. He wakes up to notes in his handwriting with messages like, “Prepare for battle!” – but what battle? – and his sister Apogee seems to grow angrier with him by the day. It’s not until he finds Apogee sneaking back into the horrible bag hidden away in their basement that all the dreadful details about GrahBhag resurface. The spiderlike Shlurps. The trio of foul mouths that hunger for blood. Eldritch horrors around every corner.
Desperate to save Apogee from her ill-planned attempt to right the wrongs of their last trip into the bag, Zenith is forced to follow her into the bizarre world that has certainly not forgotten them. Between old foes set on vengeance like Raggedy Albert and terrifying new ones like the haunting Wraith, Zenith will have to put things right with his sister without falling into the clutches of those who would do him harm. For if he is caught, Eternity Tower awaits…
With a combination of dry, absurdist humor and no-holds-barred horror, Rob Renzetti has crafted a delightfully imaginative fantasy world that will hook readers as surely as it will send chills down their spines.
The legend of Bigfoot gets a bone-chilling update in this scary story about a young girl and her scout troop who are willing to brave the woods to find her missing friend when no one else will. Perfect for fans of Daka Hermon and Claribel A. Ortega!
The wilderness is in Jenna’s blood. Her Pap was the first Black park ranger at Sturbridge Reservation, and she practically knows the Owlet Survival Handbook by heart. But she’s never encountered a creature like the one that took her best friend Reese. Her parents don’t believe her; the police are worthless, following the wrong leads; and the media isn’t connecting the dots between Reese’s disappearance and a string of other attacks. Determined to save her friend, Jenna joins a new local scout troop, and ventures back into the woods.
When the troop stumbles across suspicious signs: huge human-like footprints near the camp, scratch marks on trees, and ominous sounds from the woods, Jenna worries that whatever took Reese is back to take her too. Can she trust her new scout leader? And will her new friend Norrie—who makes her laugh and reminds her so much of Reese—believe her?
After the unthinkable happens, the scouts, armed with their wits and toiletries, band together to fight the monster and survive the night.
The Walter Award Honor–winning author of Root Magic returns with a terrifying story in the Southern Gothic tradition, inspired by the hoodoo practice of hair burning.
At night, Roddie still dreams of sitting at his mother’s feet while she braids his Afro down. But that’s a memory from before. Before his mom died in a tragic accident. Before he was taken in by an aunt he barely knows. Before his aunt brought him to Dogwood House, the creepiest place Roddie has ever seen. It was his family’s home for over a hundred years. Now the house—abandoned and rotting, draped in Spanish moss that reminds him too much of hair—is his home too.
Aunt Angie has returned to South Carolina to take care of Roddie and reconnect with their family’s hoodoo roots. Roddie, however, can’t help but feel lost. His mom had never told him anything about hoodoo, Dogwood House, or their family. And as they set about fixing the house up, Roddie discovers that there is even more his mother never said. Like why she left home when she was seventeen, never to return. Or why she insisted Aunt Angie always wear her hair in locs. Or what she knew of the strange secrets hidden deep within Dogwood House—secrets that have awoken again, and are reaching out to Roddie…
This spine-tingling ghost story follows a tween girl who’s being literally haunted by loneliness until a new friendship upends her life. From the bestselling author of the Paola Santiago series!
Sadie Rivera has been haunted all her life by a vengeful ghost—a ghost that doesn’t want her to make any friends. The moment she tries? Cue exploding lightbulbs, chilling gusts of wind, and slamming doors.
Last year, Sadie got fed up. Last year, she made a best friend, Anna. So when the ghost caused an accident that killed her best friend, Sadie knew it was all her fault.
Which is why she’s not going to make any friends this year at her new school. At least until mysterious cool girl Mal shows up, and the ghost doesn’t bother her for once. But Mal wants Sadie all to herself—and she’ll do anything to make sure it stays that way.
A boy travels into an alternate version of his Halloween-obsessed town to save his sister from an evil witch and free the town from the witch’s curse. A ghoulish and creepy middle school read perfect for spooky season!
Welcome to Pearl, a town obsessed with Halloween: the spooky decorations, the costumes, the candy. No one seems to notice that every October 31st, a kid goes missing. Mason Miller does, though. Somehow he’s the only one who has any memory the person existed at all.
When Mason’s sister, Meg, vanishes while they’re trick-or-treating, Mason and his friends are pulled into an underworld where monsters roam the streets. They need to fight the evil taking over Pearl, but none of them know the true danger they’re facing.
Meg has been stolen by a witch who has no plans to let her go. Shadows of death curl around trees and behind doorways as Mason must use every ounce of bravery he has . . . or be haunted forever with the memory of a sister that only he remembers.
The past has come calling in the town of Hush, and for one girl, that means facing her ghosts. Perfect for fans of the satisfyingly scary Small Spaces quartet!
Maddie Maverick likes to win. Whether it’s track team races or one-liners she delivers on her parents’ home renovation show, Maddie knows that if she puts in the work, she’ll always come out on top. But things take a turn when her ghost-hunting nana passes away, and Maddie and her twin sister, Nat, discover that Nana left them an unexpected inheritance: They can now see ghosts just like she did.
While Nat is totally on board to try to help some spirits find peace, a ghostly calling is just not Maddie’s speed. So when history comes back to haunt their town, and the story of a decades-old train crash rears its ugly head, Maddie wants nothing to do with the ghosts of days long gone. But one ghost in particular won’t go away, and Maddie might just be the only one with the power to help her—that is, if she can survive the Night Train herself.
In this eerie tale by beloved author Lorelei Savaryn, one girl’s determination to bring long-hidden secrets to light might just change her town—and herself—forever.
There’s no escaping these deliciously creepy tales of everyday horror, perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
Once you open this book, you’re doomed . . . Cursed to stay up late, savoring every line of these terrifying stories. Go ahead and try to resist. The Night Things won’t let you get far.
Master storyteller Josh Allen, hailed as the “heir-apparent to Alvin Schwartz,” brings thirteen nightmare scenarios to life in this page-turning collection. From a shiny abandoned bike, to an innocent classroom icebreaker, to a piano recital that requires unusual sacrifices, there’s no end to the shocking twists on everyday reality.
In Allen’s wondrous world, which looks an awful like our own, danger waits behind every doorway . . . even in the most ordinary places. Kids eager for age-appropriate horror will relish every thrill and chill. Eerie illustrations by award-winning artist Sarah Coleman accompany the stories, packaged in a stunning hardcover edition complete with a glow-in-the-dark jacket. Readers will sleep with one eye open!
The legend of the Pied Piper meets Sal and Gabi Break the Universe with a touch of Coraline in this spooky and suspenseful middle grade adventure about a boy whose wish goes horribly wrong and his fight to reunite with his real family.
Sam Windsor’s parents and younger siblings, Grayson and Addie, are his whole world, so when his parents announce they’re separating, Sam is devastated. He’d do anything to make his parents change their minds and keep the family together. When a stranger offers a flute made of bone that supposedly grants the player’s wish, Sam doesn’t really believe it will work but figures he has nothing to lose.
Surprisingly, the wish on the skeleton flute comes true. The next day, his parents are happily in love, with no plans for his dad to leave. But there’s a major problem: his parents’ relationship isn’t the only thing in his life that has changed, and some of the changes are definitely for the worse.
Caught in a world full of unintended consequences and familiar strangers, Sam has limited options for returning to his old life—worries, challenges, and all. Can he track down the mysterious man who gave him the flute and undo his wish?
Stranger Things meets A Monster Calls in this spine-tingling, emotionally rich middle grade novel about a boy who must protect his neighborhood from a malevolent monster tree while dealing with the recent loss of his father.
Linus used to be an artist, like his dad. Now his father is gone, and Linus’s mom has moved them to the other side of the city, hoping for a fresh start. Maybe, for the first time in months, Linus will even draw again.
But there’s something unusual about their neighbor Maude and something wrong with the grotesque tree in her backyard. At night Linus sees it moving, changing, growing. When increasingly bizarre events plague the neighborhood―massive claw marks appearing on doors and cars, pets going missing, sightings of a red-eyed creature―he suspects Maude and her tree are to blame.
With his home under threat, Linus teams up with his goofy best friend, Spencer, and no-nonsense new girl Abby to unearth whatever sinister seeds have been planted next door . . . where something truly monstrous is just taking root.
The first book in a rich, eerie middle grade fantasy duology full of magic, monsters, and miles and miles of untamed forest, from the author of The Prince of Nowhere. Motivated by desperation and brotherhood, a boy must venture deep into the Nightwood to find a cure for his mysteriously sick brother. Perfect for fans of Over the Garden Wall and Serafina and the Black Cloak.
For twelve-year-old Nox Winters, the town of Evergreen isn’t home—it’s a tourist trap in middle-of-nowhere Maine for amateur cryptozoologists hoping to spot its infamous legend, a batlike creature known as the Evergreen Devil. But his twin brother, Noah, has been wasting away from an illness that has left medical professionals stumped, and the doctors here in Evergreen are his last hope. And Nox goes where Noah goes.
But as Noah’s condition worsens, Nox begins to suspect that Evergreen is doing more harm than good—and that there might be some truth to its tales of fearsome cryptids and mysterious disappearances. When Noah falls into a deep sleep that Nox can’t wake him from, Nox’s only chance at saving him lies in the surrounding forest; there, he discovers a hidden world where it’s always nighttime, full of powerful magic, supernatural creatures, and capricious minor gods. Nox must venture deeper into an endless night and successfully bargain with the terrifying Keepers of the forest for a cure to Noah’s ailment or else neither twin will leave Evergreen alive.
Evie ventures into the Dark Sun Side to rescue her loved ones, only to discover truths darker than she could have ever imagined in this thrilling finale to the Blight Harbor series that’s perfect for fans of Doll Bones and Small Spaces.
As summer comes to an end, Evie Von Rathe is determined to begin the search for her parents in earnest. Armed with her knowledge of the otherworldly, her mom’s violet glasses, and a pendant full of doors, Evie begins to piece together clues. When she realizes her mother’s bedtime story might be a roadmap to finding them, Evie follows it back to the Dark Sun Side.
But stories are funny things, and they change from one teller to the next.
The black nothing of the Radix is waiting, and it knows more than it’s ever let on. Evie will need every bit of courage she has for what’s coming. With Bird at her side, and maybe even a reluctant Lark as well, Evie has what she hopes is her last adventure under a purple sky.
In Pura Belpré Honor–winning author Adrianna Cuevas’s new spooky middle grade novel. Frani must fight to stop the undead from rising in her father’s body-farm laboratory—that is, if she can embrace the true nature of her brain and its ADHD.
No one has ever called Frani Gonzalez squeamish. Seriously, whether it’s guts (no big deal), bugs (move aside, she’s got this), or anything else that you might find at the Central Texas Forensic Anthropology Research Facility, to her and her dad, the university’s body farm is just home.
Having bodies buried in her backyard doesn’t exactly make Frani the most popular kid in school, and the imaginary spider that lives in a web in her brain isn’t helping either. Arañita’s always to blame for the distracted thoughts weaving through Frani’s mind. But when a hand reaches out of the ground and grabs her ankle, Frani realizes that she’s got bigger problems.
Not everything is as it seems at the body farm, and now Frani must help the teenage zombie that crawled out of the dirt…before he gets too hungry. But as more and more zombies begin to appear—and they seem to get less and less friendly—can Frani embrace the true nature of her brain and count on new friendships to solve the body farm’s mystery before it’s overrun with the undead?
Coraline meets Ghost Squad in this terrifying story about what happens when you aren’t careful what you wish for.
Ollie Di Costa wishes things could be different. He wishes the bullies at school would leave him alone. He wishes his parents would stop fighting. He wishes his sister Mia didn’t have to worry about things like paying for college. But most of all, he wishes he wasn’t so angry about all of this.
When he and Mia find a two-tailed cat they name Wishbone, Ollie takes comfort in telling him everything he wishes would change-then suddenly, it does. Everything Ollie and Mia wish for comes true, and it’s like all of their problems are solved. But magic comes at a price. Whatever they wish for is not simply given to them, but taken from others. And to make matters worse, a mysterious shadow man called The Mage is after Wishbone and his power.
With each wish, darkness takes over more and more of their world, and worst of all, it threatens to take over Ollie, too. But can he let go of everything he’s ever wanted?
A new locked room scary story about thirteen-year-old Avery, who plans a séance at a deserted theater to bond with her friends, only to realize they’re locked inside with someone—or something—else. This spine tingling read is perfect for fans of Katherine Arden and Lindsay Currie!
When Avery returns to her hometown after moving away a year earlier, she is hoping to jump back into her friend group as if nothing’s changed.
Unfortunately, new interests, secret crushes, and changing dynamics get in her way. To reunite her BFFs, she suggests they host a séance at an abandoned theater that was the site of a horrible tragedy. What starts as a fun outing, soon becomes a fight for survival after the group gets locked in …and discovers they’re not alone.
Haunted Mansion meets the ultimate escape room in this tense and twisty middle grade horror following four kids who must beat a series of games to make it out of a haunted house.
The creepiest place in Barret Eloise’s small town is the abandoned Raithfield Manor, a decrepit house surrounded by rumors of ghosts and kids going missing. So she certainly never planned on stepping foot inside. But when her history teacher gives her a group project to research a local landmark, the manor is the location her group chooses. Determined to ace the project and fix her awkward first impression on her assigned partners—which include her former friend Helena, smart and confident Wayne, and school basketball star Ridge—Barret Eloise isn’t about to let some tall tales scare her off.
When the kids first enter the house, it seems to be nothing more than an empty building. But when the sun goes down, the doors and windows lock, sealing them inside. Even worse, the room they’re in transforms into an all-too-real game of The Floor is Lava. It doesn’t take long for the group to realize the mansion is a maze of childhood games. Win the game and you keep moving forward, lose and you disappear. And complicating it all is a worrying revelation—they are not alone in the house. If Barret Eloise wants to make it home, she and her dysfunctional group are going to have to learn to work together quickly.
A spooky, heartfelt mystery inspired by Caribbean mythology, featuring the most lovable characters in middle grade fiction!
For once, everything in twelve-year-old Josephine’s life is going according to plan. She’s finally proved that girls belong on the cricket team and earned a spot as a starting player! And she’s confident that she and her best friend, Ahkai, will both be accepted to their dream secondary school. Nothing can stop Jo now — not even the memory of the vengeful sea spirit she vanquished last year.
But then a series of disasters strike. Ahkai suddenly seems to have a new best friend — the annoyingly perfect Lynne. Then Jo isn’t accepted to the same school as Ahkai! Even worse, Jo keeps having eerie encounters with a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows — a figure who bears an unsettling resemblance to the fearsome Heartman rumored to steal children’s hearts…
Jo doesn’t know where to turn. With Daddy away, the only person who’ll believe her is Ahkai, but Jo is too proud to ask for help after being replaced. By the time she musters the courage to approach him, it’s too late. Ahkai has disappeared without a trace. He’s been taken by the Heartman. None of the adults believe Jo. The Heartman is just a legend, after all. But Jo knows that the fearsome creature is real and that if she doesn’t find his lair soon, Ahkai will be lost forever.
From J. A. White, the acclaimed author of Nightbooks, comes another spine-chilling stand-alone middle grade horror novel about a pair of friends who discover a strange creature in a cave that can make any wish come true—including bringing the dead back to life.
The town of Haywood, New Jersey, has a secret. A wish monster. Violet Park discovered its cave by accident, and the wish monster granted her deepest desire by bringing her dog Midnight back to life. It even erased everyone’s memory of his death. Life was perfect. But then an unremarkable boy named Hudson Causeway somehow remembered Midnight had died.
That scared Violet. What if he ruined everything? Even worse, what if the wish monster wasn’t as innocent as it seemed? Deep down, Violet knew: No wishes are made without consequences, and every monster needs to be fed.
A chilling middle grade novel about a girl haunted by a hungry ghost.
Molly Teng sees things no one else can. By touching the belongings of people who have died, she gets brief glimpses into the lives they lived. Sometimes the “zaps” are funny or random, but often they leave her feeling sad, drained, and lonely.
The last thing Jade remembers from life is dying. That was over one hundred years ago. Ever since then she’s been trapped in the same house watching people move in and out. She’s a ‘hungry ghost’ reliant on the livings’ food scraps to survive. To most people she is only a shadow, a ghost story, a superstition.
Molly is not most people. When she moves into Jade’s house, nothing will ever be the same―for either of them. After over a century alone, Jade might finally have someone who can help her uncover the secrets of her past, and maybe even find a way out of the house―before her hunger destroys them both.
Jasmine Garza has a problem: a ghost has been following her for years, ever since her Papi died. Not that Mami will admit anything supernatural is going on. But even the ghost she won’t acknowledge makes real trouble, so Jasmine and her mami are moving (again) to a new apartment in East Hollywood. This time Jasmine is committed to living a normal life with normal friends.
Enter: Bea Veracruz and Jorge Barrera. They’re the only two members of Jasmine’s middle school’s Gay Straight Alliance and they’re already obsessed with all things supernatural. Bea wants to prove herself to her paranormal investigator parents and Jorge is determined to overcome his fear of the beyond. And when Jasmine confesses she’s been tormented by a ghost for years, they not only believe her, they’re thrilled!
Together they set out to prove that Jasmine’s not just acting out after her father’s death–ghosts are real and Jasmine is haunted. But not everyone agrees how to deal with the departed. As Jasmine’s hauntings increase in intensity, her resentment builds. Why is her Mami so secretive about her past? Why is she the center of such a terrible vortex of supernatural activity? And why hasn’t her Papi ever reached out to her since he passed?
In order to face her ghosts―both internal and external―Jasmine must come to terms with her own history.
In this spellbinding sequel to The Witches of Willow Cove, Abby Shepherd and her coven of teenage witches must confront an undead terror that threatens the safety of their friends, families, and maybe even the entire world.
Now fourteen years old and with a year of witchcraft under her belt, Abby finally feels like things are going her way. That is, until her mother announces they’re moving to a new town, her boyfriend stops speaking to her, and her eighth-grade classmates start vanishing in the middle of the night-only to return as something terrifyingly different than before.
When the mysterious Council of Witches summons Abby and her friends to their secret domain, then forbids the young coven from investigating the sinister events unfolding in Willow Cove, Abby begins to suspect the Council knows more about the disappearances than they’re letting on.
With the clock ticking and the danger getting closer and closer to Abby’s doorstep, she and her best friend Robby O’Reilly must both decide what they’re willing to risk to save everyone they love . . . before an ancient curse from Willow Cove’s past sinks its teeth into them all.
A girl tackles a summer filled with mystery, treasure, and learning to be her true self in this middle grade adventure that’s a modern-day Holes set on a dusty dude ranch in Montana.
Becca Soloway’s perfect summer goes up in smoke when her mom flees a looming divorce by dragging Becca to a Montana resort. To make matters worse, her mom’s hasty booking lands them not at a spa, but an aging dude ranch called Far Away.
Becca is miserable until she meets the wrangler’s son, Jon, who shows her what might be the first clue to a century-old mystery: the lost treasure of a Robin Hood–like outlaw known as Pearlhandle Pete.
As they slowly uncover the true history of Pete, venture into the mountains, search haunted ghost towns, and are threatened by a treasure-hunter-social-media star, Becca discovers that treasure is in the eye of the beholder and the important things in life are always worth fighting for.
It’s back to school time! Well, in some parts of the world; hopefully if you’re a teacher, you get a few more weeks to catch your breath.
Here at Spooky Middle-Grade, we can’t appreciate you educators enough. We do our best to show our appreciation, by hosting free virtual author Q&A visits for example. Some of us are teachers or librarians ourselves, so we get it.
To show our appreciation a little extra at the start of this school year, we’re hosting a MEGA 20-book giveaway…! One winner will get all 20 books in this graphic below. It’s the perfect way to start a spooky middle-grade library…
When I was a school librarian, I liked to explore fantasy worlds with students. I’d read books to them and book talk new selections. As an author myself, I’ve always liked to create excitement in students—not only with reading but also in creating their own characters and stories.
Many students though found the writing process daunting. One way I would ease their way into crafting a fantasy story was by taking them through the simplified steps of drawing a dragon. The students then could each write their own dragon story or poem. There’s something about being physically attached to a creature that makes it easier to create a story about it.
At this time of year, (or all year long according to us spooky authors) it’s fun to not only write spooky stories but craft spooky art as well.
Here are crocheted dragons by Samantha Clark, celebrating the release of her two GEMSTONE DRAGONS chapter books which premiered in August.
Crocheted Gemstone Dragons created by Samantha Clark
In tribute to my main character, FRANKENSTEIN FRIGHTFACE GORDON in FROM THE GRAVE, I personalized a small candy jar with Frank’s face. The jar is perfect for holding a Gory Grape Eyeball—or candy of your choice. It’s a super simple project. I drew Frank’s face on a piece of paper that fit inside the jar—then I traced the drawing on the outside. I used black, white, and blue Sharpie pens to draw and color in Frank’s face on the outside of the jar.
Frankenstein Frightface Gordon Candy Jar created by Cynthia Reeg
Now it’s your turn! Choose one of your favorite fantasy characters and bring them to life in whatever medium you chose!
If you need inspiration, I’ve included a spooky example below. Have fun!
RETURN OF THE MUMMY
Here are directions for creating a mummy rising from its coffin!
I used the book, SPOOKY THINGS: Making Pictures by Penny King and Claire Roundhill, to provide an idea. But I improvised with many of the components, and that’s what makes each art project so unique—just like each spooky story.
Find a sturdy background for your artwork—I used an old manilla folder but a piece of cardboard or poster board would work too. I cut a sponge into a rectangular brick then dipped it in alternating paints to make the crypt-like stonework behind the mummy’s coffin.
Supplies
For the tomb’s floor, I used some chocolate sprinkles. The book suggested brown rice but I didn’t have any on hand. Smear a layer of glue below the sponged wall and press the sprinkles/rice into the glue.
At this point, I helped my artwork dry more quickly by blowing hot air on it with a blow dryer set on low.
Next, I cut out my head, hand, and leg pieces from a discarded cereal box in my recycle bin. I tore thin strips of toilet paper and wrapped them around each piece. On the back of each piece, I used wrapping tape to hold the TP in place.
Drawing the Head, Hand, and Leg on Cardboard
I glued two googly eyes on the head and drew the mouth with a Sharpie. You could draw the eyes as well or cut out eyes from construction paper or other recycled paper.
The directions called for a discarded tube—like paper towel or toilet paper—cut in half, length-wise. But I didn’t have any empty tubes, so I improvised by shaping some recycled box paper into an open box. I used masking tape (applied horizontally) to hold the coffin together. The tape also provided some dimension and the appearance of planks—like a real coffin. All I had to do then was color over the masking tape with brown acrylic paint.
At this point, you can tape/glue your head, hand, and leg into place on the coffin. If you are gluing the pieces, make sure they are totally dry before proceeding with the next step.
I doubled-up a strip of wrapping tape (or you could use double-sided tape) to hold the coffin in place on my backdrop. Then I stapled it at both ends to keep secure. You could glue the coffin at this point, rather than taping and stapling. If you do, it will have to remain flat and dry completely before you can display it upright.
It’s ALIVE!!!
I stamped the background with a few bats and jack-o-lanterns. Some Halloween cobwebs would look quite lovely too. Or you could cut out spiders, bugs, or other creepy crawly things to add to the delightfully frightful scene.
I’m sure Oliver, the mummy character in my books, would be impressed with this picture. Why, I think I hear him whispering a new story into my head right now. I bet, if you listen closely, your monster creature will want to tell its story too—and you’re just the person to write it all down!
Spookies rejoice! Not only does September usher in the start of Spooky Season, a new book has arrived TODAY to get you in the spirit! I was so glad for the opportunity to ask Erin Petti about her newest book, THELMA BEE IN TOIL AND TREBLE.
TANIA: YOUR TITULAR CHARACTER THELMA BEE RETURNS WITH A NEW ADVENTURE FOLLOWING THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES, THE PECULIAR HAUNTING OF THELMA BEE. WHAT CAN YOU TEASE ABOUT THIS NEW BOOK?
ERIN: TOIL AND TREBLE is filled with danger, witches, tacos, deep dark woods filled with unknown creatures, and pleather-clad Hollywood ghost hunters who might just botch the whole thing if Thlema’s crew can’t save the day.
There’s also a lot of growing up, which can sometimes be even scarier than ancient curses.
TANIA:THELMA IS A VERY SMART AND INQUISITIVE GIRL WITH A KNACK FOR SCIENCE. IS SHE BASED OFF ANYONE YOU KNOW IN REAL LIFE? WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A CHARACTER LIKE HER AS THE LEAD?
ERIN: While I was writing Thelma I kept asking the question: What if a kid was impervious to the hang-ups that often hold middle schoolers back? What if she didn’t care about what other people thought of her on a superficial level? What if she could shake off bullies like a puppy shakes off rainwater? She really took shape from there.
I think it’s important (for me, as a writer) to have an active protagonist who is filled with ideas and desires because it really moves the story forward. And for readers, I hope her bravery and intelligence, along with her foibles and missteps, light a little spark of “I can do anything too…” inside.
TANIA:IN THE FIRST BOOK, THE PECULIAR HAUNTING OF THELMA BEE, THELMA HAD TO DEAL WITH SUPERNATURAL EVENTS WHICH CONFLICTED WITH HER RATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC MIND. HOW HAVE THE EVENTS OF THE FIRST BOOK CHANGED AND PREPARED HER FOR THIS NEXT ADVENTURE?
ERIN: In book two she’s got a whole new world view, and she’s starting to understand complexities in a whole new way. Things are not black and white. Sometimes the right choice isn’t the obvious choice. Now she truly knows that anything is possible, which makes things a whole lot more complicated. You know, growing up stuff 🙂
TANIA:ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THE FIRST BOOK WAS THE LIVELY CAST OF CHARACTERS. WILL THEY ALL BE RETURNING, AND CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING ANY NEW FACES?
ERIN: Yes! All Thelma Bee’s friends return in the second book and I’m so excited to introduce some new characters as well. There’s a pair of pleather-clad TV ghost hunters who make quite a splash in town, and a brand new friend named Bobby who is pure chaos and probably one of my favorite characters I’ve ever written!
TANIA: WITHOUT GIVING TOO MUCH AWAY, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THELMA BEE IN TOIL AND TROUBLE?
ERIN: Oooh…OK, this is a tricky question because I don’t want to give spoilers! But I will say that Thelma has to team up with an old adversary while they are lost in a cursed forest…things get pretty dicey, but I really love what happens next!
TANIA: DO YOU THINK WRITING A SEQUEL IS EASIER OR MORE DIFFICULT? WERE THERE ANY CHALLENGES YOU HAD TO OVERCOME TO WRITE THIS STORY?
ERIN: I think writing the sequel was much harder, but it was also more fun! I was so worried because the characters mean so much to me and I wanted to do right by them – which made writing a little slower at first. But once I really understood the story that Thelma had to tell, the RVPS crew basically started speaking for themselves and it was an awesome ride.
TANIA: EVERY SPOOKY MIDDLE GRADE AUTHOR HAS A REASON THEY GRAVITATE TOWARDS WRITING SPOOKY STORIES. WHAT’S YOURS?
ERIN: I think that I am really inspired by the in-between spaces, be that in-between adulthood and childhood, or in-between living and dead, realistic and fantastical. The supernatural is a wonderful, huge, exhilarating question to explore and I just can’t get enough.
TANIA:HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING SUPERNATURAL IN YOUR OWN LIFE?
ERIN: When I was in college I worked at The House of the Seven Gables in Salem, MA as a costumed tour guide. High Edwardian collars and the whole deal. My grandmother Peggy brought her psychic friend Debbie on one of the tours and afterwards Debbie told me that when we were up in the attic, and I was talking about the dollhouse there, there was a little girl ghost dressed in white watching me! But she said, no worries because it seemed like she liked having me there. My little Salem ghost girl BFF!
TANIA: WILL WE BE SEEING MORE OF THELMA BEE IN THE FUTURE? WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?
ERIN: I am working on the third Thelma Bee book as we speak! The intention is to make Thelma Bee a trilogy, but I always want to leave the door cracked open to more adventure. These folks feel like really good friends now, and I will have a hard time saying goodbye.
TANIA:WHERE CAN READERS BEST CONNECT WITH YOU?
ERIN: I love connecting with readers! I’m active on Instagram @erinpetti and Twitter at @empetti – also there’s an Erin Petti, Author Facebook page as well. I’ve met tons of amazing readers this year doing workshops at schools and libraries as well and all that info can be found at erinpettibooks.com/visits.
Welcome to my interview with Author Dan Poblocki and his latest release TALES TO KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT! **Teachers, Parents: With the spooky season creeping every so slowly upon us, this is the perfect book to add to your reading list.
Amelia is cleaning out her grandmother’s attic when she stumbles across a book: Tales to Keep You Up at Night. But when she goes to the library to return it, she’s told that the book never belonged there. Curious, she starts to read the stories: tales of strange incidents in nearby towns, journal entries chronicling endless, twisting pumpkin vines, birthday parties gone awry, and cursed tarot decks. At the center of the stories lies a family of witches. And witches, she’s told, can look like anyone. As elements from the stories begin to come to life around her, and their eerie connections become clear, Amelia begins to realize that she may be in a spooky story of her own.
TALES TO KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT is the perfect next-read for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark!. An excellent addition to Halloween round ups, middle grade readers will be glued to the pages, up way past their bedtimes, reading with flashlights, as they explore each of these interconnected stories. With frightening artwork at the start of each chapter, this book keeps readers engaged and terrified from beginning to end.
THE INTERVIEW🎙️
Hi Dan! It’s great to have you visit our spooky crypt. Let’s start with this: A description of Tales To Keep You Up At Night appears in the local newspaper. What does it say?
What do you do if you find a mysterious book in your missing grandmother’s attic? If you’re Amelia, you try to return it to the local library. But what if the librarian says the book doesn’t belong there? Amelia reads the creepy tales within – stories about bad birthday parties and scary sleepovers, about revenge gone wrong and weird rocks out in the woods, about a family of witches who may or may not have the right to be very angry – and by sunset she realizes that the stories are not just stories. Like the title of her new book suggests, Amelia won’t be getting ANY sleep tonight.
That would definitely draw in some attention.
Set the stage as the story begins and what happens when your main character Amelia sneaks into an old attic.
Amelia’s story begins when she and her family are at Grandmother’s house to finally clean it out. Grandmother has been gone for a year. Amelia’s mothers say Grandmother has passed on, but Amelia doesn’t believe it. Annoyed, Amelia sneaks up to the quiet attic and remembers a dream in which Grandmother hands her a book called Tales to Keep You Up at Night. To her surprise, the very book is lying on the dusty floor. Is this a clue about what really happened to Grandmother, or is this just another library book? Flipping through the tales, Amelia soon learns that the answer is a little bit of both, but also . . . a little bit of neither . . .
Like most of your books, Amelia’s story is grounded in spooky elements. What makes this spooky world different or unique from the other scary tales you’ve written?
Tales to Keep You Up at Night is my first foray into short stories. So that feels unique. Like many of my previous work, I was inspired by the books I read as a kid, books that kept my eyes glued to the pages, and that was my goal here, as it has been since I started writing. There are many elements in TALES that I pulled from my own previous work, and perceptive readers might catch clues about how my other books are tied together in a great big web, just like the short stories in TALES. Another unique aspect of Amelia’s story was being able to play with format; there are tales in this new book that are homages to the styles of classic American story-tellers, that are written in unusual Points Of View, and even one that is a series of journal entries. It was a fun challenge to change things up in these ways.
Sounds like a great book for all students, but especially for those reluctant readers out there.
STORY CHARM🌟
You’ve inserted other stories within Amelia’s main story. Would you share how you made it all fit together?
It was like piecing together the biggest puzzle I’ve ever worked on. Simply put, I first mapped out which tales would be in the novel. Then, I wrote them, one by one. And as I went along, I noted characters and elements from the tales that might overlap with others. Once I understood that ALL of the tales related to Amelia’s own life, I leaned hard into making those overlapping details as strong as I could, so that the entire book reads more like a novel than a collection of tales. Though, now I can see that the book is BOTH of those things, which I think is pretty cool.
And I’m sure readers will think that’s pretty cool, too!
Do you have a favorite scene in the book?
In the tale called “The Volunteers,” a series of horrifying events befalls a family after they reject a gift of pumpkins from their witchy neighbors. By the end of the story, the main character realizes he’s all alone, in the dark, and he reflects back on his life, and his family, and what got them to this place. These little moments click together in his mind as he scrambles to write them all down. It’s a whirlwind of thought and emotion and worry about the choices he must now make, and every time I reread it, I get chills. The details feel real and true, and this makes the moment even scarier.
#GULP
AUTHOR’S CORNER 🖊️
What is the hardest part about writing?
The hardest part for me is the waiting. I find that most times, I can push myself to put down words on the page easily enough (especially if I don’t think of them as overly-precious words), but then, waiting to hear back from other people about what they thought or if the manuscript will sell, and finally, everything that leads up to a book coming out into the world is so stressful. But it’s also out of my control. The best thing I can do in those circumstances is start writing something new, just for myself. That’s what I can control, and that’s what keeps me grounded. Keeps me going.
What do you believe young readers can gain from reading spooky tales?
I can talk about what I gained from reading spooky tales as a young reader: a love for turning pages to find out what will happen next; for Story with a capital S; a sense of how to solve problems that scare you; that there may be a way out of the dark if you look hard enough; that children can be (and sometimes need to be) as brave (or braver!) than any adult. And especially: If a story feels TOO spooky, you can ALWAYS put the book down and say, NOT TODAY, DAN POBLOCKI, YOU SCOUNDREL! (Trust me, I don’t mind.)
Any advice for teachers and parents out there on how to encourage middle schoolers to engage in more independent reading and writing?
Thinking back to what first got me excited and engaged: Reaching for what felt accomplishable. Sometimes those were books with lots of pictures, or comic strips, or comic books, and then, eventually graphic novels, even poetry and short story collections. I’m not saying these things are necessarily “easy” but they have an added appeal for reluctant readers that other books might not. I liked being able to finish reading something, even if it was a page or two long. So, maybe, let kids read what they want to read, don’t push them away from what you think isn’t right/ sophisticated enough for them, and then encourage them to explore what might be directly adjacent to their interests, to expand the Venn diagrams of their minds.
Inquiring minds want to know: What can your readers expect from you next?
Next up are MORE TALE TO KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT. Specifically, another novel of interconnected scary stories that piggybacks off of Tales to Keep You Up at Night with new characters, new settings – even some familiar names and faces. You won’t need to read the first collection to enjoy this next one, but it certainly won’t hurt (at least . . . I hope it won’t. I can’t make any promises!).
JUST FOR FUN🤪
Have to ask: What scares you?
Many of my early nightmares were about giant mouths filled with sharp teeth, which is weird because now that I’m a little more grown-up, I have an irrational fear of being eaten alive . . . By fish, bears, pythons, alligators, even by hungry humans! NOPE. NO WAY. (NOT TODAY.) I still have a difficult time looking at photographs of animals (especially from the deep ocean) with wide jaws and their mouths full of little serrated blades. Yowch! Please, never show me a picture of a shark. I will fall to the floor and cover my head, and then I’ll be embarrassed and you’ll be embarrassed and no one will have a good time anymore, at all, ever.
Um, yeah . . . you probably should stay away from giant teeth. LOL
Thank you for sharing your spooky tales with our readers! All the best to your from your #SpookyMG crew!
THE AUTHOR
Dan Poblocki is the co-author with Neil Patrick Harris of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Magic Misfits (writing under the pen-name Alec Azam). He’s also the author of The Stone Child, The Nightmarys, and the Mysterious Four series. His recent books, The Ghost of Graylock and The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, were Junior Library Guild selections and made the American Library Association’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list in 2013 and 2014. Dan lives in Saugerties, New York, with two scaredy-cats and a growing collection of very creepy toys.
About the illustrator: Marie Bergeron was born and raised in Montreal. After studying cinematography, she attended École de Design. Her style is inspired by many things, including films and games, contrasting a more graphic approach with organic strokes. Her clients have included Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Fox Entertainment, and more.
*So Readers, what do you think about Dan’s new book?
Spooky Middle Grade 