Happy October, readers and writers!
This month, some of us here at Spooky MG have been talking about historical–or historical-ish–creepy middle grade books: why we write them, what we love about them, which ones are recent favorites.
Read on to find out what we had to say — and if you haven’t already, be sure to check out our *giveaway* of all of these marvelous historical MGs over on Twitter!
(To enter: Retweet the giveaway post and follow @spookymgbooks. Bonus entries for tagging friends! Open from 10/4 to 10/9 at midnight EST. Winner announced 10/10/20. US only.)
Janet Fox – author of THE CHARMED CHILDREN OF ROOKSKILL CASTLE and THE ARTIFACT HUNTERS
Why do you like to write historical spooky books?
I love historical books, and adding that spooky element raises the stakes to a whole new level. But, in fact, The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle, my first spooky historical, became a historical work first and a spooky book second. It was an organic process of finding that I had an antagonist who was so evil that she took the story to a different level. In The Artifact Hunters, my second, because it’s a sequel I used many of the same elements (setting, time period, some characters) and so the spookiness was baked in. But I do love twisting historical elements (castles) with creepy ones (ghosts).
Tell us a bit about your book. What drew you to the period in which your book is set?
The Artifact Hunters (as well as Charmed Children) is set during World War Two. There are a number of things that drew me to that time period. First, I could separate the children from their parents during the London Blitz – because children were, truly, sent away during the bombing to keep them safe. Second, there have long been rumors that Hitler was obsessed by the occult, and wanted to use those practices to further his aims, and how creepy is that? And third, the threats to my characters could come both from the evil antagonist and the war itself.
What other historical spooky mg book would you recommend?
I recommend The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. It’s one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read. Set in Victorian times it reads like a Poe story, with orphaned children, a terrible curse, and a terrifying monster. I loved every spine-tingling atmospheric moment.
Jacqueline West — author of THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE and LONG LOST (coming 5.11.21)
Why do you like to write historical spooky books?
My books often begin with a setting. Locations—especially rambling, odd, old buildings—are irresistible to my writing brain. I want to wander around inside of them all, and explore every dusty nook and corner, and discover all the secrets of their pasts and presents. And when I write about them, I get to.
Tell us a bit about your book. What drew you to the period in which your book is set?
My first series, The Books of Elsewhere, was inspired by a strange old house in my hometown. While most of the story is set in the present day, the past is central to the book: The looming stone house that Olive Dunwoody moves into is filled with the history (and secrets) of the house’s former owners. Getting to unfold that history was one of the most exciting parts of writing the books.
And my next middle-grade book, Long Lost (coming in May 2021!), takes place in an old New England town with a public library that used to be the home of a wealthy and mysterious local family. There’s a story-within-a-story in this one, so I got to explore the house and town as I imagine them today and as they were a century ago. The book itself is about how the past tangles with the present, and about how, even when people vanish, their stories can live on and on and on.
What other historical spooky mg book would you recommend?
Hoodoo, by Ronald L. Smith. It’s set in rural Alabama in the 1930s, and it’s the story of a twelve-year-old boy from a family of folk magicians who has to help his dead father’s spirit find peace while fending off a mysterious visitor called The Stranger. The time and place are so richly captured, and the whole thing is unique and deep and creepy and wonderful.
Josh Roberts – author of THE WITCHES OF WILLOW COVE
Why do you like to write historical spooky books?
I believe history is all around us, and it affects our lives in a million invisible ways every single day. I wanted to explore this idea in my debut novel, The Witches of Willow Willow Cove, which is a contemporary story that’s centered around a historical mystery tied to the Salem Witch Trials. I think the more we understand what has come before us–and why it happened–the better we can understand the context of our own lives. Plus, the mysteries of the past are just incredibly fun to write about!
What drew you to the period in which your book is set?
I was born and raised in New England just a few towns over from Salem, Massachusetts. Growing up, the Witch Trials were always a big part of our local lore. I remember learning about that period as a kid growing up in the 1980s, and then discovering that the witch scare extended far beyond Salem and even into my own home town. When I set out to write The Witches of Willow Cove, I drew upon my memories of a contemporary childhood and what it was like to discover my town’s ties to this very dark period of local history. From there it was an easy step to imagine modern day kids like my main character, a seventh grader named Abby Shepherd, discovering even deeper ties to the Witch Trials and how that might affect her life in exciting and unexpected ways.
What other historical spooky mg book would you recommend?
My go-to recommendation is The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange. It’s a beautiful story of friendship, trauma, and recovery set against a backdrop of ghostly woods and spooky old houses in WWI-era England.
Angie Smibert – author of THE GHOSTS OF ORDINARY OBJECTS series
Why do you like to write historical spooky books?
I love historical books—with a twist. The history is certainly fascinating itself, but I’m really a spec fiction writer, so I like a little something else going on, such as a good ghost story or a bit of magic or magical realism. The spooky element raises the stakes and just generally makes the story more interesting.
What drew you to the period in which your book is set?
The setting drew me in first. The Truce—and the whole Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series—happens in a small coal mining community in Southwest Virginia. The place is loosely based on McCoy, Virginia, where my mother and her family (and several generations before her) grew up. I set the story in 1942 because this was the peak of the coal mining in our area—and yet it was also a time of great change. The US was fully involved in World War II by that time. Men were leaving the mines to fight in the war. Rationing had started. Women were working in factories. People were dying. This was the perfect time period for a protagonist who wants everything to stay like it had been. (Be cruel to your protagonists!) And my protagonist, twelve-year-old Bone Phillips, is going through a great change, too. She discovered her Gift, the ability to see the ghosts inside ordinary objects, and she was not happy about it!
This is a place that doesn’t really exist anymore. After the war, the mines began to shut down, really changing everything. Now you can drive through the area and never realize there were once coal mines there.
What other historical spooky mg book would you recommend?
I loved The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by MT Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, so I decided to look up some other things Yelchin had written. Delightfully spooky and a little offbeat, The Haunting of Falcon House is set in late 19th Century Saint Petersburg, Russia. Young Prince Lev, a budding artist, must leave his mother to take up his noble duties at Falcon House. There he discovers a dreadful family secret in this haunted mansion that makes him question his role and the aristocracy. The book includes many of the Prince’s drawings.
To win a copy of each of these books — THE ARTIFACT HUNTERS, THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOL 1: THE SHADOWS, THE WITCHES OF WILLOW COVE and THE TRUCE, *PLUS* our recommended titles, THE NIGHT GARDENER, HOODOO, THE SECRET OF NIGHTINGALE WOOD, and THE HAUNTING OF FALCON HOUSE — make sure to find us on Twitter: @spookymgbooks.
Happy reading!
Spooky Middle Grade 