Scary Tales for Summer Nights by Kell Andrews

Anybody can scare a middle-grader with age-inappropriate scenarios. But what makes a book frightening within a strictly middle-grade world view?

Once my first book came out last month, I braced myself for reader reactions. One thing that I was surprised to hear is that Deadwood can be scary for the youngest middle-grade readers.  I didn't know I was writing a scary book -- suspenseful, yes, but scary? It's not violent or graphic by any means, and I have a low tolerance for gore even as an adult. And it's about a tree -- not high on anyone's list of spooky things.

Then I realized that the scariness comes from the supernatural occurrence in an otherwise realistic setting. A book is scarier if it seems as if it could really happen in the reader's world. At 2 a.m., what seems scarier: a tale of a harmless ghost that hums sweet nursery rhymes in the hallway, or a book about a ferocious dragon that terrorizes a medieval village? (Trick question: nursery rhymes are naturally scary.)

But as a principle of spooky tales, familiarity makes frightening, whether the suburban school settings of R.L.Stine or "it happened to someone my cousin knows" of urban legends and campfire tales.

In honor of campfires and short summer nights that seem long, here are ten scary tales for middle grade readers.

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill
What makes it scary: Normal Iowa town with strange magic just below the surface? Yes please!

Doll Bones by Holly Black
What makes it scary: A doll made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
What makes it scary: Bod is a boy raised by ghosts  -- but it's the living humans that are really dangerous.

All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn
What makes it scary: Spiteful spirits awaken in an isolated inn when Corey and Travis play practical jokes.

Well Witched by Frances Hardinge
What makes it scary: Ryan, Josh, and Chelle steal a coin from a well. Now the witch of the well is making them pay it back, and the price may be too high. 

The Wig in the Window by Kristen Kittscher
What makes it scary: Every kid has a weird teacher now and then. But Sophie and Grace's is really up to something creepy.

The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy by Nikki Loftin
What makes it scary: Ravenous teachers and memories that fail in a truly nightmarish scenario.

In the Land of the Lawn Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar
What makes it scary: Can you laugh when you're scared? Yes. In these warped campfire tales normal kid situations take abnormal, Twilight Zone twists.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
What makes it scary: A monster shows up at midnight. But he's not the most terrifying thing Conor must face.

The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter
What makes it scary: One of the creepiest things about this modern gothic tale is a narrator so unreliable, we're not even sure which of the Hardscrabble children it is. 

A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz
What makes it scary: Phony spiritualists enlist orphan Maud in their scheme -- but the danger and ghosts turn out to be real.

What are your favorite scary middle-grade books, new or old? 

I'm offering a special shout-out here to Jane-Emily by Patricia Clapp, which was the ghost story that scared my childhood friends and me no matter how many times we read it.

Happy Halloween - Scary Stories for the Non-Horror Reader

When I knew I was going to be doing a post on October 31st, I realized I should do one on good middle grade scary stories to fit the Halloween season. The only problem is that I am not much of reader of horror, not even middle grade. The movie Burnt Offerings (anyone remember that?) which I saw many years ago, steered me away from most horror ever since.

For the sake of the post, I decided I could manage to go back to reading horror and see if it’s something I might want to take up again. After reading about a dozen books, I selected four of my favorites. I discovered for the most part, I like my horror with a little humor, though one of the books below doesn’t fit that condition. It was so good, it didn’t matter!

Here they are:

THE CROSSROADS by Chris Grabenstein

The first in a series about a boy named Zack who sees ghosts not of the friendly Caspar persuasion. Relieved to move to Connecticut, away from the ghosts he’s seen in New York, he soon discovers his small town is just as full of evil spirits, including one that’s released from an oak tree after a storm. Since Zack is one of the few who can see them, it’s up to him and his new stepmom to figure out who the ghost is and how to get rid of him.

WOLVEN by Di Toft

I am drawn to stories about secret government agencies, so this story drew me right in. Nat Carver’s granddad intends to buy him a puppy, but somehow they end up with a giant mangy beast who seems to have telepathic powers. Nat learns his dog is not a dog at all, but a werewolf from an ancient clan, one who the evil scientists want to capture, so they can figure out how to replicate its powers. Set in England, the story starts out funny, but quickly gets more suspenseful and intense.

SUPER ZOMBIE MEGA JUICE BOMB by MJA Ware

The only exposure I’ve had to zombies is an old Vincent Price movie, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, so I was a little hesitant to read this. Mr. Ware manages to turn a zombie story into a clever battle of three smart kids who use science to battle their zombified town. The kids use a Walmart superstore as their base, determined to find a way to survive the plague of shuffling creatures who are equally determined to find a way inside the store. While I am still not a zombie lover, this book was well worth the read.

THE OLD WILLIS PLACE by Mary Downing Hahn

Even though this was the scariest and saddest of the books I read, I finished this in one sitting. A girl, Diana, and her little brother live in the woods behind an empty, decaying old mansion, following a strict set of rules to remain unseen. When a new caretaker arrives with his daughter Lissa, Diana, against her own better judgment, decides she wants a friend. As she gets to know Lissa, Diana realizes the girl is the key to releasing her and her brother from the secret that has kept them hidden for so long.

Any other recommendations? I may now be willing to read a scary story once in a while, as long as it’s not a dark and stormy night.

~ Dee Garretson