7 spooky Halloween books for 8-year-olds and up

 

It can be fun to feel a little scared, when snug and safe in the comfort of your own home. You can let your imagination run wild and get lost in a terrifically terrifying story.

Whether you're spending Halloween at home or out and about with friends this year, it’s a perfect opportunity for slightly older primary school-aged readers to give themselves a few frights with a creepy Halloween book or two.

We’re huge advocates of reading aloud to kids whatever their age, so perhaps you’ll want to enjoy one or two of these together in the run up to Halloween celebrations?

This is our top pick of spooky and creepy, yet age-appropriate, reads for 8-year-olds and up:

The Legend of Ghastly Jack Crowheart

This darkly funny and fast-paced adventure is wildly imaginative and totally spooky. When the dread villain Rotten Bob Hatchet and his gang of cut-throat highwaymen begin attacking travellers on the road Lil comes up with a plot to scare them off. And so the legend of Ghastly Jack Crowheart the Demon Highwayman is born!

The Spirit Snatcher

Pip was not expecting his new neighbours to be vampires, banshees and ghosts. Worst of all is the mysterious spirit snatcher, which appears out of nowhere and sucks away people's personalities. When it attacks Pip's parents, the only way to save them is to find and destroy it. But no one knows who it is...

 

The Train of Dark Wonders

Jump aboard for a journey to strange and spectacular lands in this magical adventure. When a mysterious train pulls into town, bound for The Land of Halloween Sweets, Bess sneaks onboard. But the land is ruled by the fearsome Candymaker. And beneath the sugary surface, things are more dangerous than they first appear…

The Witchstone Ghosts

This spooky gothic adventure is the perfect blend of spooky humour with a chilling twist - a wholly original spin on a classic ghost story. Autumn Albert can see the dead – much to her annoyance. But when her dad dies in mysterious circumstances, he’s the one ghost who doesn’t appear. A curious instruction in his will sends Autumn to Imber, the storm-soaked island of his childhood: a place marked by tight-lipped locals, strange stacks of witchstones – and even fewer ghosts.

The Housetrap

Scooby Doo meets Escape Room in this brilliant new book packed with puzzles, spooks and mystery! Amity has run off into Badwell Woods. Her brother Claude goes after her, only to discover his little sister’s scarf dangling near a house in the trees. Has she gone inside? He enters, not expecting a three storey-building with NO stairs. And a party laid out when there’s nobody else around. Only when the front door locks behind him does he realise it’s a housetrap. And they’ve been caught...

 

Read, Scream, Repeat

Jennifer Killick, author of the Crater Lake series, has curated this fantastic collection of 13 short stories from some of the best children's authors around including Joseph Coelho, Polly Ho-Yen, Sharna Jackson and Elle McNicoll.

 

Miss Mary-Kate Martin's Guide to Monster: The Wrath of the Woolington Wyrm

This charming mystery is quirky and hugely entertaining. Mary-Kate accompanies her archaeologist mother to the quiet English countryside to investigate some unusual bones found in an old well. But soon she realises that the village of Woolington is not as peaceful as it seems; the ground trembles beneath them, there are mysterious noises, and the locals are obsessed with a terrifying old legend. Could there be any truth in the myth of the beast who lives in the ancient well? 

 

If you’re looking for recommendations for younger or particularly sensitive readers, why not check out these 7 fang-tastic Halloween books for 5 to 8-year-olds.

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