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STR
Spellbinder Series (age 9-12)
by Helen Stringer
adventure ... fantasy ... school ... spooky
Publisher comments: Belladonna Johnson can see ghosts. It's a trait she's inherited from her mother's side of the family, like blue eyes or straight hair. And it's a trait she could do without, because what twelve-year-old wants to be caught talking to someone invisible? It is convenient, though, after Belladonna's parents are killed in a car accident. They can live with her the same as always, watching the same old TV shows in their same old house. Nothing has changed . . . until everything changes. One night, with no warning, they vanish into thin air—along with every other ghost in the world. It's what some people think ghosts are supposed to do, but Belladonna knows it's all wrong. They may not be living, but they're not supposed to be gone. With the help of her classmate Steve, a master of sneaking and spying, Belladonna is left to uncover what's become of the spirits and to navigate a whole world her parents have kept well-hidden. If she can't find her way, she’ll lose them again—this time for good.
title: Spellbinder
title: The Midnight Gate
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KLI
43 Old Cemetary Road Series (age 9-12)
by Kate Klise
humor ... authorship ... letters/journal ... spooky ... mystery
Publisher comments: Ignatius B. Grumply moves into the Victorian mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road hoping to find some peace and quiet so he can crack a wicked case of writer's block. But 43 Old Cemetery Road is already occupied by eleven-year-old Seymour, his cat Shadow, and an irritable ghost named Olive. It's hard to say who is more outraged. But a grumpy old ghost just might inspire this grumpy old man--and the abandoned kid? Well, let's just say his last name's Hope.
title: Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetary Road
title: Over My Dead Body
title: Til Death Do Us Bark
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BRO
Missing on Superstition Mountain (age 9-12)
by Elise Broach
spooky ... mystery
Publisher comments: It's summer and the three Barker brothers—Simon, Henry, and Jack—just moved from Illinois to Arizona. Their parents have warned them repeatedly not to explore Superstition Mountain, which is near their home. But when their cat Josie goes missing, they see no other choice. There's something unusually creepy about the mountain and after the boys find three human skulls, they grow determined to uncover the mystery. Have people really gone missing over the years, and could there be someone or some thing lurking in the woods? Together with their new neighbor Delilah, the Barker boys are dead-set on cracking the case even if it means putting themselves in harm's way.
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WES
The Books of Elsewhere Series (age 9-12)
by Jacqueline West
adventure ... spooky ... fantasy
Publisher comments: When eleven-year-old Olive moves into a crumbling Victorian mansion with her parents, she knows there's something strange about the house - especially the odd antique paintings covering the walls. And when she puts on a pair of old spectacles, she discovers the strangest thing yet: She can travel inside the paintings, to a spooky world that's full of dark shadows. Add to that three talking cats, who live in the house and seem to be keeping secrets of their own, and Olive soon finds herself confronting a dark and dangerous power that wants to get rid of her by any means necessary. It's up to Olive to save the house from the dark shadows, before the lights go out for good.
title: The Shadows
title: Spellbound
title: The Second Spy
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KIM
Crossing Over (age 9-12)
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
magic ... fantasy ... identity ... spooky
Catalog: Feeling more comfortable with her developing skills as a medium, eight-grader Kat looks forward to the class trip to Montreal but once there she finds herself confronted by a cast of all new ghosts and a host of other problems.
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SNY
The Truth About Stone Hollow (age 9-12)
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
spooky ... fantasy
Catalog: The new boy at school introduces Amy to the secrets of Stone Hollow where the circles of time converge.
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WOO
Dear Napoleon, I Know You're Dead, But... (age 9-12)
by Elvira Woodruff
fantasy ... letters/journal ... spooky
Catalog: Marty receives a surprising reply when he writes a letter describing his spirited but sick grandfather to Napoleon Bonaparte.
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CUL
The Backyard Ghost (age 9-12)
by Lynn Cullen
war ... school ... friendship ... spooky
Eleanor's desperate attempts to break into the popular crowd at her new school are complicated by her discovery that her back yard is haunted by a Civil War ghost.
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DEF
The Ghost of Fossil Glen (age 9-12)
by Cynthia C. DeFelice
letters/journal ... mystery ... friendship ... spooky
Allie Nichols knows she's being pursued by a ghost. But her friend Karen calls her a liar and doesn't want to hear stuff like that. It is Allie's old pal Dub who listens eagerly as Allie tells him about a voice that guides her safely down a steep cliff side, the face in her mind's eye of a girl who begs ``Help me,'' and a terrible nightmare in which that girl falls to her death. Who is the girl? Is she the ghost? And what does the ghost want from Allie? As Allie discovers that her role is to avenge a murder, she also learns something about friendship, false and true, in this gripping ghost story and murder mystery.
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SKU
The Poltergeist of Jason Morey (age 9-12)
by Gloria Skurzynski
family ... spooky
When their eleven-year-old orphaned cousin comes to live with them, the Kessler family has a difficult time, first, believing he has brought a poltergeist with him, and then learning to live with it.
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BAB
The Eyes of the Amaryllis (age 9-12)
by Natalie Babbitt
fantasy ... spooky ... adventure
When the brig Amaryllis was swallowed in a hurricane, the captain and all the crew were swallowed, too. For thirty years the captain's widow, Geneva Reade, has waited, certain that her husband will send her a message from the bottom of the sea. But someone else is waiting, too, and watching her, a man called Seward. Into this haunted situation comes Jenny, the widow's granddaughter. The three of them, Gran, Jenny, and Seward, are drawn into a kind of deadly game with one another and with the sea, a game that only the sea knows how to win.
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AVI
Murder at Midnight (age 9-12)
by Avi
knights/castles/dragons ... magic ... mystery ... spooky
Publisher comments: A plot to overthrow King Claudio is brewing in the Kingdom of Pergamontio. Scholarly Mangus the magician — along with his street-smart and faithful new servant boy, Fabrizio — have been marked as easy scapegoats for the traitor lurking within the king's court. Together, these two unlikely partners must gather clues to solve the mystery and prove their innocence before the stroke of midnight. . . or face death! Intricate plotting, surprise twists, and lively prose make for another suspenseful page-turner that stands alone or sets the stage for MIDNIGHT MAGIC!
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SAN
The Ink Drinker (age 9-12)
by Eric Sanvoisin
fantasy ... spooky
Publisher comments: This young boy cannot think of a worse way to spend his summer: he has to help his Dad out with his bookstore, and he absolutely hates to read! His job is to watch the store for shoplifters, but things take a twisted turn when he spies a pale character who seems to float through the aisles of the store. But this stranger is not trying to steal books--he is drinking the words out of them with a straw! So the boy goes on a chase to find out what this fellow is all about and they both wind up in a cemetery, where the boy discovers a taste for something much more filling than ink!
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BUN
The Ghost Children (age 9-12)
by Eve Bunting
spooky ... mystery ... the arts
Catalog: Matt's investigation of vandalism of life-sized dolls belonging to the strange but well-meaning aunt with whom he and his sister live takes him to the art world of Los Angeles.
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SAN
The Short and Shivery Tales (age 9-12)
by Robert D. SanSouci
short stories ... folklore ... spooky
Thirty hair-raising tales, selected from international ghostlore, have been skillfully retold especially for young people. Eerie black-and-white illustrations, ghastly details, and strong, shuddery endings make these the kind of stories young readers crave.
title: Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales
title: Even More Short and Shivery: Thirty Spine-Tingling Stories
title: Double-Dare to be Scared: Another Thirteen Chilling Tales
title: Dare to be Scared: Thirteen Stories to Chill and Thrill
title: A Terrifying Taste of Short and Shivery: Thirty Creepy Tales
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HAH
Time For Andrew: a Ghost Story (age 9-12)
by Mary Downing Hahn
family ... mystery ... spooky
Aunt Blythe's house gives Andrew the creeps, full of dark rooms, creaky noises, and the sound of a woman sobbing somewhere in the shadows. Then, in the middle of the night, Andrew awakens to find a boy standing in his room...a boy who is Andrew's double, except he looks as if he's come from the grave. He wants to follow him, to a place where he will meet the spirits of long-dead ancestors...a place from which Andrew may never return.
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HAH
Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story (age 9-12)
by Mary Downing Hahn
family ... mystery ... spooky
Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we're stuck with her...our "poor stepsister" who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire. But now something terrible has happened. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home: a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. Now her ghost returns to lure children into the pond...to drown! I don't want to believe in ghosts, but I've followed Heather into the graveyard and watch her talk to Helen. And I'm terrified. Not for myself, but for Heather...
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TEI
The Scary States of America (age 9-12)
by Michael Teitelbaum
short stories ... spooky
Aliens, ghosts, and monsters haunt the pages of this eerie trip around the Scary States of America. With Jason Specter, the nation's unofficial collector of all things paranormal as your guide, meet the girl in Illinois who can start fires with her mind, the Skunk Ape of Florida that knocks victims flat with its stench, the mischievous Shadow People of Arkansas, the Jersey Devil, the extraterrestrials who take human organs as a souvenir of their trip to Washington, and the wailing ghost of a teenage girl trapped forever in an Oregon lighthouse. Some of these visitors from other worlds don't mean to hurt anyone . . . and some of them do. Warning: All of these stories are based on true events. Are you ready to face the terror in your state?
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NAY
The Witch Saga (age 9-12)
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
mystery ... spooky
When the darkness, tolls the hour, I shall have you in my power... Lynn and her best friend, Mouse, are positive their neighbor, Mrs. Tuggle, is a witch. And they suspect the old woman is forcing Lynn's sister, Judith, to join her coven to witches. But Lynn and Mouse can't prove anything and their parents don't believe them. The girls are desperate to expose Mrs. Tuggle's evil nature, especially since her actions are becoming more threatening everyday. Now Lynn's parents have announced that they're going away for the weekend, leaving Judith and Mrs. Tuggle in charge. Can the girls outsmart Mrs. Tuggle and save Lynn's family -- or is the dark magic too strong to conquer?
title: Witch Water
title: The Witch Herself
title: Witch Weed
title: The Witch's Eye
title: Witch's Sister
title: The Witch Returns
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LUB
Invasion of the Road Weenies: and Other Warped and Creepy Tales (age 9-12)
by David Lubar
humor ... spooky ... short stories
A town is overrun by road weenies--a.k.a. joggers--who never smile. A girl thinks she's too old for Halloween...until she finds a special pair of gloves. A boy takes a shortcut to an unexpected place. A mummy takes his revenge, one little piece at a time.... Welcome to the weird and wacky world of award-winning storyteller and master of the macabre, David Lubar. These thirty-five tales ranging from the silly and offbeat to flat-out horrifying are just right for reading alone or for telling aloud in the dark. As an added bonus at the end of the book, David answers the question most frequently asked of writers with a behind-the-scenes look at the various ways he got the ideas for the stories in this collection. Don't be a weenie. Read these stories. If you dare!
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LUB
The Curse of the Campfire Weenies: and Other Warped and Creepy Tales (age 9-12)
by David Lubar
humor ... spooky ... short stories
A boy discovers the answer to one of the great urban mysteries: why are pigeons always pooping in parks? A second-grade class learns why they should always be nice to their math teacher. An ancient predator uses the internet to search out its prey. A young girl and her little brother escape a campfire weenie only to encounter something even more terrifying: a troop of Girl Scouts singing campfire songs.
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LUB
In the Land of the Lawn Weenies and Other Misadventures (age 9-12)
by David Lubar
humor ... spooky ... short stories
Kids can be such monsters. Literally. From the award-winning author of "Hidden Talents," two remarkable short story collections - "Kidzilla "and "The Witch's Monkey "- together for the first time. Plus several brand new stories. Each hilarious and harrowing. A substitute teacher finds out she has some monsters for students. A group of kids attempt a levitation trick with hair-raising results. A neighborhood is so boring the grown ups are turning into...well...you know. And dozens more. So don't be a weenie! Read these stories!
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HAH
Deep and Dark and Dangerous: a Ghost Story (age 9-12)
by Mary Downing Hahn
mystery ... spooky
Just before summer begins, thirteen-year-old Ali finds an old photograph. She recognizes the two children. One's her mother, the other her aunt Dulcie...but who is the third person, the one who's been torn out of the picture? Ali will have all summer to figure it out, since she's spending the summer with her aunt and her cousin in the same house her mom and aunt used to visit when they were kids. Then Ali meets Sissy. Sissy is mean, spiteful, and determined to ruin Ali's summer. Sissy also has a secret. Could it have something to do with the old photo? Ali is dying to find out, and if she's not careful, that's exactly what might happen to her.
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HAH
The Doll in the Garden: a Ghost Story (age 9-12)
by Mary Downing Hahn
mystery ... spooky
Ashley, who has recently moved from Baltimore to a new town with her widowed mother, finds an antique doll buried in old Miss Cooper's garden and discovers she can enter a ghostly turn-of-the-century world by going through a hole in the hedge.
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HAH
The Old Willis Place: a Ghost Story (age 9-12)
by Mary Downing Hahn
mystery ... spooky
Diana and her little brother Georgie have been living in the woods behind the old Willis place, a decaying Victorian mansion, for what already seems like forever. They aren't allowed to leave the property or show themselves to anyone. But when a new caretaker comes to live there with his young daughter, Lissa, Diana is tempted to break the mysterious rules they live by and reveal herself so she can finally have a friend. Somehow, Diana must get Lissa's help if she and Georgie ever hope to release themselves from the secret that has bound them to the old Willis place for so long.
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GOI
The Garden of Eve (age 9-12)
by K. L. Going
family ... mystery ... spooky ... illness/loss
Evie reluctantly moves with her widowed father to Beaumont, New York, where he has bought an apple orchard, dismissing rumors that the town is cursed and the trees haven't borne fruit in decades. Evie doesn't believe in things like curses and fairy tales anymore--if fairy tales were real, her mom would still be alive. But odd things happen in Beaumont. Evie meets a boy who claims to be dead and receives a mysterious seed as an eleventh-birthday gift. Once planted, the seed grows into a tree overnight, but only Evie and the dead boy can see it--or go where it leads. The Garden of Eve mixes spine-tingling chills with a deeply resonating story that beautifully explores grief, healing, and growth.
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FRE
Who Stole Halloween? (age 9-12)
by Martha Freeman
traditions ... animals ... mystery ... spooky
Eleven-year-old sleuths Alex and Yasmeen are on the trail of a serial catnapper. Halloween is the first cat to go missing. One by one more cats from the neighborhood disappear. It's rumored that a ghost is responsible. Will he strike again? It's up to Alex and Yasmeen to find out before Halloween is gone forever!
The American Girl Mysteries (age 9-12)
historical ... mystery ... spooky
Characters from the American Girls series become embroiled in mysterious situations.
title: The Stolen Sapphire: a Samantha Mystery by Sarah Masters Buckey F BUC
title: The Curse of Ravenscourt: a Samantha Mystery by Sarah Masters Buckey F BUC
title: Danger at the Zoo: a Kit Mystery by Kathleen Ernst F ERN
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BEL
The Best of John Bellairs 2: the Johnny Dixon Mysteries (age 9-12)
by John Bellairs
spooky ... magic ... mystery
The curse of the blue figurine : Johnny Dixon is plunged into a terrifying mystery-adventure when he removes a blue figurine called a ushabti from church. The mummy, the will, and the crypt : Twelve-year old Johnny Dixon and his friend Professor Childermass look for the hidden will left by an eccentric cereal tycoon who wished to make life difficult for his heirs after his own death by suicide. The spell of the sorcerer's skull : When Johnny Dixon takes a tiny skull from a haunted dollhouse, demonic forces are released, capturing Professor Childermass and leading Johnny on a harrowing chase to a deserted island off the coast of Maine.
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BEL
The Best of John Bellairs (age 9-12)
by John Bellairs
spooky ... magic ... mystery
House with a clock in its walls : A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in the walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday. The figure in the shadows : A painfully overweight sixth-grade boy receives a magic amulet which brings him luck, but also terrifying side effects. The letter, the witch, and the ring : Following clues in a mysterious deathbed letter, Rose Rita and a friendly witch, Mrs. Zimmerman, are lured into the sinister world of the occult.
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ASK
Ask the Bones: Scary Stories from Around the World (age 9-12)
by Ask
folklore ... spooky ... short stories
A collection of scary folktales from countries around the world including China, Russia, Spain, and the United States.
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BRI
Who Knew There'd Be Ghosts? (age 9-12)
by Bill Brittain
adventure ... spooky
Three spunky youngsters join forces with two lively ghosts to save a historic mansion from being destroyed by a crooked antique dealer.
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MAH
The Haunting (age 9-12)
by Margaret Mahy
family ... spooky
After a shy and rather withdrawn eight-year-old begins receiving frightening supernatural images and messages, he learns about a family legacy which could be considered a curse or a rare gift.
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PEC
The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp (age 9-12)
by Richard Peck
fantasy ... school ... friendship ... spooky
Blossom, not the most popular member of her freshman class in 1914, travels ahead seventy years, and returns in time to make Halloween a memorable night for her classmates and teachers.
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PEC
Ghosts I Have Been (age 9-12)
by Richard Peck
school ... fantasy ... friendship ... spooky
Blossom Culp is the outspoken outcast of Bluff City, always getting into trouble. No one wants to cross her, especially now that she's revealed that she can see the Unseen. Then Blossom herself is stunned, because her lie turns out to be truth. She actually does have second sight . . . and she is "on board" the sinking Titanic.
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PEC
The Ghost Belonged to Me (age 9-12)
by Richard Peck
historical ... spooky
In 1913 in the Midwest a quartet of characters share adventures from exploding steamboats to "exorcizing" a ghost. "More death! More, if you do not stop it. Others lost, like me in the black water. Save them!" When Alexander first sees the eerie glow in the dormer window of the barn, it sets his heart pounding. And when he ventures into the barn in the dark of night, his breath catches in his throat. Suddenly Blossom Culp's words come back to him: "You can make contact with the Unseen...." Now there's a girl ghost standing right in front of him, telling him of great danger ahead. But is there time for Alexander to act on her warning?
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KEY
Escape to Witch Mountain (age 9-12)
by Alexander Key
spooky ... adventure ... science fiction
Some terrifying experience has blocked Tony and Tia's memory of the past. But because they have supernatural powers, they are sure that they come from another world---and that their people still exist somewhere. Then Tony and Tia find that they must escape from men who want to use their special powers for evil. They begin a desperate search to find their true home---which leads them to the strange and mysterious Witch Mountain.
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EIS
Mystery at Camp Windingo (age 9-12)
by Lisa Eisenberg
spooky ... mystery
Fourteen-year-old Kate Clancy, a summer counselor at Camp Windingo, encounters some frightening and unsettling events and finally confronts a dangerous thief.
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IRV
Rip Van Winkle (age 9-12)
by Washington Irving
spooky ... identity ... folklore
The adventures of henpecked farmer Rip Van Winkle who escapes to the hills for a day of hunting. After sleeping for twenty years, he awakens to find a changed world.
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LES
The Old African (age 9-12)
by Julius Lester
folklore ... historical ... spooky
No one on the plantation had ever heard the Old African's voice, yet he had spoken to all of them in their minds. For the Old African had the power to see the color of a person's soul and read his thoughts as if they were words on a page. Now it was time to act ... time to lead his fellow slaves to the Water-That-Stretched-Forever, and from there back to Africa. Back to their home.
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STE
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (age 9-12)
by Robert Louis Stevenson
identity ... spooky
A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a secret drug of his own creation.
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OLM
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (age 9-12)
by Kathleen Olmstead
identity ... spooky
An abridged version of the tale by Robert Louis Stevenson of a kind and well-respected doctor who can turn himself into a murderous madman by taking a secret drug he has created.
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MAT
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (age 9-12)
by Joanne Mattern
identity ... spooky
A retelling of the classic tale by Robert Louis Stevenson of a kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a secret drug of his own creation.
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STE
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (age 9-12)
by Robert Louis Stevenson
identity ... spooky
A kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a secret drug of his own creation.
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DIC
A Christmas Carol (age 9-12)
by Charles Dickens
traditions ... growing up ... folklore ... spooky
A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.
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IBB
Dial-a-Ghost (age 9-12)
by Eva Ibbotson
humor ... enterprise ... spooky
The Dial-a-Ghost Agency finds good homes for ghosts. And Fulton and Frieda Snodde-Brittle are looking for a few frightening ghosts to accidentally scare their young cousin and heir, Oliver, to death. The ladies at the Dial-a-Ghost Agency have the perfect match: the Shriekers, two bloodstained and bickering horrors. But thanks to a mix-up at the agency, the Wilkinsons, a kind family of ghosts, arrive instead. Can they put a stop to the Snodde-Brittles' schemes before it's too late?
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IBB
The Haunting of Granite Falls (age 9-12)
by Eva Ibbotson
humor ... spooky
American millionaire Hiram C. Hopgood will spare no expense to make his daughter Helen happy, even if it means importing a castle from Scotland. Alex MacBuff, the twelve-year-old former owner of the castle, accompanies Mr. Hopgood to Texas to oversee the rebuilding of his beloved Carra, and he befriends Helen in the process. Little do the children know that Carra's ghosts have followed Alex and are living in the movie theater next door! Colorful characters--both dead and alive--will be found around every corner in this madcap adventure with a plot as twisty as a castle's corridors.
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COV
The Ghost in the Third Row (age 9-12)
by Bruce Coville
the arts ... mystery ... spooky
Trying out for a part in a play is scary. But nothing compares to seeing a ghost in the audience! Nina learns that fifty years ago, an actress was murdered--on this very stage! Strange things begin to happen---scripts are ripped up, sets are knocked down, a costume is torn to pieces--and everyone thinks the ghost wants to stop the show. Everyone, except for Nina and her best friend, Chris, who do some ghost hunting. Only the Woman in White can lead them to the answer!
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COV
The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed (age 9-12)
by Bruce Coville
mystery ... spooky
When sixth grader Nina Tanleven starts working at an antiques shop, she never expects to stumble onto a mystery ... or into danger. But that's exactly what happens when she and her best friend, Chris, go to pick up an antique wardrobe at old Miss Watson's. From the moment the girls set foot in the run-down mansion, they sense that it's haunted ... even before they discover the tower room with its big brass bed and grieving little girl ghost!
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SAI
Varjak Paw (age 9-12)
by S. F. Said
adventure ... action ... spooky ... magic
Varjak Paw is a Mesopotamian Blue kitten. He lives high up in an old house on a hill. He's never left home, until his grandfather tells him about the Way ... a secret martial art for cats. Now Varjak must use the Way to survive in a city full of dangerous dogs, cat gangs, and strangest of all, the mysterious Vanishings.
sequel: The Outlaw Varjak Paw
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CAR
Aunt Morbelia and the Screaming Skulls (age 9-12)
by Joan Davenport Carris
humor ... spooky ... family ... mystery
The peaceful life of a boy with dyslexia is interrupted when his great-aunt, who has a morbid fascination with ghosts and death omens, moves in.
sequel: Beware the Ravens, Aunt Morbelia
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ALM
Skellig (age 9-12)
by David Almond
magic ... family ... spooky
Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage....What is this thing beneath the spiders' webs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael's world changes forever.
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VIV
Chills Run Down My Spine (age 9-12)
by Jackie Vivelo
spooky ... short stories
A Summer to last forever -- Cradle song -- The good neighbor policy -- Chills run down my spine -- Nick of time -- The ghost of Fiddler's elbow -- Can you top that? -- The bell-ringer -- The creature in the doorway.
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VAN
Ghost of a Hanged Man (age 9-12)
by Vivian Vande Velde
historical ... spooky
An outlaw condemned to be hanged threatens to wreak vengeance from the grave on those responsible for his death.
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SNY
The Trespassers (age 9-12)
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
adventure ... mystery ... spooky
It all starts the summer after Neely finishes fifth grade. She is trying to entertain her little brother, Grub, when they accidentally find a way to sneak into Halcyon House, a magnificent mansion that has been deserted for years. Inside they discover a wonderful surprise, a playroom full of fabulous old-fashioned toys. Despite the spookiness of the house and the rumors about a ghost that haunts it, and despite the fact that they don't belong there, the playroom becomes their secret hideaway.
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SNY
The Witches of Worm (age 9-12)
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
friendship ... magic ... spooky
A lonely twelve-year-old is convinced that the cat she finds is possessed by a witch and is responsible for her own strange behavior.
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NAY
Bernie and the Bessledorf Ghost (age 9-12)
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
spooky ... mystery
Living at the Bessledorf Hotel, where his father works as the manager, Bernie tries to solve the mystery of a troubled, young ghost who wanders the halls of the hotel at night.
sequel: The Face in the Bessledorf Funeral Parlor
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VAN
There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around (age 9-12)
by Vivian Vande Velde
historical ... mystery ... spooky
When Ted's five-year-old sister Vicki invents an imaginary friend, no one is too concerned . . . until they realize that her friend can move things. Ted is sure that Vicki's ``friend'' Marella is a ghost. But why would a ghost haunt Vicki? And why does Marella seem to be terrified of another ghost-a dark figure that is haunting Ted?
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SCH
The Shadow Children (age 9-12)
by Steven Schnur
war ... spooky ... historical
While spending the summer on his grandfather's farm in the French countryside, eleven-year-old Etienne discovers a secret dating back to World War II and encounters the ghosts of Jewish children who suffered a dreadful fate under the Nazis.
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MED
Haunts: Five Hair-Raising Tales (age 9-12)
by Angela Shelf Medearis
folklore ... spooky ... short stories
These short ghost stories are based on folk tales, all the more menacing for their familiar themes.
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MCK
Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Ccharacters (age 9-12)
by Pat McKissack
historical ... spooky ... folklore ... short stories
Side-splittingly funny, spine-chillingly spooky, this companion to the anthology The Dark- Thirty is filled with bad characters who know exactly how to charm.
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MCK
The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural (age 9-12)
by Patricia C. McKissack
historical ... spooky ... short stories
The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural is a collection of ten spine-tingling tales, all with a foundation in African-American culture and history, from the time of slavery through the civil rights era.
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IRV
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (age 9-12)
by Washington Irving
folklore ... spooky
A superstitious schoolmaster, in love with a wealthy farmer's daughter, has a terrifying encounter with a headless horseman.
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COV
The Ghost Wore Gray (age 9-12)
by Bruce Coville
war ... historical ... spooky ... mystery
Sixth-grader Nina Tanleven convinced her architect father to let her best friend Chris go with them to stay in the old inn he's restoring. On the afternoon they arrive, the girls find a faded Civil War photograph of a very handsome Confederate soldier. Nina and Cris are stunned when the ghost of the young soldier suddenly appears at the dinner table that night! They realize he's the ghost who they've heard haunts the inn. When he appears to them again--no one else can see him--Nina and Chris know that the ghost is trying to tell them something. But what? To find out, the girls begin investigating the old country inn. And soon they are swept up in a frightening mystery that began more than one hundred years ago--a mystery involving danger, greed, a hidden room... and a buried treasure!
F
CAS
Behind the Attic Wall (age 9-12)
by Sylvia Cassedy
growing up ... family ... spooky
In the bleak, forbidding house of her great-aunts, neglected twelve-year-old orphan Maggie hears ghostly voices and finds magic that awakens in her the capacity to love and be loved.
F
CAR
Don't Open the Door After the Sun Goes Down: Tales of the Real and Unreal (age 9-12)
by Al Carusone
spooky ... short stories
A collection of nine scary stories about a woman who is turned into a dog, a joke that makes people disappear, and other unusual situations.
F
BYA
McMummy (age 9-12)
by Betsy Cromer Byars
spooky ... humor ... science fiction ... enterprise
Looking after an eccentric scientist's greenhouse does not seem any stranger than the other odd jobs taken by Mozie and his partner Battie--until Mozie discovers a large, mummy-shaped pod on one of the plants.
F
STR
The Specter from the Magician's Museum (age 9-12)
by Brad Strickland
magic ... adventure ... spooky
When the evil sorceress Belle Frisson ensnares Rose Rita Pottinger in a magic web in order to steal her life force, Lewis Barnavelt must risk his own life to save his friend.
F
COO
The Boggart (age 9-12)
by Susan Cooper
folklore ... humor ... spooky ... adventure
When Emily and Jess Volnik's family inherits a remote, crumbling Scottish castle, they also inherit the Boggart: an invisible, mischievous spirit who's been playing tricks on residents of Castle Keep for generations. Then the Boggart is trapped in a rolltop desk and inadvertently shipped to the Volniks' home in Toronto, where nothing will ever be the same, for the Volniks or the Boggart. In a world that doesn't believe in magic, the Boggart's pranks wreak havoc. And even the newfound joys of peanut butter and pizza and fudge sauce eventually wear thin for the Boggart. He wants to go home, but his only hope lies in a risky and daring blend of modern technology and ancient magic.
F
WRI
The Dollhouse Murders (age 9-12)
by Betty Ren Wright
spooky ... family ... mystery
Catalog: A dollhouse filled with a ghostly light in the middle of the night and dolls that have moved from where she last left them lead Amy and her retarded sister to unravel the mystery surrounding grisly murders that took place years ago.
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WRI
Haunted Summer (age 9-12)
by Betty Ren Wright
family ... mystery ... spooky
Catalog: Shy nine-year-old Abby surprises herself, her equally timid babysitter, and her older brother when they are haunted by a ghost that is trying to reclaim a stolen music box.
F
SNY
The Headless Cupid (age 9-12)
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
spooky ... mystery ... magic ... friendship
When the four Stanley children meet Amanda, their new stepsister, they're amazed to learn that she studied witchcraft. They're stunned to see her dressed in a strange costume, carrying a pet crow, and surrounded by a pile of books about the supernatural. It's not long before Amanda promises to give witchcraft lessons to David, Janie, and the twins. But that's when strange things start happening in their old house. David suspects Amanda of causing mischief, until they learn that the house really was haunted a long time ago. Legend has it that a ghost cut the head off a wooden cupid on the stairway. Has the ghost returned to strike again?
sequel: The Famous Stanley Kidnapping Case
F
FLE
The Ghost in the Noonday Sun (age 9-12)
by Sid Fleischman
adventure ... spooky
Twelve-year-old Oliver tries to escape from pirates who take him to an island to find the ghost and treasure of Gentleman Jack.
F
AND
The Game of Sunken Places (age 9-12)
by M. T. Anderson
spooky ... mystery ... adventure
When Brian and Gregory receive an invitation to stay at a distant relative's strange manse . . . well, they should know better than to go, since this is a middle-grade adventure novel. But they go anyway. Why not? Once there, they stumble upon The Game of Sunken Places, a board game that mirrors a greater game in which they have suddenly become players. Soon the boys are dealing with attitudinal trolls, warring kingdoms, and some very starchy britches. Luckily, they have wit, deadpan observation, and a keen sense of adventure on their side.
F
BEL
The House With a Clock in Its Walls (age 9-12)
by John Bellairs
spooky ... magic ... mystery
A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in the walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday.
sequel: The Figure in the Shadows
sequel: The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring
sequel: The Ghost in the Mirror
F
BOS
The Children of Green Knowe (age 9-12)
by L. M. Boston
spooky ... adventure ... fantasy
This is the first thrilling and chilling tale of Green Knowe, a haunted manor deep in an overgrown garden in the English countryside.
sequel: The River at Green Knowe
sequel: A Stranger at Green Knowe
sequel: An Enemy at Green Knowe
sequel: Treasure of Green Knowe

Sat Aug 25 11:55:25 2012
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