Spooky Stories at HCPL

A chill is creeping into the air, leaves are skittering across the ground; it’s official: spooky season is here! Whether you’re a scaredy-cat or a thrill seeker, the library has something for everyone to get into the spooky spirit. However you choose to read this season — bundled up with the lights on or alone in a ghostly graveyard — these titles are sure to send shivers down your spine. Check out these frightening reading recommendations… if you dare!

COLLECTION

Adult

• Dracul by Dacre Stoker - Keep the lights on and get out the garlic because vampires may just be real. Written by a descendent of Bram Stoker himself, this vampire novel examines the origins of Stoker and Dracula.

• Hallowe’en Party: a Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie – The queen of crime delivers a mysterious and chilling tale of a murder (or is it a double murder?) set at a Halloween party. Can Poirot unmask the murderer at this frightful affair? Come for the crime and stay for Christie’s mastery of ambiance.

• Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk — Anchoring this anthology of terrifying tales is the indigenous belief that whistling at night can summon evil spirts. While these spirits manifest in different ways throughout the collection, all stories are sure to leave readers feeling spooked and unsettled. 

• Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams —  Just like his award-winning films, this collection of short stories edited by Jordan Peele flips the world upside down to reveal dark, supernatural realms and disturbing realities.  

• Tiny Nightmares: Very Short Stories of Horror edited by Lincoln Michel – These micro short stories bring a big fright! This collection from horror legends will terrify you with stories that are only a few pages each.

Teen

• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – Raised in a graveyard by ghosts, werewolves, and vampires, Bod is the only living resident of the cemetery. Can he fit into the world of the living when he was raised by the dead?

• Slasher Girls & Monster Boys edited by April Genevieve Tucholke – This creepy anthology of short horror stories from a variety of well-known YA authors will keep you up all night and haunt your dreams.

• The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglas – Jake Livingston can see the dead, making his life as one of the few Black kids at St. Clair Prep even more complicated. But when a murderous ghost begins haunting Jake, he will have to find a way to outsmart the spirit and survive.

• Through the Woods by Emily Carroll – Beautiful and ominous illustrations paired with rhythmic storytelling make this graphic novel come to life. Each story feels like a feverishly whispered folktale or campfire story that can conjure the stuff of nightmares!

Kids

• Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask by R.L. Stine – Any title from the Goosebumps series is sure to send a shiver up your spine, but The Haunted Mask is perfect to read during spooky season, as the story revolves around an evil mask on Halloween.

• Scary, Scary Halloween by Eve Bunting – A family of cats watches mysterious figures go trick-or-treating on Halloween night in this picture book full of rhythm and rhyme.

• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz – This anthology of super short and super scary stories will be sure to give you and your friends the creeps.

• There’s a Ghost in this House by Oliver Jeffers – What does a ghost look like? Help a young girl who lives in a haunted house search everywhere to find a ghost in this interactive picture book.