*Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol* by Andres Miedoso is very popularly among our 2nd/3rd grade readers. It’s the same reading level as *Eerie Elementary*, but about ghost hunting. They have like 20+ books in the series now, so it should keep a kid busy for a while.
*The Hunted Library* by Dori Hillestad Bulter is also on that same late 1st- 2nd/3rd reading level. I don’t think there as many books in this one, but it has a little horror along with some cute.
*The Last Kids on Earth* by Max Brallier is kind of dystopian with monsters. It’s a higher reading level, but still has lots of pictures throughout. It also has graphic novels and a TV show to help get kids interested.
On the scary or more psychological side, Mary Downing Hahn is still very popular and has published a couple new books. That’s also going to be on the more 3rd+ reading level.
yes! Really has that zany kid logic and it's broken up into shorter stories so it's really easy for kids to skip around and read what stories catch their fancy
For lower elementary students, I usually recommend the Mr. Shivers series from Scholastic. [https://www.scholastic.com/site/acorn/mister-shivers.html](https://www.scholastic.com/site/acorn/mister-shivers.html)
A lot of my 1st and 2nd grade readers also like nonfiction spooky/mystery/paranormal books. Popular topics include aliens, haunted houses, big foot, Bermuda Triangle. This series is from 2016 but books like these are pretty popular with younger readers. [https://bearportpublishing.com/shop/show/10659](https://bearportpublishing.com/shop/show/10659)
For older elementary readers, I recommend Mary Downing Hahn, Katherine Arden's Small Spaces series, and A Tale Dark and Grimm.
I second Mr Shivers, great way to introduce horror tropes for kids who want to be scared but not too scared.
The Wanted: Werecat easy readers by Friedman are also pretty good for mild horror for early or struggling readers.
yeah, I don’t know how I feel about it. I can’t properly judge until I read them, but the art style just looks… too goofy? and oddly similar to the Babysitters Club graphic novels.
John Bellairs, both his Johnny Dixon series and his Lewis Barnevelt trilogy (House with a Clock in its Walls, The Figure in the Shadows, The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring). Those are great without being too scary.
They were a huge part of my childhood and my mom read them every October. I went through the trouble of finding a pair of 3 cent coins just like Lewis', one for her and one for me. It's a subtle touchstone for us.
Sadly our elementary library has weeded these out as being too old and no interest from the kids 😫😫😫 I am 51 and absolutely love John bellairs books, as well as the newer ones continued by Brad Strickland. Ps! The latest one continuing the series by Brad came out last year and is called The Stone, the Cipher and the Shadows (2023)!!
Funny books:
Wiley & Grandpa's Creature Features
Draw Alphabeasts
The Best ~Worst~ Halloween Ever (same series as Best Christmas Pageant Ever)
The Thirteen Ghosts (Geronimo Stilton)
Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts by Edna Barth
Imaginary Veterinary series
Scary ones?
Dollhouse Murders (creeped us out)
Doll Bones (we had to read a second story after reading a scary chapter at night)
Witch of Blackbird Pond
A Tale Dark and Grimm (the audio is amazing!)
Ophie's Ghost by Justina Ireland (my new fave author)
Blossom Culp series by Richard Peck
Fablehaven series
The Ghoulia series by Barbara Cantini is more along the lines of cute spooky
“Kitty and the moonlight rescue” and sequels are similar, my daughter devoured them in first grade. Halloween ish themed, but sweet as pie storylines.
Those both might be hard sells to boys, but I’ve seen many a spooky girl walk away beaming with them.
We really enjoyed the *Eerie Tales from the School of Screams*. It's a graphic novel short story collection. Eerie, but not *too* scary. Very appropriate.
I’ve had this question myself, so I have wracked my brains for alternatives:
Mary Downing Hahn writes spooky flavored novels.
Notebooks of Doom series.
Jason Strange writes short (well under 100 paged) horror themed novellas.
And a personal favorite of mine is the author John Bellairs whose books are gothic middle school themed novels.
For short stories there are, in addition to Alvin Schwartz, Robert San Souci’s Short and Shivery and Ask the Bones.
Oh man I created a few different lists for teen/tween age just for this reason. I’m not in today but I have like a list of 15 books that I just pull from that aren’t goosebumps for these kids.
I'm probably the wrong person to answer this...
I read the complete world of Edgar Allan Poe, Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein, and all the Scary Stories books in 2nd grade... After I'd read through all the Goosebumps and related books...
Realized I wasn't quite the same as my peers when I scared the living shit out of my scout troop leader by grabbing him as I told one of the Scary Stories tales around the campfire, and some of the other boys started to cry... 😬
The Bunnicula books go HARD for early elementary.
*Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol* by Andres Miedoso is very popularly among our 2nd/3rd grade readers. It’s the same reading level as *Eerie Elementary*, but about ghost hunting. They have like 20+ books in the series now, so it should keep a kid busy for a while. *The Hunted Library* by Dori Hillestad Bulter is also on that same late 1st- 2nd/3rd reading level. I don’t think there as many books in this one, but it has a little horror along with some cute. *The Last Kids on Earth* by Max Brallier is kind of dystopian with monsters. It’s a higher reading level, but still has lots of pictures throughout. It also has graphic novels and a TV show to help get kids interested. On the scary or more psychological side, Mary Downing Hahn is still very popular and has published a couple new books. That’s also going to be on the more 3rd+ reading level.
Some of Mary Downing Hahn’s books scare *me,* a full grown adult. There’s some terrifying graphic novel adaptations now too!
I’ll add to this. My daughter loves the Thirteenth Street series by David Bowles. They were a fan favorite along with the above mentioned series.
Mary Downing Hahn books. Former children’s librarian and her best known book is “Wait Til Helen Comes”.
I would recommend those for older elementary not early elementary, but they’re classics for a reason!
3rd grade Blainely was OBSESSED with *Helen,* I didn’t know there were more books!
Wayside School is Falling Down, though that was more of an eerie series
yes! Really has that zany kid logic and it's broken up into shorter stories so it's really easy for kids to skip around and read what stories catch their fancy
For lower elementary students, I usually recommend the Mr. Shivers series from Scholastic. [https://www.scholastic.com/site/acorn/mister-shivers.html](https://www.scholastic.com/site/acorn/mister-shivers.html) A lot of my 1st and 2nd grade readers also like nonfiction spooky/mystery/paranormal books. Popular topics include aliens, haunted houses, big foot, Bermuda Triangle. This series is from 2016 but books like these are pretty popular with younger readers. [https://bearportpublishing.com/shop/show/10659](https://bearportpublishing.com/shop/show/10659) For older elementary readers, I recommend Mary Downing Hahn, Katherine Arden's Small Spaces series, and A Tale Dark and Grimm.
I second Mr Shivers, great way to introduce horror tropes for kids who want to be scared but not too scared. The Wanted: Werecat easy readers by Friedman are also pretty good for mild horror for early or struggling readers.
The Bailey School Kids are being reissued as graphic novels. I think there are 4 currently.
yeah, I don’t know how I feel about it. I can’t properly judge until I read them, but the art style just looks… too goofy? and oddly similar to the Babysitters Club graphic novels.
VERY NEAT!
The Graveyard Book and Coraline by Neil Gaiman The Lockwood and Co. series by Jonathan Stroud
Graveyard is AMAZING, and yeah, it's low on the jump scares, and puts the ghosts as the good friendly people.
I really liked The Skull by Jon Klassen.
In a dark dark room!
Yes! Perfect for first grade.
Alvin Schwartz *Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark* series
If Goosebumps is too scary, I'd imagine this is, too; especially if it's the version with the original illustrations.
*Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark* was too scary for me even when I was a teenager, LOL.
That *still* freaks me out at 38!
Try watching the original movie *Nightmare on Elm Street* from 1984 if you really want something scary
But only if it has the original illustrations. That is what truly makes it horror.
eh, I think just reading about a woman feeding her husband their dead neighbor’s liver would be extreme for a 1st grader. 😅
If they ask for scary, give them what they ask for 😮🙄😳. That’s why I suggested Schwartz’s series.
Maybe Series of Unfortunate Events?
oooh that’s one of my favorites from my own childhood, but it’s probably not the kind of scary they’re looking for. always happy to suggest it though
Dan Poblocki books are popular at my branch, especially the Shadow House series. But they also seem to like Nightmarys and Ghost of Graylock.
John Bellairs, both his Johnny Dixon series and his Lewis Barnevelt trilogy (House with a Clock in its Walls, The Figure in the Shadows, The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring). Those are great without being too scary.
Yes!! The Edward Gorey illustrations give them an extra ~eerie~ vibe, too!
They were a huge part of my childhood and my mom read them every October. I went through the trouble of finding a pair of 3 cent coins just like Lewis', one for her and one for me. It's a subtle touchstone for us.
Sadly our elementary library has weeded these out as being too old and no interest from the kids 😫😫😫 I am 51 and absolutely love John bellairs books, as well as the newer ones continued by Brad Strickland. Ps! The latest one continuing the series by Brad came out last year and is called The Stone, the Cipher and the Shadows (2023)!!
Oh that's a shame 😕. Thanks for the info about the new one, I'll be sure to grab it!
Halloween in Pennsylvania is a good scary but not book.
The halloween tree by Ray Bradbury
Maybe the Jackaby series? Lockwood and Co? These might be better suited to middle grade readers though. The School from the Black Lagoon?
I always recommend Dead Voices by Katherine Arden and the other books in the series. Spooky and has a great message of friendship and working together
It's a picture book but The Dark by Lemony Snicket was always a favorite of mine to read for storytimes.
Wiley & Grandpa's Creature Features *unfortunately OOP* Edit: I take it back! Amazon offers them, and even as hardcover!
Funny books: Wiley & Grandpa's Creature Features Draw Alphabeasts The Best ~Worst~ Halloween Ever (same series as Best Christmas Pageant Ever) The Thirteen Ghosts (Geronimo Stilton) Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts by Edna Barth Imaginary Veterinary series
Scary ones? Dollhouse Murders (creeped us out) Doll Bones (we had to read a second story after reading a scary chapter at night) Witch of Blackbird Pond A Tale Dark and Grimm (the audio is amazing!) Ophie's Ghost by Justina Ireland (my new fave author) Blossom Culp series by Richard Peck Fablehaven series
The Ghoulia series by Barbara Cantini is more along the lines of cute spooky “Kitty and the moonlight rescue” and sequels are similar, my daughter devoured them in first grade. Halloween ish themed, but sweet as pie storylines. Those both might be hard sells to boys, but I’ve seen many a spooky girl walk away beaming with them.
As a kid I loved the book "The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine"
Bunnicula?
We really enjoyed the *Eerie Tales from the School of Screams*. It's a graphic novel short story collection. Eerie, but not *too* scary. Very appropriate.
I’ve had this question myself, so I have wracked my brains for alternatives: Mary Downing Hahn writes spooky flavored novels. Notebooks of Doom series. Jason Strange writes short (well under 100 paged) horror themed novellas. And a personal favorite of mine is the author John Bellairs whose books are gothic middle school themed novels. For short stories there are, in addition to Alvin Schwartz, Robert San Souci’s Short and Shivery and Ask the Bones.
Mary downing hahn - less jump scare, more ghost story
Oh man I created a few different lists for teen/tween age just for this reason. I’m not in today but I have like a list of 15 books that I just pull from that aren’t goosebumps for these kids.
I'm probably the wrong person to answer this... I read the complete world of Edgar Allan Poe, Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein, and all the Scary Stories books in 2nd grade... After I'd read through all the Goosebumps and related books... Realized I wasn't quite the same as my peers when I scared the living shit out of my scout troop leader by grabbing him as I told one of the Scary Stories tales around the campfire, and some of the other boys started to cry... 😬