13 Scary Books for Middle Grade Readers
by Tom Burns
As a parent, it can be hard to quantify “scary.” One day, your child is begging you to stop reading The Berenstain Bears in the Dark, and the next, they’re asking you if they’re old enough to watch “The Walking Dead.” Scary gets particularly hard to define in middle school when kids are perched on that narrow threshold between innocent youth and teenaged indifference.
Is there an appropriate level of scary for middle school? As always, it varies from kid to kid, but some writers have truly tapped into what makes a middle-schooler squirm. Case in point: R.L. Stine, the massively popular creator of the Goosebumps series.
If your middle schooler is ready to dip their toes into the horror genre, try these chilling stories with varying levels of scariness that should definitely creep them out without keeping them up all night.
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Monstrous Frights
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It Came from the Trees
Buy from:After having her best friend Reese snatched away in the night during a camping trip, Owlet scout Jenna swears the culprit was something truly monstrous. Determined to uncover the truth, Jenna ventures back into the wilderness with her fellow Troop 411 girl scouts. A terrifying take on the legend of Bigfoot that's sure to leave your young horror fan's heart pumping.
Scare Level: 👻👻👻
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Deepwater Creek: A Graphic Novel
Buy from:An end-of-summer fishing trip takes a scary turn when the kids snag a river monster instead of a fish. When no adults believe their wild story, the kids return to the river to tackle the beast themselves. Kids who love thrills, chills, and graphic novels will enjoy this chilling book!
Scare Level: 👻👻
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The Horrible Bag of Terrible Things #1
Buy from:Zenith doesn’t know what to make of the strange bag he finds on his doorstep. But when a spider-like creature emerges from the bag and kidnaps his sister, he dives in after her. The bag transports him to another world filled with monsters, spooks, and horrors around every corner. With humor and horror, Zenith does everything in his power to rescue his sister and get them both safely home.
Scare Level: 👻👻👻
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Small Spaces
Buy from:Kids who are fans of “Stranger Things” can enjoy the same creep factor in this eerie middle grade read. For 11-year-old Ollie, books are an escape and her latest read is quite chilling. Then on a field trip, she notices some strange similarities between the farm they’re visiting and the book, including the gravestones of the very characters she has read about. With terrifying scarecrows and haunted woods, Ollie’s favorite form of escape is about to become a real-life nightmare.
Scare Level: 👻👻👻👻👻
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Supernatural Scares
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Bumps in the Night
Buy from:In Amalie Howard's eerie middle grade debut, Darika "Rika" Lovelace visits her grandmother in Trinidad only to discover her heritage as a powerful witch. Thrust into a world of elemental Minders and sinister jumbies, Rika must tap into her newfound abilities to save her mother and friends from the malevolent jumbie king. Filled with magic, folklore, and some life-saving skittles, this delightful tale is atmospheric without being too scary.
Scare Level: 👻👻👻
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Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman
Buy from:When 12-year-old Felice discovers she is the daughter of La Llorona, a ghost that haunts a river in the magical town of Tres Leches, she sets out to try to save the town. Joined by the children of other monstruos like La Lechuza and the Dancing Devil, the story is full of magic and Mexican folklore. Perfect middle grade with just enough scares to be fun to read during Halloween, but not too scary for younger readers.
Scare Level: 👻👻
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Haunting Reads
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Grin
Buy from:Video game lovers will get plenty of chills with this book about a haunted arcade. Danny can’t wait to spend a week with his uncle and play all the games in his retro arcade. His week of fun turns into a bone-chilling fight for his life when he discovers that the spirit of a serial killer haunts one of the games. And when the spirit leaps into his uncle’s body, Danny and his friends must find a way to stop the killer once and for all.
Scare Level: 👻👻👻👻👻
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The Halloween Tree
Buy from:This might be the greatest Halloween book ever written. One of the few children’s books written by Bradbury, Halloween Tree tells the stories of eight young boys who venture out trick-or-treating, but soon find themselves confronted by the foreboding Mr. Moundshroud, who, through his evil machinations, introduces the children to Halloween traditions from around the world. If your kid really likes to be unnerved, this would make a fantastic double feature with Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Scare Level: 👻👻👻👻
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Thirteens
Buy from:Something isn’t quite right about the town of Eden Eld. Legend has it that every 13 years on Halloween, three 13-year-olds go missing. When Elle, Pip, and Otto start seeing strange things that no one else can – like large black dogs with red eyes – they begin to wonder if the legends are true. Will they be next to disappear? Creepy and suspenseful, Thirteens is a heart-pounding page-turner.
Scare Level: 👻👻👻👻
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Hellaween
Buy from:For fans of Wednesday, this graphic novel follows an aspiring witch named Gwen who feels out of place among normal people. She eagerly anticipates Halloween when her supernatural friends, vampire Miles and werewolf Sloane, return from the Hallowlands. But when the trios pranks catch some unwanted attention and Gwen's magic goes haywire, it's a race against time to make it all right. Slightly scary with awesome art, it's a must-read for the Halloween season.
Note for parents: There is some stronger language included, this book may be more suitable for more mature middle grade readers.
Scare Level: 👻👻
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Goofily Gothic
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Stitch Head: The Graphic Novel
Buy from:Kids who love creepy themes but don’t want the fright of their lives will love this graphic novel adaptation of the beloved novel by the same name. Stitch Head lives in a big, crumbling castle and spends his days taking care of all his maker’s macabre creations. When an evil circus proprietor offers him the chance at a new life, Stitch Head learns that not all monsters are cruel, and not all humans are good.
Scare Level: 👻
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The Sinister Summer Series
Buy from:Meet the Sinister-Winterbottom twins, who solve mysteries at increasingly bizarre summer vacation destinations in the hopes of being reunited with their parents. Giving off Goosebumps and Addams Family vibes, kids will love this wonderfully weird, wacky, and slightly sinister mystery series.
Read all five books: Vampiric Vacation, Camp Creepy, Menacing Manor, and Haunted Holiday.
Scare Level: 👻👻
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Nightmares! Series
Buy from:Charlie’s nightmares begin after he moves into his new stepmom’s old, creepy house with his dad and little brother, Jack. He tries to avoid sleeping to avoid the nightmares, but, eventually, his eyes close and he drifts into terrible dreams. The nightmares come to life when Jack is kidnapped, and Charlie finds himself on a terrifying mission that takes him into the dream world to save his brother. And so begins this delightful, chilling, oftentimes hilarious series written by actor Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller, with super cool illustrations by Karl Kwasny.
Scare Level: 👻👻
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You might also like:
- Page-Turning Series That Middle Grade Readers Love
- Listen If You Dare: 7 Horror Audiobooks for Tweens
- Action-Packed Adventures for Fans of The Last Kids on Earth
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2025.