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Scary Stories to get your Heart Pounding!

Juv Fic Avi Midnight Magic, by Avi; Grades 5+; K An unmarked coach arrives at the home of Mangus the Magician one stormy night, and summons him to help free the princess from her visions of a terrifying ghost. Mangus arrives at the castle to find a hidden passageway, a murder plot, and lots of secrets.

Juv Fic Bellairs The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull, by John Bellairs; Grades 4+; KW Johnny Dixon has only 2 clues to help him track down his friend who has disappeared: a haunted dollhouse and a menacing jack-o-lantern. When Johnny steals a tiny skull from the dollhouse, eerie things start to happen to him.

Juv Fic Bunting Is Anybody There? by Eve Bunting; Grades 4-6; K Marcus Mullen doesn't mind coming home to an empty house after school every day--until the day his key is missing from it's hiding place. When he starts hearing strange noises in the house, and notices that food is missing, Marcus begins to wonder if he's still safe.

Juv Fic Byars Dead Letter, by Betsy Byars; Grades 4-6; KWB When Herclueah Jones discovers a mysterious letter inside the lining of a second-hand coat, she suspects it's a desperate cry for help from the coat's previous owner, who may have been murdered. What she doesn't know if that someone is watching her--someone who will do anything to keep her from finding out who wrote the letter and why. Read the other books in the Herculeah Jones series, such as The Dark Stairs

Juv Fic Clifford Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library, by Eth Clifford; Grades 3-6; KWB After their car ran out of gas in an unfamiliar town, and their father went for gas but didn't return, Mary Rose and Jo-Beth finally trudge through a blizzard looking for help. When they find a curious old library, they think they are saved--until they find out what's inside, and that they're locked in!

Juv Fic Hahn Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story, by Mary Downing Hahn; Grades 4+; KW Andrew is excited when he learns he had an ancestor who was also named Andrew--until the earlier Andrew's ghost appears one night, and wants to change places in time. Andrew agrees, but soon realizes he will have to fight the ghost to get his present life back.

Juv Fic Hamilton The House of Dies Drear, by Virginia Hamilton; Grades 4-6; KWB Thomas doesn't like the look of his new massive gray house from the moment he first sees it. But when he learns that the house was once a stop on the Underground Railroad, and that two slaves and the abolitionist Dies Drear were murdered there, he wonders if the house is haunted, too. Read the sequel to Dies Drear, The Mystery of Drear House

Juv Fic Hildick The Case of the Fantastic Footprints, by E.W. Hildick; Grades 4-6; KWB Someone's been leaving their footprints in wet cement all around town, and McGurk and his crew are called in to help. When the cememt later bears the initials of "J. McG," McGurk worries that he's being framed--but who could be trying to set him up? Read the other books in the McGurk Mystery Series, such as The Case of the Weeping Witch

Juv Fic Howe Howliday Inn, by James Howe; Grades 2-5; KWB Harold dog and Chester cat have been boarded at Chateau Bow-Wow while their family is on vacation. Trouble arises, however, when one boarder after another disappears, including Chester! Harry must solve the mystery before it's too late for his pal! Read the other books in the Howliday Inn series, such as Return to Howliday Inn

Juv Fic Levy Night of the Living Gerbil, by Elizabeth Levy; Grades 3-4; KWB What do you get when you mix one dead gerbil, a creepy store called Weird Science with its even creepier owner,  and a dark and stormy night...Night of the Living Gerbil!

Juv Fic Mahy The Haunting, by Margaret Mahy; Grades 5+; KW When Barnaby, known as Barney, starts receiving frightening supernatural messages that say "Barney is dead," he believes they are about him, and he's terrified!

Juv Fic Naylor The Witch's Sister, by Phyllis Reynolds; Grades 4-6; W Lynn is sure that her neighbor, Mrs. Tuggle, is a witch who is trying to convert her sister Judith, but her parents don't believe her. Lynn's troubles worsen when her parents leave Mrs. Tuggle to babysit for the weekend. Are Lynn and Judith in danger? See the other books in the Witch series, such as Witch Water

Juv Fic Nixon The Statue Walks at Night, by Joan Lowery Nixon; Grades 3-4; KWB Two priceless works of art have disappeared from the Redoaks Museum, and Brian and Seth decide their dad will need help locating them. It's a race against time as they chase down clues, but someone--or something--is trying to stop them!

Juv Fic Patneaude Someone was Watching, by David Patneaude; Grades 5+; KW When his baby sister disappears from the river near their summer home, eighth grader Chris fights the assumption that she has drowned and uncovers evidence that something entirely different has happened to her.

Juv Fic Pearson The Bogeyman Caper: An Eagle-Eye Ernie Mystery, by Susan Pearson; Grades 2-3; KWB Is there a bogeyman in the yellow house? Ernie doesn't believe in them, but what else could be making such a creepy noise? Read more about Eagle-Eye Ernie in Tap Dance Mystery

Juv Fic Roberts Scared Stiff, by Willo David Roberts; Grades 5+; KW When Rick's mother is kidnapped, he and his brother go searching for her and land in an eerily creepy place--an abandoned amusement park!

Juv Fic Snyder The Trespassers, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder; Grades 4+; KW When Neely and her little brother, Grub, accidentally find a way to sneak into a mansion that's been deserted for years, they are excited to find a playroom full of old-fashioned toys. But when the owners suddenly return to the mansion, Neely discovers she must protect Grub from a lot more than the mansions's suspected ghost.

Juv Fic Stephens Disney's Enter if you Dare: Scary Stories from the Haunted Mansion, by Nicholas Stephens; Grades 3-5; KWB Six spine-tingling stories tell the legends of the Haunted Mansion, where tombstones abound, eerie portraits flicker, and corpses dance.

Juv Fic Vande Velde Ghost of a Hanged Man, by Vivian Vande Velde; Grades 4-6; KW When the infamous outlaw Jake Barnette is sentenced to be hanged in the summer of 1877, no one pays attention to his threat of coming back and killing the men who brought him to justice. But when bad things begin happening to many of the town folk, the people learn that Jake wasn't kidding about his revenge.

Juv Fic Wright The Dollhouse Murders, by Betty Ren Wright; Grades 4-6; K While visiting her Aunt Clare at the old family home, Amy discovers an old dollhouse in the attic that is an exact replica of their house. Strangely, each time Amy looks at the house, the dolls have been moved--only she and Aunt Clare haven't touched them, and Aunt Clare becomes angry whenever Amy mentions it. Convinced that the dolls are trying to tell her something, Amy does some digging, and discovers an old family secret involving murder.

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Children's Services 2003