*DISCLOSURE* Thank you to Scholastic for providing product samples in order to facilitate this post. All thoughts are strictly my own.
Take a look at what we are reading to get into the spooky spirit this October:
Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters
Chilling American Indian Stories
By Dan SaSuWeh Jones Illustrator Weshoyot Alvitre
Dark figures in the night. Cries on the wind. Monsters watching from the edge of the wood.
While some of these creatures are simply mischievous, many of them are the stuff of nightmares. From timeless tales to sightings that could have happened yesterday, prepare for terrifying accounts of restless spirits, walking dolls, and the wendigo, shape-shifters, and hungry skeletons.
Ghost stories remain among the most treasured tales passed from generation to generation in American Indian cultures. Through time, communities have told and continue to tell stories to share origins of the world and tribal history, to carry messages and to teach, and of course to entertain. Dan SaSuWeh Jones, Ponca Nation, has compiled some of his favorites with contributions from storytellers across the US and Canada, accompanied by haunting illustrations by Weshoyot Alvitre, Tongva Nation.
So pick up a story... if you dare.
The Ash House
When Eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster.
The children at the Ash House want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name. Doesn't he? At least he did before he walked through those gates...
This was supposed to be a healing refuge for children like him. Something between a school and a summer camp. With kids like him. With pain like his. But no one is allowed to get sick at the Ash House. NO ONE.
And then The Doctor arrives...
Strange things are about to happen at the mysterious Ash House. And the longer Sol spends on the mysterious grounds, the more he begins to forget who he is, the more the other children begin to distrust him, and the worse his pain becomes. But can he hold onto reality long enough to find an escape? And better yet, can he convince the others?
The Loop #2: The Block
Luka is a prisoner once again. But this time it's a fate worse than death. In the Block, he must toggle between enduring an Energy Harvest for twelve hours of the day and surviving complete immobilization. The only semblance of relief is the Sane Zone, created to keep prisoners from going completely mad. In this virtual reality, the prisoners live out their fantasies of life outside. But for Luka, it's different.
Happy is determined to find out the location of his friends, who disappeared after the Battle of Midway Park. But can Luka battle the descent into madness long enought to stop Happy's manipulation tactics and keep his friends' location safe?
Another prison break is the only chance to protect the Missing. And as reality becomes increasingly scrambled on the outside, it'll take an army to stop Galen from carrying out his plans.
Creepshow: The Cursed
A girl's fantasy of living in an earlier era becomes all too real after she buys a piece of antique jewelry...
In the woods, a pair of teens encounter a green glowing figure whose desires are as mysterious as its origins...
This brand-new terrifying collection includes two chilling novels inspired by Creepshow, Shudder's anthology TV series based on the 1982 horror comedy classic. Perfect for fans of the show as well as fans of the horror genre in general, it's the most fun you'll ever have being scared! Includes comic book art at the start of each story.
The Ghost of Midnight Lake
By Lucy Strange
It's 1899. The Earl of Gosswater has died, and twelve-year-old Agatha has been cast out of her ancestral home - the only home
she has ever known - by her cruel cousin, Clarence. In a tiny tumbledown cottage, she struggles to adjust to her new life and
the stranger who claims to be her real father. While adjusting to her new fate, she learns that the shores of Gosswater lake are
haunted, and soon comes face to face with the spirit of another young girl who's soul will not rest. Could the ghost of Gosswater
hold the key to Aggie's true identity?
The House on Hoarder Hill, Book #1
When siblings Hedy and Spencer are forced to spend time with their reclusive and eccentric grandfather, they find themselves on a quest to solve the mysterious disappearance of their grandmother decades earlier.
Searching for clues, they'll uncover dangerous secrets from their grandfather's past as a magician, because in the house of a magician you never know what - or who - you will find. Soon they will discover that, like Grandpa himself, the house possesses not only secrets, but also real magic.
Hidden in the labyrinth of his belongings are the clues to solving their family's biggest mystery: the disappearance of their Grandma Rose. Searching for clues in Grandpa's house unveils long-forgotten enchantments, surprising foes and a few unexpected friends. Using their ingenuity, bravery, and new-found belief in magic, Hedy and Spencer must search for the truth behind Rose's disappearance and attempt to heal the family rift that may finally set their grandmother free.
The Deadliest: The Deadliest Diseases Then and Now
By Deborah Hopkinson
The deadly outbreak of plague known as the Great Mortality, which struck Europe in the mid 1300s and raged for four centuries, wiped out more than 25 million people in the course of just two years. With its vicious onslaught, life changed for millions of people almost instantaneously.
Deadly pandemics have always been a part of life, from the Great Mortality of the Middle Ages, to the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918, to the eruption of COVID-19 in our own century. Many of these diseases might have seemed like things to read about in history books-until the unthinkable happened, and our own lives were turned upside down by the emergence of the novel coronavirus.
As we learn more about COVID-19, we may be curious about pandemics of the past. Knowing how humans fought diseases long ago may help us face those of today. In this fast-paced, wide-ranging story filled with facts, pictures, and diagrams about diseases-from plague to smallpox to polio to flu-critically acclaimed Sibert Honor author Deborah Hopkinson brings voices from the past to life in this exploration of the deadliest diseases of then and now.
Ghost Squad
By Claribel A. Ortega
For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business.
Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.
With the family dynamics of Coco and action-packed adventure of Ghostbusters, Claribel A. Ortega delivers both a thrillingly spooky and delightfully sweet debut novel.
A Werewolf in Riverdale (Archie Horror, Book 1)
By Caleb Roehrig
Everyone knows the characters from Riverdale: popular Archie Andrews, girl-next-door Betty Cooper, angsty Jughead Jones, and the sophisticated Veronica Lodge. But this is not the Riverdale you know and love. Something twisted has awoken in the town with pep. Inspired by the iconic Archie Horror comics, this reimagined universe takes the grittiness of the TV show and adds a paranormal twist.
Someone is killing the citizens of Riverdale. And after a bloody full moon, Jughead realizes he is the killer! Jughead is a werewolf. Can he keep this secret from his friends - including werewolf-hunting Betty Cooper? Jughead has to get his dark side under control - before it is controlling him.
The Archie Horror series contains all-new, original stories that fans of horror AND fans of Riverdale will eat up!
Interview with a Vixen (Archie Horror, Book 2)
By Rebecca Barrow
Everyone knows the characters from Riverdale: popular Archie Andrews, sophisticated Veronica Lodge, girl-next-door Betty Cooper, and angsty Jughead Jones. But this is not the Riverdale you know and love. Something twisted has awoken in the town with pep. Inspired by the iconic Archie Horror comics, this reimagined universe takes the grittiness of the TV show and adds a paranormal twist.
Everyone thinks that Veronica Lodge has it all: the rich parents and the big house. The popular jock crush. The perfect best friend. But all that changes when she's bitten by an ancient vampire named Theodore Finch.
Theodore is turning all of Riverdale's most powerful citizens into vampires-including Veronica's parents. But that's only the beginning of what he has planned... Veronica escapes from becoming one of Theodore's minions, but the lives of the entire town are at stake. Veronica can't defeat him alone.
With some help from her friends, Veronica discovers how to turn everyone back to normal-including herself. All they have to do is kill Theodore. But Veronica's bloodlust is getting harder to control. Can Betty, Archie, Dilton, and Cheryl figure out how to stop Theodore-and save Veronica-before it's too late?
The Archie Horror series contains all-new, original stories that fans of horror AND fans of Riverdale will die for!
Check out Scholastic for some really awesome and scary titles for your middle and high schoolers this fall!
Disclosure: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
