Here are some great ideas to set your spine a-shivering:
Louise Cooper's Short and scary! is a book of very short scary stories. Some of the stories might make you laugh, but many of them will have you reaching for the light switch…
If you have ever been told to Stay out of the basement, perhaps you had better read this book by RL Stine. Dr. Brewer is doing a little plant-testing in his basement. Nothing to worry about. Harmless, he says. But Margaret and Casey Brewer are worried about their father. Even if gardening isn't your idea of fun, we think this book might be!
Mr Majeika and the haunted hotel may appeal to younger Harry Potter fans. Mr Majeika and class three are in a spooky hotel near Hadrian's Wall. Then there are strange lights and other haunting happenings… what will they do?
For older readers, Whispers in the graveyard by Theresa Breslin is a chilling tale of an evil awakened when a rowan tree is uprooted. Solomon, taking refuge from his alcoholic father in the graveyard, becomes part of the struggle against the witch intent on revenge. The novel won the Carnegie medal in 1994.
Wolf, by Gillian Cross, is another past winner of the coveted Carnegie award, and another story to keep you in suspense. A play about wolves turns into something more real for Cassy when she becomes aware of a real wolf following her. There is more to it than meets the eye though. What is the family secret that lies in wait for Cassy along with the wolf…?
Another animal to appear with a supernatural intent is Yaxley's cat by Robert Westall. A seemingly ideal holiday cottage becomes a horrifying location. The cat that turns up there wants to reveal the truth that the villagers would kill to keep under wraps….
For a classic read, try Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a disturbing fable about what happens when man plays God. Frankenstein creates a monster who is initially gentle, but when outcast by society, turns cruel.
Set in the time of the Pendle witches, meet The Spook's apprentice written by Joseph Delaney. This is a gruesome tale meant for older readers. Thomas is the apprentice helping the Spook; it is their job to protect the villagers from all things evil. However, Thomas is tricked into releasing Mother Malkin, the most evil thing of all. One reader commented of this book that he "was so so so scared of some of it. At night time I was DESPERATE to read it but it was so scary I just couldn't bear it. But I read it. ULTRA brilliant and scary".
The last vampire by Willis Hall brings a bit of light relief to our ghostly selection. Count Alucard is descended from the Draculas but is nothing like them. In fact, he is a vegetarian vampire!
This is just a selection of scary stories we have in stock. Don't be afraid to ask for others!