Looking for a creepy read?

We've got you covered!

R.L. Stine is a famous horror story writer who is known most for his series Goosebumps. I have personally only read a few of the extraordinary 235 Goosebumps books that have been published, but during the spooky season I like to read some of R.L. Stine's other books. My top three favorites include: The Babysitter, Hit and Run, and The Perfect Date. These three books are filled with mystery and horror, they are nearly impossible to put down, and they are perfect for the Halloween season!

We reached out to the library crew and teachers, and here is what they had to say!

---

Although she's not a big horror reader herself, Ms. Roy shared the most popular books in the library. The most frequently checked out YA creepy book series are the Cirque de Freak and the Demonata series by Darren Shan, and Neal Shusterman’s Unwind and Skinjacker series. “These books are checked out all the time!” Ms Roy says. She also pointed out the Beautiful Creature series for readers who are looking for something a little darker but not necessarily heavy on the horror. “The Rot and Ruin series is another one that we just can’t seem to keep on the shelf.”

Mr. Middleswart shared, "I'd recommend 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,' by Washington Irving. It's short enough to read in time for Halloween, but long enough to sink your teeth into.  Classic.  Creepy. Often imitated, never duplicated."

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" had Mrs. Levasseur's vote, too! "I feel like 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' by Washington Irving or 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Edgar Allen Poe would be two great short stories. The 'Legend of Sleepy Hollow' is also a graphic novel and book, so that could be interesting to look at the different versions. I would recommend either one of these short stories because both have such great imagery. They suck you in as soon as you start to read them. They have a certain mystery about them that makes them hard to put down."

Mrs. Flannery excitedly shared her most recent scary read. "Horror is my jam, so I don't want to take up your time by listing off all of my favorites, but I just finished reading The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It was so good! I lost interest in the whole vampire thing a while ago, but The Strain puts some new twists on the genre. If you like SCARY vampire books, this one is for you! I can't wait to read the second book."

Ms. Dailey suggests The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. "I don't even know how to begin to capture the perfect terror that Jackson unleashes in this book. I do say 'terror', rather than 'horror', for a reason. She will scare you in the best way, and not with blood and gore. Here's paragraph one:

'No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.'

---

If anyone would like to make a comment to this post or recommend any of their favorite horror stories, I would love to hear about them! Happy Halloween!