The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson - Ages 9+
When their parents go to America for the summer, Madlyn and Rollo are sent to their great-aunt Emily and great-uncle George at Clawstone Castle, home of the legendary and mysterious Wild White Cattle of Clawstone Park. But times are hard at Clawstone, as the fancier castle down the road attracts all the tourist traffic. Determined to save the castle and the herd, Madlyn and Rollo audition a cast of ghosts to add some thrills to the Clawstone tours, and soon visitors are pouring through the gates. But just when things are looking up, the ghosts and children find themselves facing a great mystery, and some very sinister enemies. Will Madlyn, Rollo, and their ghostly friends find a way to save the day?
Dial-a-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson - Ages 9+
The Dial-a-Ghost Agency finds good homes for ghosts. And Fulton and Frieda Snodde-Brittle are looking for a few frightening ghosts to "accidentally" scare their young cousin and heir, Oliver, to death. The ladies at the Dial-a-Ghost Agency have the perfect match: the Shriekers, two bloodstained and bickering horrors. But thanks to a mix-up at the agency, the Wilkinsons, a kind family of ghosts, arrive instead. Can they put a stop to the Snodde-Brittles' schemes before it's too late?
The Great Ghost Rescue by Eva Ibbotson - Ages 9+
The ghosts of Britain need a sanctuary. Castles with central heating, bogs drained for motorways, dismal forests cleared for car parks-there are few places left for a respectable ghost to haunt. Humphrey the Horrible (actually his name is simply Humphrey-he added "the Horrible" to help himself become horrible) is a small, mostly unsuccessful ghost in a family of ghastly ghouls. His mother worries. But Humphrey has enough pluck to befriend a smart, politically aware schoolboy, Rick Henderson, who is willing to take the ghosts' cause right to the top, to number 10 Downing Street-home of the Prime Minister.
The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson - Ages 9+
American millionaire Hiram C. Hopgood will stop at nothing to make his daughter, Helen, happy—even if it means buying her an ancient Scottish castle and shipping it back to Texas. Assembling the castle isn’t a problem for the oil tycoon . . . it’s the ghosts that worry him. Hopgood has made up his mind: the ghouls have got to go. But these spirits don’t spook so easily. Instead, they make their way to America, where they meet up with a magical severed hand and three fiendish, cross-dressing kidnappers for a Texas-sized adventure with a ghostly Scottish flair.
Series: Allies Ghost Hunters
Author Catherine Jinks
Ages: 9+
Eglantine: A Paranormal Adventure (Case 1)
Allie Gebhardt thought sharing a room with her younger brother Bethan was bad enough, but sharing a room with a ghost proves to be down right frightful. In this deliciously spooky tale, Allie’s family is haunted by Eglantine Higgins, the ghost of a young girl who used to live in their house. After mysterious writings appear on the walls of Bethan’s room, Bethan moves in with his older sister, much to her dismay. Irritated by her younger brother, Allie becomes determined to get rid of the unwanted guest in Bethan’s room. This suspenseful tale combines mystery, cleverness, and a little bit of humor to create a frightfully fun ghost story for younger readers.
Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret - Ages 11+
Each day, sixth-grader Rusty feeds a dog that's left chained in the frigid weather with no shelter, food, or water. When he realizes the dog has been injured, he tries to have Animal Control help - but when that fails, Rusty and his friend Andrew unchain the dog and take it. With the dog in their hideout, the boys face multiple challenges, including Andrew's snoopy sister and the escalating threats of the dog's abusive owner. Even more challenging? The appearance of a ghost dog that appears in Rusty's room, and is trying to lead him to an even deeper secret. . . .
Horror at the Haunted House - Peg Kehret Ages 11+
Ellen Streater and her brother Corey are going to die . . . every night all week long, playing parts in the Historical Haunted House. It's all for a good cause-the Historical Society is raising money to turn the old Clayton House into a museum. Everyone says the creaky old mansion is a perfect place for the Halloween festivities, since the house really is haunted. But Ellen never expects the ghost of Clayton House to appear to her-and lead her into a nightmare beyond her wildest dreams.
Ghost Grave by Peg Kehret - Ages Ages 11+
What Josh thought would be the dullest summer of his life, spent with his eccentric great-aunt, turns chilling when he meets the ghost of a coal miner killed in a mine explosion. Willie has been waiting years for some kind soul to dig up his leg and rebury it with the rest of him—only then will he be at peace. Josh agrees to do the grisly deed, but when he digs in the old cemetery, he finds more than Willie’s leg bones! Who buried the box of cash in the grave, and why? How far will that person go to get the money back? The Ghost’s Grave is a deliciously spooky adventure from a master of suspense.
Series: 43 Old Cemetary Road
Author: Kate Klise
Ages 9+
Dying to meet You (Book 1)
Ignatius B. Grumply moves into the Victorian mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road hoping to find some peace and quiet so he can crack a wicked case of writer's block. But 43 Old Cemetery Road is already occupied by eleven-year-old Seymour, his cat Shadow, and an irritable ghost named Olive. It's hard to say who is more outraged. But a grumpy old ghost just might inspire this grumpy old man--and the abandoned kid? Well, let's just say his last name's Hope.
Sisters Kate and M. Sarah Klise, the creators of the award-winning Regarding the . . . series, offer up this debut volume in a clever new series told in letters, drawings, newspaper articles, a work-in-progress manuscript, and even an occasional tombstone engraving.
Series: Ghosthunters
Author: Carol Matas
Ages: 9+
The Proof That Ghosts Exist (Book 1)
Molly and Adam aren’t thrilled about their dad’s upcoming birthday. Whether it’s a family curse or just bad luck, the Barnett males have a distressing tendency to drop dead the day before they turn 35. Their mom has a plan, though: a trip to the family’s lakeside cottage. It’s a great idea…until weird things start happening. A problem at work means Mom can’t go. Grandfather’s creepy old desk and papers appear in Molly’s bedroom. A freak fall leaves Dad with a badly sprained ankle. Everyone blames Molly for the accident, saying she screamed for help while swimming in the lake, but Molly knows it never happened. Things go from bad to worse when a strange nurse named Reggie Crankshaft shows up out of the blue to offer his help. As Molly and Adam struggle to make sense of the odd events and figure out what really happened at the lake, their efforts to protect their father grow ever more desperate.
Breathe: A Ghost Story by Cliff McNish - Ages 9+
Jack is not a normal boy. He can talk to ghosts. In his new home, an aging farmhouse, he meets the Ghost Mother, a grief-stricken spirit who becomes very attached to him...too attached. He learns that the Ghost Mother is preying in the cruelest imaginable way on four child ghosts who are trapped in the house, stealing their energy to sustain her own. Before Jack can figure out how to help them, the Ghost Mother takes possession of his real mother's body. Jack wants to fight back, but he has severe asthma and risks fatal attacks with any physical exertion. It will take all his resources, and his mother's as well, to fight off the Ghost Mother and save the ghost children from a horrible fate.
Jade Green : A Ghost Story by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - Ages 11+
Orphaned fifteen-year-old Judith Sparrow brings two secrets to her uncle's house in South Carolina: one, that her grief-stricken mother died in a madhouse, the other that she has disobeyed the only condition to living in her uncle's home -- nothing green is allowed in the house.
Judith can't bear to part with the photograph of her mother in its lovely green silk frame. Surely this one small defiance will not jeopardize the happiness she finds in South Carolina -- with a family at last, and new friends, especially Zeke Carey, the miller's son.
But Uncle Geoffrey's house holds a secret of its own. And Judith's small picture frame, hidden away at the bottom of her trunk, unleashes a powerful force that seems determined to bring that secret into the open. Or is Judith simply following her mother down the path toward madness?
The Nightmarys by Dan Poblocki - Ages 11+
Timothy July has a secret. And it's giving him nightmares.
Abigail Tremens has a problem. Her nightmares are haunting her . . . while she is awake.
When they team up for a school project, they don't realize that Abigail's past and Timothy's present are making them the target of a terrible curse. A curse that turns their worst fears to reality.
But their fears are just the beginning. The curse stems from a strange artifact that gains strength by devouring a human soul. And it needs to feed again.
The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki - Ages 11+
Eddie Fennicks has always been a loner, content to lose himself in a mystery novel by his favorite author, Nathaniel Olmstead. That’s why moving to the small town of Gatesweed becomes a dream come true when Eddie discovers that Olmstead lived there before mysteriously disappearing thirteen years ago. Even better, Eddie finds a handwritten, never-before-seen Nathaniel Olmstead book printed in code and befriends Harris, who’s as much an Olmsteady as he is. But then the frightening creatures of Olmstead’s books begin to show up in real life, and Eddie’s dream turns into a nightmare. Eddie, Harris, and their new friend, Maggie, must break Olmstead’s code, banish all gremlins and monster lake-dogs from the town of Gatesweed, and solve the mystery of the missing author, all before Eddie’s mom finishes
writing her own tale of terror and brings to life the scariest creature of all.
Series: Olivia Kidney
Author: Ellen Potter
Ages: 9+
Olivia Kidney (Book 1)
Olivia Kidney has just moved to another new apartment building, and Olivia’s the new kid in school, again. Olivia thinks she’s fed up with new places . . . until she gets a look at her building! Sure, it looks normal from the outside, but inside things are crazy. There are talking lizards crawling everywhere. An exiled princess haunts the hallways, and Olivia finds one apartment made entirely of glass! She’s meeting fantastical characters and seeing wondrous sights that make Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland seem tame. But among all the ghosts and pirates and princesses, can Olivia find a friend?
The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley - Ages 12+
After Michael's parents die, he is invited to stay with his guardian in a desolate country house. He begins to suspect something is not quite right on the day he arrives when he spots a mysterious woman out in the frozen mists. But little can prepare him for the solitude of the house itself. His guardian is rarely seen, and there's a malevolent force lurking in an old hallway mirror. As the chilling suspense builds, Michael realizes that the house and its grounds harbor many more secrets-both dead and alive.
Lily's Ghosts by Laura Ruby - Ages 9+
Lily is Furious.
She can't believe she has to move again after her mom's break-up with the latest boyfriend. Now they're broke and they'll have to spend the winter in Uncle Wes's creepy summerhouse in Cape May, New Jersey.
And the place is crawling with ghosts.
From the spiteful teenager who mistakes Lily for her high school nemesis to the restless spirit of her eccentric Uncle Max, Lily is haunted by a host of unhappy phantoms. But why are they here? And what do they want?
With the help of some mysterious clues, Lily and her new friend, local boy Vaz, uncover a sinister plot. If they don't foil the villainous plan in time, they may end up doing some eternal haunting of their own.
Series: Spellbinder
Author: Helen Stringer
Ages: 10+
Spellbinder (Book 1)
Belladonna Johnson can see ghosts. It’s a trait she’s inherited from her mother’s side of the family, like blue eyes or straight hair. And it’s a trait she could do without, because what twelve-year-old wants to be caught talking to someone invisible?
It is convenient, though, after Belladonna’s parents are killed in a car accident. They can live with her the same as always, watching the same old TV shows in their same old house. Nothing has changed . . . until everything changes.
One night, with no warning, they vanish into thin air—along with every other ghost in the world. It’s what some people think ghosts are supposed to do, but Belladonna knows it’s all wrong. They may not be living, but they’re not supposed to be gone.
With the help of her classmate Steve, a master of sneaking and spying, Belladonna is left to uncover what’s become of the spirits and to navigate a whole world her parents have kept well-hidden. If she can’t find her way, she’ll lose them again—this time for good.
Series: Spellbinder
Author: Helen Stringer
Ages: 10+
The Midnight Gate (Book 2)
Warning: serious spoilers ahead! Highlight if you want to RUIN the surprises in book 2... What? I'm not judging you.
It’s been two months since Belladonna Johnson discovered she was the Spellbinder, and she’s full of questions about her powers. When a ghost finds Belladonna and her classmate, Steve, and gives them a mysterious map, the friends don’t know if they should be looking for or hiding from the one person who holds the answers to Belladonna’s powers: the Queen of the Abyss. Throw into the mix that Belladonna’s parents, who are ghosts, have disappeared and that her brand-new and maybe even sinister foster family seems to know more than they’ll let on, and you have a sequel made of high adventure and intrigue, seasoned with affecting characters and topped with a dollop of wit.
Series: Ghost Buddy
(Note: This series is not yet released. It's due early 2012)
Authors: Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver
Ages 9+
Zero To Hero (Book 1)
Billy Broccoli is new to the neighborhood, and wants cool friends and a spot on the baseball team more than anything. But the one thing he never wanted is his own personal ghost. So imagine his surprise when he ends up sharing a room with Hoover Porterhouse, a funny ghost with a whole lot of attitude.
When an obnoxious school bully sets out to demolish Billy, the Hoove comes up with a plan for revenge. It’s all in the Hoove’s Rule Number Forty-Two: Stay cool. And like it or not, Billy and the Hoove have to stick together if Billy ever wants to get in style, get even, and conquer the school.
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