Preamble
Horror seems a bold word to use in titling this post, but I think it gets the point across. I use the term loosely to include speculative fiction with elements that could lend themselves to horror – ghosts, gore, eeriness, creepiness – regardless of whether those stories are specially horror stories. Each book on this list had the potential to be horror, based on its general description.
I based this list on my own reaction to these books. What one finds scary is highly subjective! I feel a difference between spooky, creepy, and properly scary or frightening. That affects how I ranked these books. If I were to roughly define the four categories below, I would say the first two are good for readers who don’t like to be scared too much. I also want to be clear that this is not a ranking of how ‘good’ the books are on here. Not being scary doesn’t mean it’s not a good book. Links to my reviews where applicable.
The Rankings
Slightly Spooky
These books have spooky elements but aren’t really scary.
- The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery by Allison Rushby
- Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow by Katy Towell
- The Ghost Collector by Allison Mills
A Little More Eerie
These books have moments of mild spook.
- A Properly Unhaunted Place by William Alexander
- Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
- Doll Bones by Holly Black
- City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
- Watch Hollow by Gregory Funaro
- The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
At Times Nerve Wracking
Now we are getting somewhere…these books have some tense scenes.
- Just South of Home by Karen Strong
- A Festival of Ghosts by William Alexander
- The Swallow by Charis Cotter
- The House in Poplar Wood by K.E. Ormsbee
- Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- Island of Monsters by Ellen Oh
Truly Terrifying
These books made this grown up shudder in fear!
- Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker
- The Nest by Kenneth Oppel
- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
- Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh
Spooky TBR
Although I consider spooky middle grade to be one of my favourite genres, there are plenty of titles within it that I still need to read. Here are a few on my TBR: Small Spaces, The Girl in the Locked Room, The Bone Garden, A Curious Tale of the In-Between, and The Absence of Sparrows.
What’s the scariest middle grade book you’ve ever read? How would your ranking differ from mine?
You’re right about spooky being subjective! I love this list, I haven’t read many of them but I love that you’ve found such a variety in this genre
Thank-you! It was fun to review all the spooky books I’ve read and consider how I reacted in different ways to each of them.
I’ve only read Coraline from this list and yes, it is a terrifying one. You’ve got it in the right bucket.
I remember searching for horror titles as a middle grader myself. RL Stine’s books dominated what I read – much of it definitely freaked me out then.
Can’t go wrong with Coraline! Your comment reminds me that I didn’t actually read horror when I was young. I actively stayed away from Stine 😛
My go to creepy, spooky, scary book is Lockwood & Company series by Jonathan Stroud.
Ah, I didn’t realize that series is considered creepy! I had a vague impression it was like dark mystery/adventure but not so spooky. Might have to check it out.
As a homeschool literature instructor for middle school, I really enjoyed The Night Gardener. It was spooky enough to represent the genre, but not so spooky as to bother more sensitive students. It was truly rich with discussion material, as well, since it goes over themes of honesty vs story-telling, desire vs other-centeredness, honesty to yourself, and so on.
Contrast that with a book like Small Spaces, where the creepiness is center-stage, instead of implied, but there aren’t rich discussion themes. Pass
That makes sense – different criteria for different purposes. I’m all about the creepiness so Small Spaces was more to my preference 😀 Thanks for stopping by!