Why am I passionate about this?

As a twelve-year-old, I read nothing but ghost booksā€”not monsters, horror, or mystery, but ghosts. Though I debuted as an author in teen fantasy, a middle grade editor discovered my talent for spooky atmospheres, and I was once again drawn into the world of lost souls. In fact, when I was working on my first spooky novel, The Haunting, my editor requested the book to remind him of the works of Mary Downing Hahnā€”one of my favorite authors as a child. Iā€™d found my calling. It just happened to be from beyond the graveā€¦


I wrote

Ghost in the Headlights

By Lindsey Duga,

Book cover of Ghost in the Headlights

What is my book about?

When Brianna Jenson agreed to move in with her cruel uncle, she didn't expect to find herself in the middleā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Wait Till Helen Comes: a Ghost Story

Lindsey Duga Why did I love this book?

When youā€™re an avid reader as a child, there are few books that leave a distinct impressionā€”an everlasting feeling that stays with you for the rest of your life. After all, how can one book stand out among one hundred? Well, Wait Till Helen Comes was one of those books for me.

Hahn is a master storyteller, weaving in the chilling elements that seem to jump off the page and into the comfort of your reading chair. Itā€™s a heartbreaking story about two stepsisters, one who befriends a ghost who lures children into her pond to drown. Full of manipulation and jealousy, this is a ghost story that absolutely will not let you go.  

By Mary Downing Hahn,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Wait Till Helen Comes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Twelve-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother, Michael, have never liked their seven-year-old stepsister, Heather. Ever since their parents got married, she's made Molly and Michael's life miserable. Now their parents have moved them all to the country to live in a house that used to be a church, with a cemetery in the backyard. If that's not bad enough, Heather starts talking to a ghost named Helen and warning Molly and Michael that Helen is coming for them. Molly feels certain Heather is in some kind of danger, but every time she tries to help, Heather twists things around toā€¦


Book cover of The Dollhouse Murders

Lindsey Duga Why did I love this book?

Imagine finding a beautiful dollhouse where its occupants reenact the night of a murder from decades agoā€¦creepy, right? Betty Ren Wrightā€™s The Dollhouse Murders is a unique ghost story where the ghosts communicate their tragic tale through miniature doll versions of themselves.

Its mystery and old family secrets make this book one of my all-time favorites. 

By Betty Ren Wright, Leo Nickolls (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Dollhouse Murders as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Dolls can't move by themselves. . . . Or can they?

This special anniversary edition of the hair-raising mystery that's kept readers up at night for thirty-five years features a foreword by Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine.

Amy is terrified. She hears scratching and scurrying noises coming from the dollhouse in the attic, and the dolls she was playing with are not where she left them. Dolls can't move by themselves, she tells herself. But every night when Amy goes up to check on the dollhouse, it's filled with an eerie light and the dolls have moved again! Are the dollsā€¦


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Book cover of The Eye of Ra

The Eye of Ra by Ben Gartner,

Gold Recipient, Mom's Choice Awards Honoring Excellence.

Silver Medal in Children's Adventure, 2020 International Readers' Favorite Awards.

Award-winning Finalist, Next Generation Book Awards.

1st Place in both Children's Adventure AND Grades 4th-6th, 2020 TopShelf Awards.

Grand Prize Winner, Colorado Author Project.

1st Place, Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Fiction Award.

Exploringā€¦

Book cover of The Ghost of Fossil Glen

Lindsey Duga Why did I love this book?

A mysterious death, a dangerous rocky cliff overlooking a glen, and a restless spirit equalā€¦an unsolved murder? Young Allie Nichols knows sheā€™s being pursued by a ghost, awake and in her dreams, but itā€™s going to take old friends and lots of courage to stop the haunting, or she may meet her ghostā€™s fate!

This is also an unforgettable ghost story from my childhood that I highly, wholeheartedly, recommend. 

By Cynthia DeFelice,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Ghost of Fossil Glen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

The Ghost of Fossil Glen gripping ghost story and murder mystery by a popular and highly regarded author.

Allie Nichols knows she's being pursued by a ghost. But her friend Karen calls her a liar and doesn't want to hear "stuff like that." It is Allie's old pal Dub who listens eagerly as Allie tells him about a voice that guides her safely down a steep cliff side, the face in her mind's eye of a girl who begs "Help me," and a terrible nightmare in which that girl falls to her death. Who is the girl? Is she theā€¦


Book cover of The Forgotten Girl

Lindsey Duga Why did I love this book?

India Hill Brown is masterful in weaving together history and ghosts into this book.

When two friends stumble across a crumbling gravestone, they soon bring about the attention of its occupant, Avery, who happens to be a black girl who died at the time when even cemeteries were segregated.

If you want a lesson in history and diversity, as well as a spooky ghost story that will scare the pants off youā€”donā€™t forget The Forgotten Girl

By India Hill Brown,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Forgotten Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

"This ghost story gave me chill after chill. It will haunt you." -- R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps

"Do you know what it feels like to be forgotten?"On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel, sneak into a clearing in the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris carefully makes a perfect snow angel -- only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore, right beneath her.Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris: She begins having vivid nightmares. She wakes up to find her bedroom window wide open, letting inā€¦


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Book cover of Fires Burning Underground

Fires Burning Underground by Nancy McCabe,

Itā€™s Annyā€™s first day of middle school and, after years of being homeschooled, her first day of public school ever. In art, Larissa asks what kind of ESP is her favorite: telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, or telekinesis? Tracy asks how she identifies: gay, straight, bi, asexual, pan, trans, or confused?

Andā€¦

Book cover of Haunt Me

Lindsey Duga Why did I love this book?

One of the classic rules about ghosts is donā€™t try to summon them. In Haunt Me by KR Alexander, Maria breaks that very rule in an innocent sleepover game by trying to talk to her sisterā€™s ghost. Sheā€™s never been able to get over Isabellaā€™s death, and her guilt has stayed with her, but what comes back canā€™t be her sisterā€¦can it?

Donā€™t miss this dreadful, haunting story about regrets and the love between siblingsā€”it will definitely make you think twice before communing with the dead. 

By K R Alexander,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Haunt Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

It was supposed to be a normal winter sleepover. Hot chocolate and pillow forts and scary movies. But Maria's friends had other things in mind. They bring out a board game that is supposed to help you talk to the dead, and Maria wants nothing more than to communicate with her recently deceased sister, Isabella.

She gets her wish.

Isabella responds. And in the days that follow, it becomes clear that Isabella isn't the sweet girl she was in life.

Soon, Maria is trapped in her own house by this vengeful poltergeist, and she must confront both her sister andā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Ghost in the Headlights

By Lindsey Duga,

Book cover of Ghost in the Headlights

What is my book about?

When Brianna Jenson agreed to move in with her cruel uncle, she didn't expect to find herself in the middle of a terrifying town legend.

Every afternoon on her walk home from school, as the sun begins to set behind the overhanging branches of Shadowrun Road, Brianna hears footsteps following herā€“footsteps that belong to no one. Then there's the car that races along the narrow country road with blinding lights and almost runs her over! It's almost as if someoneā€“or somethingā€“is trying to get her attention.

As Brianna investigates what happened on Shadowrun Road, she discovers a town tragedy that has never been resolved. Can Brianna get to the bottom of this ghostly mystery before it's too late?

Book cover of Wait Till Helen Comes: a Ghost Story
Book cover of The Dollhouse Murders
Book cover of The Ghost of Fossil Glen

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