100 books like Ghosts in the House!

By Kazuno Kohara,

Here are 100 books that Ghosts in the House! fans have personally recommended if you like Ghosts in the House!. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Boo!

Katie Vernon Author Of Happy Halloweenie

From my list on Halloween boards for little ghouls and goblins.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I was a little scared of Halloween as a kid, I’ve grown to love the silly side of spookiness. Growing up with Pee-Wee’s Playhouse every Saturday morning, I learned that silliness is a superpower. Now, when working on kids books, my ultimate goal is to put work into the world that will delight kids, and won’t make the parents groan and say, “that one again?” Finding the sweet spot of being fun to read, fun to hear, and fun to look at is what I love most about creating kids books. I hope you and your little ghouls and goblins enjoy my spooky board Boooook list! 

Katie's book list on Halloween boards for little ghouls and goblins

Katie Vernon Why did Katie love this book?

I read my kiddo many Lesley Patricelli books when she was little and I would have loved to have read Boo! to her during Halloween (and beyond!).

From showing size differences between pumpkins to spreads where reader/listener can choose between jack-o’-lantern faces and costumes, Patricelli simplifies the season of Halloween in such a sweet way. It even addresses that Halloween might feel scary to a young kid – which as a kid who was too scared to trick-or-treat until many years after her friends had started, I truly appreciate. 

By Leslie Patricelli,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Boo! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The inimitable Baby brings a humorous spin to the holidays in a cheerful board book fit for trick-or-treat bags.

It’s almost Halloween! How should Daddy carve the pumpkin? So many expressions to choose from! What should Baby be—a princess or pirate, ballerina or clown? When the jack-o’-lantern’s ready (looking suspiciously like Baby), it’s time for a little ghost to head out in the slightly scary night. But fear turns to excitement as the pumpkin fills up with treats. WOW!


Book cover of Eek! Halloween!

Katie Vernon Author Of Happy Halloweenie

From my list on Halloween boards for little ghouls and goblins.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I was a little scared of Halloween as a kid, I’ve grown to love the silly side of spookiness. Growing up with Pee-Wee’s Playhouse every Saturday morning, I learned that silliness is a superpower. Now, when working on kids books, my ultimate goal is to put work into the world that will delight kids, and won’t make the parents groan and say, “that one again?” Finding the sweet spot of being fun to read, fun to hear, and fun to look at is what I love most about creating kids books. I hope you and your little ghouls and goblins enjoy my spooky board Boooook list! 

Katie's book list on Halloween boards for little ghouls and goblins

Katie Vernon Why did Katie love this book?

Eek! Halloween is one of those books that is so much fun for an adult to read aloud.

The delicious rhyming and cadence combined with bug-eyed chickens made me laugh out loud. The spread that says “strange things are happening,” won me over in every way. This is one I wouldn’t mind reading over and over to my kiddo. It’s silly and delightful and everything you come to love and expect from a Sandra Boynton book.

By Sandra Boynton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Eek! Halloween! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There's a big round moon in a dark, dark sky. The chickens are nervous. Do you know why? Readers will find out in this super fun board book that introduces Halloween traditions to even the youngest of Boynton fans. Witches, wizards, robots, and an alarmingly enormouse mouse (eek!) are prowling around town tonight, and it's up to the chickens to get to the bottom of it - that is, if they can uncover their eyes long enough!


Book cover of Don't Push the Button! A Halloween Treat

Katie Vernon Author Of Happy Halloweenie

From my list on Halloween boards for little ghouls and goblins.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I was a little scared of Halloween as a kid, I’ve grown to love the silly side of spookiness. Growing up with Pee-Wee’s Playhouse every Saturday morning, I learned that silliness is a superpower. Now, when working on kids books, my ultimate goal is to put work into the world that will delight kids, and won’t make the parents groan and say, “that one again?” Finding the sweet spot of being fun to read, fun to hear, and fun to look at is what I love most about creating kids books. I hope you and your little ghouls and goblins enjoy my spooky board Boooook list! 

Katie's book list on Halloween boards for little ghouls and goblins

Katie Vernon Why did Katie love this book?

Don’t Push the Button! A Halloween Treat, written and illustrated by Bill Carter is an entertaining and engaging read.

I always love when a monster is scared of the potential of other monsters. This one reminds me a bit of my favorite kids book of all time, The Monster at the End of This Book, but with more reader/listener participation. The format that worked so well with the original Don’t Push the Button book works just as well here.

By Bill Cotter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Don't Push the Button! A Halloween Treat as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Go trick-or-treating with Larry in the hilarious Halloween companion of the USA Today bestseller Don't Push the Button!

Whether you're looking for a Halloween book for toddlers or an interactive book for preschoolers, Don't Push the Button! A Halloween Treat is a must-have for any household!

From the brilliant mind of author and illustrator, Bill Cotter comes one of the year's best Halloween books for kids. Everyone knows that trick-or-treating is the best part of Halloween. But that one house looks kind of scary...wait, why are you walking toward the creepy house?! Whatever you do, do NOT ring that doorbell!…


Book cover of Goodnight Goon: a Petrifying Parody

Katie Vernon Author Of Happy Halloweenie

From my list on Halloween boards for little ghouls and goblins.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I was a little scared of Halloween as a kid, I’ve grown to love the silly side of spookiness. Growing up with Pee-Wee’s Playhouse every Saturday morning, I learned that silliness is a superpower. Now, when working on kids books, my ultimate goal is to put work into the world that will delight kids, and won’t make the parents groan and say, “that one again?” Finding the sweet spot of being fun to read, fun to hear, and fun to look at is what I love most about creating kids books. I hope you and your little ghouls and goblins enjoy my spooky board Boooook list! 

Katie's book list on Halloween boards for little ghouls and goblins

Katie Vernon Why did Katie love this book?

Goodnight Goon takes the familiar rhyming and simplicity of Goodnight Moon and creates something weird and wonderful.

It’s Michael Rex’s tiny details in the art that drew me in – from eyeballs in holes in the wall to tiny crawly creatures. There are loads more to look at in these ghoulish illustrations than the original book it’s parodying. 

By Michael Rex,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Goodnight Goon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 1, 2, 3, and 4.

What is this book about?

This #1 New York Times bestselling picture book parody is the perfect Halloween read!

Goodnight tomb. Goodnight goon. Goodnight Martians taking over the moon.

It's bedtime in the cold gray tomb with a black lagoon, and two slimy claws, and a couple of jaws, and a skull and a shoe and a pot full of goo. But as a little werewolf settles down, in comes the Goon determined at all costs to run amok and not let any monster have his rest.

A beloved classic gets a kind-hearted send up in this utterly monsterized parody; energetic art and clever text…


Book cover of I Shall Wear Midnight

Claire Suzanne Elizabeth Cooney Author Of Saint Death's Daughter: Volume 1

From my list on I want to be when I grow up.

Why am I passionate about this?

With every book we read, we engage in a complex act of telepathy and empathy. We are entering another human’s thoughts, interpreting them with our own, and come out changed from this colossal encounter. These five books I mentioned, with their extraordinary kindness, insight, humor, wisdom, warmth, compassion, and wholeness—many of them fantasies, many of them focusing on communities—have informed the writer I am today: a World Fantasy Award Winner. But I wouldn’t be without all the books that helped make me. These books are some of the best that built me, and keep building in me: the kind of books I try to write myself.

Claire's book list on I want to be when I grow up

Claire Suzanne Elizabeth Cooney Why did Claire love this book?

Terry Pratchett’s character Tiffany Aching grows, over the series of books she stars in, into the sort of person I long to be (culminating, for me in I Shall Wear Midnight). It’s not so much that I want to be a teenaged witch in a made-up land. No, it’s Terry Pratchett’s best thoughts that I want to occupy and absorb, the grace and rage and clarity he gives his main character to “open her eyes, and then open them again.” All of Pratchett’s wise and wily witches contribute their gifts to Tiffany until she has the best of each of them: bawdy humor, strict necessity, duty, dancing, power, and humanity.

By Terry Pratchett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Shall Wear Midnight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

As the witch of the Chalk, Tiffany Aching performs the distinctly unglamorous work of caring for the needy. But someone - or something - is inciting fear, generating dark thoughts and angry murmurs against witches.

Tiffany must find the source of unrest and defeat the evil at its root. Aided by the tiny-but-tough Wee Free Men, Tiffany faces a dire challenge, for if she falls, the whole Chalk falls with her . . .

THE FOURTH BOOK IN THE TIFFANY ACHING SEQUENCE


Book cover of The Clackity

Darcy Marks Author Of Grounded for All Eternity

From my list on Halloween for middle grade readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was five my dad had to carry me, crying, out of the Salem Witch’s Dungeon. You’d think that would put a damper on my love of spooky things, but it absolutely did not! Bela Lugosi was my first crush. I set up Haunted Houses in my garage and read every single book my local library had on the Salem Witch Trials. I made my way from Bunnicula and The Halloween Tree, to books by Stephen King and Anne Rice. Halloween and horror will always have a special place in my heart, and yet…I still don’t let my legs dangle off my bed, lest the monsters get me.

Darcy's book list on Halloween for middle grade readers

Darcy Marks Why did Darcy love this book?

Every day is Halloween when you live in the seventh most haunted town in America, so ghosts and witches are nothing new to Evie Von Rathe. But when Aunt Des disappears, Evie knows she’ll do anything to get her back, even if it means playing a deadly game against a serial killer with a creature called The Clackity.

Watching Evie overcome her anxiety is a struggle kids will relate to and makes her an easy character to root for. The Clackity has such a perfect spooky Grimm’s Fairy tale vibe, that I was immediately sucked in. Nothing is more Halloween than a dark trip through the woods, and the twisted Alice in Wonderland feel of this book lives and breathes Halloween.

By Lora Senf,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Clackity 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?

Reminiscent of Doll Bones and Small Spaces, this "delightfully eerie" (Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows) middle grade novel tells the story of a girl who must rescue her aunt by entering a world of ghosts, witches, and monsters to play a game with deadly consequences.

Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor-the seventh-most haunted town in America-with her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert. Des doesn't have many rules except one: Stay out of the abandoned slaughterhouse at the edge of town. But when her aunt disappears into the building, Evie…


Book cover of The Canterville Ghost

Lauren Owen Author Of Small Angels

From my list on books to read in a haunted house.

Why am I passionate about this?

My interest in ghosts is partly due to growing up in York, which is one of the most haunted cities in the UK. In that city, I think that pretty much every pub has its own ghost, and if you’re unlucky (or lucky) enough, you stand a good chance of spotting long-dead Roman soldiers, plague victims, or ghostly dogs as you walk the streets. This atmosphere has seeped into my fiction; I have written two novels of the supernatural and am currently working on a third. I’ve also made a study of the grim and gothic in fiction; my Ph.D. thesis was largely about vampires (especially Dracula) but also strayed into other monsters and uncanny stories over the past two centuries. 

Lauren's book list on books to read in a haunted house

Lauren Owen Why did Lauren love this book?

Oscar Wilde gave us a genuinely chilling gothic tale in The Picture of Dorian Gray, but in this short story, the supernatural is a source of fun.

The Otis family, pleasant, sensible, and up-to-date Americans, move into a haunted English manor and immediately antagonize Sir Simon de Canterville, the house’s resident spectre. Sir Simon has a theatrical flair for haunting, pulling out all the stops to terrify his victims into gibbering wrecks, but it’s all wasted on the Otis family, who are hilariously unbothered by the spookiness.

If you’re staying in a haunted house, I highly recommend channeling your inner Otis.

By Oscar Wilde,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Canterville Ghost as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Despite warnings from Lord Canterville that their new home is haunted and that several family have fled form it in the middle of the night the Otis family chooses to go forward with their relocation. Almost immediately the Otis Family discovers that the stories are true and that their house is haunted by the ghost of Sir Simon. It is Sir Simon's intent not to share the house with anyone, but the Otis family is not like previous families that Sir Simon has scared off in the past. Narrated by the ghost himself, this Gothic ghost story takes the reader…


Book cover of The Screaming Staircase

Wayne Thomas Batson Author Of Dreamtreaders

From my list on fantasy with a unique ingredient or twist.

Why am I passionate about this?

I believe with all of my heart that each one of us was created with two achingly powerful inner drives: 1) the longing for new worlds and 2) the desperate urge to do something meaningful. I simply could never believe that human beings are all simply cosmic accidents produced by some sort of cosmic casino. I believe God created people and gave us each an instinct to seek our true home. The books I write—all 22 of them—are tales of flawed individuals, thrown into unexpected, life-changing events, and given the chance to journey through many astoundingly lush worlds, all in an effort to do the seemingly impossible.

Wayne's book list on fantasy with a unique ingredient or twist

Wayne Thomas Batson Why did Wayne love this book?

Imagine a contemporary fantasy, driven by sword-wielding, swashbuckling, mystically empowered, ghostbusting teenagers. Yup. That is the cool twist in Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood & Co. Series.

He’s best known for the Bartimaeus Trilogy, and takes all of his fantasy worldbuilding craft to design a modern world where ghosts are not only real but common and quite deadly to us living folk. You will fall in love with Lockwood and Lucy, sense the tension between them, and yet be relieved to discover that their connection isn’t the predictable stuff of typical teen romance.

The remarkable ghosts are similar to fantasy races. Rather than elves, gnomes, warlocks, etc., you have screamers, wailers, howling maids, and a whole host of specific ghost types that I dare not spoil. If you like fantasy with a touch of creepy, you’ll love Lockwood & Co.

By Jonathan Stroud,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Screaming Staircase 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?

SOON TO BE A NETFLIX SERIES

A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all nature of ghosts, haunts, spirits, and specters are appearing throughout the city, and they aren't exactly friendly. Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see-and eradicate-these supernatural foes. Many different Psychic Detection Agencies have cropped up to handle the dangerous work, and they are in fierce competition for business.

In The Screaming Staircase, the plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood & Co, a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision. After an assignment…


Book cover of The Little Stranger

Paula Cappa Author Of Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

From my list on Horror for the supernatural mystery magick lover.

Why am I passionate about this?

An avid reader, I began a project in 2012 to read one short story a week in supernatural mysteries, ghost stories, and quiet horror genres. I began with the classic authors: Poe, MR James, Lovecraft, Shelley, Stoker, du Maurier, etc. I began a blog, Reading Fiction Blog, and posted these free stories with my reviews (I’m still posting today). Over the years, it turned into a compendium of fiction. Today, I have nearly 400 short stories by over 150 classic and now contemporary authors in the blog Index. I did this because I wanted to learn more about writing dark fiction and who better to learn from than the masters?

Paula's book list on Horror for the supernatural mystery magick lover

Paula Cappa Why did Paula love this book?

Even though this is a period novel, I read this story for its Gothic horror and literary acumen. Repression of memories, feelings, and guilt struck me throughout. Dr. Faraday discovers ghostly mysteries at Hundreds Hall, and his romance with Caroline is spooky enough, but this ghost story is grounded in reality.

Who is the little stranger haunting the premises? I sunk deeply into this story, drinking up the beauty. But the ending! Wow. Brilliantly revealed and aptly placed on the final page. Sarah Waters hides the ghost in plain sight, and yet I was surprised at the conclusion—delightfully so. I’m a sucker for one-liners that grab the reader by the throat, metaphorically speaking, at the last line. I plan to read it again because it’s that good.

By Sarah Waters,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked The Little Stranger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

After her award-winning trilogy of Victorian novels, Sarah Waters turned to the 1940s and wrote THE NIGHT WATCH, a tender and tragic novel set against the backdrop of wartime Britain. Shortlisted for both the Orange and the Man Booker, it went straight to number one in the bestseller chart. In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable…


Book cover of Frozen Charlotte

Amelinda Bérubé Author Of Here There Are Monsters

From my list on young adult supernatural horror.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been terrified, fascinated, and delighted by scary stories my whole life, and my very favorites dabble in the speculative and supernatural: ghosts, monsters, magic, and worlds beyond our own. Give me all your haunted houses, your warped realities, your inexplicable horrors intruding on the everyday world. These fantastical elements are fraught with the power of nightmares and fairy tales, and that makes them the best tools we have to get around our news-hardened, cynical safeguards and explore what truly frightens us.

Amelinda's book list on young adult supernatural horror

Amelinda Bérubé Why did Amelinda love this book?

This book features an isolated old schoolhouse that has been converted to a family home, where the ghost of one of its residents still lingers, along with her old collection of little porcelain dolls. The seaside landscape drips with atmosphere, and that army of tiny, malevolent porcelain figurines is one of the weirdest and scariest variations on the “creepy doll” trope I’ve ever encountered.

By Alex Bell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Frozen Charlotte as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

A Zoella Book Club Autumn 2016 title
"So creepy and amazing [...] I loved it [...] You'll never look at small china dolls in the same way ever again." - Zoella
"Deliciously creepy." - Juno Dawson
Dunvegan School for Girls has been closed for many years. Converted into a family home, the teachers and students are long gone. But they left something behind...
Sophie arrives at the old schoolhouse to spend the summer with her cousins. Brooding Cameron with his scarred hand, strange Lillias with a fear of bones and Piper, who seems just a bit too good to be…


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