80 books like Shadowland

By Meg Cabot,

Here are 80 books that Shadowland fans have personally recommended if you like Shadowland. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Doll

Jacqueline E. Smith Author Of Cemetery Tours

From my list on supernatural books to read all year long.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an independent author, photographer, wildlife advocate, paranormal enthusiast, and cat mom living in Dallas, Texas. In 2012, I earned my Master's Degree in Art and Performance from the University of Texas at Dallas and have been pursuing my writing career ever since. I published my first book, Cemetery Tours, in 2013 and it will forever be the book that changed my life.

Jacqueline's book list on supernatural books to read all year long

Jacqueline E. Smith Why did Jacqueline love this book?

I’m a big fan of young adult fiction and I’m also a big fan of supernatural stories that take place in the “real” world. Doll follows a trio of high school students, who, tired of being bullied, seek out the assistance of Tomie’s cousin… who just happens to be a witch. As far as young adult horror goes, Miracle Austin is the best of the best. 

By Miracle Austin,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Welcome to Frost High; I bet you’ve heard about or currently may be attending. Small school, lots of secrets, a popular mean girl, Pepper Fox, and of course a few outcasts--Tomie Dupuy, Sarifena Green, and Opal Dawn--who all shined on Pepper’s tormented list, since junior high. Opal shined the brightest. Tomie, Sari, and Opal made a pact and traveled to Monroe Creek, Louisiana with the goal to end their torment in an untraditional way. Sometimes things don’t end up, as we wish. Fate always possesses a way to redirect everything. Will they finally find the solution to their agonizing problem…


Book cover of Seven Tears Into the Sea

Jacqueline E. Smith Author Of Cemetery Tours

From my list on supernatural books to read all year long.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an independent author, photographer, wildlife advocate, paranormal enthusiast, and cat mom living in Dallas, Texas. In 2012, I earned my Master's Degree in Art and Performance from the University of Texas at Dallas and have been pursuing my writing career ever since. I published my first book, Cemetery Tours, in 2013 and it will forever be the book that changed my life.

Jacqueline's book list on supernatural books to read all year long

Jacqueline E. Smith Why did Jacqueline love this book?

A beautiful tale of first love, summer by the sea, and sexy supernatural boyfriends, Seven Tears Into the Sea is one of my favorite books of all time. Like Gwen, I’ve always felt called to the sea, though sadly, I’ve never been rescued by a beautiful selkie boy. Nor has one ever beckoned for me to return to him. But thanks to Seven Tears Into the Sea, I at least know what it would be like if one ever did. 

By Terri Farley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Seven Tears Into the Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Beckon the sea,
I'll come to thee....
Shed seven tears,
perchance seven years....
At the age of ten, Gwen Cooke had a strange encounter with a boy with dark, slightly tilted eyes. He came to her on the beach, whispered strange words in her ear, and then disappeared. Shortly thereafter, her family moved away from their seaside home and Gwen never saw the boy again.
Now seventeen, Gwen is returning to her childhood home. Her nana asked her to come. But Gwen knows it's time to go back for another reason: She yearns for the sea. Perhaps the sea itself…


Book cover of Emerge

Jacqueline E. Smith Author Of Cemetery Tours

From my list on supernatural books to read all year long.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an independent author, photographer, wildlife advocate, paranormal enthusiast, and cat mom living in Dallas, Texas. In 2012, I earned my Master's Degree in Art and Performance from the University of Texas at Dallas and have been pursuing my writing career ever since. I published my first book, Cemetery Tours, in 2013 and it will forever be the book that changed my life.

Jacqueline's book list on supernatural books to read all year long

Jacqueline E. Smith Why did Jacqueline love this book?

This is another book about supernatural beings of the sea, but this time, it’s all about mermaids! Emerge is the first in a young adult trilogy that follows the modern-day descendants of The Little Mermaid. Author Tobie Easton has absolutely mastered the art of world-building and I would absolutely love to see her underwater kingdom brought to life one day. 

By Tobie Easton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Emerge 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?

Lia Nautilus may be a Mermaid but she's never lived in the ocean. War has ravaged the seven seas ever since the infamous Little Mermaid unleashed a curse that stripped Mer of their immortality. Lia has grown up in a secret community of land-dwelling Mer hidden among Malibu's seaside mansions. Her biggest problems are surviving P.E. and keeping her feelings for Clay Ericson in check. Sure, he's gorgeous in that cocky, leather jacket sort of way and makes her feel like there's a school of fish swimming in her stomach, but getting involved with a human could put Lia's entire…


Book cover of The Seeker

Jacqueline E. Smith Author Of Cemetery Tours

From my list on supernatural books to read all year long.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an independent author, photographer, wildlife advocate, paranormal enthusiast, and cat mom living in Dallas, Texas. In 2012, I earned my Master's Degree in Art and Performance from the University of Texas at Dallas and have been pursuing my writing career ever since. I published my first book, Cemetery Tours, in 2013 and it will forever be the book that changed my life.

Jacqueline's book list on supernatural books to read all year long

Jacqueline E. Smith Why did Jacqueline love this book?

It’s easy to find books about vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and witches… but very rarely do you stumble across a young adult book about sirens. Not the mermaid kind (we’ve already covered mermaids), but still sinister, manipulative, and dangerous. Despite this threatening presence, this book is absolutely hilarious and a fantastic adventure. It’s also an LGBT story written by an LGBT author who has always said that this was a book he wrote for his younger self. To let him, and kids like him, know that he’s not alone. And I just love that. 

By Cody Wagner,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Came out of the closet by accident? Check.Sent off to a pray-away-the-gay school? Miserable check.Shenanigans ensued? Mega-quadruple check.

Blaize Trales’s world falls apart when he’s dragged to Sanctuary Preparatory Academy, a boarding school that claims to fix gay teens. The place sucks so much they even serve food like “Cleansing Corn.” Blaize’s misguided parents eat it up and hand him over for brainwashing.

But things at Sanctuary aren’t what they appear. Blaize soon discovers the school’s antics are all a lie. They’re also at war with an ancient enemy. Between surviving bullies, rescuing students from mysterious attacks, and passing algebra,…


Book cover of Darkhouse

Alice J. Black Author Of The Leak of Madness

From my list on horror with the most intriguing protagonists.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have a passion for supernatural horror, one that I’ve discovered over years of reading various horror novels, tropes, and themes. I found that the supernatural, the idea that something unbelievable or impossible, is haunting a person, is one that draws me in time and time again. Reading these sorts of books, embroiling myself in the world of ghosts and demons, is what drove me to want to create those worlds myself, surrounding myself in lore, mythology, and ghosts of my own... 

Alice's book list on horror with the most intriguing protagonists

Alice J. Black Why did Alice love this book?

Darkhouse is the first in the Experiment in Terror novels by Karina Halle. I absolutely fell in love with her writing style, the way that she builds the world of Dex and Perry, their complicated acquaintance, and the lighthouse in which they find themselves drawn back to. Complete with anti-hero and strong heroine, as soon as I read this first book, I devoured the series. Without saying too much to spoil the series, I have to say that this ghost story was one that has gotten under my skin and one that I know I’ll go back to in the future.

By Karina Halle,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Book one in a slow-burn psychologically thrilling romance series, from a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal best-selling author

Perry Palomino seems like your average twenty-something girl on the surface. She's had bad luck dating, her job sucks, and she's disillusioned by her place in life, not sure exactly what she wants or where she's even going.

She also sees ghosts, which makes things extra complicated, especially when she'd do anything to be normal.

But normal people don't go exploring an abandoned and supposedly haunted lighthouse on the Oregon coast, where she ends up getting the attention…


Book cover of Tamsin

Brita Sandstrom Author Of Hollow Chest

From my list on a cat sidekick who is secretly the main character.

Why am I passionate about this?

All the best books have a cat sidekick. Over and over, when people talk to me about my book, they pause in the middle of whatever they were about to say and go, “Oh my gosh, Biscuits,” and then launch into a list of things Biscuits the cat does, and how they are similar to things their cats have done, presumably up to and including throwing hands (paws?) with horrifying monsters that want to eat your heart. Biscuits is the latest in a long and proud tradition of literary feline companions, an essential element of many of my favorite and formative texts growing up. 

Brita's book list on a cat sidekick who is secretly the main character

Brita Sandstrom Why did Brita love this book?

Mr. Cat is a ride-or-die. Mr. Cat walks the line that all cats do in the real world, in that he doesn’t actually have magic powers and he can’t actually talk, he is at the end of the day a little animal that lives in Jenny’s house, but also he would bite a ghost without hesitation. It’s Peter S. Beagle’s complete mastery of voice and tone that enable Jenny and Mr. Cat to walk that line so effortlessly. Because the fantastical is grounded so deeply in the real world, the stakes feel so high that I first read this book in one breathless sitting, afraid to look away. 

By Peter S. Beagle,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tamsin 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?

Arriving in the English countryside to live with her mother and new stepfather, Jenny has no interest in her surroundings until she meets Tamsin. Since her death over 300 years ago, Tamsin has haunted the lonely estate without rest, trapped by a hidden trauma she can't remember, and a powerful evil even the spirits of night cannot name. To help her, Jenny must delve deeper into the dark world than any human has in hundreds of years, and face danger that will change her life forever.


Book cover of The Lovely Bones

Peggy Webb Author Of Black Crow Cabin

From my list on books about crime that transcend the genre.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up on a small farm in Mississippi and discovered the wide world through a movable feast of books provided by the Bookmobile. The hayloft was my favorite reading spot. I could look across the lake to imagine myself in WWII Paris, the frozen tundras of Alaska, or anywhere beyond the pastures where Daddy’s cattle grazed. I fell in love with words when I was eight years old, a dreamer spinning stories inspired by the ones I read between the covers of my beloved books. I still love words and hear their music as they flow onto the pages of the thrillers I currently write.

Peggy's book list on books about crime that transcend the genre

Peggy Webb Why did Peggy love this book?

By Alice Sebold,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The Lovely Bones as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The internationally bestselling novel that inspired the acclaimed film directed by Peter Jackson.

With an introduction by Karen Thompson Walker, author of The Age of Miracles.

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.

In heaven, Susie Salmon can have whatever she wishes for - except what she most wants, which is to be back with the people she loved on earth. In the wake of her murder, Susie watches as her happy suburban family is torn apart by grief; as her friends grow up, fall in…


Book cover of The Invited

Terry S. Friedman Author Of Bone Pendant Girls

From my list on Good ghosts and really evil villains in the supernatural world.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love jewelry that calls to me. When I make jewelry, I believe some of my spirit is infused in it. Later, the buyer’s spirit takes over the piece. I believe in life after death, and I interviewed a medium who performed spirit releases, which helped me build my ghost framework. A cold case of a missing teen I knew gave me a scene I still cry about. The best mysteries have revelations of the heart. My book, even after revising many times, still makes me laugh and cry too. In my opinion, there is no clock or calendar dictating forgiveness for the living or dead. There is only hope.

Terry's book list on Good ghosts and really evil villains in the supernatural world

Terry S. Friedman Why did Terry love this book?

This book had a very dramatic “reveal” that would make HGTV jealous.

I liked not immediately guessing the doer of bad things and blaming others only to learn I was wrong and also when Mother Nature threw obstacles. I could identify with the husband and wife who are building a new future and a new house for themselves after teaching. I also liked the interplay between the locals and the land and the use of research to get to the heart of the problem.

Most of all, I loved the ending with a twist, and I vowed to read more books by McMahon. 

By Jennifer McMahon,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted house--they build one....

In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate have abandoned the comforts of suburbia to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. When they discover that this beautiful property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history…


Book cover of Hauntings

Kit Domino Author Of White Stones

From my list on supernatural phenomena and why they shouldn’t scare you.

Why am I passionate about this?

I don’t believe in ghosts, but fascination with the supernatural has been with me since childhood, my inquiring mind constantly seeking answers. Research through books and documentaries and talking to people on the subject leads me to conclude there has to be a scientific and rational explanation for every paranormal happening. Theories abound, none are conclusive, but one accepted theory stands out, and this is explored and expanded upon in my novel White Stones. The books chosen here are excellent examples in the world of the supernatural and paranormal and are worth reading whether you believe in ghosts or not. Some just might make you change your mind.

Kit's book list on supernatural phenomena and why they shouldn’t scare you

Kit Domino Why did Kit love this book?

This book by real-life ghost hunter Peter Underwood is an amazing attempt to demystify some of the most famous haunted sites across the globe, seeking out evidence, personal and witness experiences in an attempt to explain the inexplicable. In many cases he comes up with possible answers, often using the excuse of mental instability in those witnesses to prove his argument. For me, many of his conclusions were not convincing enough, this paucity of believable truth inspiring my own research and desire to debunk the whole concept of ghosts and hauntings. From it, I have learned that though most occurrences can be explained away, there is still much in this world that defies rational logic.   

By Peter Underwood,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In this fascinating account of the best-attested cases of haunting - Hampton Court, the demon drummer of Bedworth, the Wesley ghost, Glamis, Borley Rectory and many others - Britain's foremost ghost-hunter has brought to light a wealth of valuable new evidence. Using the results of his many years of research and personal investigation into ghosts and hauntings, and providing detailed plans and original photographs, Peter Underwood puts forward some exciting and startling theories which will radically change our ideas about these hauntings.

Many hauntings can be explained without resorting to the supernatural or the paranormal. The author shows indisputable evidence…


Book cover of Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood

William P. Robertson Author Of Ghosts Revisited

From my list on classic horror story collections.

Why am I passionate about this?

My Swedish grandmother first introduced me to the horror genre when I was a small boy. Her folktales of trolls and witches really fueled my imagination! Then, when I was in junior high, my father encouraged me to read Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I didn’t get hooked on things Gothic, however, until I heard the lyrics of Jim Morrison and the Doors in high school. After college, I became a freelance writer. I quickly learned that 80% of my spooky stuff got accepted by magazines while only 10% of my general interest work was published. That said, it’s no wonder I became a horror writer! 

William's book list on classic horror story collections

William P. Robertson Why did William love this book?

The Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood features the author’s scariest tales, including “The Willows” and “The Wendigo”. Blackwood piles detail after detail atop one another until the reader nearly suffocates from the gloom and terror they create! He also squeezes much fear from isolated places like Canada and the Danube River.

By Algernon Blackwood,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A woman of snow . . . a midnight caller keeping his promise . . . forests where Nature is deliberate and malefic . . . enchanted houses . . . these are the beings and ideas that flood through this collection of ghost stories by Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951). Altogether thirteen stories, gathered from the entire corpus of Blackwood's work, are included: stories of such sheer power and imagination that it is easy to see why he has been considered the foremost British supernaturalist of the twentieth century.
Blackwood's ability to create an atmosphere of unrelieved horror and sustain it…


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