The most recommended ghost story books

Who picked these books? Meet our 237 experts.

237 authors created a book list connected to ghost story, and here are their favorite ghost story books.
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Book cover of Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein

Tai Stith Author Of Science, Submarines & Secrets: The Incredible Early Years of the Albany Research Center

From Tai's 7-year-old's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Declassified documents enthusiast Coffee-powered Rabid researcher Night owl Mom of three

Tai's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Plus, Tai's 7, 11, and 13-year-old's favorite books.

Tai Stith Why did Tai's 7-year-old love this book?

Besides phenomenal illlustrations by Julia Sarda, which always border on deliciously creepy, Baileyā€™s retelling of Mary Shelleyā€™s younger years and how she came to write Frankenstein is absolutely captivating, resulting in a book that weā€™ve read over and over.

Bonus: if youā€™re an adult who hasnā€™t read Frankenstein yet, read this kidsā€™ book, then read the novel. Youā€™ll thank me.

By Linda Bailey, Julia Sarda (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

SHORTLISTED FOR THE KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL
It began with a girl named Mary. She liked to daydream and imagine. And she grew up to write Frankenstein.
The inspirational true story of the great writer Mary Shelley, brought to life for children in this stunning picture book by multi-award winning author Linda Bailey and with beautiful illustrations from Julia Sarda.
Mary loves stories, but the stories in her daydreams are far more thrilling than those in any book. One dark and stormy night Mary huddles around the fire with friends, telling ghost stories. But Mary knows she can write much betterā€¦


Book cover of Bad Girls Don't Die

A.A. Blair Author Of Mystic of the Midway

From my list on ghost stories with important messages from beyond.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in the 80s, the era of horror super-franchises. Most would be familiar with Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween, but there were so many more. Oscar-winning films the decade prior like The Exorcist and Jaws ushered a new wave of new horror. Whether it was advancement in visual effects, or improvement in production, the genre was everywhere. And I couldnā€™t get enough. Those experiences have possessed my pen and continue to rule my reading choices. I hope you enjoy these recommendations as much as I did. Thereā€™s a lot we can learn about ourselves when weā€™re scared.  

A.A.'s book list on ghost stories with important messages from beyond

A.A. Blair Why did A.A. love this book?

Bullies beware! Bad Girls Donā€™t Die features a vengeful poltergeist that possesses the little sister of protagonist Alexis Warren.

Alexis is a lonely misfit teenager on the fringes of her high-school social scene. Her home life isnā€™t much better as her motherā€™s desire for corporate success leads to regular dinner table conflict. The sisters find comfort in each other, but thatā€™s when Alexis notices a change in her sibling Kasey. Subtle at first, Kaseyā€™s transformation into a malicious psychopath sends Alexis into an investigation that reveals a small-town secret of a fatal bullying incident. 

Bad Girlā€™s Donā€™t Die is a story of sisterly bonds, secret pasts, and the sacrifices that are sometimes made to protect loved ones.

By Katie Alender,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bad Girls Don't Die as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

A page-turning, spine-chilling young adult murder mystery about surviving the ghosts around us.

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage. Or her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey. Or even like her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude.

 

When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green, sometimes she uses old-fashioned language, and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house isā€¦


Book cover of The Amazing Mr. Blunden (Puffin books)

Andrew Norriss Author Of Friends for Life

From my list on ghosts help solve a problem rather than cause one.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always been a big fan of ghost stories where, for some reason, the ghosts reveal that they are stuck here. Something happened to them during their earthly life so that, instead of going to wherever youā€™re supposed to go when you die, this means they canā€™t. Not until they have ā€˜undoneā€™ or put right something they did or had done to them. In these stories, we meet spirits who, usually with the help of some human, are doing exactly that. I find such stories deeply satisfying. Which is probably why I try and write them as wellā€¦

Andrew's book list on ghosts help solve a problem rather than cause one

Andrew Norriss Why did Andrew love this book?

Itā€™s not quite clear at first whether the two children who appear one day out of the mist asking for help are ghosts, or whether the word is better used to describe the children who go back in time, as requested, to help them. Either way, this is a cracking story with a very satisfactory solution for all of them. And the amazing Mr. Blunden? For me, he is the best and the most moving part of the story. An old gentleman who made a terrible mistake in the past, but who has now been given a chance to put it right, and earn forgiveness and peace.

By Antonia Barber,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Amazing Mr. Blunden (Puffin books) 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?

A CHRISTMAS SKY ORIGINAL FILM, STARRING MARK GATISS, SIMON CALLOW AND TAMSIN GREIG

AN ENTHRALLING GHOST STORY WITH A TIME-TRAVELLING TWIST

'When you come to the house, you will hear strange tales. They will tell you in the village that it is haunted, but you must not be afraid. When the time comes ... you will know what to do.'

Mr Blunden's words echoed through Lucy's ears as she explored the house. It was such an old house that it seemed to Lucy as if all the past was gathered up inside it as if in a great box; asā€¦


Book cover of A Touch of Ruckus

Polly Farquhar Author Of Lolo Weaver Swims Upstream

From my list on middle-grade books where setting makes the story.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love books where the setting is just as big and alive as the characters. It doesnā€™t matter to me if itā€™s a familiar place or someplace new: if a vivid setting is a key element of the story, Iā€™m in. I think itā€™s because I grew up in one of those small towns in the beautiful middle of nowhere where if someone asks where youā€™re from, itā€™s just easier to say someplace else. I wanted to see the world, and books let me do that. I also wanted validation in readingā€”and writingā€”about the small places I knew, and books let me do that, too.  

Polly's book list on middle-grade books where setting makes the story

Polly Farquhar Why did Polly love this book?

This is another book I love that doesnā€™t take place any old somewhereā€”its very heart and soul is the setting, and itā€™s a whole lot of fun, wild, creepy (ghost hunting!), and moving heart and soul.

As weird things start happening in Howlerā€™s Hollow, or at least as far as Tennie can see and feel, she discovers how deeply all those weird things are personal and particular to her, her family, and the land.

Bonus points for exceptional, natural dialogue and authentic kid vibes.

By Ash Van Otterloo,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Touch of Ruckus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

A laugh-out-loud, ghostly Southern mystery that's perfect for fans of Cassie Beasley and Natalie Lloyd.

Tennessee Lancaster has a hidden gift. She can pry into folks' memories with just a touch of their belongings. It's something she's always kept hidden -- especially from her big, chaotic family. Their lives are already chock-full of worries about Daddy's job and Mama's blues without Tennie rocking the boat.

But when the Lancasters move to the mountains for a fresh start, Tennie's gift does something new. Instead of just memories, her touch releases a ghost with a terrifying message: Trouble is coming. Tennie wantsā€¦


Book cover of Legend of the Storm Sneezer

Alyssa Roat Author Of Wraithwood

From my list on clean teen fantasy reads.

Why am I passionate about this?

Do you love YA fantasy, but want some titles you feel confident sharing with your grandmother, younger sibling, mom, teacher? As an avid YA fantasy reader, I know the struggle of finding book recs that are exciting, magical, and wouldnā€™t make my mother blush. Upon entering the publishing industry, I made this my focus as an agent and now as an editor. As an author, I write YA and NA titles that donā€™t pull any punches but can be enjoyed by anyone. All 10 of my published books and upcoming releases can be enjoyed by teens, adults, and yes, your grandmotherā€”and here are five more books I think achieve that as well.

Alyssa's book list on clean teen fantasy reads

Alyssa Roat Why did Alyssa love this book?

Storm Sneezer is targeted at a slightly younger demographic, perhaps more of an upper MG or lower YA read, but the world is so magical, the friendships so beautiful, and the voice so hilarious that I canā€™t imagine any fantasy-loving teen not laughing out loud and rooting for spunky protagonist Rose.

Thirteen-year-old Rose Skylar sneezed a magical storm cloud at birth, and itā€™s followed her around ever since. As a result, Rose is sent to Heartstone, an asylum for unstable magic located in a haunted forest whose trees have mysteriously turned to stone. Ghosts roaming the woods and a graveyard filled with empty graves hint at something darker. Guided by her future selves via time-traveling letters, Rose and her best friend Marek must solve the mystery of the specters and the stone trees before the ghosts unleash a legendary enemy that will destroy Heartstone Asylum.

By Kristiana Sfirlea,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Legend of the Storm Sneezer 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?

Legend Seeker. Part-time Ghost Hunter. Time Traveler.

Thirteen-year-old Rose Skylar sneezed a magical storm cloud at birth, and itā€™s followed her around ever since. But when Stormy causes one too many public disasters, Rose is taken to Heartstone, an asylum for unstable magic. Its location? The heart of a haunted forest whose trees have mysteriously turned to stone.

They say the ghosts are bound to the woods ā€¦ then why does Rose see them drifting outside the windows at night? And why is there a graveyard on the grounds filled with empty graves? Guided by her future selves via timeā€¦


Book cover of Wait Till Helen Comes: a Ghost Story

Ariel Swan Author Of The Nightingale Bones

From my list on haunted house stories for everyone.

Why am I passionate about this?

I like to say cats raised me, and I grew up among ghosts, but in all truth, my greatest influence was my mother, who took me to the library. Books have always been a part of me, and so have haunted houses. Old places have always felt charged to me. Because of this, I love great ghost stories. The books on my list all feature haunted dwellings of one sort or another, with spirits that range from inspiring and uplifting to fun and magical, spooky to downright terrifying. Enjoy!

Ariel's book list on haunted house stories for everyone

Ariel Swan Why did Ariel love this book?

This is the 1986 middle grades book that got me hooked on haunted house stories. I loved it because it was about a family recently moving to a house near a spooky pond and a lonely girl who finds something in the woods.

I, too, had just moved to a new house, on a pond, in the woods, when I read it. I, too, felt energies in the wild places I explored, especially when I discovered historical remains of a time past, which I often did. I read this book again recently, and it was still a page-turner that gave me the creeps.

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 A Christmas Carol

Michael Newton Author Of It's a Wonderful Life

From my list on celebrating Christmas (or just somehow to getting through it).

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a cultural historian, film critic, literary critic, editor, and essayistā€“and a closeted fiction writerā€“fascinated by ā€˜the fantasticā€™ in art or in life. And Christmas seems to me the perfect example of a time that unites realism and the strangeā€“the time of ghost stories and nativities. I wrote a book on Itā€™s a Wonderful Life (2023) because it triumphantly succeeds at bridging the connection between ordinary life and the marvelous. I have also edited anthologies of Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories, The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: From Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Bierce (Penguin, 2010), and Victorian Fairy Tales (Oxford Worldā€™s Classics, 2015), both of which include many seasonal classics.  

Michael's book list on celebrating Christmas (or just somehow to getting through it)

Michael Newton Why did Michael love this book?

Dickens did not ā€œinventā€ Christmas, of course, but our modern understanding of it undoubtedly derives from him.

For long a Londoner, because of Dickens, Christmas still seems to me at heart a matter of foggy London streets, enclosed city houses, and window-lights and passers-by at dusk. Christmas means rituals, and I, among others, go through the yearly rite of re-reading A Christmas Carol. And every year, itā€™s just as vivid, as funny, and as moving as the years before.

Dickens celebrates Christmas as a time of renewal, and Scrooge finds redemption by finding the person he used to be and the person he ought to be now. Robert Louis Stevenson said that reading it made him want to do good things, and what better recommendation could there be?

By Charles Dickens,

Why should I read it?

20 authors picked A Christmas Carol as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Tom Baker reads Charles Dickens' timeless seasonal story.

Charles Dickens' story of solitary miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taught the true meaning of Christmas by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, has become one of the timeless classics of English literature. First published in 1843, it introduces us not only to Scrooge himself, but also to the memorable characters of underpaid desk clerk Bob Cratchit and his poor family, the poorest amongst whom is the ailing and crippled Tiny Tim.

In this captivating recording, Tom Baker delivers a tour-de-force performance as he narrates the story. The listenerā€¦


Book cover of The Children of Green Knowe

Griselda Heppel Author Of The Fall of a Sparrow

From my list on ghost stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write adventure and mystery stories for children aged 9 - 13, involving battles with mythical creatures, dangerous pacts with demons, and other supernatural chills. My first book, Anteā€™s Inferno, won the Peopleā€™s Book Prize and a Silver Wishing Shelf Award. For The Fall of a Sparrow, I drew on my love of ghost stories, not just for their scariness but also for their emotional complexity: ghosts donā€™t haunt just for the sake of it. They need something only the main character can give. Friendship, perhaps, a companion in their lonelinessā€¦ or something much darker. Hereā€™s my choice of classic stories in which ghosts pursue a wide ā€“ and sometimes terrifying ā€“ variety of agendas.

Griselda's book list on ghost stories

Griselda Heppel Why did Griselda love this book?

Even now, I canā€™t read this without getting goosebumps. No other writer matches L. M. Boston for creating an enchanting, intriguing atmosphere that leads the reader, along with the storyā€™s main character, 7-year-old Tolly, to feel the ghost children long before they appear. When they do, the combination they bring of joy, playful behaviour, and wistfulness ā€“ there is a reason, after all, that they are all ghosts together ā€“ goes straight to the heart. 

By L.M. Boston,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Children of Green Knowe 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?

L. M. Boston's thrilling and chilling tales of Green Knowe, a haunted manor deep in an overgrown garden in the English countryside, have been entertaining readers for half a century. Now the children of Green Knowe--both alive and ghostly--are back in appealing new editions.
The spooky original illustrations have been retained, but dramatic new cover art by Brett Helquist (illustrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events) gives the books a fresh, timeless appeal for today's readers.


Book cover of The Ghost of Fossil Glen

Lindsey Duga Author Of Ghost in the Headlights

From my list on ghost stories for young readers.

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€¦

Lindsey's book list on ghost stories for young readers

Lindsey Duga Why did Lindsey 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 Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts

Laura Segal Stegman Author Of Summer of L.U.C.K.

From my list on magical middle-grade books set in the real world.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love middle-grade books (for eight to twelve-year-olds), which is why I write in that genre. My Summer of L.U.C.K. trilogy is sprinkled with magical adventures, but each one has real-life kids struggling with real-life problems and finding real-world solutions. I believe that books whose characters experience magical elements along with themes of friendship, perseverance, and self-acceptance will help them learn, as I did when I was a young reader, that whatever troubles they're experiencing, other kids have those troubles too, that they're not alone, and that help is possible.

Laura's book list on magical middle-grade books set in the real world

Laura Segal Stegman Why did Laura love this book?

Iā€™m interested in anything Roosevelt family-related (Theodore and/or Franklin), so I had to read this book by Dianne K. Salerni, a supernatural mystery set in an alternate history. While this fast-paced ghost story is the authorā€™s creation, the family situations of the two fourteen-year-old cousins circa 1898 reflect the realities of their lives at the time.

If I hadnā€™t already known so much about Eleanorā€™s inspiring life and Aliceā€™s unconventional one, I absolutely would have wanted to after reading this entertaining book.

By Dianne K. Salerni,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Murderous ghosts and buried family secrets threaten young Eleanor and Alice Roosevelt in this thrilling middle-grade novel that puts a supernatural spin on alternate history.

It's 1898 in New York City and ghosts exist among humans.

When an unusual spirit takes up residence at the Roosevelt house, thirteen-year-old Eleanor and fourteen-year-old Alice are suspicious. The cousins don't get along, but they know something is not right. This ghost is more than a pesky nuisance. The authorities claim he's safe to be around, even as his mischievous behavior grows stranger and more menacing. It's almost like he wants to scare theā€¦


Book cover of Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein
Book cover of Bad Girls Don't Die
Book cover of The Amazing Mr. Blunden (Puffin books)

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