Have you ever been haunted by a ghost cat? Plagued by a sentient scarecrow? Feared for your life at a summer camp?
For those that love a thrill, we've put together 13 of our most spine-chilling short novels. From magical mischief to hair-raising thrillers to sci-fi horror, this list of blood-curdlers are bound to get you in the mood for the spookiest day of the year...
All our books have a dyslexia-friendly layout, typeface and paperstock so that even more readers can enjoy them. And you can read a chapter sample by following the link for each book.
The Ghost Cat Who Saved My Life
Written by Pamela Butchart with illustrations by Monika Filipina
The flat upstairs from Sav is empty, so who or what is making the strange yowling noises she can hear at night? Could it be a ghost cat?!
Sav and her best friend Liam decide to investigate, but their ghost hunt takes a very strange turn when Liam gets stuck in the stinky bin room of the flat and it’s a new feline friend who helps to get him out.
The Suitcase S(witch)
Written by Aisha Bushby with illustrations by Coralie Muce
When Zahra accidentally swaps suitcases with a witch, it’s the beginning of a whole series of magical mishaps. Her feet take on a dancing life of their own when she puts on a pair of enchanted boots, while her first flying adventure in a charmed cloak nearly ends in disaster!
But it’s not all bad. She learns a spell that can transform her dad’s worst cooking into a gourmet delight and makes a new best friend in the form of a talking cat. When she finds the witch again, will Zahra even want to get her own suitcase back?!
The Shop-Witch's Quest
Written by Aisha Bushby with illustrations by Padri De Pedro
In a magical world where heroes go on exciting quests while witches keep everything running behind the scenes, Laurel works in her parents’ shop, supplying everything from enchanted yarn to magical carpets.
The shop is struggling after the opening of a big shopping centre nearby, so when a hero waltzes in with a long list of expensive items, Laurel sees an opportunity to help.
Crow
Written by Nicola Skinner with illustrations by Rebecca Bagley
When lonely Hattie feels out of place at her new school, she creates a scarecrow – Crow. Hattie wants him to guard the den she finds in the playground, the only place she feels happy and comfortable.
Poor Crow really just wants to have fun with the other children, but he takes his job for Hattie very seriously and his behaviour starts to get scarier and scarier. Will Hattie realise that Crow is ruining her chance to make new friends before it’s too late?
Jodie
Written by Hilary McKay with illustrations by Keith Robinson
Jodie never wanted to come on the residential trip to the field centre. A loner at school, she’s forced into a dormitory with other girls from her class who don’t understand her and talk about her behind her back. Even though they’re not trying to be mean, Jodie feels excluded and miserable, and eventually escapes out onto the salt marshes in search of a little dog she can hear barking in the distance.
But the salt marshes are dangerous and Jodie gets trapped by the incoming tide. Stuck in the sucking mud, will anyone even notice that she’s gone? And where is the little dog that keeps barking so mournfully …
The Creatures of Killburn Mine
Written by Dan Smith with illustrations by Chris King
What’s slithering about deep underground …?
When a meteorite crashes to Earth near Crooked Oak, Pete, Nancy and Krish are determined to find it. But they’re not the only ones …
After spotting one of their teachers up on the moor where the meteorite landed, they start to wonder if his strangely altered behaviour and appearance might be connected to the arrival from outer space. But nothing could prepare them for the horror they uncover deep down in Killburn Mine …
The Boy at the Window
Written by Lucy Strange with illustrations by Rohan Eason
Folk say the fog plays tricks – that it shapes itself into little hands and frightened faces that press at people’s doors and windows, desperate to come inside. But Hugo is convinced the ghost he has seen at the windo
The Last Day of October
Written by Phil Hickes with illustrations from Oriol Vidal
Seeking creepy thrills instead of candy, Cody and his friends set out on Halloween to search for the ruins of the haunted McBride House in the woods near his home in Oregon.
The house has taken on a sinister legendary status after it burned down a hundred years ago with tragic consequences, and it’s said that the ghosts of the family who lived there return each year on the last day of October.
But when they find the house, the truth of what is happening on this eerie autumn night is more terrifying than the three teenagers could ever have imagined …
Ravencave
Written by Marcus Sedgwick with cover artwork from Paul Blow
While mucking about in the ruins of an old farm while on holiday in Yorkshire, James hears strange laughter echoing around the walls. The ghost of a young girl appears to him and urges James to follow her but at first he’s too afraid.
When she appears again, this time James follows. But will he be able to face the terrible truth she reveals …?
Dracula: a Retelling
Written by Tanya Landman with cover artwork from Helen Crawford-White
Bram Stoker's Dracula is a masterpiece of horror fiction in which he creates a nightmarish world of vampires, evil-doing and insanity.
A ship steered by a dead man… A huge black dog springing from its deck… A girl, sleepwalking towards disaster…
When rising young solicitor Jonathan Harker helps the mysterious and sinister Count Dracula purchase property in London he unleashes an evil that threatens to destroy the whole of humanity.
Click here to view more in our series of classic retellings including Frankenstein, Jane Eyre and Great Expectations.
The Night House Files: The Deadsoul Project
Written by Dan Smith with illustrations by Luke Brookes
Kyle and Lauren Dempsey believe their soldier stepdad is dead, killed in action in Northern Ireland. But then he turns up at their flat in the Alpine Heights tower block, terrifyingly changed.
One day later, a mysterious virus seems to be running rampant through the building and many residents are dead.
Nobody has ever discovered what really happened – until now …
The Night House Files: The Wintermoor Lights
Written by Dan Smith with illustrations by Luke Brookes
Tara Fisher’s best friend Zoe is the first to see the lights over Wintermoor – and she’s never the same again. Soon more and more teenagers are affected and start behaving strangely, often appearing to be trapped in some kind of trance, while talking about being “chosen”. The adults dismiss what is happening as some kind of hoax or mass hysteria.
But will they finally listen when the kids start to disappear …?
Welcome to Camp Killer
Written by Cynthia Murphy with cover artwork by Ali Ardington
When an American-style residential camp is set up in the grounds of an English stately home, the teenage camp counsellors are looking forward to a fun summer of activities.
But right from the outset, things don’t feel quite right at Camp Miller. Rumours circulate of a tragedy that took place in the grounds and there are unexplained sightings of a ghostly presence.
Then the incidents begin...