Staff Picks
Children's Horror | 2023 Releases
- Ashley S.
- Monday, October 02, 2023
Collection
In the mood for something a little scary? Check out these 2023 releases to find the perfect title for this Halloween season!
Deephaven
Published in 2023
Hoping for a fresh start at Deephaven Academy, Guinevere "Nev" Tallow instead finds something strange stalking its corridors and teams up with another first-year student to unravel the secrets of this exclusive boarding school and its forbidden east wing.
Gallowgate
Published in 2023
Sixth-grader Sebastian Wight is cursed with the ability to see the dead, but now a nasty spirit, the shadowman, is determined to claim him for the dead--and this brings him to Gallowgate Academy for Ætheric Arts, where he can learn to control his abilties.
Eerie Tales from the School of Screams
Published in 2023
"School is tough. School is scary. School is EERIE. No one knows this better than Davis and Emily. But they're not scared of school because of tough tests or merciless vice-principals. No, they're scared because their teacher wants her students to present the class with the spookiest, most chilling stories they can think of"-- Provided by publisher.
Tom Bites Back
Published in 2023
Eleven-year-old Tom the Vam-Wolf-Zom meets Martha, the 244-year-old vampire who bit him, and convinces her to teach him such important things as how to fly and how to hypnotize people.
Ellie's Spooky Surprise
Published in 2023
When Ellie and her friends plan a Halloween party for the Critter club, they realize a bat has gotten trapped inside the barn, so with the help of a wildlife vet the girls help return the bat to its home.
Secret of the Reaping
Published in 2023
Boog and the rest of The Squad continue their Vanquisher training as they try to find who is behind the vampires' return and work to convince their parents they are ready to join the Vanquishers' fight.
Spider-Man's Spooky Halloween
Published in 2023
"Orange pumpkins, fluffy black cats, a shiny witch's hat, sticky candy, and more! Halloween comes to life in this touch-and-feel book as Spider-Man and his neighborhood friends go trick-or-treating!"--Back cover.
Grumbones
Published in 2023
Budding sleuths Helena and her best friend Ben hire an insufferable ghostly guide named Grumbones to track down her recently deceased grandmother in the underworld.
Nightmare Island
Published in 2023
Twelve-year-old Serenity has a recurring nightmare, but things get real when her parents take her brother, Peace, to Duppy Island for "treatment" and Serenity is confronted by the creepy Dr. Whisper and the faceless douen children who are trapped betweenthe living and the dead.
The Cursed Moon
Published in 2023
"Rafael Fuentes isn't easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa's incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach. To take his mind off his mom's return, Rafa spends an evening crafting the scariest ghost story he's ever told. As an eerie blood moon hangs in the sky, Rafa tells a group of friends about The Caretaker. The Caretaker is an evil ghost who lures unsuspecting kids into the neighborhood pond...and they don't ever come out. Rafa is really proud of his latest creation, until strange things start to happen around him. With a sinking feeling, Rafa realizes the Caretaker is real. Rafa has brought the ghost to life--and only he can stop him"-- Provided by publisher.
The Goblin Twins
Published in 2023
Good-natured goblin twin brothers Doki and Kebi move to New York City and experience an unexpected Halloween adventure in their new home.
A Super Scary Narwhalloween
Published in 2023
"Dive into new stories that are sure to fright and delight! Narwhal loves Halloween--it's a great excuse to dress up in a spooky and silly costume, like a ghost, a mermaid, a banana, or maybe even Marlow the Mustachioed Moose. It's a skeleTON of fun! Jelly isn't dressing up, though--he's a little scared of this time of year, and would prefer to hunker down in a hidey-hole until Halloween is over. But when a scary sea monster makes an appearance and swallows Narwhal (gulp!), can Jelly, with the help of some super friends, pluck up the courage to save his best bud?"-- Provided by publisher.
It Found Us
Published in 2023
Hazel, a twelve-year-old aspiring detective, must decode a series of ominous clues tied to a century-old tragedy to find a missing teenager before it is too late.
Vlad, the Fabulous Vampire
Published in 2023
"Vlad is a vampire with the misfortune of having rosy cheeks that--gasp!--make him look abysmally alive. But being the fabulous vampire that he is (and hoping to avoid rejection), he hides his rosy complexion behind elaborate vampire outfits in traditional black. That is, until he finds out that his best friend has a pink secret of her own"--OCLC.
Spell of a Time
Published in 2023
On a trip to Coney Island to pick up trash, Effie and Garance meet a mermaid and help her find her missing sister.
The Boo Crew Needs You!
Published in 2023
An interactive picture book in which readers help the Book Crew -- a ghost, skeleton, and vampire-- fix various problems that get in the way of Halloween night fun.
Brick Dust and Bones
Published in 2023
Twelve-year-old Marius Grey has a job as a Cemetery Boy, looking after the ghosts in his family's graveyard, but he also hunts monsters and, along with his flesh-eating mermaid friend, must race against the clock to save the ghost of his dead mother.
All the Lovely Bad Ones
A Ghost Story Graphic Novel
Published in 2023
"Travis and his sister, Corey, can't resist a good trick. When they learn that their grandmother's quiet Vermont inn, where they're spending the summer, has a history of ghost sightings, they decide to do a little "haunting" of their own. Before long, their supernatural pranks have tourists flocking to Fox Hill Inn,and business booms. But Travis and Corey soon find out that theirs aren't the only ghosts at Fox Hill. Their thoughtless games have awakened something dangerous, something that should have stayed asleep. Can these siblings lay to rest the troubled spirits they've disturbed?" -- Dust jacket.
Nightmare King
Published in 2023
"Things haven't been the same since Shane's accident. One minute he was a normal kid playing a game of tag with his friends, and the next he's the boy who came back from the dead. Now, every time Shane falls asleep, he's pulled into a dark world where the evil Nightmare King reigns. The King is collecting children and keeping them as treasure. Despite the threat of capture by the Nightmare King, he can't stay awake forever. Shane will have to take matters into his own hands...if he gives himself over to his nightmares, can he hold on to the good in himself long enough to bring down the King?"-- Provided by publisher.
Bruce and the Legend of Soggy Hollow
Published in 2023
"Bruce and the residents of Soggy Hollow tell a spooky story to get into the Halloween spirit"-- Provided by publisher.
What is the Story of the Headless Horseman?
Published in 2023
"Washington Irving published The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in 1820, introducing the eerie Headless Horseman character to readers worldwide. Readers were both scared and intrigued by the horrific character, who is the ghost of a soldier who had been decapitated during the American Revolution. Now, the character is an American classic, featured in movies, television shows, cartoons, comic books, and even video games, thanks to Irving's chilling story of a lone horseman seeking revenge"-- Provided by publisher.
Omega Morales and the Curse of El Cucuy
Published in 2023
Omega will have to learn to trust her powers once again as she comes face to face with the Mexican legend El Cucuy.
Ablaze
Published in 2023
Aly Theland is the middle child in what she thought was a normal family, except suddenly whenever she gets angry at someone things burst into flame--and Aly begins to realize that neither her older sister, nor her younger brother is exactly normal.
Felice and the Wailing Woman
Published in 2023
"The twelve-year-old daughter of La Llorona vows to free her mother and reverse the curses that have plagued the magical town of Tres Leches"-- Provided by publisher.
A Witch's Last Resort
Published in 2023
While the Terribles hold a class election for the next Line Overlord, a new witch arrives in town and everyone wants to be her friend--especially because she lives at the local island resort and gets to enjoy all the perks, in a story told in alternating chapters, comics, poems, charts and activities.
Rise of the Undead
Published in 2023
When someone starts raising the dead all over East Emerson, Will, Ivy, and Linus must try to survive while unlocking centuries-old secrets hiding beneath the town to save not only East Emerson but the entire world.
Haru, Zombie Dog Hero
Published in 2023
"Eleven-year-old Luke and his dog, Haru, are the best of friends. Totally inseparable. But when their nasty landlord falsely accuses Haru of biting her, Haru is kidnapped! As Luke and his friends go on a serious mission to find and bring Haru home again, they discover mysterious experiments happening at the old laboratory at Painted Lake, owned by an evil multibillionaire named Mr. Thomas Sinclair. And Luke and his friends soon fear that Sinclair’s scientists could be doing illegal testing that may endanger Haru and their whole town. As more strange clues emerge, the boys realize their world is changing fast, and soon Painted Lake is plagued by zombie attacks. But the love between Luke and Haru endures, ultimately helping to save them all."--Amazon.
The Golden Frog Games
Published in 2023
Ravenskill is hosting the Golden Frog Games, a magical tournament, but somebody is using forbidden hexes to turn contestants into stone; meanwhile Seven Salazar, future "uncle" of Ravenskill, who is supposed to have the power to communicate with animals, has a secret--the only voices she hears belong to the deadly monstruos.
There Flies the Witch
Published in 2023
Red may not know who her true family is, but she is determined to find out where she truly belongs.
The Nameless Witch
Published in 2023
After their victory over the Devouring Wolf, Riley and her close-knit pack of werewolves come across a young witch destined to become the formidable Nameless Witch, but who wants to control her own destiny.
The Spaces in Between
Published in 2023
"Try as they might, the McGinn family can't seem to escape from the clutches of the EXIT 13 Motel. Other guests come and go, totally unaware of the fact that Ash, Willow, and the rest of their family aren't able to leave, no matter how hard they try. But as they attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery of the Motel, things only seem to get more bizarre. Ash is hearing and seeing strange things almost every night, and Willow's attempts to learn more about Kristoff - the dark and brooding Motel receptionist - uncover a massive secret that has so far remained hidden underneath the Motel itself. New guests, new frights, and new animals in need of saving mean that the McGinn siblings - and Daisy the goldendoodle - have their work cut out for them. Can they get to the bottom of it all before the Motel closes its doors on them, once and for all?"-- Provided by publisher.
Confessions of a Candy Snatcher
Published in 2023
"For the past few years, twelve-year-old Jonas and his friends have competed to see how many bags of candy they can grab from unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. No one's supposed to get hurt, just lose their treats. So Jonas is taken by surprise when one of his smaller targets fights back against his snatching attempt. He's even more surprised when he starts to receive anonymous notes from someone who knows what happened that night. Jonas already has enough on his plate, between his parents' ill-defined separation and his own guilt--guilt his friend Concepción challenges him to confront in a zine she's creating around the prompt "What's the worst thing you ever did?" It's a complicated question, one that touches on issues of identity, maturity, physical boundaries, and safety"-- Provided by publisher.
Halloween Friends
Published in 2023
"It's Halloween, and little friends are all dressed up! Follow along as they go from house to house, having fun and saying "Trick-or-treat!""-- Provided by publisher.
Stinetinglers 2
10 More New Stories by the Master of Scary Tales
Published in 2023
A collection of ten scary stories with brief introductions by the author.
Ghosts, Toast, and Other Hazards
Published in 2023
When her stepfather leaves and her family loses their home to fire, twelve-year-old Chinese-American Monica, or Mo, struggles with anxiety, but the chance to hunt an elephant ghost--and the promise of a new friend--help convince her to live a little more dangerously.
Hooky. Volume 3
Published in 2023
"Reeling from three years of anti-magic rule under the king--and three years disconnected from twin witches Dani and Dorian--Princess Monica, Nico, Damien, and Prince William know that it is now their responsibility to save the kingdom, and their friends, before darkness prevails. Determined to uncover the circumstances of Dorian's disappearance and rescue reigning Queen of the Witches Dani from her mysterious curse, the group comes together for one final, epic adventure. On a mission that takes them across the kingdom, friendships are tested, romances bloom, and the past holds the key to their future. Dorian, Dani, and all the witches and non-magical people of the kingdom must decide once and for all: Who will they be, and will they use their power and influence for good?"--Front dust jacket.
Halloween Cuties
Published in 2023
This cute, layered board book invites little ones to turn each page to see which Halloween cutie has come out to play on the spookiest night of the year.
Zombie Season
Published in 2023
Summer is zombie season in California and there are some kids who do not evacuate: Joule searches for her missing father, Regina worries about the secrecy surrounding the new anti-zombie technology her parents are developing, and Oliver is trying to convince the grownups that the zombies are becoming stronger.
My First Dino-Halloween
Published in 2023
"Ring the doorbell . . . trick or treat! Here comes a dino-sized Halloween celebration. Rhyming text and lively illustrations show dinosaurs carving jack-o'-lanterns, visiting a haunted house, making costumes, and more!"-- Provided by publisher.
What Stays Buried
Published in 2023
"Twelve-year-old Calista Wynn will lose her ability to speak with the dead on her thirteenth birthday. And with only a few weeks left, children have started going missing. When Calista meets The Tall Lady--an angry spirit with a grudge against Calista, her family, and the entire town--she knows she's found the ghost responsible for the disappearances. It's up to Calista, the only one who can see The Tall Lady, to stop her. If she doesn't, Calista won't just lose her powers... she'll lose everyone she has left"-- Provided by publisher.