Spooky Reads for Children of Every Age

When a vegetarian vampire moves into his dream castle, he soon discovers he has an unwanted house guest . . .

Colin’s new castle is perfect in every way – apart from the DUCK.

The duck pops up when Colin’s in the bath. When he’s watching telly. When he’s ON THE LOO. QUACK!

But where there’s a will, there’s a way. Colin has a PLAN. Will he succeed in banishing Duck from his castle and leading the bird free life that he dreams of?

Join ten playful pumpkins for Halloween fun in this charming rhyming counting adventure!

Ten little pumpkins are brought to life by magic dust on Halloween. Can they make their way past ghosts, ghouls and monsters to the Halloween party?

Follow the pumpkins as they screech and squelch their way through a weird and wonderful world, packed with sweet and spooky friends.

Read the bouncy rhyming story and count from ten to one and back again, as the little pumpkins disappear then reappear. Spot and count the details on each pages, and join in with the magical read-aloud sounds.

Part traditional counting rhyme, part fun-filled story, Ten Little Pumpkins is perfect for sharing.

Hop into Halloween with the Bunny Adventures!

We’re going to a ghost hunt!
Come and join the fun!

Get ready to celebrate Halloween as four bunnies set off on a spooky lift-the-flap adventure to find five little ghosts hidden under the flaps. There are all sorts of exciting things to see along the way, from screechy bats and black cats to white owls and pumpkins! Can you help the bunnies with their trick-or-treating and get them back home in time for bed?

Packed with spooky fun, this action-packed interactive book is the perfect Halloween gift

from the bestselling author of We’re Going on an Egg Hunt and We’re Going on an Elf Chase.

Sherlock Bones, the world’s greatest dog detective, and his trusty sidekick Dr. Jane Catson are back for another crime-solving adventure.

When a wealthy dog spots a ghostly figure haunting her kennel in the Catpathian Mountains, she come to Bones and Catson for help. Bones is convinced there are no such things as ghosts … but even he’s at a loss to explain the creepy sounds and strange goings-on that he and Catson encounter after a night in the crumbling kennel. Things get even more spooky when Bones is suddenly called back to London, leaving Catson to crack the case on her own. Can Catson unmask the ghost and escape the haunted kennel in one piece?

The fourth book in Buster’s Sherlock Bones mystery fiction series features 28 puzzles – including spot-the-differences, number chains and tangled line games – that are woven into the action, so the reader feels immersed in the exciting detective plot. Told across 14 chapters, this thrilling story is perfect for middle-grade readers.

The perfect Halloween treat for Rainbow Magic fans.

Join Rachel and Kirsty on six spooky adventures in this bumper Halloween collection!

Jack Frost and his goblins have stolen Trixie the Halloween Fairy’s enchanted sweets. Rachel and Kirsty must find the treats before Halloween is ruined for everyone!

Next, they must help Paula the Pumpkin Fairy find her magical objects to help bring back all the fun of the spookiest time of year.

Can Rachel and Kirsty help the fairies give everyone a happy Halloween?

Rainbow Magic is the perfect stepping stone for children to become independent readers. With black and white illustrations, short chapters and lots of books to collect, these books are really accessible for children aged 5+.

When Mallory Vayle’s parents’ carriage takes a leap off Gibbett Bridge she is taken in by a strange aunt the family disowned years ago: Aunt Lilith, a charlatan psychic, is quick to monetise Mallory’s prodigious skills in talking to dead people and starts to advertise grand seances.

The ghosts of her parents also take up residence in the house but are cruelly snatched away by the shadow of Hellysh Spatzl, the wickedest necromancer in all of history.

To get them back, Mallory will have to learn how to use the talents she hates and raise the old hag from the dead. Her teacher? A talking skull called Maggoty, who wants some favours in return for his help – not just a gorgeous blond wig and some sparkly earrings, but for Mallory to break the curse that has left his spirit locked inside his own skull for 500 years.

Mallory will have to lean into who she is and what she can do and make a pact with the evil Hellysh Spatzl to get her parents back while at the same time putting on a sensational Halloween spectacular at only five shillings a head for an amazed audience at Nightmare Castle. And learn to love her chatty sidekick and his glorious wig…

An alternative spooky Victoriana packed with laughs and outrageous characters, at its heart, it’s a story of a young girl coming to terms with her own gifts and accepting that nobody is ‘normal’.

If you go down to the woods today . . . you’re in for a scary surprise. Creepy and atmospheric, join Pippa as she battles to overcome the dark powers lurking in the forest around her Grandpa’s cottage. Perfect for readers aged 9+ and fans of Sophie Anderson.

Pippa Newton loves nature and being outdoors, and she’s looking forward to visiting her grandfather in his cottage in the forest. If only her older brother was an enthusiastic about it as she is.

But their holiday soon turns into a dark and strange adventure when Pippa realises that malevolent forces are lurking in the trees – forces that watch, wait, and mean them great harm.

Why are twig-woven figures appearing all over the cottage? And why does their grandfather seem so afraid all the time? What secrets linger in Whispering Hollow? And will Pippa be able to rekindle her friendship with her brother?

A FANG-tastically funny adventures series, perfect for fans of Amelia Fang!

The time has come for Kevin’s Gloaming. This is a test every almost nearly eleven-year-old must pass to show they have all the necessary skills to be a vampire. Kevin will have to show he can transform into a bat, mind-speak and melt into the darkness. Which would be fine, except he hasn’t quite mastered the melt yet… If Kevin doesn’t pass, he’ll be cast out forever. Is there anyone who can help him?

“Fearfully funny, and a book to get your teeth into! You’ll be Kevin’s biggest fang!” Danny Wallace

“Full of hilarious, highly illustrated mayhem” Guardian

“Loved it. Full of heart, laughs and adventure.” Dermot O’Leary

A brand-new middle-grade novel and ghost story from much loved author Sophie Kirtley, exploring family, grief, memories and forgotten histories.

Twelve-year-old Edie embarks on an exciting and chilling adventure as she searches for a long-lost Viking hoard. But there are ghosts around Edie who want the past to stay buried, and will stop at nothing to keep secrets hidden.

An emotional and spine-tingling adventure perfect for fans of The House with Chicken Legs, A Girl Called Owl and A Pocketful of Stars.

It’s October half term and twelve ­year ­old Edie and her younger brother Pip are forced to spend their holiday at Fortune Farm, high in the Irish mountains, with their estranged grandmother Lolly. Edie has been dreading it for months – not only is Lolly’s isolated cottage on the shores of Lough Ivarr, the bleakest and most boring place on Earth, it’s also the place where they spent all their holidays when Dad was alive. And Edie doesn’t like thinking about Dad – the memories hurt too much.

When Edie uncovers a clue that could lead her to a long­lost Viking hoard, it’s just the adventure she needs to take her mind off of Dad. But the adventure soon takes an unnerving and dangerous turn, as Edie discovers that Fortune Farm has more secrets, ghosts and forgotten treasures than she had ever dared to dream.

Not only must Edie protect Pip from the restless and vengeful spirit of a long-dead Viking chief, she must confront the painful memories she has tried so hard to bury deep within herself. As Edie races against time to follow the clues that will lead her to the long ­lost Viking treasure, she must journey into her grief, her family’s tragic and secretive history and the truth about Coco, Edie’s mysterious new friend who is so much more than she seems.

The second book in the bitingly brilliant and fangtastically feisty middle-grade series THE VANQUISHERS by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron. Fans of The Breakfast Club Adventures, Goosebumps and Stranger Things will devour this fun, thrilling and heartfelt vampire adventure.

The Vanquishers are back, this time with new junior members, and are ready to defend their town against the undead!

Malika ‘Boog’ Wilson and her best friends Cedrick, Jules, and Aaron – aka the Squad – always stick together. Now that vampires have returned, they’ll need to take their Vanquisher lessons more seriously than ever. But who is behind this return of the undead?

When strange disappearances begin across their community and the Department of Vampire Affairs warns Boog’s mum to keep quiet about vampires returning, it looks like uncovering the truth won’t be so easy.

The Squad is eager to take on the undead, but will they be able to convince their parents they are ready to fight alongside the Vanquishers?

On a dark and stormy night …

A pair of ghost-hunting journalists arrive at the most haunted house in Britain – the Hollow Hotel. They’re here to interview the Dark King of television magic, Romeo Gideon.

Instead, they discover the body of a murdered man hanging from the rafters – the work of a killer who wields actual magic as viciously as he does his blade. With the storm closing in, all exit routes cut off, and the killer taking them out one by one, their only hope lies with the two mysterious Irish detectives who seem quite at home with all this bloodshed …

Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain have only hours to figure out who the killer is in a hotel filled with the tortured spirits of the dead, the anguished wails of the dying, and the relentless whines of the living.

A heart-breaking, LGBTQ dark romance for young adults, with star-crossed lovers – perfect for fans of V.E.Schwab and 90s cult classic The Craft.

November 1999, North Dana, Massachusetts. The body of Bastion Attia – high school quarterback, secret witch, and Nesbit Nuñez’s even-more-secret boyfriend – is discovered at the edge of Stepwood Cemetery. As Nesbit and his coven of queer misfits investigate Bastion’s death they discover local folktales of Mr. Nous, a terrifying wish-granting creature, one whose gifts come at a terrible price. The coven must do battle against an age-old evil before it strikes again…

Now, Conjurers is a wildly original, spinechilling YA debut about queer found family and a love that outlasts death.

Filled with deadly secrets and the monsters you thought only existed in your mind …

You’ve heard of Frankenstein’s monster, you’ve heard of Dracula, but have you heard of the Villa Diodati? Eve, Griffin, Hal and Ren embark on a summer they’ll never forget at the birthplace of all things Gothic.

The summer is beset by mysterious happenings, as the monsters they create begin to clamber out of their minds. Events rise to a horrible climax when, on a dark and stormy night, one of the villa’s guests is found dead and each of our foursome becomes a suspect in a gruesome murder.

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime. But when the stuff of nightmares becomes their reality, will they make it out alive?

Perfect for fans of Wednesday and Stranger Things.