Mystery and Horror Books for Young Adult/Children

Enjoy getting a scary book? Want to read more? Check out this book list...




1) "Anna Dressed in Blood" by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

Yet she spares Cas's life.

2) "Rabbits in the Garden" by Jessica McHugh

At twelve years old, Avery Norton had everything: a boyfriend who was also her best friend, the entirety of Martha's Vineyard as her playground, and her very own garden to tend. By thirteen, it was all over.The discovery of a secret crypt in the basement starts the Norton family down many unexpected avenues, including one that leads to Avery's arrest for murder and her subsequent imprisonment in Taunton State Lunatic Asylum. Set in 1950s Massachusetts, Rabbits in the Garden follows Avery Norton's struggle to prove her innocence and escape Taunton with her mind intact.

3) "Need" by Carrie Jones

Zara collects phobias the way other girls collect Facebook friends. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.

Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.

With suspense, romance, and paranormal themes, this exciting breakout novel has readers rapidly turning the pages.

4) "Malice" by Griffin Hayes

Welcome to Millingham, MA, pop. 5000... 4997... 4993...

A killer stalks the streets of this small, isolated community. A killer as ancient as the town itself, murdering at will and never leaving a trace.

The sheriff has convinced himself and others that the recent rash of deaths in the town are just suicides, but Lysander Shore knows different. He knows the townsfolk are being hunted by something that shouldn't exist. And the deeper Lysander digs, the more he realizes the killer isn't just taking their lives. He's taking their souls and Lysander's may be next. 

5) "She Smells the Dead" by E.J.Stevens

Yuki has a secret...she smells the dead.
It's the beginning of senior year and Yuki's psychic awareness of ghostly spirits is threatening to ruin her life. Her ability to sense spirits of the dead isn't glamorous like the ghost hunting on television.

SHE SMELLS THE DEAD.

The smell impressions are becoming stronger. Yuki is being visited in her dreams, and she suspects that her friend Calvin is involved in something strange. To make matters worse her crush on Garrett is going unrequited, Yuki's friend Emma is on a rampage against bee oppression, and annoying Calvin Miller mysteriously disappears. Will Yuki be able to focus her powers in time to save the lost soul who is haunting her? Meanwhile, who will save Yuki from following the spirits into the light?

6) "The Thirteenth Chime" by Emma Michaels

HATRED NEVER DIES... Destiny has finally found the life that she has always wanted. She is about to finish college, has a fiancé that loves her, and a great summer on the West Coast planned with her friend, Stephanie. But her world is turned upside down when an antique clock mysteriously chimes thirteen times and someone attacks them, sending Stephanie and her mother to the hospital. Alone, and without any help from the police, Destiny has no choice but to turn to the one man she had left behind a year ago - her ex-boyfriend, David. Together, they must solve the riddle of the thirteenth chime before the clock strikes thirteen again. Yet as they face their own past and hearts, a trap over half a century old is waiting for them to become its prey. For revenge, fifty years is never too long...

7) "Pitch Green" by The Brothers Washburn

Seven years ago, as Camm Smith herded a pack of little trick-or-treaters past the decaying mansion in her hometown of Trona, California, her young neighbor Hugh disappeared, becoming the latest in a string of vanished children. Now a high school senior, Camm is still haunted by the old tragedy and is convinced the answer lies hidden in the abandoned house. Joining forces with her best friend, Cal-who happens to be Hugh's older brother-Camm naively begins a perilous search for the truth. Events quickly spiral out of control, however, and as more people begin to die, Camm and Cal discover it will take all of their combined ingenuity to fend of the evil being lurking deep within the bowels of the mansion and federal agents determined to keep old secrets permanently hidden. The two friends must race against the clock to discover the truth about the house before they, too, disappear without a trace.