Dark and Spooky Reads Perfect for Younger Readers
Who wants to earn a personal pizza from The Hut?
With the advent of summer comes the myriad of reading challenges hosted by local libraries, businesses, and — of course!— the well-beloved Pizza Hut.
Or, if you’re just looking for a list of books perfect for your young reader, look no further!
If you’re a parent of a child with literary preferences toward the macabre, OR if you’re feeling nostalgic and want a good read that’s simultaneously shorter and/or lighter, check out these recommendations of horror, thriller, and dark fantasy books that are appropriate for all ages!
7 Dark and Spooky Books Perfect for Young Readers
Goosebumps — R.L. Stein
I don’t know that I could call this a list of recommendations if I did not include Stein, the King of Horror for younger readers! Although I never read Goosebumps growing up, I did watch the show in my preteen/teen years and thoroughly enjoyed it!
These books are both kid friendly/accessible and well written. Some of them are downright freaky!
As I said, I haven’t read Goosebumps, but I have read the following recommendation that also happens to be written by R. L. Stein…
2.
Steintinglers — R. L. Stein
These collections of short stories are quick reads with creepy premises. Again, kid-friendly doesn’t mean “without scares.” Honestly, even as adult, there’s one particular story that I found simultaneously creative and disturbing!
In my opinion, the best part of these short stories are the little introductions that Stein wrote, explaining why and how he came up with the idea/theme. It’s a nice little touch, for sure!
3. Bailey School Kids — Debbie Dadey & Marcia Thornton Jones
Like Goosebumps, this is a series or collection of books. Unlike Goosebumps, these stories generally feature the same group of kids.
I read these as a youngster and l-o-v-e-d them!
Unlike Stein books, I’d say that these stories are far less about scares and a bit more about mystery or puzzling out bizarro characters/situations (think: Scooby Doo). Mostly, the books are filled with monsters.
Honestly, they’re such fun books and I intend to go back and read a few, especially as my kids grow into that reading level.
4. The Westing Game — Ellen Raskin
I think the easiest way to describe this is, “Agatha Christie for kids.”
Like Bailey School Kids, the focus is not on horror or scares so much as it is on intrigue and mystery. There are no monsters, but there are riddles and fascinating characters, and some peculiar events.
I loved this book as a kid, so much so that the title has lived rent-free in my head!
5. The Thief of Always — Clive Barker
Did you know that the man behind horror classics like Candy Man, and Hellraiser wrote and illustrated a chapter book for young readers?
Well, let me introduce you to this marvelous horror story!
This is another one of those titles that took root in my heart and mind and has been there ever since. It wasn’t until my adulthood that I realized the book was by Clive Barker (but boy, did that make some sense to me when I did)!
I read this in school at around the age of 12, and will say that I found parts of it genuinely scary/terrifying.
Even so, I really loved it.
There’s something about reading a book that seems to treat you as a “real” person when you’re that age — as in, this book doesn’t pull too many punches. (I don’t mean gore or anything, just that the terror is pretty existential, and the ending is more bittersweet than happy).
An excellent read regardless of age!
6. Something Wicked This Way Comes — Ray Bradbury
As a kid, I was given a collection of Bradbury’s short stories and fell in love with his writing. A lot of what drew me to his stories was the bizarro elements, but also something in the way he wrote.
I read this book (which my library has shelved in the Young Adult — aka, teen — section) a month or two ago and remembered all that had endeared me to Bradbury as a child:
He wrote as an adult who had that bittersweet memory of what being a child is, and what growing up means/can mean.
This book, like the others, is not dripping blood or gore or other horror elements that might be inappropriate. It does include existential terror, and some genuine threats to the main characters, though.
An excellent choice for younger readers dipping their toes into darker fiction, and an even better read for adults who recall their childhood fancies.
7. The Treekeepers — Susan Britton
I read this when I was 10 or 11, and, WOW, did it ever stick with me!
This is far more a dark fantasy than horror, but there’s some blood at the final battle of the book that I was certainly surprised by when I read it.
Not much blood and gore — it was just surprising!
It is a book geared towards younger readers, so I wouldn’t say it’s inappropriate, but it is intense at times.
All of these books are great introductions to the dark fiction genres while remaining accessible and appropriate for younger readers.
At the same time, these are all books completely accessible to adults, too. Just because something is marketed and shelved as “children” or “young adult” fiction, never means that adults can’t read and enjoy it! The art of writing for younger readers can be tricky, and there are amazing authors who specialized their books to that audience.
Please, don’t discount “lower-level” books just because you’re an adult. If you don’t have your own reading challenge for this summer, I encourage you to take up the challenge of reading a few books written for younger readers.
You may just be surprised how much you enjoy them — even if you're what the kids call, an “old person!” ;)