Childrens Horror

Get ready for a collection of thirteen short stories that will chill your bones, tingle your spine, and scare your pants off. Debut author Josh Allen masterfully concocts horror in the most innocent places, like R. L. Stine meets a modern Edgar Allan Poe. A stray kitten turns into a threatening follower. The street sign down the block starts taunting you. Even your own shadow is out to get you! Spooky things love hiding in plain sight. The everyday world is full of sinister secrets, and these stories show that there's darkness even where you least expect it.

At night, Roddie still dreams of sitting at his mother’s feet while she braids his Afro down. But that’s a memory from before. Before his mom died in a tragic accident. Before he was taken in by an aunt he barely knows. Before his aunt brought him to Dogwood House, the creepiest place Roddie has ever seen. It was his family’s home for over a hundred years. Now the house—abandoned and rotting, draped in Spanish moss that reminds him too much of hair—is his home too.

Beak-a-boo, it sees you! Cooper Klavan and his sister Anna are fishing with their parents at a woodland pond when they come across an injured bird. Anna, a huge animal lover, insists on taking it home to rehabilitate. But the bird really does not want to be rescued. It bites Anna, and scares Cooper. Soon, Anna is behaving very strangely. She's perching high up in trees, gathering sticks to hide in her room, and refusing to eat eggs-- once one of her favorite foods. Cooper doesn't want to jump to any conclusions, but his sister seems to be going to the birds.

Out walking alone one rainy night, Lucy becomes convinced that someone - or something - is following her. Spooked, she ducks into a cemetery to try and lose her stalker. Panicking in the darkness, she slips and stumbles into an open grave - only to discover she is not alone in there…. Lucy manages to escape, but she doesn't get away unscathed. She begins having terrifying visions and dreams - and she still can't shake the feeling of an unseen presence, always watching, waiting…. Who was the girl in the grave? And what has she done to Lucy?

Judy Glassman lives with her brother, Kenny, and father, Noah, in a village at the foot of Evil Rock. Every winter, Kenny accompanies their dad up to the mansion at the top of the mountain to assist the rich, eccentric Grendel family with their house repairs. But this year, Judy convinces her dad to let her come, too. Judy has heard whispers about the Beast of Evil Rock - a half-human creature who stalks the crags. And she's determined to find out for herself if it's true. Will Judy discover the secret of Evil Rock before the Beast finds her first?

Zoey loves spending the summer with her Aunt Alice, and her aunt's new house is the perfect place to cozy up with a good book. But she's unnerved by the overgrown forest next door, which is creepy even in the daytime and full of eerie sounds at night. Worse, there are rumors in town of a dark force in those woods. And Zoey can't deny that the wild black cats who live there seem to be watching her. When she encounters a mean old woman who claims to be their owner, Zoey realizes there's more to the cats than meets the eye.

At the edge of space, a mysterious cloud appears. The last transmission from a remote outpost near the cloud warns of grave danger. Now Art, Myrtle, and the rest of the family launch an investigation - and what they find is so horribly, terribly monstrous that not even a billion mothballs will keep it at bay!

An outbreak of "The Fever" has taken hold of Portland, Oregon, bringing the population to its knees. "The Fever" spreads and kills quickly, but the dead aren't staying dead. When her neighbor, Jordan, saves her from an infected, Alissa joins him in his plan to escape the city, the zombies and the threat of a quarantine that will lock the living in with the undead. What she doesn't tell him is that she has an illness of her own, one that plays tricks with her mind and makes her a dangerous companion.

When a young governess is hired to care for two orphans in a country estate, she soon realises that something is lurking in the grounds of the house. But is it a mere ghost or an altogether more sinister presence at work? The tension of this timeless horror is perfectly captured by stage and screen actress Virginia McKenna.

Sixteen-year-old Sunshine is reluctantly gaining control over her powers as a Luiseach. But while she explores her mystical lineage, she discovers a dangerous discordance - one only she can heal.

After the loss of her mother, Chloe Kennedy starts seeing the ghosts that haunted her as a young girl again. Spending time at her grandmother's country estate in the south of England is her chance to get away from her grief and the spirits that haunt her. Until she meets a mysterious stranger.... Alexander Reade is 157 years dead, with secrets darker than the lake surrounding Grange Hall and a lifelike presence that draws Chloe more strongly than any ghost before. But the bond between them awakens the vengeful spirit of Alexander's past love, Isobel.

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be... kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees. But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts....

Icy whispers brush against her cheeks when she's sleeping. Most nights she wakes to the voices of her ancestors, always at 2:47 a.m. Like all monsters, only the light keeps them at bay. Lorelei Huntington knows what it means to fall for the wrong guy. She knows what it's like to hide in the dark and wait for the light to save her. She knows how it feels to watch while everyone you love and everything in your life is taken.

When Veronica and her friend, Kirk, decide to investigate why, they stumble upon a more sinister plot than they ever could have imagined. One of Veronica’s high school teachers is crippled by the fact that his dead daughter has never returned as a ghost, and he’s haunted by the possibility that she’s waiting to reappear within a fresh body. Veronica seems like the perfect host. And even if he’s wrong, what’s the harm in creating one more ghost?

When Madison died the night of her prom, she knew her life would never be the same. Now she has a powerful amulet, a team of rogue angels by her side, and the ability to flash forward into the future. And of course, now she's finally with Josh, a perfect boyfriend who doesn't even mind that she's dead. But being dead has its disadvantages, too. Madison feels caught between her real life and her timekeeper status. When she has the opportunity to get her body back - to be alive again - she faces her most difficult decision yet.

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby is a teenage grim reaper with the bizarre ability to Damn souls. That makes her pretty scary, even to fellow Grims. But after inadvertently transferring her ability to Zara, a murderous outlaw, Lex is a pariah in Croak, the little town she calls home. To escape the townspeople’s wrath, she and her friends embark on a wild road trip to DeMyse. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, it feels like a prison to Lex.

When Chris Buckley first encountered the mysteries of creepy Solitary, North Carolina, he had little idea how far he would fall into the town’s shadows. After losing the love of his life, Chris tried to do things his way. He hunted for answers. And then he gave up trying to find them. But now Chris comes back to Solitary, knowing there’s a purpose for his being there. As he watches his place in a twisted and evil bloodline become clear, Chris waits for the last battle - and wonders who will be left when he finally makes his stand.

In the end, all that's left is an Echo. Before, Violet's morbid ability to sense the dead led her to uncover dark murders and long-buried secrets in her small town. Now that she's workingwith a special investigative team, Violet hopes she can help even more people - whether by saving a life or catching a killer. Although she's relieved to finally be honest about what she can do, her instant connection with her mysterious partner, Rafe, is both confusing and unsettling, and their unique bond creates tension with her boyfriend, Jay. When she discovers the body of a college student murdered by "the collector," Violet refuses to give upon the case.

Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate. The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands. So much for normal.

Johanna Wise longed to be a part of the rich popular clique at Shadyside High School. When Dennis Arthur, the star of the track team and one of the most popular guys in school, asks Johanna out it is a dream come true. They seem to have so much in common as they joke about school and creative ways to get rid of their least favorite teacher, Mr. Northwood. When Dennis dares her to actually kill Mr. Northwood Johanna jokingly says yes. The problem is that the entire school is taking her seriously - including Dennis.