Scary Thriller Suspense

Laura Amy Schlitz delivers this Horn Book Fanfare and Laura Amy Schlitz delivers this Horn Book Fanfare and Cybils Award-winning best-seller that whisks 11-year-old Maud Flynn from a cold New England orphanage and into the stately mansion of three wealthy spinsters. After the Hawthorne sisters adopt her in 1909, they tell her she's their secret child. She must remain indoors at all times and must never stand in front of windows. Maud doesn't mind their restrictions. But she does wonder what could possibly require such secrecy.

When five kids are invited to a cemetery at midnight, they think it's just a prank. When they find a gravestone that instructs them to dig up a grave, they think it's just a joke. It's no joke. An evil force is unleashed - a force that takes the shape of their worst fears. Once these fears are released, they won't go away. Not without a fight....

The story begins: Young lovers, anxious to connect, agree to a first date, thinking outside of the box. At 17 years old, James and Amelia can feel the rest of their lives beginning. They have got this summer and this summer alone to experience the extraordinary. But they didn’t expect to find it in a house at the bottom of a lake. The house is cold and dark, but it’s also their own.

Gray Brooks knows all about death. A former Marine, he survived the horrors of war, only to waste his life in a series of drunken nights and misdemeanors. But all that changed the day he was shot in a robbery gone wrong. After being pronounced clinically dead, Gray returns to life in the hospital. And something inside him has changed. Still tethered to the afterlife, Gray now sees the supernatural beings that stalk humanity. Demons, ghosts, and other creatures that defy logical explanation. And for once in his life, Gray is compelled to do the right thing.

A host of the smartest young adult authors come together in this collection of scary stories and psychological thrillers curated by Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea's April Genevieve Tucholke. Each story draws from a classic tale or two - sometimes of the horror genre, sometimes not - to inspire something new and fresh and terrifying. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat.

The phone and the radio were dead, but they'd already heard the news: a mass murderer was on the loose. Hannah and her younger sister, Meg, were miles from the nearest neighbor, trapped in a raging blizzard, home alone. When two wounded, bleeding strangers show up, Hannah doesn't know whether to help them or turn them away.

New student Lizzy Palmer is the talk of Shadyside High. Michael and his girlfriend Pepper befriend her, but the closer they get to her, the stranger she seems...and the more attractive she is to Michael. He invites her to join him on a snowmobile race that ends in a tragic accident. Soon, Michael's friends start being murdered, and Pepper becomes convinced that Lizzy is behind the killings.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.... Dan Tate feels like his life is spiraling out of control. His PTSD symptoms have returned, fueled by the terrifying ordeals he has faced. His ex-wife has dragged him into court, threatening to take custody of their children. And worst of all, Beverly’s sinister partner has finally revealed herself.... Consumed by her obsessive desire for revenge, this evil mastermind is willing to do whatever it takes to make the town of Anger pay.

Ever since her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town, nineteen-year-old Ness has been terrified—terrified of some other Nightmare murdering her, and terrified of ending up like her sister. Because in Newham, the city that never sleeps, dreaming means waking up as your worst fear.

Paul Mahan just wants to put everything behind him. The shadowy halls of Rookwood apartments, the building’s bloodstained past, and most of all, the chilling supernatural presence he encountered there.... But when Neve Cotter, a former Rookwood resident, reaches out to him for help, Paul finds himself unable to turn away. Neve’s daughter, Ella, has been possessed by a tortured spirit that Paul freed from Rookwood’s haunted grounds.

Nick and Amber Miller are splitting up and selling their Devon family home. But despite the desirable location, the house isn’t moving. Not a single viewing so far. When their estate agent suggests an open house event, Amber agrees, even as she worries about their gossiping neighbours attending and snooping around their home.

When a body shows up near Peel Academy, all signs indicate the killer is a vampire. Ravaged throat, body drained of blood. At least that’s all it appears to be when the Politia, the supernatural police force, assigns Gabrielle to the case. Now it’s Gabrielle’s job to figure out who did it. But after a second body turns up with the same lethal wounds, it’s clear that a serial killer is stalking the island.

Will Noah and Violet find the griefers who escaped to the Overworld? Noah and Violet are busy rebuilding their town when the Ender Dragon flies above the village streets. The following day the Wither attacks them. As the town battles these harsh hostile mobs, Noah and Violet, with their good friends, Hannah and Ben, set out to search for Daniel, whom they suspect is behind these vicious attacks.

It's been four months since Nicky Roth has seen his best friend and neighbor, Aaron Peterson. Aaron's father, a reclusive theme park designer, told the town that Aaron and his sister Mya are living with a relative far away, but Nicky can't seem to accept it. Plagued by terrifying nightmares of robotic mannequins, rotting theme parks, and a dark basement, Nicky teams up with his friends from school to find out what really happened to Aaron and Mya. Together, they start piecing together a picture more disturbing than they could have imagined.

The cheerleading squad at Shadyside has always been strong, but now there are rumors that lack of funds may mean the end of cheerleading at Shadyside. That would be a shame for Heather Wyatt, who has just transferred from her old school, where she was a star, and is eager to join the squad. There’s only one other girl who stands in her way - rich, spoiled Devra Dalby, who is also trying out for the one open slot. The competition to join the squad is anything but friendly - and it ends in murder. Will Heather make the squad - if there's even a squad anymore - or will she end up dead?

Jules' family moves into an old abandoned house. Her parents love it, but she's frightened and feels a sense of foreboding. When she sees a pale face in an upstairs window, she can't stop wondering about the eerie presence on the top floor - in a room with a locked door. Her fear replaced by fascination, Jules becomes determined to make contact with the mysterious figure and to unlock the door. Past and present intersect as she and her ghostly friend discover the fate of the family who lived in the house all those many years ago.

If you move around enough, every new school starts to look the same. But it doesn’t take an hour for Marlee Fleming to realize that Edison, Missouri, has a sinister secret. There’s something strange about Marlee, a power she doesn’t quite understand. Certain objects make her hear and see things no one else can. This power makes her feel sick, and she wishes she knew how to make it stop. But when she opens her new locker on her first day in Edison, she hears screaming so loud she nearly passes out.

Treasure hunters and protectors of the Overworld, Noah and Violet stumble upon a chest in a jungle temple. The treasure chest includes a rare enchantment book that can make diamond swords and armor extremely powerful. Daniel, who runs the powerful league of griefers, wants the enchantment book for himself. Noah and Violet have to battle the league of griefers, including the tricky and powerful rainbow griefers.

Something is wrong with Cooper. He's plagued by a fear he doesn't understand and can't control. Cooper just wants to escape, and a summer vacation aboard the restored cabin cruiser The Getaway, with best friends Gordy, Hiro, and Lunk, seems like the perfect way to do it. Two weeks of fun - with no mysteries or life-and-death danger. That's the plan. But their plans are shattered the very first night when they witness a murder.

Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don’t stay dead…. A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever…. These stories are filled with ancient terrors and modern villains, but go ahead, go into the basement, step onto the old plantation, and open the magician’s mystery box because this time, the white guy dies first.