These are good books for Halloween. I’ve decided to divide the list up into two sections, the first one directly related to the holiday, and the second one with books that have a good atmosphere for Halloween but don’t actually take place on the holiday.
You can find other good books under the Pseudo-Ghost Stories list for less scary but still atmospheric options. See also Witch Books and Ghost Books.
Books On or About Halloween
General Fiction
The Beast and the Halloween Horror
Richard wasn’t really paying attention when Ms. Rooney read The Halloween Horror to the class. He tried to fake knowing the story when everyone in class wrote to the author about the book, but he got things wrong. What will he do when the author comes to visit? Part of The Kids of the Polk Street School series.
A book of short stories about the adventures of some neighborhood children on Halloween. Part of the Betsy and Eddie Books. By Carolyn Haywood.
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth (1967)
Elizabeth is the new girl at school, and she’s lonely because she doesn’t seem to fit in with the popular kids. Then, she meets Jennifer, a somewhat strange girl who insists that she is a witch. When she offers to teach Elizabeth to be a witch, too, the girls learn some important lessons about friendship. By E. L. Konigsburg.
Megan’s Ghost
The girl Megan previously defeated in a tennis tournament is out for revenge. At first seeming friendly, she manages to turn Megan’s friends at school against her, twisting things around to make it seem like Megan has said bad things about them. Fortunately, Megan still has her Camp Sunnyside friends. When they join her for Halloween, they help her face up to a mean dare and clear her reputation. Part of the Camp Sunnyside Friends series.
No More Magic (1975)
When Chris’s bike disappears on Halloween night, he and the new girl in town think that it may have been stolen by a mysterious warlock.
The Witches of Hopper Street (1986)
The three friends decide to become witches and use “magic spells” to get revenge on another girl who didn’t invite them to her Halloween party. Part of the Kelly McCoy Series.
Humor
Every year, the Herdmans steal and bully other kids out of their Halloween candy. When the adults decide that Halloween is too destructive and that trick-or-treating will be replaced by a well-supervised (boring), school Halloween party, the Herdmans surprisingly come to the rescue! Part of The Herdmans Series.
Happy Haunting, Amelia Bedelia (2004)
Part of the Amelia Bedelia Series. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are having a Halloween party, and Amelia Bedelia might just end up with the scariest costume of all!
Historical fiction
It’s Halloween, and Molly and her friends decide that they’ll dress up like hula dancers in remembrance of Pearl Harbor. When Molly’s brother plays a mean trick on them that ruins their costumes, the girls plot revenge. Part of the Molly, An American Girl series.
Willie Bea and the Time the Martians Landed (1983)
Halloween 1938 turns out to be unexpectedly eventful for Willie Bea and her family. By Virginia Hamilton.
Mystery
Aunt Eater’s Mystery Halloween (1998)
Aunt Eater encounters a series of spooky mysteries when she goes to a party on Halloween. Part of the Aunt Eater series.
The Egypt Game (1967)
A young girl goes to live with her grandmother and starts a game of pretend with new friends that takes on a life of its own. In the process, she almost becomes the victim of a murderer. By Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
Meg Mackintosh and The Stage Fright Secret (2004)
Meg’s mystery club is performing a mystery play at school, but a real mystery ends up taking place during the play. by Lucinda Landon.
A friend at school, Diana, is upset with what has been happening lately in her family. Could her uncle be an imposter? Part of the Trixie Belden series. Part of the story involves Diana’s Halloween party.
A girl and her friends investigate the mysterious man who moved in next door, who keeps to himself and whose face is always covered by a bandana. By Alison Cragin Herzig and Jane Lawrence Mali.
Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt (1989)
Nate is spending Halloween helping to find Rosamond’s missing cat. Part of the Nate the Great series.
The Pumpkin Head Mystery (2010)
It’s Halloween and someone is sabotaging a pumpkin patch that offers spooky hayrides! Part of the Boxcar Children series. By Gertrude Chandler Warner.
The Return of the Graveyard Ghost (2013)
A ghost is said to haunt the cemetery in Greenfield, demanding that people leave gifts at Halloween to avoid getting bad luck. Part of the Boxcar Children series. By Gertrude Chandler Warner.
Sammy Keyes and the Night of Skulls (2011)
Halloween once again becomes unexpectedly frightening when Sammy and her friends find something sinister in their treat bags. Part of the Sammy Keyes series.
Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man (1998)
A series of strange events on Halloween night point to a crime. Part of the Sammy Keyes series.
The Skeleton Key Mystery (2020)
Someone is trying to sabotage a spooky escape room around Halloween! Part of the Boxcar Children series. By Gertrude Chandler Warner.
The Sleepy Hollow Mystery
The Boxcar Children visit Sleepy Hollow at Halloween and have some frightening encounters with a headless horseman! Part of the Boxcar Children series. By Gertrude Chandler Warner.
The Spooky Sleepover (1991)
Ernie holds a sleepover for her friends shortly before Halloween, and one of them insists that her house is haunted by an old witch and her cats. Part of the Eagle-Eye Ernie series.
Susannah and the Poison Green Halloween (1982)
When two of their friends are poisoned by something they ate after trick-or-treating at an apartment house, Susannah and Lucy try to find the source of the poison and the poisoner’s motives. Part of the Susannah Higgins series.
Randall, a new boy in town whose mother is the new cemetery caretaker, asks Sarah and her friends to help him investigate the monster that he saw in the cemetery one night.
The UFO Mystery (1989)
Pedro sees a UFO through David’s telescope, and later, they spot a couple of strange creatures in the bushes outside. Have aliens come to Earth? Part of the Sherlock Street Detectives series by Mary Blount Christian.
Scary
The Halloween Tree (1972)
A group of friends tries to save their friend’s life on Halloween and learns some of the secrets behind the holiday. By Ray Bradbury.
The Red Room Riddle (1972)
Two boys in the 1920s investigate a local haunted house on a frightening Halloween night. By Scott Corbett.
Series
Blossom Culp and her friend Alexander are both psychic and have supernatural adventures in their small town during the early 1900s. One of them is set on Halloween itself and shows some of the Halloween traditions of the past. By Richard Peck.
Fantasy
A young witch meets up with trick-or-treaters on Halloween and learns about Halloween fun with her new friends. By Margaret Embry.
Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve
Part of The Magic Tree House Series. By Mary Pope Osborne.
The Little Leftover Witch
Felina the witch is accidentally stranded on Halloween night when her broom breaks and is taken in by the Doon family. At first, she is angry and afraid and doesn’t fit in with the “normal” children at the neighborhood school, but the Doons are a loving, caring, family. A year later, as Halloween approaches again, and Felina has another chance to return to the world of the witches, Felina has to decide if that’s what she really wants to do. There was a made-for-tv-movie based on this book. By Florence Laughlin.
Witch Week (1982)
In a world where witches are being burned at the stake in the 1980s, at a boarding school for troubled children and orphans, suspicions and accusations of witchcraft spread until Chrestomanci comes to set things right. By Diana Wynne Jones.
This book is part of the Chrestomanci Series. It can be read independently of the rest of the series, but it makes more sense if you read it after reading at least the first book, Charmed Life.
Series
The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids
The third grade class at Bailey Elementary keeps encountering strange adults who may actually be mythological or supernatural creatures. Their own teacher is probably a vampire. Some of the books are set on Halloween, but not all. Others just have Halloween themes because of the monsters. 1990-2007.
On her thirteenth birthday, Sarah Collins discovers that she is actually a witch and can use magic. By Megan Barnes.
Mildred Hubble is the worst witch at witch school, but sometimes, being a little different from everyone else can be a good thing. By Jill Murphy. 1974-2018.
Picture Books
Arthur’s Halloween (1982)
On Halloween, Arthur’s little sister, D.W., goes to the scariest house in the neighborhood. Can Arthur summon the courage to go and save her? Part of the Arthur Adventure series. By Marc Brown.
The Berenstain Bears Go on a Ghost Walk (2005)
Papa Bear is in charge of the Bear Country School’s Ghost Walk, but he may be going overboard on the scares! By Stan and Jan Berenstain.
The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat (1989)
Brother and Sister Bear are looking forward to trick-or-treating with their friends, but they’re nervous about the strange woman who lives down the street and might be a witch.
Clifford’s Halloween (1966)
Clifford and Emily Elizabeth celebrate Halloween and try to decide what costume Clifford should wear.
Corduroy’s Best Halloween Ever! (2001)
Corduroy needs to pick out a costume for Halloween.
Corduroy’s Halloween (1995)
Corduroy and his friends get ready for Halloween. A lift-the-flap book. By B.G. Hennessy.
Corduroy’s Trick or Treat (2002)
Corduroy and his friends have fun on Halloween.
On Halloween night, mysterious thieves dressed as pirates attempt to steal money collected to build a new dock for Cranberryport. Part of the Cranberry Books series.
Everyone Goes as a Pumpkin (1977)
Emily loses her costume on the bus before a Halloween party. Nothing else seems as good as the costume she lost, and she doesn’t want to go as something ordinary, like a pumpkin, just like everyone else. What can she do? By Judith Vigna.
The Halloween Play (1983)
A young mouse boy takes part in a school Halloween play given by his class. By Felicia Bond.
One Halloween, Jenny goes to visit Nancy, a woman who local people say is a witch, and discovers that she has a way to see fairies. When the fairies discover that Jenny can now see them too, they decide to give her the biggest Halloween scare of her life.
One Halloween night, unseen watchers observe children in costume trick-or-treating. The mother cautions her children to remain hidden because of all the strange creatures that are out and about on Halloween. By Eve Bunting.
The Spooky Halloween Party (1981)
Albert thinks that it will be easy to guess his friends’ identities at Nicky’s Halloween party, but it turns out to be harder than he thinks, and he’s in for a few scares and some big surprises before the night is over!
That Terrible Halloween Night (1980)
A grandfather tells a story to scare his grandchildren after their attempts to frighten him on Halloween fail. By James Stevenson.
The Vanishing Pumpkin (1983)
An old man and woman search for their missing pumpkin on Halloween, asking various strange creatures. By Tony Johnston, pictures by Tomie dePaola.
We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt (2001)
Two kids go on a ghost hunt and are very brave, right up to the moment when they find a ghost!
A Woggle of Witches (1971)
Witches live in a dark forest, sleeping in hammocks in trees, until it’s time for their flight on Halloween. By Adrienne Adams.
Series
Gus is a friendly ghost who lives in an old house that has been turned into a museum along with his friends, a mouse, a cat, and Mr. Frizzle, who manages the museum. By Jane Thayer.
Little Witch is a young witch in a family of witches. She is sometimes nicer than her family wishes that she would be and has adventures with her human children friends. By Deborah Hautzig. 1984-2004.
A witch who haunts an old house is horrified when someone buys it to turn it into a tearoom, but they end up becoming friends. By Wende and Harry Devlin.
Atmospheric Reads
These books are not set on Halloween, but they have the right elements to make good Halloween stories! Some of these books are also on my list of Dark Academia books.
General Fiction
Frankenstein Moved In on the Fourth Floor (1979)
Two brothers become convinced that the weird new neighbor in their apartment building is actually Frankenstein. By Elizabeth Levy, illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein.
The haunted house party the girls throw for Jilly’s un-birthday might actually be haunted! Part of the Peanut Butter and Jelly series.
Mystery
The Haunted Hotel (1989)
Laura and Bill are visiting their Uncle Joe, who is the caretaker of a large hotel in New Hampshire. The hotel is closed for the winter, but the children investigate the ghost who supposedly haunts it and may have their uncle under her spell. By Janet Adele Bloss.
The Headless Cupid (1971)
The Stanleys move into an old house that may be haunted by a poltergeist.
Midnight Magic (1999)
A servant boy has to help his master solve the frightening mystery of a ghost that haunts a young princess amid political intrigue in Medieval Italy. By Avi.
Once Upon a Dark November (1989)
When a disagreeable old woman is murdered in her neighborhood, Katie finds herself the target of a killer, dressed in a Frankenstein costume, who thinks that she knows too much. By Carol Beach York.
The Talking Table Mystery (1977)
A pair of friends discover a strange table in the basement of an aunt that once belonged to a medium who gave seances at the house. Now, someone is trying to get the diaries that were left with the table.
The Vampire Mystery (2009)
The Boxcar children are house sitting for a local author known for his novel about a vampire when it seems like the vampire might be trying to sabotage the sale of his house. Part of the Boxcar Children series. By Gertrude Chandler Warner.
A group of strangers who have recently moved into a new apartment building discover that they are the heirs of a reclusive millionaire but have to solve a puzzle in order to claim the inheritance. The mystery starts on Halloween, although most of the book isn’t about Halloween. By Ellen Raskin.
#128 The Zombie Project (2011)
The Boxcar Children are staying at a lodge with hiking trails when they see a zombie who is apparently a local legend. Part of the Boxcar Children series. By Gertrude Chandler Warner.
Series
J. Huntley English is a boy genius who also happens to believe in monsters and wants to find real ones. With his friends, he investigates strange phenomena and odd people in their small town in Pennsylvania. By Drew Stevenson.
A group of third graders investigates strange phenomena and possible ghosts, including one at their school. By Grace Maccarone. 1984-1990.
The Three Investigators Series
Three friends form a detective business, using a trailer in a salvage yard as their headquarters. A number of them involved suspected ghosts or monsters, including some unusual ones. 1964-1987, re-released 1990s.
Scary
Among the Ghosts (2010)
A girl named Noh is spending the summer with her aunt at the boarding school where she teaches. She discovers that an old, burned dormitory is haunted and that the ghosts there need her help. By Amber Benson.
The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle (2016)
An old Scottish castle is turned into a boarding school for children evacuated from London during WWII. However, strange things are happening there, and soon, children start disappearing. By Janet Fox.
The Dollhouse Murders (1983)
The dolls in an old dollhouse seem to be reenacting the unsolved murder of Amy’s grandparents years ago.
Down a Dark Hall (1974)
A young adult gothic horror novel about girls at a haunted boarding school who channel the spirits of famous people to complete their unfinished works. By Lois Duncan.
There is also a movie version of this book from 2018. The story is dark, but the movie is actually darker.
The House on Hackman’s Hill (1985)
A pair of cousins are fascinated by the story of an old house that may be inhabited by a cursed mummy and decide to try to find the mummy and claim the reward. By Joan Lowery Nixon.
Jane-Emily (1969)
A young woman takes her niece to visit her grandmother and uncovers the disturbing truth about the niece’s other aunt, Emily.
Scared Stiff (1991)
Kelly’s parents are morticians, and their family lives over the mortuary. Their work always gives Kelly the creeps, but one night, a dead body comes to life, bent on revenge against the people who sent him to prison. Katie, her brother, and a friend try to warn his potential victims while trying to avoid becoming victims themselves. By Jahnna N. Malcolm.
The Time of the Ghost (1981)
The ghost of a teenage girl struggles to remember who she is and how she died. At first, all she knows is that she is one of four sisters (she’s not completely sure which one) who live at a boarding school owned by their parents and that she was in a terrible accident of some kind. It turns out that her spirit has traveled back in time several years to her youth, when she did something that set up her accident later … and her “accident” wasn’t really an accident. Does she still have time to change things and save her own life? By Diana Wynne Jones.
Wait Till Helen Comes (1986)
Siblings Molly and Michael resent their new little stepsister, seven-year-old Heather, who is bratty and clingy with her father, their new stepfather. Heather is still troubled by the death of her mother in a fire when she was three years old. The new blended family moves to a house which is actually a converted church and has a graveyard next door. One day, when Molly explores the graveyard, she finds a small grave belonging to a seven-year-old child. Then, Heather suddenly has a new locket that she claims was given to her by her new friend, Helen. Frightening things begin happening, and Molly soon realizes that Heather’s new friend is actually a ghost, and this ghost may have sinister intentions for Heather. In order to save Heather, Molly must learn both the history of this ghost and the truth about the death of Heather’s mother. By Mary Downing Hahn.
Series
Goosebumps
Very popular collection of horror novels with a variety of monsters and ghosts. By R. L. Stine. 1992-1997.
I’m not planning to cover this series in detail because it’s so popular that it’s already been covered in detail elsewhere.
Kathy is a twelve-year-old girl who can see ghosts and sometimes gets visions through the drawings she makes. By Norma Lehr.
Lewis Barnavelt Series
Lewis Barnavelt is an orphan who lives in Michigan with his uncle, who is also a warlock. This is the series that includes The House with a Clock in Its Walls. By John Bellairs. 1973-2008.
Scary Stories Collections
The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural (1992)
There are ten short, scary stories in this book, not thirty. The author explains in the beginning that the name comes from an expression kids used when she was young. The “dark-thirty” was the last half hour of light before it became truly dark outside, and the kids had to hurry home so they wouldn’t be out after dark, when the monsters came out. The stories have African American themes. By Patricia C. McKissack.
In a Dark, Dark Room (1984)
A collection of classic scary stories based on folktales from around the world.
Series
A series of books of scary stories for children, best known for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. 1981-1991.
Fantasy
The Bell Tolls at Mousehaven Manor (1991)
Minabell Mouse and her aunt have some very strange visitors at Mousehaven Manor, including a mysterious intruder who is out to steal a secret artifact from her family’s past. The sequel to Shadow Over Mousehaven Manor. By Mary Deball Kwitz.
Moondial (1987)
A girl who is staying with a family friend discovers that the sundial of an old manor house nearby has the ability to send her back through time, where she has to help unhappy children who lived at the house in the past. By Helen Cresswell.
The book is set during summer, but there is a scary scene that takes place on a frightening Halloween in the past.
A Plague of Sorcerers and Journeyman Wizard
Jermyn Graves is studying magic, but he is an unusual wizard with a skunk for a familiar. With the help of his familiar and his teacher, he solves magical mysteries. By Mary Frances Zambreno.
The Wicked, Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House (1968)
Neighborhood mean girl Maureen is fascinated by an abandoned house where the wealthy Messerman family once lived. One day, she sneaks inside to look around and meets a leprechaun, who tells her the secret of the mysterious Messerman girls who disappeared many years ago. However, when Maureen crosses them by stealing a bracelet, she becomes trapped in the past with them. Also known as The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden. By Mary Chase.
Series
Harry Potter Series
A best-selling series about an orphan boy who discovers that he is a wizard and attends a school for wizards in Britain. As he grows up and his education as a wizard progresses and he prepares to face down the evil wizard who killed his parents, Harry learns many secrets about life, death, magic, and his own mysterious past. By J.K. Rowling. 1997-2007.
I’m not going to cover this series in more detail because it’s famous and has been covered in detail elsewhere.
Picture Books
Arthur’s Halloween (1982)
On Halloween, Arthur’s little sister, D.W., goes to the scariest house in the neighborhood. Can Arthur summon the courage to go and save her? By Marc Brown.
Heckedy Peg (1987)
A witch steals away children while their mother is at the market, and the mother must correctly guess what types of food the witch has turned them into in order to save them.
The Mysterious Horseman: An Adventure in Prairietown, 1836 (1994)
A pair of boys living in a small Midwestern town in the 1830s hear rumors of a mysterious, frightening horseman. By Kate Waters.
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
This is a cute picture book based on word and sound repetition. A brave lady ventures out into the woods one day, and as she makes her way home again when it gets dark, she begins to encounter some strange things. By Linda Williams.
This is a cute picture book/puzzle book. A pair of twins, Ella and Emily, are invited to a friend’s costume party, but they come dressed as witches in identical (or nearly identical) costumes. Using provided clues, readers are invited to figure out which twin is which. By Pat Hutchins.
Series
A spooky little series of stories about different children and the monster stories they invent and tell each other. It’s fun to be scared! By Rose Impey.
Halloween Non-Fiction
Count Draculations!: Monster Riddles (1986)
Joke book with monster and Halloween-themed jokes.
Ghosts, Witches, and Things Like That (1984)
Children’s book about Halloween and folklore and related games, crafts, recipes, and poems.
Halloween Cookbook (1977)
A cookbook for children with Halloween, fall, and harvest-themed recipes.
How to Haunt a House for Halloween
This book was written by a magician to provide tips for setting up a haunted house for a party, either in your house with friends or in a more public setting, like a school, camp, or church party or carnival.
The Little Witch’s Halloween Book (1975)
Halloween-themed crafts, games, and party ideas. Part of the Little Witch Craft Books series. Available on Internet Archive.
Monster Manual (1989, 1994)
An encyclopedia of monsters and other creatures from folklore, literature, and movies. Originally written in German. The second date listed is for the English translation.
The Spookster’s Handbook (1989)
A fun kids’ book of jokes and tricks for Halloween or just having some spooky fun with friends
Other Resources
17 Books to Get Readers in the Halloween Spirit
From the School Library Journal.
The 24 Best (and Only a Little Spooky) Halloween Books For Kids
Picture books and chapter books that would be appropriate for Halloween. Scariness level varies somewhat, but they are generally only mildly spooky.
30+ Fun Halloween Books for Kids Who Don’t Like to Be Scared
For kids from PreK through 5th Grade. From Scholastic.
This is a list of more than 300 Halloween-themed picture books from Goodreads. If you’re looking for one that’s not on my site, it may be here.
Top 20 Halloween Books for Young Children
From Chronicles of a Momtessorian.
Truly Terrifying Books for Fearless Middle Grade Readers
From Book Riot.
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 