Mystery, zombies and mummies. Spooky stories are not a genre you see promoted too often and yet there are heaps of great thrilling and mysterious books for kids.
Not every child wants to read about fluffy ducks, magical lands or fun facts. Some kids want to sink their teeth into a story that offers suspense, wickedness and is a little bit spooky. Here are a few creepy and mysterious books for kids that fit the bill.
My Dead Bunny
- Written by Sigi Cohen and James Foley
A tale of a zombie rabbit and how he came to be that way. The story of My Dead Bunny is a tad creepy, yet a little bit fun. This book captivates younger children through eye-catching illustrations, rhyming sentences and a plot that sucks you in as the characters get themselves deeper into trouble.
“My dead bunny’s name is Brad;
His odour is extremely bad.
He visits me when I’m in bed,
But Bradley wasn’t always dead…”
Ages: I would say this story is suitable for ages 5+.
Thoughts: This is a great read for kids who love stories that are a little bit quirky, a little bit gross and a lot funny.
Bab Sharkey and the Animal Mummies: The Giant Moth Mummy
- Written by Andrew Hansen and Jessica Roberts
Boy-Pharaoh Bab Sharkey returns to the magic city of the Animal Mummies with this hilarious sequel in the Bab Sharkey and the Animal Mummies series. This time, Bab faces the grossest weapon ever devised – a giant mummified moth possessed by the spirit of the Unpharaoh herself! Can Bab and his smelly friends defeat this ancient evil?
Flick to the back of the book and you will find ‘The Mummy Files’. Get to know each character through the information displayed on their profile – name, age, likes/dislikes, favourite food (low-carb dust salad for example), education, job and more.
Ages: 8+
Pages: 246
Thoughts: Bab Sharkey and the Animal Mummies: The Giant Moth Mummy is a great read for kids that love action packed stories and a few laughs. If your child has an interest in Egypt, they will be eager to learn more after reading about animal mummies and other weird stuff.
Scared To Death
- Written by Anthony Horowitz
Scared to Death is a wickedly funny and bold collection of horror stories for fearless readers. From man-eating massage chairs to terrifying train rides, this collection of ten nightmarish and fiendishly funny short stories will captivate young readers looking for twisted tales, horror and mischievous fun!
Ages: 9+
Pages: 304
Thoughts: Scared to Death is guaranteed to make your blood curdle and your spine tingle. These frightening short stories are the perfect length for kids who want a gripping read but aren’t interested in reading long novels.
The Turnkey
- Written by Allison Rushby
Flossie is the Turnkey at London’s Highgate Cemetery. As Turnkey, Flossie must ensure all the souls in the cemetery stay at rest. This is a difficult job at the best of times for a twelve-year-old ghost, but when Flossie encounters the ghost of a German soldier carrying a mysterious object, she becomes suspicious. What is he up to?
Before long, Flossie uncovers a sinister plot that could result in the destruction of not only her cemetery but also her beloved country. Can Flossie stop him before it is too late?
Ages: 9+
Pages: 256
Thoughts: The Turnkey is a thrilling ghost story full of history, adventure and mystery. It is perfect for kids that enjoy supernatural plots.
If you are looking for some spooky and mysterious books for kids, check out these titles. They will have your child gripping the edge of their seat with intrigue!
2x WINNERS!!
Each prize includes: 1x Scared to Death (RRP $16.99), 1x Bab Sharkey and the Animal Mummies (RRP $14.99), 1x My Dead Bunny (RRP $14.99). Each prize RRP $46.97. Total prize pool: $93.94
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All opinions are our own.
My fearless child is crazy
He doesn’t seem to mind
About bats, ghosts and dragons
Or things that go bump in the night
He jumps off the highest heights
He climbs the tallest trees
He doesn’t even get a fright
When he sees a buzzing bee!
My favourite would be Freddy Krueger – scares me everytime I see the movie. My son is not quite at the age to start enjoying horror films.
My grandson loves a good ghost story he would hours of fun reading these books. Thank you for the chance at such an amazing prize especially with the Christmas holidays coming up.
More kids need to read books, a great giveaway to encourage this.
My 9yo fav scary character would be Slappy the Dummy from Goosebumps series because Slappy is scary with his creepy face and voice
Father Christmas, as its always a MYSTERY to my daughter as to what he gets up to and what he will bring her!
I am petrified of snakes!! My son is petrified of spiders so hubby often has to help with our creepy crawlies!
Reading the Harry Potter first couple of books with my eldest son, I remember he always though Headless Nick was quite a funny supposedly scary character. These look like fun books for the kids, youngest and middle son would love them.
we all loved the Goosebumps Series it was a nightly tradition we all jumped into bed and read a book
My boys are into all things vampire and zombie! The more guts and slime, the better! Lol
My son has a fascination with ghost books, he’s not scared more intrigued about them.
My daughter loves witches and will often dress up as one when she reads a book about them.
My girls love reading about vampires, they think they’re amazing and exciting.
Casper is a friendly ghost,
as is nearly-headless Nick.
for Halloween as the host,
a simple sheet does the trick!
My son is fearless. He isn’t scared of anything. Me on the otherhand am terrified of clowns and balloons.
Samara McRae
My oldest loves goosebumps and the scariest of them all Slappy is her favorite as she runs in fear but loves it!!
Ghosts on paw pateol definitely had them a bit spooked
My son loves the Zombie Truck out of the Monster Truck book because his headlights glow green, he’s dripping in diesel, he’s cranky and mean!
We all have a fear of clowns ?
I tell stories to my grand children about the angry thunder and lighting that gets angry sometimes if he gets to full of rain and needs to get rid of it.
Ghost. Mainly because of the number of sheets available at my house for dressups.
I firmly believe all children should be encouraged to read…..books like these make it easier for the have appeal…..and I have a young grandson in mind who would be over the moon with these
I like the kind of characters that aren’t explicitly scary but use your imagination through the descriptions to show you, not tell you, just how scary and spooky they can be.
Vampires have always intrigued me! Even though I’m far from being a young adult I love to read the young adult books that feature him,
My son loves Pokémon! His favourite is Gastly that involves into Haunter and then into Gangar!
HAIRY SCARY MCLARY, THESE BOOKS ARE GREAT.MY SON LOVES THIS SERIES AND SCARES HIM BUT WITH HUMOUR
Clowns are the things that scare me the most
The kids love Alien. I can’t bear to watch anything spooky but they aren’t scared of anything (even me).
Goosebumps are his favourite he has a good collection of them
My son loves spooky characters that are not realistic,
Like werewolves and vampires they are his pick,
He knows there’s no such thing,
So after finishing reading,
He heads off to bed,
Knowing that nothing bad is going to be in his head.
Ghosts because he swears he has seen one!
dinosaur robots – they are just weird and freaky and can do really weird mysterious stuff lol 🙂
My daughter’s favourite “scary” characters at the moment are the spirits that she feels around her. I am constantly being told to do a sage cleansing whenever she feels icky
If its weird it has be,
Something that the kids can’t see.
Goblins, Ghosts and Aliens too,
It gets them buzzing yelling out Boo!
Vampires, Zombies, they love them all,
Pretending to be one, having a ball.
The scariest thing is the old lady that lives under the bed with red fingernails.The only way to get into bed is run and jump…dont know what she does the rest of the time but by jumping she cant grab your ankles.Who feeds her, why does mum let her live there, where does she go to the bathroom and why my bed and no one elses…thats the scariest part…she wants me!
Frankenstein – he is so scary looking and of course, little boys are so mesmerised with all things creepy and scary!
Chucky from the Childs Play series,because Chucky comes out to play with Elf at Christmas time, in a love/hate kinda relationship way.
Harry Potter of course. Mysterious, brave, amazing.
Reading is a big thing in my house and a scary book or two are always a big thing in my house. Scary nights!
At the moment ‘Momo’ is a thing in our household. My kids don’t go online much at home so they’re picking up popular memes from school.
My daughter likes zombies, when she creates her own stories, just out of no where zombies always appear.
My kids love zombies because they love walking around doing the ‘zombie walk’!
Can’t go past the Big Bad Banksia Men! Terrrified me as a child, and pretty creepy still!
My kids love Frankenstein because although he’s so ugly they think he’s impossibly cute!!
Freddy Kreuger gave me nightmares for years!
His own creepy creation – a monstrous child who causes mayhem wherever she goes. My 11-year-old son has written her into short stories for ages and recently completed a novel about her terrible adventures!