Spooky Holiday Reads

What better time of year than the dark of winter to pick up a great spooky read? I asked a few of my fellow #SpookyMG authors from spookymiddlegrade.com to recommend spooky books that are great to read during the holiday season. Here's what they said:

JAN ELDREDGE, author of EVANGELINE OF THE BAYOU:
"If you’re looking for a fun, spooky, action-packed read for the holidays, you’ll want to check out Jonathan Rosen’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING CUDDLE BUNNIES, in which twelve-year-old Devin Dexter must wage battle against the season’s hottest new toy that ends up going bad. Very, very bad.

"If you’re a fan of mildly-spooky mysteries, you’ll enjoy GREENGLASS HOUSE by Kate Milford. Set in the quirky Greenglass Inn during a very snowy Christmas, it’s a tale filled with legends, secrets, and strange ghostly happenings."

DAVID NEILSEN, author of DR. FELL AND THE PLAYGROUND OF DOOM:

"During this season of giving, Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom is the perfect Holiday story. It is the story of an unexpected gift--a brand new playground--and the pandemonium the gift unleashes upon the children of the neighborhood.

"The commercialization of December has drummed into our heads the need for more, more, more! We want gifts, more gifts, and even more gifts! But not all gifts are created equal. Dr. Fell is a morality tale of the danger of just accepting each and every gift flung your way. There is a price for everything, even things which appear to be free.

"So this Holiday season, give your children the one gift that serves as both a glorious present and a life lesson. Give them Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom. :)"

KIM VENTRELLA, author of SKELETON TREE and BONE HOLLOW:

This holiday season, I'd like to recommend two of my favorite spooky reads. First, THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE by Joan Aiken. It features a grand old house set in a remote wintry wood, man-eating wolves, an evil governess, a mysterious stranger, a cruel orphanage owner and three plucky children who struggle to outwit them all. I love the book so much, I even made a video about it! Watch it on the #SpookyMG YouTube Channel

Another all-time favorite of mine is CLOCKWORK by master storyteller Philip Pullman. This book features a storyteller weaving tales in a tavern on a wintry night, characters that come to life, a bargain with an evil doctor, a boy made from clockwork, a killer knight, murder and true love. Truly, a masterpiece of storytelling that unravels like clockwork.