The Best Scary Stories for Kids
I grew up on R.L Stein’s Goosebumps, and for a long time they were the only books I was reading. I absolutely loved them, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that they are a big reason I grew up to love scary books and scary movies, and even Halloween itself.
Scary stories meant so much to my childhood that I knew I wanted to share them with my kids. In fact, it was one of the main things I looked forward to doing with my kids when I became a dad almost 10 years ago. I wanted to show them Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and I wanted to pull out every single scary book I could find in my parents’ attic.
Among the many treasures I found up in my parents’ attic were the real scary classics of children’s literature. I’m talking about Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, In a Dark, Dark Room, and, of course, Goosebumps. When I pulled down those boxes of books, many memories came flooding back to me. And my most vivid memories were tied to the scary books.
And there were lots of personal spooky favorites in there - and perhaps most notable among these were Bruce Coville’s collections of scary stories. I was absolutely crazy about all of them, and they were terrifying. And another collection I’ll mention is Garfield’s Scary Tales. It’s out of print, but absolutely worth picking up used. It’s been an absolute pleasure sharing all those with the kids.
And throughout the last 10 years, we’ve also collected some new favorites - especially in the last few years. Our oldest is now 9, so we’re really getting to that point where we can really push the spookiness factor up into the middle grade level of scary. Unfortunately scary literature for kids doesn’t seem to be a priority for many publishers, but we treasure the books that get through the process and there are some truly amazing ones.
My hat is off to all of the authors out there that understand the importance of legitimately scary stories for kids. Some kids love to be scared. And if they’re anything like me, those books will be the most memorable books of their entire childhood. In some ways, they might be some of the most significant memories of their childhood - period.
I caution you, however. Although these scary story collections were all written with a young audience in mind, they run the gamut from very young scares to very spooky stuff intended for older kids. Even I am quite impressed with the originality and spookiness of these stories, and would happily read them without my kids. In other words, you might want to read them yourself first and decide if they will be nightmare-inducing for your kiddos!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. These links will lead you to view the books' listings on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org.
The Best Scary Story Collections for Kids
In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories
Collected by Alvin Schwartz and Illustrated by Victor Rivas (previously Dirk Zimmer)
Alvin Schwartz is the undisputed king of collecting spooky stories for kids. He’s like a modern day Brothers Grimm collecting folk tales. And there are 3 books of his on this list because of it. And, odds are, you’ll probably recognize all of them.
There’s even a good chance that In a Dark, Dark Room was your first scary picture book you’ve ever owned. It’s an “I Can Read!” book and it’s probably been sold millions of times. It features classics like “The Green Ribbon” - where the wife always has a ribbon tied around her neck - and, of course, In a Dark, Dark Room itself. Our son also absolutely loved it when you shout “A GHOST!”
Ghosts!: Ghostly Tales from Folklore
Collected by Alvin Schwartz and Illustrated by Victoria Chess
Out of the 3 Alvin Schwartz books on this list, Ghosts! might be the least known. But I can still picture it sitting on the shelves at Scholastic book fairs, and if you’re reading this list I’m still thinking there’s a good chance you or someone you knew owned this book. It’s very much like a continuation of In a Dark, Dark Room.
The artwork of Victoria Chess is seared into my memory, and something about the eyes of everyone in this book is just spooky in and of itself. It’s really creepy stuff. It features famous stories like The Haunted House and The Umbrella - and even one about a ghost cat for you cat lovers.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Collected by Alvin Schwartz and Illustrated by Brett Helquist
This is the big one. The world famous collection of scary stories that was turned into a major motion picture recently. You can probably picture the creepy original cover with the weird giant head smoking a pipe - although the cover often changes these days. That book was and still is found in almost every classroom out there - and it’s the ultimate antidote for reluctant readers everywhere. Plus, there are actually two other books in the series that aren’t as well known, but you can buy them all together in one single book now.
There are many amazing, classic scary stories in this book, but my personal favorites are The Hook and The Babysitter. They are both known by almost everyone, but there still needs to be a first time for every kid to hear them of course. When they find that hook on the doorknob of the car, and when the operator calls and says the calls are coming from inside the house - those are some of the best moments in scary story history.
A World Full of Spooky Stories: 50 Tales to Make Your Spine Tingle
Written by Angela McAllister and Illustrated by Madalina Andronic
This book is actually a part of a truly beautiful picture book series - the “A World Full of” series. They feature stories from all over the world and are paired with wonderful quirky art that is right up our alley. All of the books in the series are really high quality and made to look very handsome side by side as well.
But out of the entire series the spooky stories book is undoubtedly my favorite, as I’m sure you could have guessed. There are scary stories from Iceland, Chile, Tibet, Alaska and more. And you’ll even find some classics like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Little Red Riding Hood. But my favorite ones are definitely the obscure spooky tales from the other side of the world that I’ve never heard before.
Scary Stories (aka Four Scary Stories)
Written by Tony Johnston and Illustrated by Tomie dePaola
I’m not going to lie, I hadn’t heard of this book until this year when it was reprinted. It simply doesn’t ring a bell from my childhood, which is quite surprising, because I’m a big fan of scary stories and Tomie dePaola. How can you argue with a combination like that? So even though it’s just a reprinting, I think I might cheat and include it on this year’s Halloween list.
One thing to keep in mind about this picture book is that it’s much shorter than the other books on this list, and also much less scary. In fact, it’s by far the tamest book on the spooky scale that you’ll find in this article. But I thought I should include at least one option for the youngest out there, just in case the true spookiness of the others scare you away!
An imp, a goblin, and a scalawag get together to tell each other scary stories - but they won’t really be giving anyone nightmares. I included it on this list because of the fantastic art from one of the all-time greats, and for the nice classic spooky storytelling structure and Halloweeny atmosphere.
Only If You Dare: 13 Stories of Darkness and Doom
Written by Josh Allen and Illustrated by Sarah J. Coleman
Now the list is officially taking it up a notch. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum you’ll find Only If You Dare. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with the original short stories in this book from Josh Allen. The target audience might be middle grade or older, but my 9-year-old and I like to read them together. But, trust me, I need to read them first to decide if they’re too spooky for him.
The very first story in the book is the perfect example of the quality of this collection. It tells the tale of Them - ancient creatures that walk among us and look exactly like us. And they steal years from your life just by touching you. It’s truly original and incredibly spooky - and the delivery and the twist is just so well-executed. It’s spine-tingling and it lingers.
And if you really enjoy it, make sure to check out the other collection from the same duo for more of the same - Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe.
Half-Minute Horrors
Written by Lemony Snicket, Neil Gaiman, et al.
This concept of this book is so cool. Famous authors were asked to submit scary stories - but only incredibly short scary stories. Hence the “half-minute” title. I’m quite certain that the longest story in the book takes up only two pages - and most of the stories only take up one. Some are even just a few lines long! Just how economically can these authors scare you?
By quite a long shot my favorite entry in this book is by one of our favorite author/illustrators - Jon Klassen. He submitted a scary picture - which manages to tell an entire scary story with the use of just a few labels on the picture. It’s spectacular. It takes a moment to piece it together, which is part of the experience. But, once you do, it’s extremely haunting and impressive.
Once again, make sure to read these before your kids! There are some legitimately creepy stories in here that might give nightmares. Lemony Snicket’s opener in particular is surprisingly very scary.
Hide and Don’t Seek and Other Very Scary Stories
Written by Anica Mrose Rissi
This is a newer collection of short stories that came out in 2021, and the author said she had 9-12 year olds in mind when she wrote it. Which is of course perfect for us at the moment - and also means the stories can be pretty creepy. You might be able to tell from the cover that this book won’t shy away from trying to scare you and the kids.
One thing I really like about this book is that it shows off a lot of originality. And not just with the storytelling, but with the structure of the stories themselves. For instance, you’ll find both an epistolary scary story as well as a story written entirely in text messages. And that text message story might be one of my very favorites, because it certainly has that ability to linger with you afterwards. All in all, this is exactly the type of scary project for kids that I wish more publishers would green light.
Bruce Coville’s Book of Nightmares: Tales to Make You Scream
Featuring multiple authors
Other than Goosebumps, it was Bruce Coville’s many collections of scary stories that provided me with the most consistent frights growing up. There are tons of these books. Book of Ghosts, Book of Monsters, Book of Aliens - and multiple sequels to each. All of them generally feature one story from Bruce Coville himself, and the rest from other talented authors.
I chose the Book of Nightmares as the one to highlight in particular on this list, because it has one of my favorite scary stories of all time in it. The story that’s stayed with me my entire life. It’s written by the talented Jane Yolen and it’s called The Baby-Sitter. It tells the tale of a babysitter in an old, creepy house, and there’s a terrifying break-in. It’s an amazing combination of real-life and supernatural horror - and with a tinge of nostalgia I consider it my favorite scary story I’ve ever read.
Even though they’re out of print, I highly recommend trying to gather every single one of them up through eBay or Thriftbooks.com.
Gris Grimly's Tales from the Brothers Grimm
Collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and Illustrated by Gris Grimly
One wonderful memory of being read to as a child comes from The Brothers Grimm, which my dad would read to me occasionally. The story I would repeatedly ask for was “The Tale of the Boy Who Set Forth to Learn How to Shiver and Shake.” In that story is a boy that doesn’t know what it means to be scared, and he has to stay the night in a haunted house for three nights. And I’m very happy to say that it’s in this particular collection that’s illustrated by the highly-talented, master of the macabre Gris Grimly.
Gris Grimly is THE illustrator for scary stories for kids. The picture books that he’s worked on are incredibly creepy in the most perfect way - including The Dangerous Alphabet and 10 Spooky Pumpkins. He’s clearly a big fan of scary things and Halloween, and that certainly endears him to us quite a bit! He’s also worked on illustrating classics like Frankenstein and tales from Edgar Allen Poe. And his version of The Brothers Grimm is most certainly the one that comes with my biggest recommendation. It’s a truly beautiful, spooky book.
For more spooky ideas, make sure to check out our list of the best scary picture books for kids!
Do you agree with our spooky stories list? Did we miss your favorite collection? Let us know in the comments!
