5 spine-tingling horror books for children

A good scare can make us feel more alive than ever. It clears the sinuses and sharpens the senses. 

Some of us look for scares out there in the real world – a bungee jump maybe, or a rickety roller-coaster flying around the track. 

Others, like me, look for their scares in the pages of a book. For us there’s an excitement about horror stories that’s hard to resist, even though we often end up with the unsettling sense that there’s something hiding under the bed, or lying in wait at the bottom of the swimming pool. But there isn’t… is there?

Here are some horror stories to keep you up at night. 

With its line-up of thirteen spine-tingling stories – each from a different author–this book gives you every horror you could wish for. If you dare to open the pages, you’ll find yourself in a world of ghosts, possessed carpets, werewolves, lake monsters, flesh-eating aliens, and more. There’s something here for every horror fan. 

When Darren visits the Cirque du Freak, he is mesmerised by one performance in particular – the intelligent, venomous spider Madam Octa and her master, Mr Crepsley. Darren becomes obsessed with the spider and makes plans to steal her for himself. But caring for Madam Octa is not easy and Darren soon comes face to face with Mr Crepsley, who reveals himself to be a terrible creature of the night. The first book in a weird series that will make your skin crawl. 

Alex has decided that Shiver Point is the most boring place on earth, until one night he spots a strange light falling to earth. Intrigued, he goes to investigate. Out in the woods, he meets four other curious kids and together they realise that something terrible has come to Shiver Point. Can the gang stop the bloodthirsty body snatchers that are invading their town? The best kind of creepy sci-fi horror. 

An American-style summer camp in the grounds of an English stately home, teenage instructors, rumours of a past tragedy, and ghostly sightings. What could possibly go wrong? Before the camp is even open, the instructors start disappearing one by one. Welcome to Camp Killer is like reading a slasher film, with gruesome deaths lurking in every shadow. Definitely one for teens. 

At over a thousand years old, Beowulf might be the oldest horror story written in the English language. It tells of a Scandinavian hero called Beowulf, going to the aid of King Hrothgar who is being terrorised by a man-eating monster called Grendel. Grendel is a fearsome, brutal creature, with a mother who is twice as terrible. There are many retellings of this story suitable for young readers, but I’ve chosen this one for its super-readable format and its brilliant illustrations. 

The Crooked Oak Mysteries series by Dan Smith is out now.