Favourite horror books for older children

Interspersed with black-and-white illustrations to complement the super readable text, this masterclass in storytelling from a distinguished author is fascinating, entertaining and just creepy enough to leave readers feeling a little bit uneasy.

Mallory Vayle makes a bizarre pact with a 500-year-old skull: help to free her parents’ ghosts from an evil spirit in exchange for a blonde wig and the lifting of an ancient curse. A scream of a comic horror story. 

Real witches disguise themselves as lovely ladies, when secretly they want to squish and squelch all the wretched children they despise.

A young werewolf who has been adopted by a vampire is chosen to go on a quest for the Midnight Treasure. Scary and funny. 

As the fear and dread build up in this tense thriller, a group of misfits is forced to work as a team to defeat the most terrifying of hidden attackers. Not for the faint-hearted, this edge-of-seat horror is hard to put down, with many chapters ending on a cliff-hanger.

A short, snappy rollercoaster of a horror story with a skilful build-up of tension from ​‘This sleepy town is so bland, nothing ever happens here’ to ​‘Aargh, we’re all going to die!’.

Set in a 1980s boarding school, a clever plot takes the atmosphere in this tense ghost story from intriguing to quite creepy then through spine-tingling to moments of complete terror.  

When Aveline finds a book about local ghosts in a second-hand bookshop, she is intrigued to learn that it once belonged to 11-year-old Primrose Penberthy, who mysteriously disappeared thirty years earlier. As Aveline is drawn deeper into the tales, events take an unsettling turn. This chilling chapter book is the first in a compelling series of ghostly mysteries for confident junior readers.

When Nancy mentions that her mum and dad are acting strangely, her friends Pete and Krish are keen to find out more – especially as other people in their village are starting to display similar behaviour. Fast-paced and sinister, this compelling science fiction adventure will have readers on the edge of their seats.

Birth of a Killer is the first book in a new series that form a prequel to the best-selling sequence The Saga of Darren Shan.

The nine tales are contained within an other tale, each as delightfully horrible as the next, and perfect for dark winter nights, to be read out loud or to oneself.

Best known for his sarcastic djinni creation Bartimaeus, Stroud returns with an equally engaging new series, this time following a young set of ghost hunters

This black comedy has a highly visual, cinematic feel. It is wildly imaginative and rich in description, comedy gore and elaborate use of language, but a little light on plot. Contains strong language and graphic violence. 

When the sickness came, the adults became ill. The lucky ones died but many mutated into brainless, deformed monsters with a seemingly insatiable appetite – for children.

A scintillating selection of supremely scary tales from 11 well-known children’s authors

Each month, when there’s a full moon, the adults of Tremorglade transform into werewolves and the children must lock them away until they return to their human form. However, a series of escapes puts the whole town at risk. A gripping teenage horror, with just the right balance of gore, tension and humour.