Fast Five Fiction: Not-so-spooky chapter books

It's Friday and time for Fast Five Fiction! Each week I share five fiction books: new books, notable books, books around a common theme. As we get closer to Halloween, our spooky books have been flying off our shelves! This week I've got some spooky - but not too spooky books for middle grade readers. 

Click the title to be directed to the book in our catalog. Book descriptions are from Goodreads. 

Stinetinglers by R.L. Stine

A boy who hates bugs starts to see them everywhere. A basketball player’s skin starts to almost drip off his hands―but no one else can see it. Three friends find a hole in the ground that just gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger... And each story is introduced by Stine himself, providing a personal touch sure to delight fans.

Laced with Stine’s signature humor and a hefty dose of nightmarish fun, Stinetinglers is perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Stine’s own Goosebumps books. These chilling tales prove that Stine’s epic legacy in the horror genre is justly earned. Dive in, and beware: you might be sleeping with the lights on tonight!

The Cursed Moon by Angela Cervantes

One two, the Caretaker’s coming for you. Three-four, you’ll breathe no more. Five-six, you’ll float like sticks. Seven, eight, you’ll meet your fate.

 
Rafael Fuentes isn’t easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa’s incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach.

 
To take his mind off his mom’s return, Rafa spends an evening crafting the scariest ghost story he’s ever told. As an eerie blood moon hangs in the sky, Rafa tells a group of friends about The Caretaker. The Caretaker is an evil ghost who lures unsuspecting kids into the neighborhood pond. . . and they don’t ever come out. Rafa is really proud of his latest creation, until strange things start to happen around him. With a sinking feeling, Rafa realizes the Caretaker is real. Rafa has brought the ghost to life―and only he can stop him.

Tales to Keep you Up at Night by Dan Poblocki

Amelia is cleaning out her grandmother's attic when she stumbles across a book: Tales to Keep You Up at Night. But when she goes to the library to return it, she's told that the book never belonged there. Curious, she starts to read the stories: tales of strange incidents in nearby towns, of journal entries chronicling endless, twisting pumpkin vines, birthday parties gone awry, and cursed tarot decks. And at the center of the stories lies a family of witches. And witches, she's told, can look like anyone...

As elements from the stories begin to come to life around her, and their eerie connections become clear, Amelia begins to realize that she may be in a spooky story of her own...

With hair-raising, spine-chilling prose, Dan Poblocki delivers a collection of interconnected stories that, if you're anything like Amelia, is sure to keep you up late in the night.

The Stars Did Wander Darkling by Colin Meloy

A suspenseful and atmospheric horror set in 1980s Oregon, perfect for fans of Stranger Things, Neil Gaiman, and Margaret Peterson Haddix, from New York Times bestselling author and the Decemberists' lead singer/songwriter, Colin Meloy.

Maybe Archie Coomes has been watching too many horror movies.

All of a sudden, the most ordinary things have taken on a sinister edge: a penny on a doormat. An odd man in a brown suit under a streetlamp. The persistent sound of an ax chopping in the middle of the night.

He keeps telling himself that this is Seaham, a sleepy seaside town where nothing ever happens. Or at least nothing did, until his dad's construction company opened up the cliff beneath the old--some say cursed--Langdon place.

Soon, though, he and his friends can't deny it: more and more of the adults in town are acting strangely. An ancient, long-buried evil has been unleashed upon the community, and it's up to the kids to stop it before it's too late. . . .

Disney Chills series by Vera Strange

Disney Chills is a  middle-grade anthology horror series in the vein of Goosebumps. Each book in the series focuses on a child making a deal with a Disney Villain, such as Ursula, Dr. Facilier, or Captain Hook, and the terrible price they pay for having their wishes granted.

The books feature moral lessons on social issues kids face, including popularity versus true friendship and not compromising yourself to fit in, and how making supernatural deals isn't the way to go. 

Happy Friday and happy reading!