What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

963 views
► Suggest books for me > Ghost Stories

Comments Showing 1-28 of 28 (28 new)    post a comment »
dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by [deleted user] (new)

I love ghost stories! But I'm new to them. I'd like some collection recommendations. I've read Road Dahl's collection and absolutely loved it! My favorite story is Harry. I need something that's appropriate, so Teen/YA. Nothing SUPER SUPER scary, but something that gives you chills. Thank you in advance!!! ;)


message 2: by Kate (new)

Kate Farrell | 4040 comments Mod
The Ghost of Opalina by Peggy Bacon is an amusing read from the 1960s. It may be younger than young adult.

A couple of my favourite ghost books are The River at Green Knowe and The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston. Again, they might be at the younger edge of young adult.

Some of Stephen King's books would be appropriate for Teen/YA. Some get pretty gory with sexual overtones, so you have to vet them first. One of them is The Talisman. It's been a long time since I read it, but I think it fits your category.


message 3: by inaword (new)

inaword | 149 comments Ghostly Tales of Love and Revenge
Haunted Animals: True Ghost Stories
Haunted Teachers: True Ghost Stories

I think these might be aimed more at a younger audience, but they've always entertained me no matter how old I was (and Ghostly Tales can be really creepy at times).


message 4: by Nairabell (new)

Nairabell | 76 comments How about Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1) by Kendare Blake ? It's a little gory (not really graphic just moments that make you go ewwwww) at times but definitely a YA.


message 5: by Kathy (new)

Kathy (kftate) | 12 comments How about Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle or The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley ? I enjoyed them both.


message 6: by Erika (new)

Erika (escilas) | 43 comments I'm a real fan of the "The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles" saga.
Here's the first book of the series:
Revenge of the Witch


message 7: by Natalie (new)

Natalie | 149 comments I got an ARC of Picture the Dead that I haven't yet read, but sounds intriguing.


message 8: by Kim BookGirl (new)

Kim BookGirl I haven't read it, but I have been told The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde is very good. Perhaps a book shop or library could advise what age group it is for. Also Edgar Allen Poe might be appropriate too. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill is very good and might also be ok.


message 9: by Eden (new)

Eden Silverfox (tsalagi_writer) | 23 comments Half-Minute Horrors is pretty good. Recently I read The Chilling Hour: Tales of the Real and Unreal and really liked the stories in it.


message 10: by Gene (last edited Oct 20, 2012 10:46PM) (new)


message 11: by Andria (last edited Nov 30, 2012 07:31AM) (new)

Andria (airdna) | 2499 comments Mod
The Ghost of Graylock

Bad Girls Don't Die (has sequels)

oh, wait, those are novels. I just realized you were asking for collections of stories....

How about Here There Be Ghosts

Cat in Glass and Other Tales of the Unnatural

Gothic!: Ten Original Dark Tales


message 12: by Deborah (new)

Deborah | 179 comments One of my favorite ghost story is Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story

I will also second The Woman in Black I've started reading more of Susan Hill's books because of this.


message 13: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (new)

Lobstergirl | 44938 comments Mod
Kim wrote: "I haven't read it, but I have been told The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde is very good. Perhaps a book shop or library could advise what age group it is for. Also Edgar Allen Poe might be appro..."

The Canterville Ghost is appropriate for older children and adults. I don't think there's anything super scary in it, but there's a level of literary sophistication and allusion that would go over the heads of kids younger than 10-12. And probably over the heads of kids older than that too. It's as much a comical story as a ghost story.


message 14: by Amanda (new)

Amanda (krystalamanda) | 23 comments Wait Till Helen Comes A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
also i really recommend you read the "Wicked Dead" series by Stefan Petrucha (might be spelling his last name wrong)


message 15: by Cathy (last edited Feb 06, 2013 04:12PM) (new)

Cathy | 111 comments Anthologies can be really fun for that, and a good way to find more authors you might like:

Hauntings Tales of the Supernatural by Henry Mazzeo

Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful Nine Cool Stories About Haunted Houses and Ghosts for Boys and Girls by Alfred Hitchcock

I second Wait Till Helen Comes, plus everything else by Mary Downing Hahn.

Also, my own childhood favorite (plenty spooky, well-written enough for young adult) : The House with a Clock in Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt, #1) by John Bellairs

These are newer stories, all with a haunted-house theme, pretty shivery:

Haunted Houses


message 17: by Carly (new)

Carly (queen_of_darkness) | 23 comments Check out the mamoth book of ghost stories, they publish a lot of anthologies, that are worth reading. The woman in black is supposed to be good as well.


message 18: by Stephanie (new)

Stephanie Rector Henderson | 6 comments I really enjoyed Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror. This is a three book series. Very spooky, but geared more towards Older children/young adults.


message 19: by Feliks (last edited Mar 14, 2013 07:45AM) (new)

Feliks (dzerzhinsky) I don't know how to recommend a Young Adult book to anyone. To me, if you can read at all, why not read the most robust novels you can get your hands on? Why go for some kind of 'light read'? In 3rd grade I was carrying around Joseph Wambaugh paperbacks. Do young adult novels only feature teenage characters? Something like that?


message 20: by Margaret (new)

Margaret Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James is one I discovered during a college course on the supernatural in literature. Genuinely creepy stuff and very well written.


message 21: by Pamela (new)

Pamela Love | 1517 comments Manley Wade Wellman's stories about Silver John are excellent and have just the right level of creepiness. Some of them are ghost stories, others feature supernatural beings of one form or another. They've been republished recently in a book called Who Fears the Devil? They're also in an older paperback called John the Balladeer.


message 22: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (last edited Mar 15, 2013 07:49PM) (new)

Lobstergirl | 44938 comments Mod
Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (Modern Library Giant)



A high quality anthology of scary tales.

This was given to me by my parents when I was about 12. Therefore, perfectly suited for YA, or adults.


message 23: by Rachel (new)

Rachel Harry | 34 comments The woman in white by Peter Straub. The woman in black by Susan Hill. No pun intended. A Youth book, but really good, Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown.


message 24: by Beverly (new)

Beverly (bjbixlerhotmailcom) | 51 comments Feliks wrote: "I don't know how to recommend a Young Adult book to anyone. To me, if you can read at all, why not read the most robust novels you can get your hands on? Why go for some kind of 'light read'? In 3r..."

As a Children's Librarian of about 40 years, I can assure you that there are many children's and young adult novels that are "robust" reads. As C. S. Lewis so aptly put it, the only good children's book is a book that will be enjoyed by adults as well, and his Chronicles of Narnia have been enjoyed by many adults as well as children and teens. There are many children's and young adult books that deal with serious life issues, appropriate to the age, and so are very much "robust" novels.


message 26: by Elaina (new)

Elaina Bolle (theebookery) | 2 comments Diary of a Haunting


message 27: by Pamela (new)

Pamela Love | 1517 comments Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow Sorrow's Knot


message 28: by Kris (new)

Kris | 55148 comments Mod
Note: The original poster (OP) has left Goodreads.


back to top