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Spooky Book Recommendations for Adults and Kids

with Carole Barrowman
Posted at 10:28 AM, Oct 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-19 11:28:27-04

Carole Barrowman is an English professor at Alverno College, author of Hollow Earth series, and reviewer for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Here are her suggestions for Halloween reads for ghouls and beasties of all ages.

1. The School of Monsters series by Sally Rippin and Chris Kennett (4 and up)
You shouldn’t bring a pet to school. But Mary’s pet is super cool! Except Mary didn’t feed her monster pet and it’s hungry! Look out everyone. It’s the perfect choice for older siblings to read to younger ones.

2. Monster Trucks by Anika Denise and Nate Wragg (Scholastic). These trucks really are monsters.

3. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig (13 and up)
In an isolated island by the sea, 12 sisters are cursed. This retelling of the fairy tale of the 12 dancing princesses is my daughter Clare’s YA pick. She’s not a fan of horror of scary books, but loved the eerie creep quotient in this story.

4. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (Macmillan)
Stephen King describes this book as a “nerve-shredder.” And he’s not wrong! If you enjoyed the level of scare in The Haunting of Hill House, then step inside the creepy boarded up house on Needless Street where its three occupants are locked inside. Or are they?

5. My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones (Gallery) (adults who are not squeamish)
This novel is pretty gory, and I loved every bloody page. It’s not for the faint of heart (J), and if you love slasher films like Friday the 13th, this is your Halloween read. It’s stunning in its writing and its themes about colonialism, the treatment of indigenous peoples, and, weirdly, given its content, it’s also about hope.

To learn more about Carole visit her website