Indies GO ALL IN: Spooky Children’s Books for Spooky Season
Scene: mist, monster, mystery… It’s that time of year again. For October’s booklist for our indies project for the National Year of Reading, we've gathered spooky stories for children and teens that will surely set the mood for spooky season, maybe even spark some Halloween costume inspirations!
Ancestral riddles and monsters from the underworld, a missing twin, urban legends of a rundown Victorian theatre, dark fairytales…our spooky season selection ranges from picturebooks and poem collections to middle-grade and YA novels. This month, we're joined by Book Island, Dinosaur Books, Otter-Barry Books, Old Barn Books, Scallywag Press, and the Emma Press.
All the recommended titles are available for purchase here or through the links below. Stay tuned for next month’s booklist!
Written by: Shiko Nguru
Illustrated by: Wanjira Kinyua
Published by: Lantana Publishing
Buy this book: Xirsi and the Final Battle
Reading age: 9-12
Xirsi, the sharpest mind among the Intasimi Warriors, has always excelled at solving puzzles that stump others. With the emergence of an ancient prophecy, his abilities are put to the ultimate test. Xirsi embarks on a perilous journey to not only save the world but the most precious place on Earth to him: his home.
He must navigate cryptic riddles left by ancestors, each bringing him closer to the looming Final Battle. Hidden in the shadows is a secret weapon powerful enough to decide the fate of their world. To succeed, Xirsi must learn to trust his instincts, even if it means sacrificing his own soul. The stakes couldn’t be higher: fail, and the Underworld will rise to rule forever.
Through a parallel world filled with monsters and mystery, he must unlock his ancestor’s heirloom and the deepest truth of who he truly is. Packed with heart-pounding adventure, unforgettable heroes, and otherworldly challenges, this thrilling final installment will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.
Written and illustrated by: Petr Horáček
Published by: Otter-Barry Books
Buy this book: How to Scare Blue Monster
Reading age: 3+
Blue Monster is lovable – but a bit scary. What can possibly scare him? Surely nothing ... but Blue Monster and the readers are in for a surprise.
Written by: Anna Castagnoli
Illustrated by: Carl Ceuta
Translated by: Laura Watkinson
Published by: Book Island
Buy this book: The Golden Cage
Reading age: 6+/Adult
SHORTLISTED for the 2020 English 4-11 Picture Book Awards
Valentina the emperor’s daughter is an obsessive collector of exotic birds. Her servants track down every bird she desires - just one remains unfound: a bird that talks. Servants search far and wide to fulfill her impossible quest - and she beheads those who fail. In Valentina’s palace, heads roll every day! Will the golden cage ever be filled? A deliciously dark European fairy tale with words as rich as its bold and luxurious illustrations
Written by: Lisa Fuller
Published by: Old Barn Books
Buy this book: Ghost Bird
Reading age: YA
Stacey and Laney are twins and mirror images of each other but as different as the sun and the moon. Stacey wants to go places, do things and be someone different, while Laney just wants to skip school and sneak out of the house to meet her boyfriend Troy. When Laney doesn't come home one night, the town assumes she's just doing her normal run-off, but Stacey's gut tells her otherwise.
Stacey knows her twin isn't dead – she just doesn't know where she is; she can see her in her dreams but doesn't know if she is real or imagined. Holding onto the words her Nan taught her is one thing, but listening to those around you is another – who will Stacey trust? As the town starts to believe that Laney is missing for good, can she find her twin in time?
A gripping, multi award-winning, YA thriller from First Nations Australian author Lisa Fuller, drawing on the culture and spiritual beliefs of her close-knit community.
Written by: Rosie Radford
Published by: Dinosaur Books
Buy this book: Stage Fright: Spooky Short Stories
Reading age: 9-11
What is lurking beneath the stage? Who emerges from the shadows, when the audience has gone home?
Naughty schoolboys, Dan and Jas are about to find out, when they stumble into a rundown theatre and get talking to the old man at the Box Office ...These spine tingling stories are all set in the same south London Victorian theatre but at different points in its history: first in its Victorian heyday, then during World War II and lastly in the 1970s when it has been converted into a cinema.
Each spooky story features a compelling array of theatrical characters, just waiting to entertain. Short, sharp and full of ghosts, monsters and ghouls: these stories are perfect for children who love reading and for those are more reluctant to read – a whole adventure can be completed in one or two sessions. The tales are excitingly chilling, but perfectly pitched for readers aged 9 – 11.
Written by: Laura Theis
Illustrated by: Kate Lucy Foster
Published by: The Emma Press
Buy this book: Poems from a Witch’s Pocket
Reading age: 10+
WINNER | Caterpillar Poetry Prize [Single Poem], 2025
A hard-working junior witch strides around a magical landscape, learning her craft. Her cloak is stuffed with scraps of paper – letters, notes and lists – some of which have tumbled out and been collected into this book.
Nature blends with magic and sometimes more everyday concerns in these soothing, playful, empowering poems. A to-do list for planning a pumpkin party. A blessing for a tiny tree. An identification spell for a bird curse. Poems from a Witch’s Pocket is an eerily enchanting collection aimed at pre-teens but suitable for all ages. Perfect for any aspiring hovel witch!
Written and illustrated by: Lilia Berzinska
Published by: The Emma Press
Buy this book: The Skeleton in the Cupboard
Reading age: 8+
Winner of the 2019 Latvian Children’s Literature Award
In the north of Europe, on the top left-hand tip of a country shaped like a butterfly, lies the Livonian coast: a quiet place with wide sandy beaches, wild forests and not very many people at all.
If you decide to go there yourself and sit on the edge of a forest, you might see some little creatures moving around, smaller than the elks but bigger than the wild boar and badgers. Can you spot prickly Spendthrift, desperately trying to impress her friends? Over by that little house is Hare, preparing buttercup tea and crisp golden waffles for his sailor friend (and prisoner) Wolf, who just wants to be back at sea. And that worried-looking fellow hurrying up the hill is Squishbod – he really does have a skeleton in his cupboard…
Across nine deeply atmospheric and compelling fairytales, Lilija Berzinska follows the desires and anxieties of a community of mysterious creatures in the north of Latvia, gently exploring their preoccupations and suggesting solutions with resonant empathy and wisdom.
Written by: Jeanne Willis
Illustrated by: Brian Fitzgerald
Published by: The Scallywag Press
Buy this book: Who Said Boo
Reading age: 8+
In the green, green castle with the green, green doorAnd green, green carpets on the green, green floor,There lived a little ghost who was never seen,And that is because he was green, green, green!
The naughty little ghost loves giving his unsuspecting victims a fright with a loud 'Boo!'' - they can't see him, but the reader can! Each character blames the wrong person, until the clever jester finds an unexpected way to expose the culprit!
Explore more of our past indie booklists here!
