Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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Conrad Mason

'We're the Demon's Watch, son. Protectors of Port Fayt. Scourge of all sea scum. Don't tell me you've never heard of us?' 
 
Half-goblin boy Joseph Grubb lives in Fayt, a bustling trading port where elves, trolls, fairies and humans live side by side. Fed up of working at the Legless Mermaid tavern, Grubb dreams of escape - until a whirlwind encounter with a smuggler plunges him into Fayt's criminal underworld. There he meets the Demon's Watch and learns of their mission to save the port from a mysterious and deadly threat. Can Grubb and his new allies uncover the dark plot in time, or will they end up as fish food in Harry's Shark Pit?

The Demon's Watch

Tales of Fayt, Book 1

Joan Aiken

There is eerie trouble once again in the Cornish village of St Boan, often known as Thunder's Pocket. Some hundred-year-old water pipes are being replaced and the digging has disturbed the ghosts of the past, namely the twins Matthew and Ben Pernel who were killed in mysterious circumstances and their musician father blamed. The three are now trying to be reunited but less innocent forces are also at work and the present townspeople are involved as the unhappy incidents of a hundred years ago are relived. Aunt Lal calls on her nephew Ned to help. She believes only he can bring the Pernels together again and thus truly bury the past. But even Ned is not immune to the horrors of the disturbed spirits. A thrilling sequel to In Thunder's Pocket by this prestigious author.

The Song Of Mat And Ben

John Robertson

Louis Ghibault

In a town surrounded by deadly mist, and filled with oddities, two young siblings become orphans. 
 
And that's the best thing that's happened to them all day. 
 
Howard Howard was a Wrecker (a brute and bully by profession) who was brutal and bullish to his children - Aubrey and Aubrey's Sister. Howard Howard deserved to be turned into mince, and thanks to a mysterious duo called The Grinders, that's exactly what happened to Howard Howard. 
 
Hunted by the police and their father's gang of Wreckers, the siblings find some new friends to help keep them safe: a talented burglar named Charlie (who has no bones, but a great moustache) and a sword-wielding assassin named Calo (who has a sword, duh.) 
 
In a town already revelling in its own chaos and with new dangers around every corner, Aubrey's Sister and Aubrey stumble into a world of secrets, myths and monsters.

The Little Town of Marrowville

Robert Swindells

If you expect to see a ghost, you see a ghost... 
That's what Bethan tells herself when her brother Harry takes her to see the ghost at the old reservoir. But she really can see it: a pale figure floating over the water, one finger pointing downwards. 
 
Local legend says that the ghost is Hettie Daynes, an ancestor of their family, who vanished over a hundred years ago. 
 
If so, what does she want? And why is she appearing now? 
 
Harry and Bethan and their friends Rob and Alison are determined to find out! 
 
A deliciously shivery ghost tale from multi award-winning author Robert Swindells.

The Shade of Hettie Daynes

Jason Segel

Kirsten Miller

Charlie Laird has a very bad feeling. 
 
1. There’s a NEW GIRL at school, and Charlie and his friends have DEFINITELY seen her before. 
2. He’s been hearing strange noises after dark, which is NEVER a good sign. 
3. The nightmares are back, and they’re WEIRDER THAN EVER. 
 
Not since he faced his fears has Charlie had so many bad dreams. Whenever he falls asleep, he finds himself in a Netherworld field, surrounded by a flock of CREEPY BLACK SHEEP. 
 
They're not counting sheep. They refuse to jump. In fact, they don't do much at all. EVEN EERIER, THOUGH, is that it’s not Charlie’s nightmare. Somehow he’s trapped in someone else’s bad dream. And he’s pretty sure the twins ICK and INK are responsible. 
 
Charlie and his friends thought they’d put the twins out of business, but it seems they didn’t quite finish the job. Now the WOOLLY NIGHTMARES are closing in, and INK has shown up at Cypress Creek Elementary! Charlie’s convinced that INK is up to NO GOOD. And if he’s right, it could be a very long time before anyone’s dreams are sweet again.

Nightmares! The Lost Lullaby

Diana Hendry

There's a mysterious, magical new lodger at gloomy 131 Ballantyre Road: Harvey Angell, whose bright beaming, thousand-watt smile can somehow cheer the most miserable people - even cross, penny-pinching Aunt Agatha! From the moment Harvey walks through the front door, Henry knows there's something very strange and special about his new friend. But where does he disappear to late at night? And why does he have an unusual clock, that tells the time in centuries and years, rather than hours and minutes? Henry's determined to find out Harvey Angell's marvellous secret . . .

Harvey Angell

Allan Ahlberg

The Burrell family could never have foreseen the consequences of adopting the tiny stray kitten that appeared when David was twelve. But the sweet cat is not as harmless as it seems, and soon has them completely under its sinister spell. The only one unaffected, David concocts a plan to rescue his family - but will it work?

The Improbable Cat

Ritchie Perry

Just the thought of the place made Tom’s hair stand on end. Ever since the terrible murders all those years ago, the Manson house, huge, forbidding and very possibly haunted, had been cloaked in a shroud of mystery and evil. 
 
Tom knew he should have put his foot down at Laura’s crazy plan, but he couldn’t let his own twin sister think he was scared. Now they were going to the house, alone and at twilight. It was a good thing ghosts were just a figment of the imagination – or were they…?

The Creepy Tale

Brian Jacques

Henry Mawdsley is a terrific liar. However, the more people get to know him, the less they believe in his lies - and it won't be long until nobody in his town believes a word he says! So when a chance encounter with the devil offers him the opportunity to have everyone believe his lies unconditionally for a week for the measly price of his soul, Henry jumps at the chance. But as the week draws to a close, and the date of Henry's descent into hell gets closer, he begins to fear for his life . . . 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.

The Lies of Henry Mawdsley (Storycuts)

James Patterson

I'm Finn McAllister, I'm a normal middle schooler, and on June sixth I died. 
 
 I know, I know - you weren't expecting me to die so soon. Me neither. But dying is just the beginning of my story. You see, now I'm a ghost! 
 
 I don't have to go to school. I can play as many video games as I want. And I can try every ice cream flavor in the store. 
 
 I've made a new friend, too. She's also a ghost. It's pretty neat, huh? 
 
 Only thing is, I have some unfinished business. And until I, well, finish it, I can't really move on...

Best Nerds Forever

Thomas P Kanne is the Phantom Snake, an elusive graffiti artist who has made many enemies in his attempts to vandalise his home city of Middlechester. Mr Bausin, the caretaker of the local museum is a seemingly harmless old man with a dark secret, but more importantly, a vendetta against the Phantom Snake. When Mr Bausin finally gets to confront his nemesis in the dark, abandoned corridors of the Egyptian exhibit, Thomas faces a terrifying game of cat and mouse. 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.

The Fate of Thomas P Kanne (Storycuts)

Ian Beck

Flame-haired Charity Delafield has grown up in a vast, isolated house - most of which she is forbidden to explore - by her strict, cold father. With only her kindly nurse, Rose, and her cat Mr Tompkins for company, she knows very little of the outside world - or of her own family's shadowy past. What she does know is that she is NEVER to go outside unsupervised. And she is NEVER to over-excite herself, because of the mysterious 'condition' that she has been told she suffers from. 
 
But Charity has a secret of her own. All her life, she has had the same strange dream - a dream of a dark corridor, hidden somewhere in the house. Then, one day, Charity stumbles across the corridor. It leads to a door . . . and suddenly she realises things are not quite what they seem.

The Haunting of Charity Delafield

Paul Stewart

Chris Riddell

Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, running errands in his city, day and night, and high-stacking around the rooftops in search of new mysteries to solve. A fantastic romp through a Dickensian-style city, with a wonderful new hero in the guise of Barnaby. 
 
After collecting a strange parcel from a deserted ship in the fog of the docks, and delivering it to the local schoolmaster, Barnaby thinks he's earned a moment to sit on the rooftops and eat his favourite pasty. But soon he realises that all is not well at the school - but is the problem quite as he expects it? A gruesome tale of a school overrun by a terrible curse - who will survive?

Barnaby Grimes: Return of the Emerald Skull

Catherine Fisher

Meurig, the fiddler, is a haunted man. Hafren, the evil spirit-woman of the Severn has captured his soul and now possesses the key to his life - a small candle stub. Hafren taunts and torments Meurig but with help from Conor and Sara, he CAN take back his life from her watery grasp - at the cost of flooding the land. Meurig must make his choice - his life or the village. . . . . .

The Candle Man

Pete Johnson

Marcus isn't an ordinary thirteen-year-old. He has an amazing secret: he's a half-vampire, with incredible special powers. And together with his friends Tallulah and Gracie, he hunts and fights a totally evil enemy: the deadly vampires, who are out to destroy all humans and half-vampires. 
 
But something strange has happened to Marcus. He's lost his memory, and can't remember anything about his previous life as a vampire hunter. Tallulah and Gracie are seriously worried. They think his amnesia is very suspicious and sinister - and might have something to do with the weird new horror shop that's just opened up in town . . .

The Vampire Bewitched

Philip Pullman

Count Karlstein, or The Ride of the Demon Huntsman, was Philip Pullman's first novel for children, published by Chatto and Windus in 1982. It is a wonderful gothic melodrama which he first wrote as a play for school-children when he was an English teacher. 
 
No one in the village of Karlstein dares to leave their home on All Souls Eve - the night Zamiel, the Demon Huntsman comes to claim his prey. 
 
But the evil Count Karlstein has struck a terrible bargin with Zamiel, and so the lives of his young nieces, Lucy and Charlotte,are in danger. Their only hope lies with Hildi, a castle maidservant, and her fearless brother, Peter. Can they save the girls from their dreadful fate? Only one thing is certain - the Demon Huntsman will not return to his dark wood unsatisfied!

Count Karlstein - The Novel

Matt Haig

From the bestselling author of A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, Father Christmas and Me and The Truth Pixie. 
 
*Winner of the Gold Smarties Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal* 
 
Samuel Blink is the hero of this story, but he doesn't know it yet. 
 
Right now, he and his sister Martha are in the back of his parents' car. He has no idea a giant log is about to fall from the sky and change his life forever. He doesn't know that he and Martha will be forced to move to Norway and eat their Aunt Eda's smelly brown cheese. He hasn't the slightest clue Martha will disappear into the Shadow Forest - a forest full of one-eyed trolls, deadly Truth Pixies, a shadow-stealing witch and the evil Changemaker. 
 
Samuel Blink doesn't know any of this. So don't tell him. It might ruin the book . . . 
 
An eerie, funny and exciting fairytale from multi-award-winning author Matt Haig. 
 
'Fascinating and magical . . . Outstanding' The Times

Shadow Forest

Since the arrival of Harvey Angell at 131 Ballantyre Road, life is a little bit brighter for orphan Henry - even mean old Aunt Agatha isn't quite so miserable these days. Still, when she agrees to take everyone on holiday, Henry can't believe his luck. For the first time ever, he's about to see the sea. 
 
Sibbald House isn't quite what he'd pictured - a dusty, tumbledown, creaking old cottage in a freezing, windswept Scottish fishing village. On the first night, Henry can't sleep a wink for the spooky moaning noises coming from somewhere within the house - and on discovering a hidden room with a ghostly secret, he knows he has to solve the mystery that the house - and the village - has been hiding for years. 
 
It's time to enlist the help of the extraordinary Harvey Angell . . .

Harvey Angell And The Ghost Child

Simon Rae

A box is left on Marcus’s doorstep in the rain. Fussy Aunt Hester has told Marcus not to open the front door under any circumstances. But she’s out – and just this once can’t hurt . . . can it? 
 
Except the parcel isn’t embroidery supplies for Aunt Hester. Or fishing tackle for Uncle Frank. Whatever is in there, it’s alive. And it’s ANGRY. 
 
 The thing in the box sends Marcus’s life spinning horrifyingly out of control ­– controlling his mind and testing his will so that every moment is deadly. Can Marcus overcome the pull of the Gorgon’s gaze, and use her power for good? Because he received that box for a reason ­– but he must find out what it is, before the terrible, beautiful Medusa turns everyone he holds dear to stone . . . and then comes for him. 
 
 Laced with myth, this modern story positively writhes with horror and suspense. A terrifying, unputdownable read for fans of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter.

Medusa's Butterfly

Marcus was convinced that vampires didn't exist. He was very wrong . . . 
 
On his thirteenth birthday, Marcus Howlett is faced with a bombshell. His parents are half-vampire. And, although he hates the thought of it, he is about to become one too. 
 
But, as he secretly blogs about the horrors of his new fangs, bad breath and cravings for blood, Marcus is unaware that his life is in serious danger . . .

The Vampire Blog

Susan Sallis

Two disabled children love their new bungalow by the sea. It even has its own spectral steam-train which only they can hear each night. The train holds many mysteries which will change their lives.

No Time At All

When Jonathan joins a new school, he is an easy target for R.S.B. Limited, three bullies who demand money in exchange for 'protection.' Unable to afford the rates, he is subjected to a humiliating daily ritual. However, a pale anonymous boy who looks eerily similar to Jonathan has been glimpsed around the school - and he's not going to let R.S.B. Limited get away with their bullying any more. 
 
Part of the Stroycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.

RSB Limited (Storycuts)

Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, running errands in his city, day and night, and 'high-stacking' around the rooftops in search of new mysteries to solve. In this first adventure, Barnaby is attacked one night by an enormous dog. He kills it - but that's not the end of this particular mystery . . . as Barnaby finds himself swept up in a world of crooked doctors, poor and ill-advised patients, strange tonics and very expensive furs... Could there be more to the seemingly respectable Dr Cadwallader and the tonics he doles out to the poor? Is there a link between the tonic and the huge dogs - or possibly wolves - that are roaming the city at night? When Barnaby's old acquaintance Benjamin goes missing, Barnaby fears the worst for him, and decides to dig deeper... 
 
A fantastic romp through a Dickensian-style city, with a wonderful new hero in the guise of Barnaby. This new series from the bestselling dream team of Stewart and Riddell is a must for all fans of the Edge Chronicles - but also for fans of Horowitz and Shan, as they move into new territory and deliver a brilliantly exciting thriller-horror for boys.

Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf

William Corlett

If your mum is a top interior designer it is not unusual to spend the summer holidays in someone else's house whilst 'mother dear' gets on with doing it up. In this case it is Borthwick Hall, an 18th century country house in a remote area of North Yorkshire. All is not as it seems, and when doors starts slamming shut of their own accord and lights go unexpectedly on and off, Emma tries her best to explain why in a rational manner; but when the breathing, voices and unbearable chiding laughter starts her slight uneasiness turns to a gripping fear.

The Summer Of The Haunting

It was sick and hungry and a long, long way from home... 
 
Something is causing mysterious circles to appear in the cornfields of Cansfield Farm. And someone, or something, has obviously terrified Barry Cansfield, the farmer's bullying son. But when friends Ben and Midge sneak out to the farm to investigate, they discover a secret more terrifying than they could possible have imagined - a truly monstrous horror that simply must be stopped...

Hydra

On the back of the picture were two words which jumped right out at me: THE FRIGHTENERS... 
 
When Chloe starts at a new school, she gets off to a really bad start and no-one wants to be her friend - except Aidan. But everyone else seems scared of Aidan - scared of the pictures he draws. Chloe can't imagine why until she picks up one of his drawings of 'The Frighteners'. For now the Frighteners - horrifying monstrous creatures - won't leave her alone...

The Frighteners

Gilly Bodkin met a terrible accident in 1690 while searching for a sweetmeat. The poor boy's ghost is left to wander woods and highways searching for that elusive sweet that he lost his life trying to taste. This is his sad story. 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.

The Sad History of Gilly Bodkin (Storycuts)

My name is Eleanor Kerchner. 
You can call me the Queen. 
I died in 1895. 
Now it’s time to play. 
 
A chilling ghost story by the bestselling author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black. 
 
Recipient of a Newbery Honor Award. An ALA Notable Book. A Kirkus Reviews Best Book. A School Library Journal Best Book. A Booklist Editor’s Choice Books for Youth. A Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book. A 2013 Goodreads Choice award nominee. A People Magazine 'Best New Kids Book'.

Doll Bones

Jamie is just an ordinary boy dealing with ordinary struggles: trying to fit in and avoiding his overbearing mother. However, the discovery of what his friends call a Vampire's Tomb reveals an opportunity for Jamie to prove himself. All he has to do is wait in the graveyard as the church clock strikes midnight. He's not scared - vampires don't exist . . . right? 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.

Jamie and the Vampires (Storycuts)

Tom Pow

The first time Sam sees the mysterious figure of Janet she vanishes into the deserted fields beyond the town where nothing has ever been built. Sam learns that centuries before this was the place to which plague victims were banished - Scabbit Isle - a place of terror. With the help of Mr Carruthers, the old curator of the local museum, Sam gradually uncovers the horror of Janet's story - consigned to Scabbit Isle by her cruel father and abandoned by her weak lover, Janet suffers without hope. She will continue to do so, if she can't find someone who, for love, will risk all to enter the plague colony to release her. Janet seems to be beckoning Sam to help her and a tragedy within Sam's own family brings Sam even closer to Janet's fate. Janet is the same age that Sam's twin sister Alice would have been had she not been killed in an accident. It is a loss from which Sam's father, in particular,has never recovered. Can Sam summon up the courage to face the terrors of Scabbit Isle and, like Orpheus, venture into the underworld to bring Janet peace?

Scabbit Isle

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