A list of terrifying books for teens that range from psychological thrillers, supernatural and paranormal activity, serial killers, and other horrific tales.
There is Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
It’s been almost a year since Makani Young came to live with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska, and she’s still adjusting to her new life. Then, one by one, the students of her small town high school begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets.
Available formats: Book, Ebook (OverDrive by Media on Demand)
His Hideous Heart: Thirteen of Edgar Allan Poe’s Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined
Thirteen of Poe’s terrifying works are reimagined in new and unexpected ways for modern readers. Poe’s own stories are included, so readers can compare.
Available formats: Book
Scream Site by Justina Ireland
Sabrina’s goal in life is to be an investigative reporter. She researches a popular website called Scream Site, where people post scary videos and compete for the most “screams.” When her sister Faith goes missing, Sabrina must race against time to save her sister from becoming the next video star.
Available formats: Book
The Sacrifice Box by Martin J. Stewart
In the summer of 1982, five friends discover an ancient stone box hidden deep in the woods. They seal inside of it treasured objects from their childhoods. Four years later, a series of strange and terrifying events begin to unfold. Someone broke the rules of the box, and now everyone has to pay.
Available formats: Book
Campfire by Shawn Sarles
While camping in a remote location, Maddie Davenport gathers around the fire with her friends and family to tell scary stories. The next day, Maddie and her family are lost in the deep woods — with no way out — being stalked by their worst nightmares.
Available formats: Book
You May Now Kill the Bride by R. L. Stine
Two sisters, divided by time, both discover the ancient curse put on the Fear family on their wedding nights.
Available formats: Book, Ebook (Hoopla), Audiobook (Hoopla)
Alone by Cyn Balog
When Seda moved from the city to a crumbling mansion, she was almost excited. Then, a group of teens get stranded near the mansion during a blizzard. Seda has no choice but to offer them shelter, even though she knows danger lurks in the dilapidated mansion–and in herself. As the snow continues to fall, what Seda fears most begins to become a reality.
Available formats: Book, Ebook (Hoopla), Audiobook (Hoopla)
The Hollow Girl by Hillary Monahan
Bethan and her friend Martyn are attacked one night. Destroyed by her friend’s death Bethan asks Drina, a green healer, to bring Martyn back from death’s door. Bethan must collect grisly pieces to fuel the spell: an ear, some hair, an eye, a nose, and fingers. She gives the boys who assaulted her a chance to come forward and apologize. And when they don’t, she knows exactly where to collect her ingredients to save Martyn.
Available formats: Book
Slasher Girls & Monster Boys
A host of young adult authors come together in this collection of terrifying tales. From blood horror, to the supernatural, to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, this collection has something for anyone looking for an absolute thrill.
Available formats: Book, Ebook (OverDrive by Media on Demand)
The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender
Sixteen-year-old Cordelia and her family move into the house they just inherited –unfortunately the house does not want defiant girls like Delia, so it kills her. She now wanders the house meeting the other ghosts and learning the dark secrets of the Hall.
Available formats: Book
The House by Christina Lauren
Gavin, a loner outcast, and Delilah, back in small-town Kansas after years at a Massachusetts boarding school, reconnect their senior year. As their relationship deepens, it is clear that the eerie house Gavin dwells in will do anything to keep the two apart.
Available formats: Book, Audiobook (Hoopla), Ebook (OverDrive by Media on Demand)
Amity by Micol Ostow
When Connor’s family moves to Amity, his nights are plagued with gore-filled dreams of demons, destruction, and revenge. Ten years later, Gwen’s family moves to Amity for a fresh start. Instead, she’s haunted by lurid visions, disturbing voices, and questions about her own sanity. Inspired by a true-crime story, Amity spans generations to weave an overlapping, interconnected tale of terror, insanity, danger, and death.
Available formats: Book, Ebook (Hoopla)
The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco
Okiku is a lonely soul. She has wandered the world for centuries taking the lives of killers with vengeance and releasing innocent ghosts from their ethereal tethers. When she meets Tark it is clear that evil is trapped in his skin. Tark needs to be freed from the malevolence that clings to him. There’s just one problem: if the demon dies, so does its host.
Available formats: Book, Audiobook (Hoopla), Ebook (Hoopla), Ebook (OverDrive by Media on Demand)
Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
Journey through the woods in this sinister and compellingly spooky collection of short stories where fairy tales have gone seriously wrong.
Available formats: Book
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
For three years Cas Lowood has carried on his father’s work of dispatching the murderous dead. Everything changes when he meets Anna, a girl unlike any ghost he has faced before.
Available formats: Book, Audiobook (Hoopla), Ebook (OverDrive by Media on Demand), Audiobook (OverDrive by Media on Demand)
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