My Teen Guide

Best Teen Entertainment Guide

  • Home
  • Movies
    • 100+ Amazing Movies Like the One You Just Watched (Plus Free PDF)
  • TV Shows
    • 80+ TV Shows Like the One You Just Finished Binging! (Plus Free PDF)
  • Party
    • Party Games
    • Party Supplies
  • Shop
    • Anime Hoodie Shop
    • Anime T-Shirts Shop

Top 7 Scariest Books That Will Make You Want to Read With the Lights On

September 22, 2015 By Nicole Etolen 27 Comments

Check out the Top 7 Scariest books for teens in the YA genre! We're sure you'll be sleeping with the lights on for months!

This is the time of year for reading the scariest books and just plain freaking yourself out!  Reading a book is different than sitting with your BFF to watch a scream fest.  We read alone.  Meaning it is just you, the book and your imagination running wild!  These 7 books are sure to get your imagination running.  The auto ice machine in the freezer is going to come on and make you jump right out of your chair!

Related: Top 5 Crazy Scariest Movies You’ll Ever See

Top 7 Scariest Books for Teens

Affiliate links included below.

Top 7 Scariest Books for Teens

The Ghost Files: If you like books to movie, this is soon to be a major motion picture!  Ever seen The Ghost Whisperer?  Well Mattie Hathaway is sort of like Jennifer Love Hewitt in that she can see and talk to ghosts.  She has been able to since her mom tried to kill her (what?!) Yea.  Living in foster care has it’s own stigma, she keeps the fact that she can talk to ghosts to herself, fear she will be labled the crazy girl.  Mattie’s foster sister has run away…or has she?  Mattie knows the truth, because she comes to her as a ghost; she has been murdered and Mattie may be next.

Top 7 Scariest Books for Teens

Bad Girls Don’t Die: This is the first in a trilogy by Katie Alender.  Fifteen-year-old Alexis Warren who’s younger sister is possessed by a murderous ghost.  Her sister, Kasey, starts talking in old fashioned launguage and her eyes turn green.  Then other weird things start to happen in the house, like doors opening and closing, and the air-conditoner getting so cold she can see her breath.  Not to mention the late night wanderings around the house by Kasey and even an attempted murder!  Does no one else see what is happening?  I am not so sure I would be reading this at night, by the light of a flashlight, but hey, you do what you want.

Top 7 Scariest Books for Teens

The Forest Dweller: Don’t go into the forest!  It can be a pretty creepy place, especially after reading this book by Deborah McClatchey.  Children go missing in the small town of Mountain Dale, and bodies are never found.  Even more strange is the parents seem to go about their business like nothing is happening.  Lucy and Candy have been able to survive, so far.  Once a girl they make fun of and bully, Priscilla, goes missing, they start to really get scared.  Then Lucy disappears.  Is the little green gnome they saw to blame for the missing kids?

Top 7 Scariest Books for Teens

Ghost in the Kitchen: Ever play with a Ouiji Board?  Yea, well, I did once…once.  And the kids in this Deborah McClatchey book do too.  Brandon Willpenny and his family just moved into a new home, but something isn’t right.  He feels an unexplainable chill as he tries to enjoy his snack in the kitchen.  No one else is feeling this but him (creepy!!)  It is just the beginning too.  Brandon and his new friends start to hear rumors  about ‘kidnapped’ kids.  Is anyone safe?  And safe from WHAT?

Top 7 Scariest Books for Teens

Diary of a Haunting: This is written a little different than your typical scary book.  What you read is the aftermath of what happens when Paige and her mom and little brother move from sunny California to dusty Idaho.  They move into a creepy old mansion, where weird things start happening like one ravioli can turning into 12, and words being written on the walls.  That is enough to get me running back to California!  Then her brother starts roaming the house in the middle of the night and the downstairs neighbor gives her the creeps too.  Turns out there were rituals practiced in the house by a sinister cult about a hundred years earlier, clearly something is still haunting the house!  Diary of a Haunting is a collection of Paige’s journal entries, pics And letters.

Related: 7 Classics You Actually Want To Read

The Girl From the Well: The cover says “I am where dead children go” EEEKKK!  If The Ring was scary to you, then you will love this book.  It is based on the same Japanese ancient Japanese legend that inspired The Ring.  Okiku is a vengeful spirit, take the souls of bad people, who murder children around the world (think Dexter, but in spirit form).  When she kills the murderers, she is freeing the souls of the children they killed.  Good right?  Still creepy.  

Top 7 Scariest Books for Teens

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children:  Ransom Riggs is an American writer and did a great job with his debut novel!  When a 16-year-old Jacob Portman learns his grandfather was murdered (and by a make-believe creature no less), he travels to Wales to find out the truth about his grandfather’s past.  Turns out he was an orphan in a home for ‘peculiar children’ run by Miss Peregrine.  Jacob meets a girl, Emma, who can control fire, and is caught in a time loop, back to the 1940’s at the orphanage his grandfather grew up at.  She is able to go back and forth, but one day they get stuck in the loop on the other side and Jacob can’t get home.  I read this a couple years ago, it is actually a really good book and kept my attention!
There is nothing quite like freaking yourself out at night with a good spooky book.  These will most certainly help to keep you up at night or at least give you some fun dreams!  But hey that is what this time of year is for right?  

For more Halloween entertainment, visit a few of my favorite blogs:

  • Best Halloween Mysteries by In Our Spare Time
  • 5 Halloween Movies for the Whole Family by Mom Does it All
  • Have a Spooky Good Time With These Kids’ Halloween Shows by Views from the Ville
  • Halloween Books for Kids by Better in Bulk
  • Are Corn Mazes Dog Friendly by Two Little Cavaliers
  • 30 Spooktacular Halloween Board Books for Toddlers by Mom on the Side
  • Fun Family Halloween Movies that Kids Can Watch too by Our Family World
  • Spooky Fun Halloween Apps for All Ages by Pretty Opinionated
  • 13 Nights of Halloween by MommaDJane
  • Family Friendly Shows for Halloween by Day by Day in Our World
  • Halloween Movie Quotes by Style on Main
  • Halloween Movies that aren’t Gory by How Was Your Day?

Tell us some other spooky and scary books you have read! What are the scariest books for teens you have ever read?  Leave your suggestions in the comment section below.

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Halloween reads, scary books, teen books, YA books

About Nicole Etolen

Nicole Etolen is a blogger, freelance writer, and all-around busy bee. She spent her teen and early adult life as a childcare provider before finally have her own little boy (now 7), so she knows what kids like!

Comments

  1. Ellen Christian says

    September 22, 2015 at 10:10 am

    The Forest Dweller sounds like my kind of book. I’m definitely getting that one.

    Reply
  2. Robin (Masshole Mommy) says

    September 24, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    Sounds like a great list of books. I will check some of them out.

    Reply
  3. tara pittman says

    September 24, 2015 at 3:31 pm

    I remember as a teen loving scary movies. These books look scary and I would have nightmares,

    Reply
  4. Liz Mays says

    September 24, 2015 at 6:56 pm

    I’m practically getting chills by reading the descriptions alone. It sounds fun to read them though!

    Reply
  5. Jenn @ EngineerMommy says

    September 24, 2015 at 8:22 pm

    These look so scary! I want to check some of them out!

    Reply
  6. Kathleen Bailey says

    September 24, 2015 at 8:49 pm

    Wow even those covers are scary!

    Reply
  7. Joely Smith says

    September 24, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    The Forrest Dweller would be the one I would most want to read. I LOVE the woods, so this would be creepy for sure for me to read! I hope it wouldn’t give me a fear of something I love most lol.

    Reply
  8. Patrice says

    September 25, 2015 at 1:21 am

    Scary books not a fan of these types of books but if I had to see a scary movie would prefer to watch in the day. The covers are awesome creepy.

    Reply
  9. rika says

    September 25, 2015 at 3:13 am

    i dont even know why i click your post at 12 am LOL this is so scary 🙂 i can’t sleep now

    Reply
  10. Italia Caruso says

    September 25, 2015 at 4:12 am

    Scary books! I don’t have a fan of these types of books. But when I was a child I loved them

    Reply
  11. victoria says

    September 25, 2015 at 7:00 am

    Sounds a great list of books. I love to reading an horror book sometimes when i am bored. I will check this out.

    Reply
  12. Claudette says

    September 25, 2015 at 7:21 am

    Nope, that would not be me. I do not read these types of books or watch horror movies. Pass.

    Reply
  13. Rebekah says

    September 25, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    Yikes! Even some the cover art gives me the creeps lol!

    Reply
  14. Elizabeth O. says

    September 25, 2015 at 3:17 pm

    I am not sure if I can even start reading the first page. I have a wild imagination and it goes even wilder for things like this. Lol.

    Reply
  15. Anna C. says

    September 25, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    This list is amazing!! But the best thing is Tim Burton is going to turn the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children into a movie!
    I have to read that book 😀
    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  16. Jasmine says

    September 25, 2015 at 6:04 pm

    Ooh I normally a horror movies but these books sound fun!

    Reply
  17. Shannon Peterson says

    September 25, 2015 at 6:15 pm

    I am a total scaredy cat, so even the covers of some of these books have me totally freaked!

    Reply
  18. Kristy R says

    September 25, 2015 at 11:31 pm

    Oh, thanks for the list. I can’t watch scary movies, but I can ready scary books! I just skip and skim when I get too freaked out until it gets back to a part I can read, haha.

    Reply
  19. Olivia @ Olivia's Cuisine says

    September 26, 2015 at 12:13 am

    I’m scared just by reading the titles!

    Reply
  20. Sophie S says

    September 26, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    I can barely get through a scary book. Movies are the worst, but scary books require you to read each and every word so you know everything that happens.

    Reply
  21. Deshawn Keiner says

    September 27, 2015 at 7:38 am

    These are all wonderful recommendations. I would really be interested in the “Ghost Files” It seems like something I would read. I use to read goosebumps books when I was a kid so I passed down my books to my kids and they absolutely love the goosebumps books. Thank you for sharing this information. You are doing a fantastic job keep up the great work!

    Reply
  22. Sharon G. Cobb says

    September 27, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    Some of the covers are scary enough! lol

    Reply
  23. Mistee Dawn says

    October 2, 2015 at 7:09 am

    This list is awesome! I love being scared! I will definitely have to read these!

    Reply
  24. Dorothy Boucher says

    October 17, 2015 at 4:01 pm

    These all sound like some scary stories to read, I have not read any of them but I am sure if I ask one of my daughters , I am sure she did lol she loves spooky ghost stories..

    Reply
  25. Elizabeth Matthiesen says

    November 2, 2015 at 4:21 pm

    I’m an avid book reader but not of this sort of book, I don’t like scary movies either 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Get a Little Spooky | Family Friendly Shows for Halloween | Day By Day in Our World says:
    October 13, 2015 at 6:48 pm

    […] Top 7 Scariest Books That Will Make You Want to Read With the Lights On by My Kids Guide […]

    Reply
  2. 7 Books You Won’t Be Able To Put Down - My Teen Guide says:
    January 7, 2016 at 11:00 am

    […] Related: Top 7 Scariest Books That Will Make You Want to Read With the Lights On […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Let’s Keep in Touch!

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Amazon Associate Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Myteenguide is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to (“Myteenguide” (amazon.com, or endless.com, MYHABIT.com, SmallParts.com, or AmazonWireless.com).


About Us | | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | | Advertise with Us |


MKG's Teen Entertainment Guide ©2015 - All Rights Reserved