Middle School

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Dragons

by Virginia Loh-Hagan

Books in the Magic, Myth, and Mystery series explore those spooky creatures that go bump in the night, fill our dreams (or nightmares!), and make us afraid of the dark. In Dragons you'll learn more about these creepy creatures. Written with a high interest level to appeal to a more mature audience and a lower level of complexity with clear visuals to help sreaders along. Considerate text includes tons of fascinating information and wild facts that will hold the readers' interest, allowing for successful mastery and comprehension. A table of contents, glossary with simplified pronunciations, and index all enhance comprehension.

Forgotten Girl

by India Hill

A spooky, original ghost story with fantastic characters, chilling scenes and an important storyline about reclaiming an abandoned segregated cemetery. On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel, sneak into a clearing in the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris carefully makes a perfect snow angel - only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore, right beneath her. Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris: She begins having vivid nightmares. She wakes up to find her bedroom window wide open, letting in the snow. She thinks she sees the shadow of a girl lurking in the woods. And she feels the pull of the abandoned grave, calling her back to the clearing... Obsessed with figuring out what's going on, Iris and Daniel start to research the area for a school project. They discover that Avery's grave is actually part of a neglected and forgotten Black cemetery, dating back to a time when White and Black people were kept separate in life - and in death. As Iris and Daniel learn more about their town's past, they become determined to restore Avery's grave and finally have proper respect paid to Avery and the others buried there. But they have awakened a jealous and demanding ghost, one that's not satisfied with their plans for getting recognition. One that is searching for a best friend forever - no matter what the cost.

Aunt Morbella and the Screaming Skulls

by Joan Carris

"A screaming skull will not rest. It forces us to do its bidding," said Aunt Morbelia. BOOOOM! sounded the lightning. Thunder and heavy rain beat down on the Fearings' house and yard. Although his teenaged friends sat entranced by his spooky aunt, Todd was petrified by her stories of hellhounds and banshees. Ever since his great aunt first appeared on his family's doorstep, Todd's life has been turned upside down. His schoolwork is getting harder, and Morbelia's eerie stories are giving him nightmares. Surprisingly, it may take someone as weird as Morbelia to help Todd deal with his dyslexia - and just maybe, someone like Todd can help Morbelia learn to be less gloomy. An award-winning author of children's books and a long-time tutor of English, Joan Carris brings her own experiences to Todd's struggle with dyslexia. Cloaked with Aunt Morbelia's creepy ghostlore, this story of family interdependence is not only heartwarming and educational -but also spine-tingling fun!

The Wrong Train

by Jeremy de Quidt

Light the candles and shut the door, The Wrong Train is a deliciously creepy and terrifyingly good collection of scary stories, for fans of Patrick Ness, R.L. Stine, and Emily Carroll. Imagine you've just managed to catch your train and you realize it's the wrong one. You'd be annoyed of course, but not scared . . . yet. .... Imagine you get off the wrong train at the next station hoping to catch one back the way you came. But the station is empty. Again, you'd be annoyed, but not scared . . . Yet. .... Imagine someone comes to the station, a stranger who starts to tell you stories to help pass the time. But these aren't any old stories -- they're nightmares that come with a price to pay. And you want them to stop. ...... Scared yet? You will be.

Child of Nature

by Cara L. Bingham

Mira Storm Weather often wondered why people thought she was strange. She always thought she lived an ordinary life. However, events at Halloween would prove to Mira just how extraordinary her life could be. She had inherited magical powers. Now Mira must gain knowledge and courage to fight the evil one in her village, and find her true destiny, as a witch.

The Dark Portal

by Robin Jarvis

This first episode in the Deptford Mice trilogy is a tale of horror and valor, good and evil, leavened with humor. In it, Audrey and other brave little mice search for Albert and encounter the sinister Jupiter, who rules the rats through terror. Jupiter's evil presence manifests itself only through the glare of his red eyes peering from the inky blackness of an arched portal. Jarvis gives the story a mystical twist through the mysterious, farseeing bats that live in the attic and give counsel in riddles and through the mousebrass medallion that each mouse receives when coming of age.

Classic Horror Stories to Chill Your Bones

by Compilation

An eclectic collection of many of the spookiest classic tales of horror, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The New Catacomb, A.M. Burrage's Smee, Edgar Allan Poe's Masque of the Red Death, Hop-Frog and The Cask of Amontillado, W.W. Jacobs' The Monkey's Paw, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, and Algernon Blackwood's The Willows.

The Raven and Other Short Stories

by Edgar Allen Poe

The title work in this collection of ten short stories and poems is widely regarded as the most famous of Edgar Allan Poe's writings. This unsettling tale in verse tells of a man's slow descent into madness as he mourns the loss of his lover. The mysterious visit of a talking raven that utters only one word sparks the man's steady decline. Poe, the inventor of the modern detective story, was an expert at weaving suspense and horror into tales that thrill and chill. Included in this collection are "The Raven," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Black Cat," "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," "Hop-Frog," "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt," and "The Purloined Letter."

The Lost World

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Before Jurassic Park, there was The Lost World. This classic terror-adventure novel has set the standard for today's popular entertainment as followed by Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg. Featuring the bold Professor Challenger, a character many critics consider one of the most finely drawn in science fiction, The Lost World is the account of a scientific expedition by four high-spirited Englishmen—two scientists, a big-game hunter, and a journalist—deep into the Amazon jungle. In this region, cut off from the outside world by unscalable vertical cliffs and fetid swamps, they encounter a world where dinosaurs roam free and natives fight a murderous war with their fierce neighbors, the ape-men. Trapped on the isolated plateau with only hunting rifles as protection the four must use savvy and intellect to escape from this primeval terror.

Blood Captain

by Justin Somper

With the best of swashbuckling adventure and ghoulish horror on the high seas, Justin Somper's internationally acclaimed Vampirates series-begun with Demons of the Ocean and Tides of Terror- continues full-sail in Blood Captain. Long since separated, the twins Connor and Grace struggle to earn their keep and avoid lashings aboard their respective pirate ships- Connor on the Diablo and Grace among the cursed crew of the Vampirate vessel. Both siblings wonder if they will ever be reunited.

Blood Hunger

by A. M. Esmonde

In the year 1477AD, Baron Wilton Abrahams tracked down the last of the Dracul brothers, Stellan, and on a snow-covered mountain in Romania, drove a stake into him, sending him tumbling over the edge. While Stellan's body lay frozen, the brides of the Dracul were forced to flee their ancient castle and the rest of their kind met their fate at the deadly hands of vampire hunter, Abrahams. Five-hundred years later, explorer Max Lowe and his team make a discovery, dubbed the 'Ice Prince.' The find is significant enough to put him and girlfriend Lucia Ferrara in the media spotlight. But the world's press are not the only ones interested in the frozen body. In particular, old friends of the 'Ice Prince.' And so ends their centuries of blood abstinence as they unleash terror on humankind, leaving a trail of death from London to the Welsh countryside of the UK. From the fall of the vampire and the Dracul brothers in medieval Europe to their return in the present day. Prepare yourself, their first bite will be your last!

Strange Things in the Woods

by Steve Stockton

SOMETHING STRANGE LURKS JUST BEYOND THE WOODLINE. The woods and forests can be a true dichotomy of experiences. For many they offer a peaceful connection to nature, but for some they have been a source of terror. In the shadows of towering trees and hidden in the brush, these unlucky few have encountered creatures or monsters that most think only inhabit our nightmares. Steve Stockton, a veteran outdoorsman and paranormal researcher, has put together a vast collection of over eighty terrifying, odd and strange encounters. These chilling tales may leave you questioning whether you ever want to journey into the woods again.

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