Looking for a good horror story to sink your teeth in to? Take a look at our top Halloween picks for young adults! All of these books and more are free to borrow with your library card.
Want more suggested books? Take a look at our recommendations.
Thirst
Darren Simpson
Nobody talks about the strange happenings in Maimsbury. No one speaks of the hooded figures glimpsed in the woods, nor the children’s game that went so horribly wrong. But most of all, nobody dares whisper their doubts about the river they have worshipped for centuries. Like everyone in Maimsbury, Gorse is used to the sacrifices made every spring to the River Yeelde. The life of a farm animal – in return for a year of plenty – seems a fair trade.
That is, until a tragedy leads Gorse to a blood-curdling discovery. Because this year is a Brim Year, and after giving so much, the river needs more than an animal’s life to sate its thirst.
The Devouring Light
Kat Ellis
When Haden Romero and her rival, Deacon Rex – alongside their bands, including Haden’s ex, Cairo – are stranded on their way to a rock festival, she thinks missing the gig is the worst thing that could happen.
She’s wrong.
Marooned in treacherous swamplands with no way out, the group stumbles upon an eerie, decaying house. It seems like a safe haven, a place to wait out the storm. The house, however, isn’t just abandoned – it’s been waiting for them.
Bodies begin to pile up. The walls start to close in. Twisted secrets come to light. And unless Haden and the others can survive long enough to escape, the house will claim them – forever.
The Transition
Logan-Ashley Kisner
Having spent his winter break recovering from top surgery, seventeen-year-old Hunter is excited to spend his last months of high school in a body he can feel comfortable in. That is until one night, when a wild animal comes out of the woods and nearly kills him. Although initially just happy to be alive, Hunter quickly realises that his injuries are turning his body into something horrible – a werewolf.
But with time running out, Hunter must race to keep his friends safe and to save himself, before the body he’s fought so hard to have slips away from him for good.
They Own the Night
Amy McCaw
Mia and Johnny have always been there for each other – particularly since their father was revealed to be a serial killer and is now serving a life sentence for murdering thirteen people. Studying in a small university town near Edinburgh, Mia’s coping mechanisms are hiding behind sarcasm, horror writing and her somewhat illegal true crime radio station, while Johnny steps up as her warm, sensitive brother and keeps her out of trouble.
But when journalist-wannabe Johnny accepts an offer he cannot refuse – the chance to interview a reclusive mega rock star who disappeared from public view three years ago, Mia finds herself stuck on campus when two male students are found dead. As Johnny grapples with the enigmatic musician, he realises that something about the star’s nocturnal habits doesn’t quite add up. Meanwhile, Mia’s investigation takes her to the most unexpected places.
Make Me a Monster
Kalynn Bayron
Meka is used to death. After all, it’s the family business. As a mortician’s assistant at her parents’ funeral home, Meka’s days are not for the squeamish. Luckily, her boyfriend Noah doesn’t mind, and Meka finally feels ready to say those three little words that will change everything.
Then tragedy strikes and Meka’s world is torn apart. Nothing makes sense, especially when strange things start to happen: Strangers follow her. Mysterious items are left at her door. And worst of all – the dead don’t seem to be staying dead. Meka thought she understood death better than anyone, but it turns out the family business is more complicated than it seemed.
And Meka isn’t the only one desperate to unearth their secrets because the truth may be worth dying for.
Empty Heaven
Freddie Kolsch
Darian Sabine Arden loves her family’s summer home in the picturesque Massachusetts village of Kesuquosh. It’s where her three best friends live, and it’s the only place in her life where she isn’t haunted by reminders of the worst thing that ever happened to her. The villager’s belief in a godlike, benevolent scarecrow who protects the town only adds to the charming local colour.
But when Darian’s magnetic, mercurial crush KJ is chosen during a bizarre ritual on Halloween, Darian is forced to admit that Good Arcturus is more than just a quaint, folksy superstition – he’s terrifyingly real. Something ancient and sinister lurks behind the autumnal fields and warmly glowing windows of Kesuquosh.
Something that doesn’t take kindly to its paradise being threatened by a group of scrappy, weird teenagers. They will have to question everything they thought they knew about their home.
Uncle Zeedie
Frank Cadaver
Uncle Zeedie is weird, but at least he’s rich and his house is amazing. That’s what George and Lacey tell themselves when they arrive at his isolated mansion in the Welsh woods. Only something here is worse than weird.
Uncle Zeedie seems unhinged, serving them rotten food, and skulking around at night. The house is decaying, blood stained, and stinks of sour milk. And George is seeing kids that aren’t there. They’re dead, these kids.
And if the rumours are right, Uncle Zeedie is the one who’s killing them.
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