Winter Holidays

Avi, Best Shorts
“Zlateh the Goat”–very nice Hanukkah/winter story.  how a goat saved a boy during a blizzard.

Black History Month

Avi, Best Shorts
“Woman in the Snow”–ghost story about the segregated South.

Donald Gallo, Time Capsule
“Moving On: 1910-1919–life in a segregated Southern town at the end of World War One. examines the themes of honesty and taking responsibility for one’s actions. could be a good discussion starter.

Vampire Novels

M.T. Anderson, Thirsty

Amelia Atwater- Rhodes, Demons in My View, In the Forests of the Night

Kate Cary, Bloodline, Reckoning 

Caroline Cooney, Vampire’s Promise

Melissa De la Cruz, Blue Bloods

Annette Curtis Klause, Silver Kiss

Marianne Mancusi, Boys That Bite

Robin McKinley, Sunshine

Stephanie Meyer, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse

Douglas Rees, Vampire High

Anne Rice, several titles

Ellen Schreiber, Vampire Kisses

Darren Shan, Cirque du Freak series R.L. Stine, Dangerous Girls

Scott Westerfeld, Peeps, Last Days

Vivian Vande Velde, Companions of the Night

Halloween Stories

Avi, Best Shorts
“The Caller”–spooky story about a cellphone call.

Anthony Horowitz, Horowitz Horror: Stories You’ll Wish You’d Never Read–Nine horror stories focusing on everyday items with sinister qualities. all set in England. creepy. read first.
“Bath Night”–coping with a haunted bathtub.

“Killer Camera”–a camera with extraordinary powers.

“Light Moves”–a seemingly possessed computer.

“The Night Bus”—Nick and Jeremy catch an unusual bus with “different” passengers Halloween night.

“Harriet’s Horrible Dream”– a cannibalistic chef looking for new ingredients.

“Scared”–city-boy bully Gary finds out everything is different in the country.

“A Career in Computer Games”—a boy finds himself trapped in a computer game.

“The Man with the Yellow Face”—a memorable train trip from York to London.

“The Monkey’s Ear”– monkey’s ear that grants dangerous wishes.

Anthony Horowitz, More Horowitz Horror: More Stories You’ll Wish You’d Never Read–More horror stories focusing on everyday items with sinister qualities. all set in England. creepy.  read first.
“The Hitchhiker”—picking up a hitchhiker with unexpected results.

“The Sound of Murder”–a girl’s unusual hearing aid. long.
“Burned”—a trip to Barbados and a sunburn.

“Flight 715”—a dream about a plane crash.

“Howard’s End”—Howard dies and goes to heaven, or so he thinks.

“The Elevator”—a boy goes into an elevator and never comes out.

“The Phone Goes Dead”—a special kind of cellphone.

“Twist Cottage”—is it haunted?

Neil Gaiman, M Is For Magic
“Troll Bridge”—Story of the bargain a boy makes with a troll.  Read first.

“Don’t Ask Jack”—A scary jack-in-the-box.  Read first.

Richard Peck, Past Perfect, Present Tense
“Girl at the Window”—a girl keeps trying to come in the attic window. Is she real?

“The Most Important Night of Melanie’s Life”—Melanie’s brothers have an unusual babysitter.

Vivian Vende Velde, All Hallow’s Eve–13 scary stories all set on Halloween. would be great for Halloween read-aloud.  all stories should be read first.

“MARIAN”–a teen driver finds himself at the mercy of his car.

“Morgan Rochmar’s Boys”–a dead serial killer strikes again.

“Only on All Hallow’s Eve”–a boy pretends to be a dead man with unfortunate results.

“Cemetery Field Trip”–a girl gets trapped in a mausoleum during a class trip to a cemetery.

“Best Friends”–two girls describe their friendship in alternating pages and present it very differently. might be fun as readers’ theater.

“Pretending”–a first date goes horribly wrong.

“I Want To Thank You”–a good Samaritan who isn’t. short.

“Cemetery Field Trip”–a girl gets trapped in a mausoleum during a class trip to a cemetery.

“When and How”–five friends consult a psychic, but they may not like what the future holds.

“When My Parents Come to Visit”–an unusual visit from Matt’s parents.

“Edward, Lost and Far From Home”–a boys learns the dire consequences of angering a witch.aloud.  all stories should be read first.