6 Scary Ghost Story Collections for All Ages

Neil Gaiman Young Readers’ Collection, by Neil Gaiman
This collection may include two non-ghost stories, but it’s worth it to introduce your children to the unforgettable worlds of Coraline and The Graveyard Book. A Newbery and Carnegie medal winner, Gaiman has created incredible stories for your children to enjoy on the very edges of their seats. Coraline is the insidiously creepy story of a brave young girl who must save herself and her parents from a ghostly alternate world, while The Graveyard Book is about a young boy raised from infancy by ghosts, werewolves and other cemetery inhabitants. Not only are they both legitimately scary, but the freshness and originality of each story is also very compelling. You will enjoy them just as much as your children!

Nancy Drew Ghost Stories, by Carolyn Keene
If you have yet to introduce your children to Nancy Drew and her sleuthing skills, what better book to start with than a collection of her best ghost mysteries? Nancy Drew has been an incredible literary character since 1930 and was even called an influence by some of the greatest women of our time, such as Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Sandra Day O’Connor. She’s a worthy role model for your own future Supreme Court Justice, and one hwom you’ll be proud to see your child enjoying through her books; this one, especially! A girl like Nancy Drew can face literally anything, including a college professor rising from her grave. This collection includes six (titian) hair-raising ghost stories, perfect for a Nancy Drew introduction.

Hardy Boys Ghost Stories, by Franklin W. Dixon
Created by Edward Stratemeyer, the same man who brought you Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys is a series your children need on their bookshelves yesterday. Following the mystery-busting adventures of Frank and Joe Hardy, this series is full of endearing, quintessential Americana moments and the triumph of good over evil. This ghost stories collection is a perfect way to bring The Hardy Boys to life in your children’s bedrooms and imaginations. Like the Nancy Drew collection, this book contains six tales for you to enjoy with your kids, including one that features an 18th century ship piloted by a crew of ghosts. Talk about an adventure!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, by Alvin Schwartz and Brett Helquist
You know that book that was always on loan in your elementary school’s library? It was this one right here. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a collection full of some of the creepiest, most gruesome stories you can imagine, but you’ll also laugh out loud at several of the pages. The stories are accompanied by some great illustrations that are just as scary as the words on the page. I’m telling you, if you’re looking for a scary story you’ll remember for life, one that you can bring up in conversation over a campfire or recite inside of a bed fort, you’ll want this collection. Your children will thank you for it, especially if they don’t have to fight a quick fourth grader to get it out of the library every week.

Classic Goosebumps Collection, by R.L. Stine
This epic collection is a winner. Everyone knows how incredible the Goosebumps books are, and to introduce them to your child is to introduce them to a world they will never forget. The best part of these stories, besides their heart-pounding plots, is that the children are always the heroes. Whether they are using their own wit, imagination and know-how to beat some evil entity, or simply overcoming their own fears or flaws so they can fight the baddies, these books always leave kids feeling like they’ve triumphed against evil. With 180 books in the Goosebumps series alone, starting your kids off with the first four is a great way to introduce them to this prolific and incomparable children’s author.
And, for very mature young readers…

Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories, by Roald Dahl
An anthology of some of the best ghost stories, hand-picked from the British Museum Library by Roald Dahl, this collection is sure to thrill both you and your (slightly older) children. Dahl hoped that this book would “give you the creeps and disturb your thoughts”, and boy, does it deliver. The incredible thing about this collection is that most of the ghost stories are not focused on describing a spirit and willing the reader to “see” it. Instead, you will finish several of these stories feeling like they weren’t terribly scary, until you ruminate on them for awhile and realize that the horror was so subtly intertwined in the story that you nearly missed it…and now, the full ramifications are terrifying. That, my friends, is the earmark of a thrilling ghost story.
What spooky ghost story collections do you dare to read with your kids?