Friday, October 29, 2010

What Books? Favorite Ghost/Scary Stories

What Books? Favorite Ghost/Scary Stories

I've decided to start a new feature called "What Books?" I have so many book memories from my childhood. Different books touched me in different ways and had came to me at important times. I plan on running this feature from time to time - maybe twice a month? - and feature books that I love(d) for different reasons.

Some topics I've thought of:
1. The first book that really turned you into a reader
2. Books you didn't like at first but now love
3. Favorite books you read in high school English
4. Favorite series from elementary school

Things like that.

Right now, a lot of the topics and books that come to mind feature books that I liked when I was in elementary and middle school more than books I liked in high school and later. So there might be more of a middle-grade focus.

Please feel free to contribute your own favorite books in the comments or post similarly on your blog and link to this. If people like this feature as it gets going, I think it might be a fun meme.

In honor of Halloween, I thought it's start out the feature with my favorite ghost and scary stories.

Betty Ren Wright

I read so many of Betty Ren Wright's ghost stories in elementary school. I've never been a big horror fan (I was too terrified to go on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland when I was 8), but these mildly scary ghost stories were always great fun. It's funny as I look at the summaries of these books that they sound completely unfamiliar to me even though I know I've read them. I guess the idea of them stuck with me more than the actual plots.

Christina's Ghost: Christina's summer in a spooky, isolated Victorian house with her grumpy uncle turns into a ghostly adventure.
Ghosts Beneath Our Feet: During a summer in an abandoned mining town, Katie's relationship with a rebellious stepbrother improves as they probe the past to find out why there seem to be ghosts, literally, beneath their feet.
The Secret Window: Meg is afraid to tell anyone when her dreams literally start coming true, but she needs help before she can learn to use her gift of seeing into the future.
The Pike River Phantom: Thirteen-year-old Rachel and her cousin Charlie become linked with the mad ghost of a fierce old lady, who is eerily involved in the upcoming Sunbonnet Queen contest about which Rachel dreams.




Ghost In The Garden by Carol H. Behrman: Jennie is lonely and finds a ghost that leads her on to a great discovery.












Hopping to middle school...

Christopher Pike


Remember Me: She didn't understand that she was dead...

The Midnight Club: One night, in the middle of a particularly scary story, these five people make a pact with each other that says that the fist one of them who dies is to make every effort to contact the others- from beyond the grave. (This was my favorite Christopher Pike book)


Bury Me Deep: The dead boy would not go away.











R.L. Stine


Fearstreet books - I'm not going to feature any specific books for this one, because I was looking at Goodreads, and I can't remember which ones I've read and which ones I haven't. Overall, I thought Christopher Pike was a step above R.L Stine, so those books have stayed with me more. But I enjoyed the Fear Street as good junk candy now and again.

What were your favorite ghost/scary stories when you were younger?

12 comments:

  1. Some great books you mention here - Christina's Ghost sounds particularly interesting.

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  2. I think my favourite ghost story of all time would have to be Time Windows. It's definitely YA and it's really a beautiful and riveting story. I really like this feature, Alison! :)

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  3. My favourite as a child would have been R.L. Stine Goosebumps series.

    I like your What Books idea!

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  4. Lol, Pike was a huge influence on me as a kid. Hence my blog title Midnight Book Girl, and my book club, Midnight Book Club. I loved the idea of gathering and telling tales at midnight. I still enjoy Pike's books despite my advancing age!

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  5. Christopher Pike was my favourite author when I was a teen. I loved Remember me. I still love it to this day.

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  6. I used to LOVE Christopher Pike. He was my favorite author when I was in middle school. Funny enough, I read his most recent book last week and it was TERRIBLE.

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  7. fun meme, i'll write one at my blog. Sounds fun!

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  8. Oh I loved the secret Window - had forgotten all about it!

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  9. I've never read any of the books you mentioned above, or at least not that I remember, but they sound like books that would have been just up my alley. :) There was this one mystery series that I used to love, though I can't remember the name of it. It had funny sounding names like Werewolves Don't Drink Lemonade or something of the sort.

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