Halloween

3 Creepy Tales for YA Readers

Posted on by ellisnelson

‘Tis the season for chills & all things ghostly. Grab one of these if you dare!

Princess of the Damned (Skeleton Key) by Wendy Knight

princess

What do you do when the face in the mirror isn’t yours?
Landon has never seen his own reflection. He saw hers instead. He grew up watching this girl in the mirror grow with him. Grew up memorizing every feature, every movement, every horror she endured. He can see into her palace, into the darkness she’s trapped in.
When he was little, he told his parents about her. They thought she was an imaginary friend, and they humored him.
But she didn’t go away.
And when Landon was seventeen, he fell in love with her.
She is a captive of the Queen of the Damned.
Now he’ll risk everything to try to save her—his life, his home, his entire world.
Bloody Mary
The queen in the mirror.
Bloody Mary
Waiting to steal your soul.
Bloody Ma…

https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Damned-Skeleton-Wendy-Knight-ebook/dp/B01GOQ828U

Best Friends Forever by Patti Larsen

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A tragic accident strips sixteen-year-old Emily Underman of her three best friends. Depression consumes her as life becomes the endless gray place of feeling nothing. Until her little brother goes missing, jerking her out of her emotional coma. That’s when her friends appear. Haunting her, driving her to madness. Trying to tell her something. Making her question the motives of the lead detective on her brother’s case. Doubt the nice man next door. And making it hard for her to resist the only person who understands her—the detective’s son, Todd. Guilt forces her to trust the spirits of her ghostly friends who lead her closer and closer to the kidnapper—and redemption.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Friends-Forever-Patti-Larsen-ebook/dp/B0080G04GQ/

Sanctuary:(Shifter Chronicles Book 1) by Melle Amade

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It’s survival of the fittest, but first you have to fit in.

Shae is sure the icy rage that eats away at her is driving away her friends and pulling her closer to the wrong boy. But, as her protected world unravels, she discovers the violent supernatural world that lurks in her quiet hometown and the ancient feuds that threaten to destroy both her friends and her family. To save those she loves, Shae must succumb to her own fury, but at what cost?

https://www.amazon.com/Sanctuary-urban-fantasy-Shifter-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B01M13W8EP

HALLOWEEN YA HORROR

Posted on by ellisnelson

In an effort to satisfy my hunger for a good ghost story around Halloween, I stumbled on two firmly planted in the horror genre. Read at your own peril. Spoiler alert.

Beyond- A Ghost Story by Graham McNamee

Seventeen year old Jane was born dead and revived. In her short life she has escaped death four more times, but her shadow is after her. While Jane wrestles with these issues her best friend, Lexi, provides necessary comic relief. As the “Creep Sisters”, Jane and Lexi have to deal with being outsiders at school. Jane must find out why death haunts her before it’s too late and the opportunity comes when a skull is unearthed on the edge of town. Solving that mystery brings her face to face with a serial killer and reveals why her shadow is after her. McNamee successfully incorporates the idea of a dark, lost region that contrasts sharply to the bright light bliss of near death experiences. It’s a nice twist making it a unique ghost story. Sufficiently creepy, fast paced, and satisfying.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has inherited the job of ghost killer from his dad. Armed with a powerful knife, he seeks his prey. His next case draws him to Anna, a girl killed in 1958 on her way to a dance. Anna has the nasty habit of killing anyone who enters the house where she resides. This is a fairly well-crafted story, but not as original as Beyond. It has garnered quite a following seemingly attracting the Twilight crowd because of the romance between Cas and Anna. That part didn’t resonate with me. Cass witnessed a kid being ripped apart by Anna and yet he falls for her. The most unique aspect of the story comes from the idea of the Obeah- a creature seeking power and the Wicca traditions brought to the story by some of the lesser characters. This is a fast read, entertaining, but a bit familiar.