Karen in CO Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 My dd asked for a horror story to read since she's never read one. She pulled Frankenstein from the Kindle library, but I cannot think of a single horror story that is appropriate. Beowulf was my first scary story when I was a kid. She is a big Doctor Who fan. Loves mythology but is very critical about authors changing established mythological stories or creatures. She went through a dystopian phase last summer so she's been through Hunger Games, the Uglies and many more of those, but they aren't what she's looking for. I don't want to give her books with lots of violence and bloodshed; something with a more gothic feel is probably a lot better. She's been having a lot serious health problems lately so I think this is an attempt to help her emotionally deal with her very real fears. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I used to like Edgar Allen Poe when I was that age. And Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. I assume she's not interested in those "Spooky stories" type of collections (like those by Alvin Schwartz or Robert San Souci) or Goosebumps? Or Pat McKissack's books of tales? Coraline by Neil Gaiman was written for that age, more or less, rather than adults, maybe that is a good pick? I've never read it, though. Or The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? Or The House with a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Edgar Allen Poe was my first thought. If you have an iPad you can get iPoe pretty cheaply. It's interactive Poe shorts...spooky music...neat illustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 Poe! I can't believe I didn't think of Poe. I have a couple of collections of short stories. I think I started reading Poe in middle school too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 The Wardstone Chronicles are not quite full-blown horror (though the covers look it), but are certainly dark fantasy. The first is called The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch (aka The Spook's Apprentice in the UK). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Dracula? http://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Sterling-Classics-Bram-Stoker/dp/1402773242/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=31JDUFDC6Z7F7&coliid=I1LWLPT44NT913 As for Poe, there are some gorgeous versions out for kids. This is from a series of three: http://www.amazon.com/Edgar-Allan-Tales-Death-Dementia/dp/1416950257/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z . They are very tempting although, on further consideration, I think that the best horror comes from your own mind's eye, as you build your own impossibly fearful images. Maybe it is best to have no illustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 H.P. Lovecraft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I think the last poem I memorized for school was The Raven, in seventh grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 H.P. Lovecraft? My 11yo reads Lovecraft (DH loaded them all on her Nook, that can of worms isn't getting closed :001_rolleyes: ), but I don't have a good sense of appropriateness for preteens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Poe for sure! Lots of great material there. And Nathaniel Hawthorne has some stories in that same vein - Rappacini's Daughter, the Birthmark, Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, Young Goodman Brown. Dracula would work for her, if she's already read Frankenstein, I think. What about some of the other gothic thrillers, like The Mysteries of Udolpho? Carmilla? even Northanger Abbey, for a lighter touch? And then I think of things like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, for the more gothic/less horror side of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 My first thought was: "One day you will grow up and have children. And they will be JUST. LIKE. YOU!" I think my first foray into horror was either Frankenstein or Dracula. They don't focus so much on the gore, unlike some of the more recent books. The Telltale Heart and The Monkey's Paw also stick out in my memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I remember being totally freaked out by the Hound of the Baskervilles about then. Something about dogs with glowing eyes . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Maybe some Lois Duncan? She has some scary stuff. I loved them at that age, but I don't remember if there is anything that could be considered inappropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce. I haven't read any of his others but that one is really good. Maybe Robin Cook-it is sci fi medical thrillers, but it has been a long time since I read any of them and I don't remember if they were too graphic or had scenes not suitable for that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I remember being totally freaked out by the Hound of the Baskervilles about then. Something about dogs with glowing eyes . . . Oh, yeah, great suggestion! That's a kind of scary one without being creepy or gory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce. I haven't read any of his others but that one is really good. Maybe Robin Cook-it is sci fi medical thrillers, but it has been a long time since I read any of them and I don't remember if they were too graphic or had scenes not suitable for that age. Hah, I just picked up an Ambrose Bierce short story collection at the library today! I'll have to check that one out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Phantom of the Opera? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I really liked the Goosebumps books when I was around that age. They're scary, but it's not the kind of horror that stays with you and keeps you awake for a week, and there's nothing gory or sexual. And while they aren't exactly classic literature, a lot of the stories are surprisingly creative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Maybe some Lois Duncan? She has some scary stuff. I loved them at that age, but I don't remember if there is anything that could be considered inappropriate. My girlfriend and I used to read her books when we'd want to get freaked out (maybe they aren't as freaky as I remember them as I'm kind of a scaredy cat ;) ). They aren't classic literature, but I also don't remember anything about them that would be inappropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 My kids love the Johnny Dixon mysteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 Thanks for all of your suggestions. So far she's read two by Gaiman (Coraline and The Graveyard Book) and asked for more. She also loved the first John Belairs book so I ordered more of those. Hopefully with the rest of these, she'll get her fill of horror. Funny thing is that she thinks Poe is too scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Hi Karen, I typed out this list on a different thread a couple of yrs ago. The TM book that the list came from might interest you....it hasn't been a fit for my current crew that age level. (Here is the thread with more info beyond the titles) http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/281051-interesting-resource-to-engage-the-reluctant-reader/#entry2805553 Among the Dolls The Arm of the Starfish The CaSE OF THE Baker Stree Irregular Deadly Stranger The Doll in the Garden The Dollhouse Murders Eat youR ,Poison, Dear The Ghost Wore Gray The Headless Cupid The House on the Hill The Midnight Mystery Peppermints in the Parlor The Seance Something Upstairs All Around the Town The Callender Papers The Curse fo teh Blue Figurine Down a Dark Hall Dragons in the Waters The Egypt Game Ghost Behind Me Killing Mr Griffin The Man in the Woods Mystery at Bluff Pt Dunes The Snow Spider Teh Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull Sweet Whispers, Brohter Rush The Third Eye The Truth Trap The Westing Game the Young Unicorns And then there were none Appt w/DeaTH tHE Cat Who Talked to Ghosts The Hound of the Baskervilles I Know What you Did Last SUmmer Murder at the Vicarage Orchard of the Crescent Moon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 Hi Karen, I typed out this list on a different thread a couple of yrs ago. The TM book that the list came from might interest you....it hasn't been a fit for my current crew that age level. (Here is the thread with more info beyond the titles) http://forums.welltr...r/#entry2805553 ........ ........ Thank you! this is great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Edgar Allan Poe was my first glimpse into the horror genre. Hound of the Baskervilles is creepy. Wuthering Heights is disturbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Suspenseful, rather than horror: The Children of Green Knowe series (Boston) The Egypt Game (Snyder) The Headless Cupid (Snyder) The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken) There are "gentle" horror (lol) collections: 13 Scary Ghost Stories Favorite Scary Stories of American Children Tales of Mystery, Suspense and Supernatural Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery Alfred Hitchcock's Supernatural Tales These are older classics, and a bit more intense and/or older vocabulary/sentence structure: - "The Monkey's Paw" (Jacobs) - "The Bottle Imp" (Stevenson) - "The Signal Man" (Dickens) - "Legend of Sleep Hollow" (Irving) - "Frritt-Flacc" (Verne) - "Queen of Spades" (Pushkin) - War of the Worlds (Wells) - short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- some of the Sherlock Holmes short mysteries are more horror-based, but he also wrote a number of horror/supernatural short stories - "Rappachini's Daughter"; "The Minister's Black Veil"; "Young Goodman Brown" (Hawthorne) - "Masque of the Red Death"; "Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allen Poe - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Stevenson) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 When I was in 4th grade our teacher had a surprise visitor for us, a friend of hers from college named Dean Faulkner Wells. She brought us signed copies of a book she'd written of ghost stories that she remembered her famous uncle, William Faulkner, telling when she was a child. I still own my copy and it is one of my most prized possessions. I LOVED the ghost stories in this book. They are creepy, but not overly scary. Very much in the style of Faulkner himself, but on a child's level. The name of the book is The Ghosts of Rowan Oak. Highly, highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 When I was in 4th grade our teacher had a surprise visitor for us, a friend of hers from college named Dean Faulkner Wells. She brought us signed copies of a book she'd written of ghost stories that she remembered her famous uncle, William Faulkner, telling when she was a child. I still own my copy and it is one of my most prized possessions. I LOVED the ghost stories in this book. They are creepy, but not overly scary. Very much in the style of Faulkner himself, but on a child's level. The name of the book is The Ghosts of Rowan Oak. Highly, highly recommended. What a wonderful story! And according to this short bio, this collection by Dean Faulkner Wells is really her retelling the stories actually told to her by Faulkner when she visited as a little girl! What a prized possession to have and enjoy. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Alvin Schwartz's three volumes of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark are...scary. Illustrations are haunting and bizarre and cool. Recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 "It" was a good one. Misery wasn't terribly gory I don't think, but it was very psychologically scary. Apt Pupil freaked me out. Still does, though I'm sure I've built it up into something entirely more than it is in the last 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 My son just finished the Dream House Kings series. I read them too, definitely page turners. Each book ends on a cliff hanger though, so you might want to order several at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Anyone mention H P Lovecraft? I suppose he's more "weird" than staight horror, but good. I read Stephen King when I was about that age. Every kid is different in what he/she can handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Alfred Hitchcock! We have some books, but we've also enjoyed listening on Youtube and Rhapsody: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I remember reading some Stephen King, Pet Sematary, Thinner, The Shining, and Misery. They were probably the more gory ones. Dh was a huge fan and (after mentioning King) is now insisting GB read Eyes of the Dragon when he's done with The Hunger Games trilogy. Oh you're bringing back memories! I went through a King phase too, reading my mum's paperbacks. The one that stuck out the most to me was Stephen King and Peter Straub's 'The Talisman'. What an awesome book - if I remember it correctly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.