Scary For Adults

Denis Egan is dead. He’s okay with that. It’s been five years since he died. Sure, there are some things about his life and how it ended he can’t quite recall, but that’s how it’s supposed to be. Remembering could prevent Denis from moving on to whatever’s next. However, something is standing in his way. His twin brother Matt can’t let go of him, and as long as the living are holding on to his memory, Denis can’t rest in peace. To uncover the truth about what happened that day five years before, Denis returns to his hometown and teams up with Matt.

Ian was the one who chased the majestic buck into the forest. (His motto: act first, think later.) Kendra didn't want to become separated from the other sixth graders, but she followed Ian anyway, despite what her analytical mind told her. PJ followed him too. Even though he was scared, he figured he might catch some amazing footage with his video camera. They all hoped to return to the hiking trail before anyone noticed they were gone. However, the mountain had other plans for them: dark, sinister plans that only nightmares are made of.

When sixteen-year-old Paige Preston and her mother relocated to Dead Lake, Michigan, they were unaware that a seventeen-year-old previous resident of their house had killed himself by jumping off a cliff into the lake six months earlier. But was it really suicide? Noah Snyder is a ghost. At least he thinks so. Only he's not sure how he died. He recruits the cute Paige to help him get to the bottom of the mystery so he can move on.

It’s been four years since Dylan first encountered Derek, a demonic spirit, while under hypnosis. Now 18, Dylan is beginning to feel like he can lead a normal life again. His heart is set on college and a charming classmate at school. But his plans come to a screeching halt when Derek makes a sudden reappearance, looking more sinister than ever.

When a zombie followed August DuPont home one day, he didn't expect her to stick around. But Claudette is in no hurry to leave August's side. And when he decides to go to Croissant City in search of the elusive Zombie Stone, Claudette joins him. It's a good thing she does, because no sooner had August set out than a mysterious white alligator began to follow him. Reptiles aren't the only creatures to look out for, though. When August is reunited with his dour cousins the Malveaus, and their menacing mother, Orchid, finding the stone before they do takes on a new urgency.

Rex Dexter is itching to have a dog. His parents surprise him with a box. A box with holes. A box with holes and adorable scratchy noises coming from inside. Could it be? Yes! It has to be! A...a...chicken? One hour and 14 minutes later, the chicken is dead (by a steamroller), Rex is cursed (by the Grim Reaper), and wild animals are haunting Rex's room (hounding him for answers). Even his best friend, Darvish, is not going to believe this, and that kid believes everything.

From the award-winning author of Hidden Talents, two remarkable short-story collections - Kidzilla and The Witch's Monkey - together for the first time. Plus several brand-new stories. Each hilarious and harrowing. A substitute teacher finds out she has some monsters for students. A group of kids attempts a levitation trick with hair-raising results. A neighborhood is so boring the grown-ups are turning into...well...you know. And dozens more.

Ernestine Montgomery is the kind of kid who gets things done. She's smart, prepared, and always knows just what to do. But there's big trouble brewing inside the walls of the rambling old mansion where she lives... and only Ernestine can decipher the clues that point in one direction - murder! Can Ernestine solve the mystery before catastrophe strikes?

The girls go on an overnight and share horror stories around the campfire. But it’s the one about Cropsy, the creepy old man who lives just outside the campgrounds and is known for torturing Lakeview campers, that hits closest to home. Especially when Chelsea leaves the group for a bathroom break in the woods and doesn’t return after 45 minutes. No sooner do her bunkmates go after her then do they realize they’ve completely lost their way and are now at the mercy of the evil Cropsy’s whims!

Fans of Adam Gidwitz and Neil Gaiman will love this middle-grade adventure about two boys, a mysterious, old book with some dark secrets, and a horde of angry demons. Nothing could go wrong, right? When Walter Prairie is struck dead by a bolt of lightning, he's fast-tracked through the Afterlife Academy and assigned as a Guardian Agent to protect a High-Level Target. Walter's HLT, Charlie Dewdle, isn't the most popular kid in school. He's a bit paranormally obsessed. And he has just found an old book that could be used to open the Gateway for demons to wreak havoc on earth.

Thirteen-year-old Sully Stringfellow has always admired the great plumber heroes of Nitro City. These wrench-wielding warriors guarded the sewers - until they were discredited by the powerful Ironwater Corporation, which has a sinister scheme to take over the city. Without the plumbers, Nitro is being overrun by mutant creatures - and things are about to go totally nuclear thanks to the potentially explosive 50th Anniversary Burrito Festival!

Abandoned by her mother and neglected by her scientist father, timid Elizabeth Murmur has only her fearless friend, Zenobia, for company. And Zenobia's company can be very trying! When Elizabeth's father takes them to live in his family home, Witheringe House, Zenobia becomes obsessed with finding a ghost in the creepy old mansion and forces Elizabeth to hold séances and wander the rooms at night. With Zenobia's constant pushing, Elizabeth investigates the history of the house and learns that it does hold a terrible secret.

Max’s village is absolutely normal in every single way and on every single day—except Wednesday. Most of the townsfolk shutter their windows and lock their doors to hide away from the many peculiar things that happen—things like cats getting stuck in the vacuum cleaner and birthday cakes meeting fiery and horrific ends. But Max is too curious for that, and so, breaking every rule in the village, he searches out the cause of all the Wednesday weirdness.

Adept at portraying Latino teenage culture, author Gary Soto has won many honors, including an ALA Best Book Award for his young adult novels. After an East Fresno student is murdered, his mind leaves his body. Now he must get used to being an invisible spirit, one who watches his friends and family deal with his death.

Instead of choosing the good guy, I chose the bad guy. Instead of warding off the enemy, I moved in with him. And I thought the purpose of fear was to prevent you from doing stupid things. Gaia must decide whether she should call in the C.I.A. when she discovers an evil business empire plans to sell anti-fear drugs to the U.S. Army.

Some kids would risk almost anything to be thin, popular, and stop others from teasing them. But would you join the Midnight Diet Club? Esme is a slightly overweight teen-age girl who is hounded endlessly by three sinister bullies. In her quest to find acceptance she almost loses her soul in this funny, slightly scary, twist on vampire legends.

Tara Luna is the new girl in school, trying to hide her ghostly friends and fit in - impossible, since she's soon tracking down kidnappers and dodging Dee Dee Broyles, a murdered teen girl who just happens to haunt Tara's new house.

All during the day at school, Tara kept picturing the moment when she and Nate would find DeeDee's grave. Even the classes she had with Flynn, who made everything fun, never seemed to end. By the time the last bell rang, she was fired up like a roman candle on the Fourth of July. She bolted from her seat, made a quick stop at her locker, and slipped out a side door instead of taking the front, knowing full well she was going to miss seeing Flynn. She didn't have time to delay or explain, and she had a feeling he wouldn't be all that thrilled in what she was doing.

Days slip through Paul's graying fingers. Humanity faces the end. His brother has the virus and is dying, too. Paul's hopes ride on Heather's genetic code. Her immunity leaves her unchanged and untouchable. What would she see in the zombie he was becoming anyway? Dominic's army of infected grows, capturing the south and leaving little alive in its wake. While Paul and his friends work on the vaccine, protecting the north becomes protecting the world. Heather is taken hostage and Paul races toward Dominic to save his heart.

Mara Todd wakes in a field of dead grass, a heavy mist pressing down on her. She is terrified, afraid that she is dead. She can't remember who she is or anything about her past. Is it because of the boy who appears? He calls himself the Messenger of Fear. If the world does not bring justice to those who do evil, the Messenger will. He offers the wicked a game. If they win, they go free. If they lose, they will live their greatest fear. Either way, their sanity will be challenged.