Scary For Adults

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.

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.

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.

Time is running out and Paul's original wish for death looms. As his skin grays and hunger becomes uncontrollable, the world burns. Heather and Paul have fallen for each other, but with life and death barricading them apart and the potential cure disappearing into time, they have no hope. Paul's hunger is all-consuming. He has to walk into the flames, join Dominic, or eat everyone he loves. Can he save anyone, if not himself?

Three siblings fighting to survive in a zombie infested world... When they get caught in a flood during a rainstorm, the group is forced to take refuge. Soon, they are thrust into a mystery they can't explain, and when things slowly begin to unravel, they learn they have to play by a new set of rules...

Twelve-year-old Ethan Blackwood has always known exactly what he wants - to win the state soccer championship, get into the best high school, and become an astronaut. Then he meets Madison and Felix, who tell him something... insane. They claim that fifty years ago, aliens took over the Earth, and everyone past the age of puberty is under their mind control. Ethan doesn’t believe it. But then he sees for himself the aliens’ monster bug robots and the incredible way Madison and Felix have learned to fight them. So Ethan Blackwood has a choice....

Sukie's been lonely since the death of her big sister, Kitty - but Kitty's ghost is still with her. At first that was comforting, but now Kitty's terrifying anyone who gets too close. Things get even weirder when Sukie moves into her family's ancestral home and an older, less familiar ghost challenges her to find a treasure. Her classmate Cole is also experiencing apparitions. Fortunately an antique broom's at hand to fly Sukie and Cole to the New York Circulating Material Repository's spooky Poe Annex.

Back when I was fearless, it went like this: Gaia meets boy. Gaia falls in love with boy. Boy gets hurt. Now that I feel fear, it goes like this: Gaia meets boy. Gaia falls in love with boy. Boy gets hurt. Some things never change.