Book Series · 12 Books

Poison Apple Books

In order from The Dead End to Dead in the Water.

Twelve stand-alone supernatural mysteries give tween readers ghosts, werewolves, vampires, eerie doubles, and other shivery trouble without a continuing plot.

Reviewed by the Bookroo Editors Updated August 12, 2026

Reading order

Do the Poison Apple Books Need to Be Read in Order?

No. Poison Apple is a themed line of stand-alone stories by different authors, so a child can choose any mystery that sounds appealing. The list below uses publication order simply to make the complete twelve-book inventory easy to check.

Characters and plots do not carry from one book to the next. Readers can skip a premise that feels too scary without losing any background for another title.

Sources: Scholastic's launch catalog for the stand-alone series, Scholastic's 2011 Poison Apple catalog, Scholastic's 2012 trade catalog.

For parents

What Parents Should Know

These are spooky tween mysteries rather than graphic horror. Stories use haunted houses, ghosts, curses, menacing creatures, possession-like behavior, and sustained suspense; children may feel endangered, but gore is not the focus. Sensitivity varies by premise, so the title and summary are a useful guide for a child's first pick.

Where to start

Where Should My Child Start?

Choose by favorite kind of scare

Because every story stands alone, pick the premise your child already enjoys—ghosts, vampires, werewolves, or an eerie mystery—instead of feeling required to start with book 1.

Where the story begins

First Book in the Series

Sale price

$574

Book #1 · Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2010

The Dead End

By Mimi McCoy

A summer in a haunted house turns terrifying as objects move on their own. Can Casey uncover the truth before it's too late?

192 pages· 27,910 words· Est. 4 hour read

$5.99Save 4%

Paperback

Summary: Casey Slater's summer plans crumble when her family moves to a remote town to restore a creepy old house. Rumors of haunting become reality as objects move mysteriously and eerie sounds echo through the halls. With her nerves on edge, Casey must confront the ghostly presence that seems determined to drive them away. Will she unravel the house's secrets, or will fear get the best of her? Dive into a chilling adventure where boredom is the least of Casey's worries.

In reading order