Haunted House Books for Kids · 150 titles considered

The Best Haunted House Books for Kids

By the Bookroo Editors
Updated July 27, 2026

A good haunted house is never just a box with a ghost in it. It sulks when a family will not move in, rearranges the hallway after dark, keeps one room locked for an excellent reason, or waits until the new child has unpacked before making itself known. For younger readers, all that creaking can become a joke or a counting game. For older ones, the house remembers what its owners would prefer to forget—and it is usually less interested in being sold than in being heard.

We searched Bookroo’s collection of 150 haunted house books for stories in which the building matters, not books that happen to pass a cobweb on the way to some other adventure. Start with our fixed list of 12 favorites, ordered from playful pop-ups and friendly ghosts to middle-grade chills and YA horror, then use the age shelves to find the right amount of creaking floorboard for your reader.

The Old Willis Place
#1 in Series
The Agony House
Graphic Nov.
White Smoke
The Shortlist

Our 12 Favorite Haunted House Books

Sale price
$1398
Picture Book · Ages 2–5 · 1979

Haunted House

By Jan Pienkowski

A visitor opens cupboards, peers into the bath, and pulls tabs that make every room reveal one more wonderfully engineered fright.

Kate Greenaway Medal (1979)
12 pages
Best for
A first haunted house, ages 2–5
4.4/5 Goodreads · 851 ratings
$14.99Save 7%
Picture Book · Ages 3–6 · 2008

Ghosts in the House!

A small witch discovers ghosts in every room, runs them through the wash, and finds several excellent uses for clean white sheets.

32 pages· 167 words· Est. 2 min read-aloud
Best for
Clever, not-scary problem solving, ages 3–6
5.3/7 Bookroo·4.0/5 Goodreads · 1,961 ratings
$12.95Save 4%
Picture Book · Ages 4–8 · 2021

Hardly Haunted

A lonely house tries to stop her creaks, groans, and rattling pipes so that a family might finally choose her.

42 pages· 312 words· Est. 3 min read-aloud
Best for
Children who prefer cozy-spooky to scary
4.2/5 Goodreads · 1,599 ratings
$18.99Save 5%
Chapter Book · Ages 4–8 · 2025

Aggie and the Ghost

Aggie wants a house of her own; the ghost already living there proposes a winner-takes-the-house game of tic-tac-toe.

64 pages· 446 words· Est. 8 min read
Best for
New readers ready for a longer picture book
4.3/5 Goodreads · 1,305 ratings
$19.99Save 5%
Chapter Book · Ages 8–11 · 2009

Dying to Meet You

By Kate Klise, M. Sarah Klise (Illustrator) · Book #1 in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series

A blocked writer rents a Victorian mansion and discovers that a boy, a cat, and the resident ghost have no intention of leaving.

160 pages
Best for
Funny letters-and-drawings reading, ages 8–11
4.0/5 Goodreads · 8,583 ratings
$9.99Save 4%
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 1992

Welcome to Dead House

Book #1 in the Goosebumps series

Amanda and Josh move into a gloomy old house in Dark Falls, where the neighborhood children are friendly in a distinctly unsettling way.

123 pages· 23,002 words· Est. 3 hour read
Best for
The essential Goosebumps doorway, ages 8–12
3.9/5 Goodreads · 43,129 ratings
$6.99Save 4%
Chapter Book · Ages 9–12 · 1986

Wait Till Helen Comes

A resentful stepsister begins meeting a lonely girl beside the pond, and the ghost wants far more than friendship.

184 pages· 37,186 words· Est. 4 hour read
Best for
A classic that still frightens, ages 9–12
4.1/5 Goodreads · 26,568 ratings
$8.99Save 5%
Chapter Book · Ages 10–12 · 2004

The Old Willis Place

Two children living under a strict set of rules at an abandoned mansion watch a new girl arrive—and risk everything to speak to her.

199 pages· 46,453 words· Est. 5 hour read
Best for
Readers who like a mystery inside the haunting
4.1/5 Goodreads · 11,384 ratings
$8.99Save 5%
Chapter Book · Ages 9–13 · 2013

The Screaming Staircase

Three young ghost hunters enter one of England’s most lethal houses armed with iron, salt, and considerably less adult supervision than seems wise.

390 pages
Best for
Confident readers who want real suspense, ages 10–14
4.3/5 Goodreads · 77,915 ratings
$9.99Save 4%
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2017

Spirit Hunters

By Ellen Oh · Book #1 in the Spirit Hunters series

After moving into a house with a violent history, Harper notices her little brother talking to someone nobody else can see.

288 pages· 49,469 words· Est. 7 hour read
Best for
Possession horror with a family center, ages 8–12
4.0/5 Goodreads · 4,007 ratings
$17.99Save 6%
Chapter Book · Ages 12–15 · 2018

The Agony House

By Cherie Priest, Tara O'Connor (Illustrator)

A teenager renovating a crumbling New Orleans house finds an old comic whose panels are beginning to explain the noises in the walls.

256 pages· 65,688 words· Est. 8 hour read
Best for
Graphic-novel fans and older middle grade
3.7/5 Goodreads · 1,798 ratings
$18.99Save 5%
Chapter Book · Ages 14–+ · 2021

White Smoke

A blended family’s new home smells wrong, objects disappear, and a small child keeps pointing at somebody who is not there.

373 pages· 80,742 words· Est. 7.5 hour read
Best for
Teen readers, ages 14 and up
3.8/5 Goodreads · 21,554 ratings
$19.99Save 5%
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Browse by age

Haunted House Picture Books

Creaky doors, timid ghosts, pop-up surprises, and houses that are more lonely than alarming, for read-aloud ages 3–8.

Ten Timid Ghosts

Ages 4–8 · 2000

Ten ghosts must outwit a witch to reclaim their haunted home.

At the Old Haunted House

Ages 3–8 · 2014

Explore a haunted house filled with creatures preparing for Halloween Fright.

I'm Not Afraid of This Haunted House

Ages 4–7 · 2005

Fearless Simon faces an unexpected terror in a haunted house.

Moldilocks and the Three Scares

Ages 4–8 · 2019

A zombie stumbles into a haunted house, seeking comfort and surprises.

Inside a House That Is Haunted

Ages 4–8 · 1998

A haunted house's residents hilariously scare each other when a trick-or-treater arrives.

Mommy?

Ages 4–6 · 2006

A fearless boy confronts monsters in search of his mommy.

Halloween Fraidy-Cat

Ages 4–8 · 2006

Can Freddy face his fears before the Halloween party reveals his secret fright?

Halloween Night

Ages 4–8 · 2008

Prepare for a Halloween night filled with spooky creatures and endless scares.

How to Build a Haunted House

Ages 4–7 · 2020

Monsters race against dawn to build a haunted house. Will they finish in time?

Dirk Bones and the Mystery of the Haunted House

Ages 4–8 · 2006

In a haunted town, mysterious sounds terrify ghosts. Can reporter Dirk Bones solve the eerie mystery?

The Graves Family

Ages 5–10 · 2003

A quirky family struggles to fit in with their unusual antics and inventions.

This Book Is Haunted

Ages 4–8 · 2002

A ghost shares playful poems and tales that tickle, not terrify.

View all haunted house picture books
Browse by age

Haunted House Chapter Books & Middle Grade

Ghost patrols, forbidden rooms, family secrets, and houses that really do want their visitors to stay, for independent readers ages 6–13.

The Shadows

Ages 10–12 · 2010

A girl discovers a sinister world within paintings, facing a dark power that threatens her new home.

The Hollow Boy

Ages 10–14 · 2015

Ghost hunters face assassins and hauntings amid rising tensions.

Greetings from the Graveyard

Ages 8–12 · 2014

A ghostly trio starts a greeting card company amidst a crime wave and escaped convicts.

The Phantom of the Post Office

Ages 8–12 · 2012

A post office's fate hangs in the balance as a mysterious plan unfolds.

Over My Dead Body

Ages 8–12 · 2009

A boy, a writer, and a ghost defy rules to stay together.

Sale price
$599

The Dead End

Ages 8–12 · 2010

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

Captain Awesome vs. the Spooky, Scary House

Ages 5–9 · 2013

Two friends go on a mission to explore a creepy old house on Halloween night

Sale price
$799

The Thirteen Ghosts

Ages 7–9 · 2011

Explore a haunted mansion with Creepella and uncover if its ghosts are friend or foe.

Kate's Story, 1914

Ages 8–12 · 2014

Uncover hidden family secrets and ghostly mysteries at Vandermeer Manor as war looms.

Sale price
$699

The Hide-and-Seek Ghost

Ages 6–8 · 2016

A haunted house threatens a sale. Can Kaz and Claire solve the mystery?

Sale price
$699

The Locker Ate Lucy!

Ages 6–8 · 2014

A boy must rescue his friend from a haunted school that is alive and trying to eat them.

Sale price
$799

Return of the Vampire

Ages 7–10 · 2013

A vampire's castle is haunted by ghosts and monsters.

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