The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie 295 pages

This is a great story to hand to a kid who likes mysteries, especially with some spookiness, and 'new kid' books.  Tessa has had to move from sunny Florida to very grey Chicago.  She wants to be happy for her parents, whose talents garnered them awesome new opportunities, but she's having trouble adjusting to a new environment, trying to make friends, and - oh, yeah - she's pretty sure her new house is haunted.  This is a fun little mystery with just enough spooky for a young audience. 

Ruby and Olivia by Rachel Hawkins 240 pages

When Olivia takes the fall for a crime her twin sister committed, she knows she has to live with the punishment she shouldn't have been given.  Spending her summer cleaning a creepy old house that has a tree growing right up through its center is bad enough, but she has to serve time with an old enemy, too.  This book had just the right amount of creepiness, while not making that the main story.  I loved Ruby and Olivia, they were both believable and the fact that each chapter was told from the other girl's perspective was a great way to be able to connect with them both.  This is a fun, quick read to hand to someone who likes realistic stories with just a touch of supernatural intrigue. 

Ghost Story by Peter Straub 483 pages

This is classic horror at its best.  I finally got around to reading it, because in researching horror trivia, it kept coming up as a must read.  I'm very glad I did!  This was one of those books that was difficult to stop reading...chapter breaks or not.  I found myself staying awake far later than I should to carry on with it.  A group of older men has a club called the Chowder Society.  They get together in their finery and tell each other ghost stories.  They are driven to tell these stories, but they share a terrible secret from their youth.  It seems the past is coming to haunt them and people in their tiny New England town begin dropping like flies.  There were some wonderfully spooky bits and some downright terrifying.  I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves a good horror story, especially ghostly.  It's dated, but still holds up really well.

The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein 329 pages

Zac and his family move to his father's hometown. On their property is a tree that has a mean-hearted spirit. Fifty years ago, Clint ran a bus off the road killing everyone but one person. Since then, their spirits have haunted the town of North Chester. It is up to Zac and his new step-mother, Judy, to rid the town of Clint's spirit. 

When I first heard of Chris Grabenstein, I only thought that he wrote funny books, but I was wrong. When I met him back in March, I learned that he also wrote ghost stories. I was excited to see another side of Chris Grabenstein. The Crossroads was a hard book to put down. 

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender 304 pages

Collette cannot wait to be in Paris, Francis. She'll be spending the next nine days sight seeing with her French class. When the class gets to France, they learn about series of gruesome murders, where people are losing their heads. As Collette moves around Paris, she keeps seeing a pale woman in the a ball gown and a powdered wig. She figures out the figure that she is seeing is Marie Antionette. Collette learns of her family's connection to Paris. Collette is a descendant of Mario Antionette's closest friend, a member of the group who brought Marie Antionette to her beheading. The queen's ghost is ready to strike again, but she is leaving the worst for Collette - she must lose her heart, before the queen takes her head. Can Collette make it out of Paris alive? 

This was read by Elea Oberon and Erin Spencer. 

The Case of the Phantom Cat: The Mysteries of Maisie Hutchins, Book 3 by Holly Webb, 176 pages

Maisie Hutchins is something of an amateur sleuth.  And like most amateur detectives the mysteries just seem to find her.  This time she accompanies her friend Alice on a trip to the country to get away from the London fog that is making Alice ill.  When they arrive at the country home they are informed that the house is haunted and was built on a plague pit.  Of course, all kinds of spooky things happen shortly after their arrival, but Maisie is not buying it.  She's determined to find out the real reason everyone is seeing a phantom white cat and why the library smells so horrid!

Maisie is plucky and courageous.  This was a fun bedtime read with my 7 year old.  The chapters were a nice length so that reading one a night was enough for us.  We did have to power through and read the last 40 pages or so one night just to find out the end.  This is the first Maisie Hutchins book we have read, even though it's book 3.  My daughter is anxious to read the first two though.  I think I'll be introducing her to Nancy Drew in a few years.

Took: a Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn 272 pages

Daniel and his family move to a new house in Brewster’s Hill, Massachusetts from Connecticut. However, this house is nowhere near new. Starting a new school, Daniel and his sister Erica, are picked on all the time. The only time other kids will talk to them, is to tell them about how a girl disappeared from their house. They also told them stories about an old witch who haunted the woods with her monster Bloody Bones, a man-eating razorback hog. While, Erica is scared of the woods, Daniel does not believe the stories.

After a while, Erica becomes distant from everyone but her doll, Little Erica. After a fight with Daniel, Erica runs away from him into the woods. After searching for her, Daniel heads back home thinking that Erica will be there waiting for him. When their parents return home from work, Erica is still missing. The whole town joins in the search until Selene, the last girl taken over fifty years ago, appears. The townspeople believe that Erica was taken by Auntie and they give up looking for her. Daniel tries to do everything he can to get back Erica, even facing Auntie. 

The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn 199 pages

Mary Downing Hahn is one of the best at telling ghost stories to children.  She has a knack for making things creepy without going too far over the line.  This particular story is about two children who live on the Old Willis property.  For ages, since "the bad thing" happened, Diana and her brother have followed the rules and not made trouble, except for playing pranks on the string of caretakers that have come and gone.  Diana desperately wants to become friends with the new caretaker's daughter, but it's a clear violation of the rules.  When she gives in, it sets in motion the release of an angry, vengeful ghost of the old woman who lived in the Willis house.  It doesn't take long for the reader to figure out what's really going on in this story, but the ending was a bit of a surprise.  If you know of a child, probably 3rd grade or older, who wants scary, but not terrifying, this is a great book to suggest.

Doll Bones by Holly Black 244 pages

Zach, Poppy and Alice are best friends, but they are growing up.  Being friends at 6-years-old doesn't attract as much attention as being friends at 11.  The three of them don't really care, though.  They continue to play a game that is full of fantasy and adventure, each day pushing their creativity further.  All three get lost in the story and do so happily.  Then, one day, disaster strikes and Zach is unable to play anymore.  Faced with having to tell the others why, putting it into words, makes him sick, so he tells the girls that they are too old and he doesn't want to play anymore.  He doesn't count on The Queen, a bone-china doll, demanding service that drags the three of them into one more very real adventure.  This was a very well told story that showcases how hard it is to remain friends with people as you grow up and interests begin to diverge.  It's also a nice little only-barely-scary ghost story.
This was a preliminary nominee for the Mark Twain award, but it didn't make the final cut.  I listened to it on CD, read by Nick Podehl.  He did a really good job and was pleasant to listen to.

Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington 278 pages

Reminiscent of The Lovely Bones, equal parts ghost story, mystery, fantasy, and love story--and oh what a love story it is--Liv, Forever is a glorious debut guaranteed to stay with you long after the last page is read.

Olivia Bloom, Liv for short, is beside herself when she receives a scholarship for the most prestigious prep school in the country, Wickham Hall. After years in the foster system she sees it as her way up and out. Within weeks she meets Gabe a fellow scholarship student and Malcolm president of the student government and for the first time in her life Liv is happy and feeling the possibilities. And then outrageously and tragically and God-why-did-you-have-to-do-that, it all comes to an end. And that's when the story really starts. If you only read one book this has to be the one.

Oh Liv!