10 Scary Stories: Picture Books for Middle School
I’ve been a long time advocate of the power of a well constructed picture book to teach, engage and entertain, but the use of picture books as a supportive learning resource doesn’t need to end in the early years classroom. Which is why I’ve collected together ten awesome scary stories for middle school – these are creepy picture books with dark themes that are sure to captivate students in the later elementary or middle school grades, and invite lots of meaningful literary discussion!
Why Read Picture Books In Middle School?
At the most basic level, choosing a picture book as a middle school read aloud and actually making time for a story can offer a moment of respite in what students might find an otherwise stressful school day.
Beyond this, picture books can inspire students to think through abstract concepts and ideas, acting as a tool to stimulate critical thinking and discussion when selected to support classroom learning objectives, themes, or holidays – like Halloween!
The middle school picture books on this list are more complex than those you might choose for an early years classroom. As well as exploring dark themes, some feature more text per page, many include figurative language, some use poetic devices, and all include wonderful illustrations that are worth studying as part of any classroom art lesson. They make great Halloween books for middle school but are also awesome for literacy learning and investigation all year round.
And if you are looking for even more spooky stories, check out our collections of Halloween picture books for kids for suggestions for earlier grades, or this list of Horror Chapter Books that are sure to scare the socks off you middle schooler!
10 Scary Stories: Picture Books for Middle School
As with all of the lists in our Best Books for Kids collections, each title in this list links to an Amazon page (these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you) where you can find more information and reviews for titles you might not be personally familiar with.
My Dead Bunny: A Zombie Rabbit Tale by Sigi Cohen
A scary picture book aimed at kids who don’t mind reading about creepy things! When a boy’s pet rabbit chews through the TV cord he is electrocuted. But the boy misses his rabbit, Brad. and decides to dig him up to see him once last time. The boy later throws the corpse in the trash but late that night hears his sisters scream – it seems Brad is back and this time he’s not going to be thrown away!
Shared in clever rhyming couplets this is a fun tie in to a classroom poetry unit, or the conclusion of the story provides a great writing activity opportunity in the form of a sequel.
The Dark by Lemony Snicket
Laszlo is afraid of the dark. The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo but mostly it spends its time in the basement. It doesn’t visit Laszlo in his room. Until one night it does! Laszlo walks through his house, as the dark converses with him, on a journey to overcome his fear.
This is a great picture book for exploring personification, examining the different narrative elements that create suspense, as well as the interesting blend of dialogue and narration as a literary technique.
The Skull by Jon Klassen
Klassen’s retelling of an old Tyrolean folktale offers up a delightfully weird, dark fairy tale. When Otilla escapes from terrible danger she finds herself lost in a dark forest until she stumbles upon a large castle inhabited by a troubled skull. They develop a macabre but beautiful friendship as Otilla tries to find a way to save them both from their fears.
This would be a fabulous introduction to a literacy unit exploring fairytales from around the world, or if you are looking for a creative writing lesson tie in, consider inviting students to craft a back story for the skull.
The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman
Lucy believes there are wolves living in the walls of her home. Her father, mother, and brother continue to deny the reality of the situation, and ultimately choose to flee one night when the wolves do indeed come out of the walls to take over the home. But Lucy has other ideas, determined to retake her family’s home from the worrisome wolves.
The spookiness of this story is created through the combination of a narrative that feels like an old fairy tale you think you should already know and the eerie illustrations formed via a unique fusion of photographic and painted elements that would make a fun art exploration lesson for students.
Into the Goblin Market by Vicki Vansickle
This fabulously illustrated picture book interpretation of a classic poem integrates familiar fairy-tale villains into a wonderful story about two very different sisters. Millie likes a quiet life but Mina longs for adventure. This longing for adventure draws her to the Goblin Market. When Mina falls under its spell, Millie must follow her in to the Goblin Market in an attempt to try and get her sister back. It is a cautionary tale of temptation and sacrifice, a perfect scary story for tweens.
As well as being a great Halloween story to share in the classroom, Into the Goblin Market makes a great addition to a classroom poetry unit.
The Watertower by Gary Crew
Eerie and mysterious, The Watertower, is a complex, creepy picture book for older readers that uses text and images in equal measure to create a story that leaves the reader with many unsettling questions. When Bubba and Spike decide to explore the interior of the town’s dark watertower on a hot day, they know they are not supposed to be there. When Bubba climbs out of the water he discovers that his pants are missing. Spike agrees to run home and bring back another pair of pants, leaving Bubba alone at the watertower, a terrifying experience that changes him forever.
A great text for use with students in grades 5+ for developing inference skills and inviting readers to form conclusions and justify their choices.
The Tunnel by Anthony Browne
Rose and Jack’s constant bickering sees their mother send them off out of the house to the park. Jack finds, and crawls inside, a mysterious tunnel. When a frightened Rose receives no reply to her calls for him to return, she is forced to follow him inside. Through the tunnel is a strange, dark forest where Jack has been imprisoned as a stone statue. Can Rose save her brother?
A book that will convey greater meaning with each re-visit, it is a great story for exercising prediction and inference skills with students, and tool for inspiring a range of creative writing responses.
The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman
In this piratical ghost story shared through thirteen ingenious but potentially disturbing rhyming couplets, two children, treasure map in hand, and their pet gazelle, sneak past their father and out of their house to journey in a boat through the sewers beneath their home – a place filled with danger, where monsters, ghosts and pirates roam.
There is so much to discover through the detailed illustrations and this is a wonderful text for engaging students with poetry.
The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
When a witch falls from the sky, she leaves behind her apparently defunct broom as thanks to Minna Shaw for helping her recover. Minna discovers the broom still has some magical power as it sweeps her floors and chops her wood. Unfortunately, her neighbors believe the witch’s broom is the devil work and they conspire to confiscate and destroy it but the clever widow outwit them all, and the widow and the broom enjoy the last laugh.
The Widow’s Broom offers engaging opportunities for students to use their inference skills by analyzing textual clues, illustrations, character reactions, and themes.
Hansel and Gretel: A Darkly Brilliant Fairy Tale by Neil Gaiman
Hansel and Gretel must be one of the darkest fairytales of all for children, and this is a brilliant, dark retelling of the classic children’s horror story of a brother and sister who must survive abandonment by their parents and being captured by a hungry, child eating witch.
A great picture book for inviting students to explore the combination of language choices with Mattotti’s dark pen and ink drawings to create suspense.
More Middle School Learning Resources
Love this list of picture books for middle school? Check out these related book lists;
