B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping children’s/YA horror books and series I loved into the ol’ VCR.

At this point, it shouldn’t be a secret that I’ve loved horror content from a young age.

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. 

I was the only kid who wasn’t scared to go trick-or-treating at the houses with scary displays. 

I also read a lot of horror and horror-adjacent books. 

Now, KP was a responsible mom, and I wasn’t thrown The Exorcist or Salem’s Lot in elementary school. 

However, as I started getting older, I devoured all of the children’s(?)/young adult horror books I could get my hands on, and I’ve decided to share some of my favorites with all of you. 

I’m at the age where a lot of my friends either have kids or are starting to talk about having kids, and I think these books are great for kids who love horror, like me. 

I also want to take a second to, once again, thank my mom for understanding me and never trying to steer me away from horror. 

Not to get on a soapbox (but to get on a soapbox), there’s nothing inherently evil about the horror genre, so let your kid read a Goosebumps book or watch Eerie, Indiana. 

Are there red flags to look out for with kids? Absolutely. 

But in my childless, dog lady opinion, wanting to innocently read a Fear Street novel isn’t one of them. 

Alrighty, that should do us for introductions and disclaimers. 

Without further ado, here are five horror books and book series (and an honorable mention) that I loved as a kid: 

Note: My sister would like for everyone to know that she told me I should write about Bunnicula and therefore believes she is entitled to full credit for this piece. 

Goosebumps 

R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series launched in July of 1992 with the publication of Welcome to the Dead House. Over the next five years, 62 books in the Goosebumps series would be officially published with several spin offs to follow, including one of my personal favorites, the short-lived Goosebumps Triple Header. As of October 2022, Goosebumps has been translated into over 35 languages and has sold over 4 million copies internationally.

In the Land of the Lawn Weenies: and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

I do want to give a disclaimer on this one. I know that there are several books in the, checks notes, Weenies series, but In The Land of the Lawn Weenies was the only one I ever read. Published in June 2003, and purchased by KP from a Scholastic book catalog soon after, I read In the Land of the Lawn Weenies: and Other Warped and Creepy Tales all in one afternoon. To this day, I still think about the short story, “As You Say.”

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 

The first entry in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series arrived on the scene in 1981 and has been mercilessly scaring children ever since. Written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell, all three books tell stories that scare me to this very day. Hell, we all know that there’s a scene from the movie adaptation that still scares me.

Fear Street 

There’s something truly special about writing this piece as I’m in the process of getting a tattoo of the opening scene from the Fear Street trilogy in the style of the original Fear Street cover art. I digress. 

We’ve talked about the Fear Street books before, so I’ll keep this section short and sweet. R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series burst on the scene in 1989 with The New Girl. As of 2003, over 80 million copies have been sold, but I’m sure that the Fear Street trilogy, as well as the upcoming Fear Street movie, have boosted that number. 

The bookshelves in our house were always overrun by the Fear Street books. We’d snag them from Goodwill, garage sales, you name it. 

GREAT band name – watch out, HAIM

Bunnicula 

Like Invasion of the Law Weenies, I know there are several books in the Bunnicula series, but I only ever read (or at least remember reading) Bunnicula. And, I’m going to be honest, the story of Bunnicula is bittersweet. Bunnicula was written by Deborah and James Howe in 1978. Unfortunately, a mere seven months before the book was to go to print, Deborah Howe passed away. James Howe decided to continue the series, but I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision.

Honorable Mention 

We’ve also talked about Christopher Pike novels before, but I had to give him a shoutout. Like the Fear Street books, the bookshelves in my house were also packed with Christopher Pike novels, and they got me through many a summer vacation. 

Christopher Pike’s first novel, Slumber Party, was published in 1985, and a few years later, a plucky little girl with an affinity for horror would be given a copy by her supportive mother. Then, a couple of decades later, she would go on to start the B Movies Blog, where she would write about the very novels she grew up reading, written by the very authors she wished she could be.

 Full circle, baby.