Paranormal Plots: 5 Ghoulishly Great Ghost Stories for Tweens
by Michelle Schusterman
When I started writing The Kat Sinclair Files, my new series about a girl whose father hosts a ghost hunters TV show, I contacted Jessica Freeburg at Ghost Stories Inc. to learn more about how paranormal investigation works. Jessica invited me to join her crew of paranormal investigators on one of their ghost hunts … and that’s how I ended up in the Morris-Jumel Mansion last summer, sitting outside of George Washington’s bedroom at midnight, trying to communicate with restless spirits in the dark.
The Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest house in Manhattan. The house is filled with historical spots: the bedroom where George Washington stayed as he planned his strategy for The Battle of Harlem Heights, the landing where a Hessian soldier died on his own bayonet after falling down the stairs, and the parlor room where Eliza Jumel married former Vice President Aaron Burr.
The investigators and I spread our flashlights and EMF detectors out on the landing of the second floor where the Hessian soldier had died. We whispered questions, inviting any ghosts to join us. One flashlight flickered on of its own accord, then another…
…Whoops, spoilers! The episode hasn’t aired yet, so I don’t want to give too much away. But I will say this: I left that house far less of a skeptic than I was when I entered. And if possible, I now love a good ghost story even more.
To celebrate the spookiest time of year, here are some of my favorite books featuring ghosts!
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The Ghost Next Door
As a tween in the early ‘90s, I was (of course) obsessed with the Goosebumps series. This one, about a girl named Hannah who thinks the boy next door is a ghost, had a twist that blew my 13-year-old mind. Spoiler alert: Let’s just say M. Night Shyamalan probably should have dedicated “The Sixth Sense” to Mr. Stine…
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Wait Till Helen Comes
This book had such an impact on me that the title alone still raises all the hairs on the back of my neck. Yes, the ghostly Helen Harper and the graveyard setting were chilling — but what really made this book memorable was the way it tackled serious issues like suicide, death, and guilt. Reading it made me feel mature, and I appreciated that although this book was written about children, and for children, the author didn’t attempt to shelter or coddle her readers. The story was honest and perfectly balanced horror with hope — for me, it set the bar for all ghost stories I would read afterwards.
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The Year of Shadows
This story features a moody girl, an ornery cat, and a haunted concert hall, and it’s as delightfully dark (or darkly delightful?) as you’d expect from those ingredients. Just like Wait Till Helen Comes, Olivia’s story is about being haunted not just by ghosts, but also by loss, regret, and a grief so overwhelming that dealing with it seems all but impossible. And the ghosts themselves each have compelling, unique backstories, making them just the right blend of frightening yet loveable.
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The Graveyard Book
Speaking of not sheltering young readers, how about a book that starts out with a toddler escaping his home as his family is brutally murdered, and finding comfort in a graveyard where he’s raised by ghosts? With characters like the mysterious caretaker Silas, the strict yet fiercely protective Mrs. Lupescu, and, of course, the man Jack, the tale of Nobody Owens manages to warm your heart even as it chills your bones.
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Gustav Gloom and the People Taker
I’m cheating a little bit here, because the first book in the Gustav Gloom series doesn’t have ghosts … but it does have shadows. Shadows of people, but with lives of their own. Shadows wearing shadow pajamas and eating shadow pizza. Shadows that do whatever they want, whether or not their people approve. And isn’t that just as wonderfully spooky as any ghost?
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