From Alan Garner to Stephen King, author Sandra Greaves picks her favourite creepy reads for Halloween
"The kind of ghost stories I like best are ones where the supernatural creeps into ordinary life in a chilling but entirely convincing way. More often that not, the supernatural force reflects a troubled psyche in the characters being haunted, and that can make for a satisfyingly complex read.
The supernatural element in my book, The Skull in the Wood was inspired by Dartmoor – I spent a lot of time tramping across it as I was shaping the book, and occasionally scared myself silly. It's a spooky place – all too easy to get lost in, with treacherous mires and the famous fog that comes down without warning and rearranges the landscape. And there are all sorts of legends and folk tales that get you looking nervously over your shoulder, even before the sun goes down. Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles is ever-present, and behind it, the myth of the phantom hunt - a mad chase through the skies and across the moor, led by the devil himself.
An atmospheric sense of place is an essential part of all the stories I've chosen, though they range in age from 9-12s to adult books co-opted as cult teenage fiction. There are abandoned houses and ancient burial grounds, of course, but also a dark Welsh valley, an old water mill behind a turnip field, and the frozen landscape of an Arctic winter.
I've read and re-read ghost stories all summer to put together my list, which means they've had to prove their worth in broad daylight. The ones I've picked are powerful even if you're lying on the beach. But they're at their creepy best when the nights draw in – and especially at Hallowe'en."
Sandra Greaves was born in Edinburgh and now lives in Devon, midway between the moor and the sea. She won the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Undiscovered Voices competition in 2012 and her first novel, The Skull in the Wood, was published this September. It's a contemporary ghost story set on Dartmoor for age 10+ readers.
1. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
A perfect ghost story set in the frozen north of Spitsbergen (now Svalbard). Former science student Jack Miller sets out to change his depressing life as a clerk by joining an Arctic expedition to an island where the polar night will last for four months solid. But something is walking in the dark, and as expedition members drop away, Jack is determined to face it – alone. Michelle Paver is the author of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series for children, but Dark Matter is one for older YA readers and adults alike. Psychologically complex, and utterly terrifying.
2. Whispers in the Graveyard by Theresa Breslin
This Carnegie medal-winning story by Theresa Breslin has a brilliant narrator in Solomon, who is dyslexic, angry, and struggling to cope with his alcoholic father. Bullied by teachers for his apparent stupidity, Sol has taken to bunking off school and hiding in an old graveyard. Only it's not safe any more. The council has uprooted a rowan tree from a forgotten corner, and now an ancient evil is gathering strength – and Sol is right in its path. A moving and creepy novel.
3. The Scarecrows by Robert Westall
Another Carnegie medal winner, The Scarecrows is a gripping portrait of a teenage boy whose dark emotions unleash dark things. A dilapidated water mill lies waiting, and in front of it, three scarecrows locked in a jealous drama of their own. An old tale of a murderous love triangle casts a twisted shadow on the boy's own life – and the scarecrows move ever closer. Absorbing, complex and distinctly scary.
4. Black Harvest by Ann Pilling
This chilling tale by award-winning novelist Ann Pilling forces history into the present in a disturbing way. On holiday in Ireland with their mother, two children, their baby sister and an irritating younger cousin find themselves dogged by stifling heat and the foul stench of decay. This is no ordinary ghost story though. The villain is the Irish potato famine, and its effects are horrifyingly real. First published in 1983 and now a Collins Modern Classic, Black Harvest is a clammy, atmospheric read.
5. The Owl Service by Alan Garner
A classic tale of the supernatural with a brilliantly light touch, The Owl Service lingers in the imagination long after you put the book down. Strange rather than downright scary, it's the story of teenagers in a remote valley in Wales who discover a set of plates decorated with owls. The discovery reawakens an ancient Welsh myth that traps them into re-enacting the roles of its three characters. Yes, plates. It's weird – but wonderful.
6. Ways to see a Ghost by Emily Diamand
This YA novel from the award-winning author of Flood Child debunks the paranormal industry while telling a rollicking contemporary ghost story. Isis is the daughter of a fake psychic; Gray the son of a UFO-hunter. But Isis really can see ghosts – and when a creature escapes from the furthest reaches of the dark, it's the children, not the adults who have to deal with it. Great on the drippy clairvoyant mother and the alien-obsessed father, and satisfyingly spooky to boot.
7. The Ghosts by Antonia Barber
A gentle classic featuring time-travelling ghosts, this novel was filmed in 1972 as The Amazing Mr Blunden. Mrs Allen and her two children are invited to look after an abandoned house by a strange old solicitor, Mr Blunden. There the children meet a brother and sister from a hundred years earlier who were killed in a fire on the estate. With the help of Mr Blunden, the present-day children seek to right the wrong that was done. An absorbing, warm-hearted ghost story that was runner-up for the Carnegie Medal.
8. The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
The first in a series on the spook-hunting adventures of psychic investigators Lockwood & Co, this is a brilliant fusion of detective novel and ghost story. In a London overtaken by spectres, Lucy Carlyle joins a ghost-destruction agency run by eccentric teenagers where she can exercise her special Talent – hearing the voices of the dead. But it's not just murderous phantoms that the agency has to worry about. And have they packed the right ghost survival kit? Fantastic characters, fast-paced action, and truly alarming in places. Looking forward to the next in the series.
9. The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones
A fascinating and peculiar YA novel told from the point of view of the ghost herself – one of four teenage sisters living beside a boy's school. Left to their own devices by a schoolmaster father who cares about his male students but despises girls, the sisters develop a twisted ritual that takes on a life of its own. The ghost-sister has seen the consequences and returned from the future to try and stop them. I love the claustrophobic sense of female adolescence in this book. And while the story's occasionally confusing, it hooks you right to the end.
10. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Only for the strong of stomach, this one – and may well put you off cats for ever. Not aimed at children, but a favourite of older teenagers with a taste for the seriously gruesome. A resting place for beloved pets, an Indian burial ground, and an assortment of creatures that just won't lie down. Nasty. And compelling.
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