The New Year's Party

Stine, R.L. (1995). The New Year's Party. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.

*Fear Street Super Chiller series

Plot: A cruel joke was played on the new guy, P.J., at Reenie's party. Now P.J. has disappeared and his sister Liz is frantic to find him. Now people from the party are turning up dead, with their necks broken. Liz has invited kids from the last party to her New Year's Party. She has a secret, and doesn't plan on anyone leaving her party... alive.

Genre: Horror, thriller

Suggested reading level: Grades 6-9

Subjects/themes: Ghosts, revenge, death, school.

Other Fear Street Books:

• The Wrong Number
• Broken Hearts
• Silent Night
• The Stepsister
• Secret Admirer
• Halloween Party
• Bad Dreams

Personal thoughts: The Fear Street series were my favorite books to read when I was in middle school. My sister gave me the ultimate gift one year for Christmas: Fear Street books. I was so psyched! Rereading this one brought back so many memories, and I can't wait to start reading them all over again.

Say Cheese and Die (DVD)

(1996). Goosebumps: Say Cheese and Die. 20th Century Fox.

This episode originally aired as part of the Goosebumps television series in the 1990's.

Starring: Ryan Gosling as Greg

Plot: Greg and his friends Shari and Bird go into the basement of an abondoned building where this creepy guy, Spidey, hangs out. Greg finds an old camera and takes a picture of Bird. Right after Bird falls down the stairs. When Greg looks at the picture he took he can't believe it! The picture shows Bird falling, even though Greg took the picture before Bird fell. Strange things keep happening after Greg takes pictures with the camera, like his dad's new car showed up totaled in the picture and the his dad gets in a car accident. Is the camera cursed and causing these terrible things to happen?

Interest level: Ages 8-12

Genre: Horror

Subjects/themes: horror, fantasy, series, curses, fortune telling.

More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Schwartz, A. (2010). More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishing.
Illustrations by Brett Helquist.

Plot: A collection of scary stories about ghosts, vampires, and other strange events. Many will probably sound familiar, like when a girl and boy meet at a dance, the boy drops her off close to her house, and goes back to ask her something and finds out she died in a car accident earlier that night! How about 3 men in a nursing home with only one window, and when one dies the next one gets to be by the window. There are two left, one man describes the view as beautiful. He dies and finally the last man gets to see the beautiful outside world, only to find himself staring at a brick wall! There are many more stories to send chills down your back in this collection.

Genre: Horror

Recommended reading level: Grades 5-7

Subjects/themes: ghost stories, scary stories, death, hauntings, thrills and chills.

Other Books in this series:

• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
• Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones

Annotation: Ever wonder what gives you those creepy feelings when you are all alone? Alvin Schwartz has come up with the answer with his collection of scary stories... read them, with the lights on!

The Haunting Hour: Chills in the Dead of Night

Stine, R. L. (2001). The Haunting Hour: Chills in the Dead of Night. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Plot: 10 creepy stories ranging from two friends who go out on Halloween, get invited to a party for dead people, only to find they are dead too! How about a young kid who plays a trick on his friend, making him into a snowman. He thinks he left him as a snowman too long and is frozen when the friend jumps out and scares him to death! Stories to check out in this collection are: The Halloween Dance; The Bad Baby-sitter; Revenge of the Snowman; How to Bargain with a Dragon; The Mummy's Dream; Are We There Yet?; Take Me with You; My Imaginary Friend; Losers; Can You Draw Me?

Note: This book isn't very scary at all, so I wouldn't recommend it for older tweens.

Genre: Horror

Suggested reading level: Grades 3-5

Subjects/themes: Ghosts, horror, voodoo, death, scary stories.

Other Books by R.L. Stine:

• Goosebumps series
• Fear Street series
• The Nightmare Room series

Annotation: R. L. Stine brings you a collection of 10 scary stories for young children that will keep you up till late at night. Read this book at your own risk!