Spooky stories to read this Halloween!

Badjelly the Witch Spike Milligan

Be sure to terrify and tickle your kids this Halloween with the help of the baddest witch in all the world! Badjelly the Witch tells the tale of Tim and Rose's terrifying encounter with Badjelly the Witch - she turns children into sausages or chops them up to make boy-girl soup and turns policemen into apple trees or bananas into mice! A classic for very good reason, this spooky fairy tale has been well-loved by children for 50 years. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Halloween Trick or Treat Eric Carle

Our favourite hungry caterpillar is getting into the Halloween spirit. He’s on the hunt (again) for some tasty treats. Can you help him count all the different creatures and find the treats? This is a great story to read at bedtime, and there’s a fun trick-or-treat surprise at the end...

Bluey: Let's Get Spooky! Bluey

Fans of the hit TV series Bluey will love this Halloween-themed magnet book! Bluey, Bingo and their friends are all dressed up in their ghostliest costumes, ready for an adventure around town. Little hands can use the magnets of the characters to move them around for an evening of spooky fun.

Funnybones Janet Ahlberg, Allan Ahlberg

What could be spookier than a skeleton walking along a dark dark street? Three skeletons! A big, small and dog skeleton venture out of their dark dark cellar to explore the dark dark town. They play in the park, visit the skeleton zoo animals and look for someone to frighten. The problem is everyone is asleep! So, that leaves them having to frighten each other. It wouldn’t be Halloween without Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s classic Funnybones tale, which is now over 40 years old!

Peppa Pig: Peppa’s Halloween Fun Peppa Pig

It’s Halloween and so Peppa Pig and her family are off to do some trick-or-treating. The first house they stop by looks really scary with all its decorations. Daddy Pig knows who lives there so the family venture inside, and they come across lots of creepy things from a furry spider to a ghoulish jack-o’-lantern. This touch-and-feel book is perfect for little ones new to the spooky celebration.

The Witches Roald Dahl

Halloween is not the only time of the year you should be avoiding witches, but it’s a good start. As we find out in Roald Dahl’s iconic tale, witches HATE human children. They’re always plotting and scheming to rid the world of children permanently. And when a young boy and his grandmother stumble across the most wicked plot devised by the Grand High Witch, they do everything in their power to stop her.

The Worst Witch Jill Murphy

Mildred Hubble is a trainee witch, and she’s got a lot of work to do. She always manages to land herself in a spot of bother – from disastrously mixing up spells and potions, to crashing her broomstick. Written and illustrated by Jill Murphy, this classic – and often shambolic – boarding school tale is perfect for fans of all things mystical and magical.

Super Ghost Greg James, Chris Smith

Fans of ghost stories will enjoy this superhero story with a twist! Dr Extraordinary is a world-famous superhero but during a particularly epic showdown with his arch-nemesis Captain Chaos, the pair are blown up inside a giant robot! Twelve-year-old Sonny Nelson is devastated. He was Dr Extraordinary’s number-one fan! But things take a spooky turn when Dr Ex returns as a ghost and only Sonny can see him…

Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories Jeff Kinney

There’s nothing better than some spooky stories to get you ready for Halloween, and with Rowley Jefferson’s collection, you are guaranteed to be spooked. But maybe you’ll just laugh out loud. Or both! Including tales about werewolves, zombies, and human heads, this compendium is great to read aloud at a Halloween sleepover. Or read a story a day in the run-up to the ghostliest day of the year.

Frankenstein: Popular Penguins Mary Shelley

For older readers, there’s no better time of the year to dive into Mary Shelley’s timeless monster tale. Victor Frankenstein is an ambitious and talented doctor who manages to create a living being out of dead body parts. However, no sooner has his creation come alive than Frankenstein flees out of fear of what he has done. But is the creature really the monster? Or is it the man who created him? This 200-year-old horror story still has the power to send shivers down anyone’s spine.

This article has been adapted from penguin.co.uk