Books and Reading: Thrills and Chills

She escaped her kidnapper. But her trouble’s just begun. After the Woods by Kim Savage is a chilling mystery about betrayal, survival, and the complex bonds of friendship, full of surprises at every turn.

"Statistically speaking, girls like me don't come back when guys like Donald Jessup take us."

What would you do if you discovered your dorm used to be an asylum for the criminally insane? That's what the three teens in this book learn, and the discovery is just the start of their terrifying journey.

A collection of terrifying tales and psychological thrillers. Each author draws from a mix of literature, film, television, and music to create something new and fresh and unsettling. Clever readers will love teasing out the references and can satisfy their curiosity at the end of each tale, where the inspiration is revealed. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat. From blood horror, to the supernatural, to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, this collection has something for anyone looking for an absolute thrill.

Let’s not die today. Not even to make things easier for our parents.

When a building collapses around five teenagers—and they just barely escape—they know something strange is going on. Little by little, the group pieces together a theory: Their parents are working together to kill them all. Is it true? And if so, how did their parents come together—and why? And, most importantly, how can the five of them work together to save themselves? With an unlikely group of heroes, sky-high stakes, and two budding romances, this gripping murder mystery will keep readers guessing until the last page.

When a woman's body is found in a Portland park, suspicion falls on an awkward kid who lives only a few blocks away, a teen who collects knives, loves first-person shooter video games, and obsessively doodles violent scenes in his school notebooks. Nick Walker goes from being a member of Portland's Search and Rescue team to the prime suspect in a murder, his very interest in SAR seen as proof of his fascination with violence. How is this even possible? And can Alexis and Ruby find a way to help clear Nick's name before it's too late?

When a bolt of lightning causes a Boston-wide blackout on her sixteenth birthday, Willow Jane doesn’t think anything of it—until she begins stopping time, until she comes face-to-face with her menacing familiar, until her sister disappears.

Esther is one of the Special Ones: four young spiritual guides who live in a remote farmhouse under the protection of a mysterious cult leader. He watches them around the clock, ready to punish them if they forget who they are—and all the while, broadcasting their lives to eager followers on the outside.
Esther knows that if she stops being Special, he will “renew” her. Nobody knows what happens to the Special Ones who are taken away from the farm for renewal, but Esther fears the worst. Like an actor caught up in an endless play, she must keep up the performance if she wants to survive long enough to escape.

Olivia was only three years old when her mother was killed and everyone suspected her father of murder. But his whereabouts remained a mystery. Fast forward fourteen years. New evidence now proves Olivia's father was actually murdered on the same fateful day her mother died. That means there's a killer still at large.

When a sixteen-year-old troublemaker named Marlow Green is trapped in a surreal firefight against nightmarish creatures in the middle of his New York City neighborhood, he unwittingly finds himself amid a squad of secret soldiers dedicated to battling the legions of the devil himself. Powering this army of young misfits is an ancient machine from the darkest parts of history. Known as the devil's engine, it can make any wish come true-as long as you are willing to put your life on the line. Promised powers beyond belief, and facing monstrous apparitions straight out of the netherworld, Marlow must decide if he's going to submit to a demonic deal with the infernal machine that will enable him to join the crusade-if it doesn't kill him first.

Ten years after the horrific murders at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza that ripped their town apart, Charlie, whose father owned the restaurant, and her childhood friends reunite on the anniversary of the tragedy and find themselves at the old pizza place which had been locked up and abandoned for years. After they discover a way inside, they realize that things are not as they used to be. The four adult-sized animatronic mascots that once entertained patrons have changed. They now have a dark secret . . . and a murderous agenda.

Maren has no trouble making friends, but keeping them is another story. It's hard to keep friends when you have to worry about eating them.

Lately, Athena Windham has been spending all her spare time in her grave.

Her parents—owners of a cemetery in Upstate New York—are proud of her devoutness, but her younger sister, Laurel, would rather spend her time exploring the forest that surrounds the Windham’s’ property than in her own grave.

The Windham girls lead secluded lives—their older sister died in a tragic accident and their parents’ protectiveness has made the family semi-infamous.

As the new school year begins, the outside world comes creeping in through encounters with mean girls, a new friend, and a runaway boy hiding out in the cemetery. Meanwhile, a ghost hangs around the Windham property—the only grave keeper never to cross over—plotting how to keep the sisters close to home and close to her . . . forever.

Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister.
Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls—she’s even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them.
Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn't exactly feel like an accident.
But Kacey will never be able to ask, because Bailey never makes it home from that party. Suddenly, Broken Falls doesn’t seem so welcoming after all—especially once everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers.
Kacey is about to learn some very important lessons: Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes when you’re the new girl, you shouldn’t trust anyone.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

"Take her out back and finish her off."

She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know where she is, or why. All she knows when she comes to in a ransacked cabin is that there are two men arguing over whether or not to kill her.

And that she must run.

Noelle starts working at a hotel where terrible murders took place. When a party at the hotel ends in more murders Noelle's journal helps the police with their investigation. But what's the deal with the strange entries she can't remember writing, and why does her head keep hurting so much?

Delia's new house isn't just a house. Long ago, it was the Piven Institute for the Care and Correction of Troubled Females -- an insane asylum nicknamed "Hysteria Hall." However, many of the inmates were not insane, just defiant and strong willed. Kind of like Delia herself.

But the house still wants to keep "troubled" girls locked away. So, in the most horrifying way, Delia becomes trapped. And that's when she learns that the house is also haunted.

Ghost girls wander the hallways in their old-fashioned nightgowns. A handsome ghost boy named Theo roams the grounds. Delia learns that all the spirits are unsettled and full of dark secrets. The house, too, harbors shocking truths within its walls -- truths that only Delia can uncover, and that may set her free.

Years ago a vampire went on a vampire-making spree. Now the monsters are mostly contained in Coldtown. But when vampires attack outside of Coldtown, Tana, who has her own baggage, vows to make things right.

Six months ago, Griffin Sawyer meant to steal a car, but he never meant to steal the girl asleep in the backseat. Panicked, he took her home. His father, Roy, decided to hold Cheyenne―who is blind―for ransom. Griffin helped her escape, and now Roy is awaiting trial. As they prepare to testify, Griffin and Cheyenne reconnect and make plans to meet. But the plan goes wrong and Cheyenne gets captured by Roy’s henchmen―this time for the kill. Can Cheyenne free herself? And is Griffin a pawn or a player in this deadly chase?

Jazz dies in a fire leaving her sister, Sunny, the only functional member of the family. Now Jazz has come back home, and Sunny is sure who or what has returned is not really her sister.

He is a monster. His role is to kill humans, and assume their lives and their shapes. But this doppelgänger is different. He's not sure he wants to live by killing others.

Middle School is tough for everyone, but at least you're not half vampire. Imagine having to deal with the usual Middle School nonsense while trying not to give into your cravings for blood.

The zombie apocalypse was decades ago, and now Mary's life seems dull inside her fenced in village. Can life ever really be boring when the world is full of zombies?

Ten dark and scary short stories, with characters from a death-cheating serial killer to a house with a mind of its own.

A graphic novel retelling of this classic horror story. Beautifully illustrated.

John knows the signs of serial killers, and recognizes some them in himself. When John's town becomes victim to a killer, John decides to investigate, but this killer is hiding more than even John suspects.

It's the end of the school year, and the high school students go to the park for a party. Two girls don't make it to school the next day. Mister Death has made his move.

First Jennie's parents and brother die then her fiance. She tries to heal her heartache, but a ghostly presence won't let her move on.

Herbie's senior year is looking to be busy with football, track, and the pursuit of a girl. One thing he is not expecting to have on his schedule is meeting a ghost.

A murdering ghost is terrorizing San Francisco, and its the Helsing Corps job to stop it. The ghost is too much for the corps, and it puts a soulchain curse on them. Can they find a way to fix the curse before it kills them?

Coraline walks through a door in her new home, and finds herself in another world. It's kind of like her own world with another mother and another father. At first its a fun adventure until the other parents decide they want to keep her.

Zach, Poppy and Alice have always played an elaborate imaginary game together. Now Zach that he's 12, Zach says he's done with the game, but Poppy wants to play one more time. She claims the doll they've always called "Queen" needs to be returned its owner - its ghost owner.

Trudchen grew up hearing Odette’s stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician’s curse. But now that Tru’s older, she’s starting to wonder if her older sister’s tales were just comforting lies, especially because there’s nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.

In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it’s Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters’ search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all.

Jack and Debbie see it as a no-brainer to try and find a missing mummy in an abandoned house. Especially when finding the mummy comes with a $10,000 prize. They are sure ancient curse won't stop them, but the longer they are in the house the more real the curse seems. Can they survive the search?

Orphaned Irish siblings find work at an English estate, but they quickly learn the inhabitants of the estate, and the house itself, are not what they seem.

Zach keeps having nightmares. Sure, it makes it hard to sleep, but at least they're just dreams. Just dreams until the nightmares start creeping into the real world!

Molly grew up hearing the Mohawk legend about a man who ate himself down to bones, so when her parents disappear and an scary old man claiming to be her uncle shows up and begins locking her in her room at night she knows she is in danger.

Eddie loves scary books, and he's thrilled learn he's moving to the hometown of his favorite author. Soon he realizes the monsters from his favorite author's books aren't fictional after-all!

Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own creepy fairy tale, and into the dark, sinister, and bloody world of other fairy tales.

Joy, a young paranormal investigator, finds herself, and her town, in trouble when she begins to explore the town's creepy mental asylum.