Some Halloween books get read every single October. They are famous because they are fun to read aloud, a little bit spooky and impossible to forget. Below are the classics we would put on any Halloween shelf, sorted by age, with the free ones linked so you can start tonight. Everything linked is part of the Pagine Halloween collection.

Famous Halloween picture books for ages 2–6

These modern favourites are worth borrowing from your library:

  • Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (2001): a kind witch keeps making room for new friends. Rhyming and very read-aloud-able.
  • The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams (1986): clomping shoes and shaking pants that build to a cosy ending.
  • Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper (1998): three friends, one pumpkin soup and a lesson about sharing.

Free to read now: Little Ghost Says Boo, Ten Trick-or-Treaters and The Biggest Pumpkin.

Classic Halloween stories for ages 7–10

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The famous Halloween classics for ages 10 and up

  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (1820): Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. The most famous American Halloween story, and short enough for one sitting.
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (1902): Sherlock Holmes, a moor and a legendary hound.
  • Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2002) and The Graveyard Book (2008, winner of the Newbery Medal): modern favourites at most libraries.

For teenagers, see Halloween books for teens: Frankenstein, Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde.

New Halloween stories for every grade

Pagine Originals add 650 free Halloween books, 50 for each grade from K to 12. Each mixes the holiday with maths, science, history or reading skills: Sam’s Shape Pumpkin (K), Bo the Bat Is Up at Night (Grade 1), The Case of the Moving Pumpkins (Grade 3), The Mummy Makers (Grade 6) and Frankenstein’s Science (Grade 12). Browse them all on the Halloween page.

How to pick the right scare level

  • Ages 2–5: friendly monsters, costumes and pumpkins. Nothing that happens in the dark.
  • Ages 6–9: mild mysteries and silly ghosts. Read new books in daylight first.
  • Ages 10–13: legends and detective stories like Sleepy Hollow and Sherlock Holmes.
  • Teens: the gothic classics.

Pair any of these with free Halloween reading comprehension or writing prompts.

Famous does not mean right for every child. If a book worries your child, stop and switch to something gentler. You can always come back next year.

Read the free Halloween classics in Pagine, and log every spooky book your child finishes.

Open the Halloween collection →