Best Ghost and Horror Series for 7 and 8 year olds

Turning 7 or 8 is an exciting time. If a few years ago they were scared of the dark, now they're actively asking for and wanting to read ghost stories – BOO!

Their wish is our command. We've dug through our archives and found the gothiest, most frightening and terrifying books (not really) for this age range. And the best news is they are all series, so if you fall in love with one of these titles, you've got a bunch more to explore in the same world and with the same characters.

Meet our favourite ghosts, uncover mysteries and enter all things haunted with the titles below, at your own risk...

Georgina Atwell

Toppsta

2025-02-15

2024-05-21

Best Ghost and Horror Series for 7 and 8 year olds

Ghosthunters Series

Cornelia Funke is a master of children's fantasy, having penned so many imaginative books for children. One of these is Ghosthunters, the perfect series for readers aged 7+ who love anything paranormal. Each of the books follow a young boy named Tom as he becomes a professional ghosthunter! He meets so many different ghosts, ghouls and spectres, learns all the codes of ghosthunter-speak, forms an agency dedicated to dealing with difficult apparitions, and even works towards earning his his Ghosthunting Diploma.

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Dead Good Detectives Series

A pirate and ghost-filled adventure series that is funny, engaging and keeps you sucked in! From the same author that wrote The Land Of Roar Series, this is perfect for newly independent readers aged 7+ who love magic, peril, pirates, lots of laughs and LOADS of ghosts. Sid Jones and her best friend Zen not only love hanging around cemeteries in the hopes of finding ghosts, but they actually manage to summon pirates from the dead, enter magical inns that are home to lost souls and ultimately free them, no matter the challenges and obstacles they must overcome to do so.

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Maudlin Towers Series

For a creepy series with black-and-white illustrations for readers aged 7+, we should recommend this series about a gloom-laden, gargoyle-infested monstrosity of a school. Welcome to Maudlin Towers, the weirdest school ever, attended by two best friends and protagonists Mildew and Sponge. In each book our curious protagonists must solve a new mystery, whether it's getting to the bottom of who has stolen the School Spoon, finding a buried treasure to stop the school from closing, or figuring out why a meteor has crash-landed in their school grounds.

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Tales of Terror Series

Chris Priestley’s Tales of Terror are truly scary children’s horror books suitable for readers 9+. This award-winning, middle-grade trilogy is a collection of unsettling ghost stories, with a gothic feel inspired by Edgar Allen Poe and MR James, and creepy illustrations by David Roberts. Uncle Montague lives alone in a big house and delights in telling his nephew the most frightening stories he knows. But the terror does not end with the stories, as it turns out that the Tales of Terror are not works of imagination, but dreadful memories from Uncle Montague’s old life…

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Skeleton Keys Series

Did you know that the award-winning duo behind the Stitch Head series also have another brilliantly creepy and fun black-and-white illustrated series for readers aged 7+ who love all things goth? Skeleton Keys is the protagonist who gives this series its name: he's got 10 keys instead of fingers and uses them to access all sorts of places in his Doorminion. The books don't have to be read in any particular order, and are each a new child's story: Ben Bunsen, whose imaginary friend suddenly comes to life, Luna Moon, whose family is disappearing before her very eyes, and Gap-tooth Jack, whose writing comes to life.

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Ghost Scouts Series

This hilarious illustrated black-and-white series is a punch of chaos, mayhem, dastardly plans and DANGER! Lexie Wilde and her band of Ghost Scout friends love spending time together at Camp Croak, the creepiest holiday camp EVER. That said, something ghoulish always seems to happen, from visitors pretending to be Lexie's mum and camp counsellors succumbing to an odd sleeping sickness to rogue spells cast at Halloween and malicious whispering snakes on the loose. In each book, Lexie and her friends have got their hands full, and must get to the bottom of each of these wild mysteries.

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Goth Girl Series

Goth Girl by Chris Riddell is a beautifully illustrated series about the adventures of Ada Goth - a lonely girl living in a very strange house - from the bestselling author/ illustrator of Ottoline. The first Goth Girl book, Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse, came out in 2013, winning the Costa Children’s Book Award and getting nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway and the Children’s National Book Award. There are now four books in the series. The wonderful illustrations by the former children’s laureate (2015-2017), Chris Riddell, make these mystery stories perfect for readers 7+ who love adventures with a dark or fantastical twist.

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For more book series for readers aged 7 and 8, do also take a look at our:

Best Illustrated book series for 7 and 8 year olds

Best Historical Fiction book series for 7 and 8 year olds

Best Crime and Mystery book series for 7 and 8 year olds

Best Non-Fiction book series for 7 and 8 year olds

Best Magical book series for 7 and 8 year olds

Best Fun and Funny book series for 7 and 8 year olds

Best Adventure book series for 7 and 8 year olds

Best Graphic Novel series for 7 and 8 year olds

Best Animal book series for 7 and 8 year olds

Best Family book series for 7 and 8 year olds