I set out to make a list of generally scary books I’ve read this year for you all. There were far too many. I’ll have to make multiple lists for you instead, starting with this one of books that feature ghosts. This is a full range of ghosts and ghost-like creatures, from funny to terrifying, heartwarming to adventurous. All of them except for Dead Good Detectives have been nominated for the 2024 Cybils Awards.

• Dead Good Detectives by Jenny McLachlan – Sid has always enjoyed playing in the graveyard with her friend Zen, but when she accidentally frees the ghost of a pirate, the games become real as he threatens to haunt her until she helps him find his forgotten treasure to free his spirit. However, there are powerful forces that want to keep his soul captive. This is a pirate adventure romp.
• Ferris by Kate DiCamillo – The ghost haunting her grandmother is just one of many things making Ferris’s summer wild – including her little sister deciding to beome an outlaw and an invasion of raccoons. I haven’t read this one yet, but given that it’s Kate DiCamillo, it’s sure to be funny and moving.
• Hart and Souls by Lisa Schmidt. Illustrated by Carolina Vazquez – Stix Hart’s anxiety means that he’s always tried to hide. But when he starts middle school, he finds he’s the only one who can see four ghosts – and they won’t leave him alone until he helps them solve their problems. Helping others will also make Stix step outside of his own anxieties to see theirs.
• It Happened to Anna by Tehlor Kay Mejia – Sadie has stayed deliberately friendless since the jealous ghost that’s haunted her killed her best friend. Now in a new school, she’s at first delighted when she’s able to make a friend and the ghost doesn’t seem to be jealous. And then things start to go wrong…
• Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – Miri’s family found a home in Paris when they had to flee Germany. But when the Jews of Paris are rounded up, she escapes with her two-year-old neighbor and finds shelter in a convent school in the countryside. She’s helped by the resident ghost in the local chateau as she works to find the courage to save not only herself, but others trying to escape the Nazis.
• Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu – When Violet’s family moves into an old house, giving her the bedroom with creepy wallpaper in the attic, she gets sick and can’t seem to get better. Worse than that, it seems like she’s not alone in her room. Something is in the wallpaper – and doesn’t want to stay there.
• The School for Invisible Boys by Shaun David Hutchinson – Hector first discovers his ability to turn invisible when his former best friend starts bullying. Then he discovers that he’s not the only invisible boy – and that not only are the rumors of a ghost haunting the school probably true, but there are even worse things hiding in the invisible world.
• A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga – Rami and his friend Veda try to solve the mystery of a stolen painting from the museum. It looks like the museum is also haunted by a ghost who looks just like a girl in the missing painting. I’m still waiting for my hold to come up on this, but I have yet to read a book by Jasmine Warga I didn’t enjoy!