This September, my first scary book for children will be released to the world! After writing a bunch of children’s books about kids who save cats, solve international mysteries, and advocate for friends, I’ve written a novel about a grisly ghost who haunts children in a small Missouri town. The title is The Cursed Moon, and it will be released on September 5, 2023 by Scholastic Press.
It’s now available for pre-order in case you’re interested. Check out my blog post on how to show love to your favorite Latinx authors here.
Frightening Fun
The Cursed Moon is about eleven-year old Rafael Fuentes who is a serious scary story teller. For Rafa, writing spine-chilling ghost stories is how he copes with the real scary family issues he’s faced in his young life.
One night, after being warned NOT to tell any scary stories while there’s a blood moon in the sky, Rafa tells his friends a story about a vengeful ghost named the The Caretaker. Soon after, strange scary things start to happen. Frightening, bone-chilling things! Rafa begins to regret that he didn’t heed the warning about the blood moon, but it’s too late. The Caretaker is real and it’s coming after him, his little sister, and his friends! Read more.
The Cursed Moon is available for pre-order now!Some of you may think that writing a scary story is a huge leap for me. It is! Except, I’ve been telling scary stories since I was a kid. In fact, THE CURSED MOON is based on a true story from my childhood. Buwahahaha! Growing up in Topeka, Kansas, I was known for telling scary stories, so, in that small way, it’s not a huge creative jump, but it’s still an exciting one and I can’t wait for everyone to read THE CURSED MOON.
So, while we wait for The Cursed Moon to be released to the world (mark your calendars for Sept. 5th!) I thought it’d be fun to showcase five spine-chilling horror books that gave me goosebumps and that will keep the brave young reader in your life asking for more.
All of these books on my Top Five List are available now at your local bookseller or library. Four of the below scary children’s books are for middle grade audience (ages 8 and up) while the final book (#5) is for Young Adult which means an appropriate book for ages 15 and up.
Five Scary Books for The Brave Kid in Your Life
1.Omega Morales & The Legend of La Lechuza by Laeken Zea Kemp
Ages: 8-12 yrs | Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
This magic-filled book reminded me a lot of Disney’s Encanto! So if you or your brave reader loved Disney’s Encanto, they’ll enjoy this story. Omega Morales’s family has been practicing magic for centuries in Noche Buena. Over the years, the town’s reputation for the supernatural is no longer one the people carry with pride. So Omega’s family keeps to themselves, and in private, they’re Empaths—diviners who can read and manipulate the emotions of people and objects around them. But Omega’s powers don’t quite work, and it leaves her feeling like an outsider in her own family. But when a witch with the power to transform herself into an owl—known in Mexican folklore as La Lechuza—shows up, Omega, her best friend Clau (who happens to be a ghost), and her cousin Carlitos must conduct a séance under a full moon in order to unravel the mystery of the legend.
2. The Ghost of Rancho Espanto by Adriana Cuevas
Ages: 8-12 yrs | Publisher: Macmillan
In this novel, the main character, Rafa, would rather live in the world of The Forgotten Age, his favorite fantasy role-playing game, than face his father’s increasing restrictions and his mother’s fading presence. But when Rafa and his friends decide to take the game out into the real world and steal their school cafeteria’s slushie machine, his dad concocts a punishment Rafa never could’ve imagined—a month working on a ranch in New Mexico, far away from his friends, their game, and his mom’s quesitos in Miami. Life at Rancho Espanto isn’t as bad as Rafa initially expected, thanks to some new friends, but when Rafa’s work at the ranch is inexplicably sabotaged by a man (or a ghost) who may not be what he seems, Rafa must explore what’s behind the strange events at Rancho Espanto.
3. Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
Ages: 9-12 | Publisher: Clarion Books
I could NOT put this book down when I read it. I’ve read it TWICE! It’s so spectacularly spooky. Our main character is twelve-year-old Molly. She and her younger brother, Michael, have never liked their seven-year-old stepsister, Heather. This child is awful! But she lost her mom so it’s understandable…sort of. Ever since their parents got married, Heather has made Molly and Michael’s life miserable. Now their parents have moved them all to the country to live in a house that used to be a church, with a cemetery in the backyard. If that’s not bad enough, Heather starts talking to a ghost named Helen and warning Molly and Michael that Helen is coming for them. Molly feels certain Heather is in some kind of danger, but every time she tries to help, Heather twists things around to get her into trouble. It seems as if things can’t get any worse. But with all scary stories, it’s about to get a whole lot worse–when Helen shows up.
4. The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown
Ages: 8-12 | Publisher: Scholastic Press
This novel reminded me a lot of the above-mentioned Wait Till Helen Comes. Yet, it is perfectly haunting in its own way and I loved how it combined real-life history within a ghost story. One cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel, sneak into a clearing in the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris carefully makes a perfect snow angel―only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore, right beneath her. Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris: She begins having vivid nightmares. She wakes up to find her bedroom window wide open, letting in the snow. She thinks she sees the shadow of a girl lurking in the woods. And she feels the pull of the abandoned grave, calling her back to the clearing…
5. The Ghost of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero
Ages: YOUNG ADULT (14-17) | Publisher: Peachtree
A biracial Jewish Latina protagonist, Ilana Lopez, arrives to Prague for the summer to stay with her aunt who lives near Rose Hill. There is a mysterious cemetery on her aunt’s property that is in bad need of some landscaping. The cemetery is haunted by children who died centuries ago, and Ilana is about to find out why. I could NOT put this book down. An absolutely haunting story told in verse. Beautiful! Scary! Riveting!
