Enjoy the following recommended scary reads for teens at your library today!

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood, a bold teenage boy, travels around the country to hunt down vengeful ghosts for a living. One day, he was dispatched to hunt down a ghost known as "Anna Dressed in Blood". The locals describe her to be a ruthless spirit, filled with rage and curses and has killed every person she has met in a deserted old house. However, when Cas meets her, she spares his life. What will happen to Cas? Read this chilling and witty story to find out! This title is also available in CD audio book format. 

The Last Apprentice* by Joseph Delaney

A series of creepy and suspenseful stories about Thomas Ward, a young farm boy who possess special abilities to see boggarts, ghasts, ghosts and other supernatural beings. He soon becomes an apprentice of the Spook, a man who is well-known for guarding the villages from evil entities. They soon embark on several adventures of protecting villages from invasions of vengeful spirits, witches and monsters. This title is also available in CD audio book, e-book and digital audio book formats.

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Things were normal for Lexi, a rebellious teenage girl who lives with her parents and younger sister in a beautiful victorian home. However, her younger sister starts behaving strangely and unusual occurrences start happening in her house, where doors open and close and kitchen appliances turn on by themselves. Lexi decides to investigate and soon discovers frightening facts about previous occupants of the house. What will Lexi do? Read this suspenseful story to find out! This title is also available in e-book format.

*series

 In the eighth installment of the Last Apprentice series – Rage of the Fallen by Joseph Delaney, Tom – a spook’s apprentice, his master Old Gregory, and his best friend Alice (who also happens to be a witch) have all fled from the evil forces pursuing them to the wild lands of Ireland. There, they continue to fight the Dark – facing new and more dangerous creatures than they have encountered before including the Old God Pan himself. Alice also faces the strongest threat to her very soul as she gets drawn deeper into her dark side while trying to protect Tom.

If you’re a fan of supernatural adventure for tweens and teens, you may enjoy the Last Apprentice series, also known as the Spook’s Apprentice in the author’s native U.K. According to the author’s blog on the U.K. series website, filming of the first book of the series should start soon and will be called “The Seventh Son.”  If you are already a fan of the series, the blog also gives a peek at the next five books to come which will complete the set.

Although these books are more gory, scary and grim than the likes of Goosebumps or Harry Potter, each story continues to hold out hope like a beacon to readers rooting for good to vanquish evil.

Full Dark, No Stars is Stephen King’s latest and the title is appropriate! These “long stories” are dark indeed, featuring rats, murder, rape, murder, the devil and murder. Each creates a unique world:  I thought the creepiest were the first, "1922," (which reminded me of The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption) and "Big Driver," in which a writer of cozy mysteries finds herself a character in an all-too-real work of horror.

At the same time I was reading Mr. King my daughter introduced me to the new AMC series: The Walking Dead; the whole first season is "on demand" on Comcast Cable, but is not out on DVD until March.  This series is the real zombie deal, with good special effects, make-up and acting while being character-driven and well-produced and directed. However, the violence and mayhem on the television (heck, I also was watching the 5th season of Dexter - about everyone's favorite serial killer - on HBO which is not yet available on DVD!) while reading Stephen King, who can always be counted on for more than you were bargaining for, created some interesting Thanksgiving weekend dreams. I had to stop everything and watch the Amazing Race to clear my head!

Cormac McCarthy is probably better known for his other works, including No Country for Old Men, The Road, and All the Pretty Horses, but many consider Blood Meridian to be his greatest, and indeed one of the finest examples of contemporary American fiction.  A master of narration, McCarthy portrays the contradictions of the Wild West, depicting brutal, gruesome scenes of savagery with a stark and lyrical prose.

In 1847, a 14 year old Tennessee boy known only as "the Kid" wanders into the Southwest, where he eventually joins with a group of bloodthirsty men who hunt Indians for a living.  Led by the mysterious and learned Judge Holden, the band kills and terrorizes their way across the lawless West.

Not for the faint of heart, this book could be described as a work of Horror as easily as it could be called a Western.  This novel jabs a thumb into the eye of the romanticized Wild West and reminds the reader how the West was really won...through blood and slaughter.