Intro to horror for 10 year old boy?

Oh and Miss Peregruines home for peculiar children, the photos in it are brilliant!

There are some Stephen King books that would be appropriate www.spikedparenting.com/5-stephen-king-books-for-kids/ check this website.

My 10 year old is also desperate for really scary books but is disgusted by anything involving romance or relationships, it’s a tricky age because she is a mature reader and many YA books have relationships in. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this thread
She recently read and loved-
The divergent series
The hunger games
A trilogy where the first book is called scythe.
Some of the point horror books

The Spook's Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney, while not strictly horror, definitely have their scary moments.

Chris Priestly also writes some good and gruesome stories as a pp mentioned. And I'd also second The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon as the content is much more appropriate than IT.

At that age I started with I.T. I would maybe avoid that.

Not the best introduction to my first sex scene.

There's a couple of Catherine Storr books that might be suitable (although they both have female protagonists - but maybe that's a good thing!). One is Marianne Dreams, the other is The Mirror Image Ghost.

Lois Duncan is great. She wrote I Know What you Did Last Summer and a load more. I was about 13 when I read them and my mum would steal them to read too. Whilst they are teen books I don’t think they are inappropriate as they were written in the late 70s early 80s.

Jennifer Killick - her new one is Dread Wood.

Chris Priestley - Seven Ghosts

Marcus Sedgwick - The Book of Dead Days.

Robert Westall - The Scarecrows (won the Carnegie) plus many, many others.

Theresa Breslin - Whispers in the Graveyard (Carnegie winner too)

Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard Book (yet another Carnegie winner)

Margaret Mahy - The Haunting (and another Carnegie winner!)

I loved horror books when that age. I definitely read all of the Goosebumps and Point Horror ones so they'd all be a really good starting point.
Looking back there was little to no censorship by my parents and my first taster away from YA books was The Rats, by James Herbert. I was probably not much older than 10. Really graphic and I would not allow my 11 year old to read it now, but it gave me such a taste for the horror genre. I'm still an avid fan!

Countess you could be right there — I was young when I read it (definitely primary age, probably 9 or 10) and fairly sure I read that part through metaphorically covered eyes

The book as a whole is very, very scary for a child, and that scene only adds to the inappropriateness for children. I wouldn't give it to any child that I wanted to continue being able to sleep.

I wouldn't recommend the Institute to be honest. no sex scenes but a lot of abuse of children - electric shocks, immersion in tanks until near death, taking temperatures rectally plus lots of violence

In any event it's WAY out for OP's DS.

Yes, not IT

Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (King) is actually suitable for a 10yo, I would say. It's written from the POV of a young girl lost in the woods, so no sex scenes or graphic horror/violence, and very relatable for a younger reader.

I read IT when I was about that age and it is Definitely Not Suitable. There's a prolonged scene where several prepubescent boys and one girl do the act required for them to be immune to a monster that attacks virgins.

How about The Eyes of The Dragon? (Is Stephen King) I think I was 11 or 12 when I read it. I've just had a quick Google about its age rating and it might be a goer.
I also read The Institute recently and I don't recall any sex scenes

Another good bet is the Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz . Starts with Ravensgate.

Antony Horowitz - power of 5 series when he's a little bit older (11+ maybe) as quite dark www.booktrust.org.uk/book/t/the-power-of-five-1-ravens-gate/

Ditto Michael Grants Gone [https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/g/gone/] series - I would say 12+

I personally think your DS might find the Goosebumps series a bit too young - my DS (age 8) has read them all. About to read Doll Bones which looks scary

Clive Barket Abbarat series is for children. About a girl who gets swept away in the sea to another realm. Very strange and magical.

My DS loved Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak series, which also comes in a manga version which he loved even more. Watch out with Darren Shan though as he used to write children's books with the name Darren Shan and adult books with the name Darren O'Shaughnessy but his adult books have been republished under the Shan name and they are very much not for children.

Is he too old for Goosebumps already? Neither of my DC were interested in them but I can't remember what age I let them try one.

I read Point Horror at 12 and I bought some on eBay for my 10yo who had already gone through the Goosebumps and Aveline Jones stories. She loved them!

She did note that there were a few containing incidences of older teenagers/college students drink driving but not much else.

Robert Westall. The Watch House, in particular and The Haunting Of Chas McGill short stories.
The Devil On The Road isn’t really horror, but spooky time travel. Some references to witches having extra nipples, but nothing too sexual.