Intro to horror for 10 year old boy?

[Toponeniceone]

10 year old ds is desperate to get stuck into Stephen King books. What can he read that'sa good starting point? I don't mind if it's a little bit older than his years. I looked at a few in a book shop the other day but they were quite sexual. For example, I used to love the Point Horror series but I think I was a teenager then.

I used to love collections of ghost stories- give you the jump scare but no gore.

RL Stine - Goosebumps?

Darren Shan books are quite good. Yes to Goosebumps and also, just search for some old Victorian ghost story books on Amazon or eBay; they’re the best. Dd loved the random collection of ghost story books we found online best.

Yes, he does have Goosebumps actually. That's the only one.

Goosebumps, age appropriate and suitably spooky.

Roald Dahls adult short stories, there are some really creepy ones and I don't remember anything sexual.

Maybe Eerie Indian? I only remember watching the show but that was spooky too

Alternatively, Dd loved Sherlock from that age.

Spooksville series?

Eerie Indiana*

Roald Dahls adult short stories, there are some really creepy ones and I don't remember anything sexual.

Perhaps you should refresh your memory… They're also pretty adult on other metrics.

I read my mums Sherlock Holmes books when I was about 9 and recall being pretty terrified by the hound of the baskervilles!

My 11 year old has been reading the Five Nights at Freddie’s series which is horror but age appropriate. The books are really popular in his school.

I would go for all the classics - Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, Day of the Triffids, War of the Worlds?

Classics are absolutely brilliant because you have those scary elements and some brilliant writing but the sensibilities of the time mean they are much more suited to younger readers.

Some of Gillian Cross's work might fit the bill e.g. The Dark Behind The Curtain, maybe some of the Demon Headmaster books…

I hope someone can suggest something a little more recent than I can.

@clumpingbambooisalie I just remember the ones we read at school, perhaps they were the tamer ones. I read a women feeding a police office the leg of lamb she'd used to kill her husband, and a holiday maker who gambled and lost a finger.

I'd stick with Goosebumps, there are so many of them, many available on the Libby app for free if your library/you are signed up to it.

The Darren Shan ones are popular-start with cirque du freak
Lockwood and co are great

HP right, that makes sense… I'd guess you were maybe older than OP's DS when they gave you those stories, given the… finger-chopping themes?

Definitely Darren Shan.

The shining.. odd swear word
Cujo
Pet Sematary one sexy type bit

Goosebumps is a whole series op not just one book. Got one of mine into reading at 9 when he was reluctant before that.

If you want something recent, Jennifer Killick’s Crater Lake books are squarely aimed at 10 year olds. She also has a new one out this week.
Also recommend The Haunting of Aveline Jones.

Skulduggery Pleasant series?

Doll Bones - Holly Black
Also Cliff McNish Breathe and The Hunting Ground though

Second Jennifer Killick. Pitched just right.
Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book, has horror/ghost elements and is fantastically well written.

Agree The Graveyard Book is a good one, my son loved it

I would second the Lockwood and Co series by Jonathan Stroud, mentioned above. Genuinely scary and a great group of characters. Also Jennifer Killick, as suggested.

Used to read Point Horror, do they still write those?