In Australia we’re still divided about how to celebrate Halloween, or whether to bother at all, but this collection of spooky books contains something for everyone, from pre-schoolers to teens.

For younger readers:

The Meg and Mog (and Owl!) stories have been popular for 30 years. Author Helen Nicholl’s recent death came as very sad news to us at Readings, and The Guardian obituary written by the man who illustrated Meg and Mog - Jan Pienkowski - is well worth a read.

I’ve loved the simplicity and humour of Meg and Mog since I was a child and they’re still going strong.

“Hubble bubble, what’s that smell? Eleven witches stir their spell.”

Counting spooky things from 12 to 1, we end up at a surprise party complete with giant pumpkin pie. Simple and appealing, the rhymes trip off the tongue.

Not a pumpkin in sight but a lovely book about what being scared feels like.

In this book Squish faces his fears (eg. chickens, the dark), so this would be a great choice for younger children who really don’t like all that spooky stuff.

You know how it goes…

“He did the mash. He did the Monster Mash! The Monster Mash, it was a graveyard smash.”

It was graveyard smash and also a Billboard Hot 100 smash in 1962 for Bobby Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers. Glittery and garish - what’s not to love?

This new series may be the Rainbow Fairy antidote you’re looking for. Maud attends Rotwood school, where monsters of all types learn how to frighten humans.

Good, silly fun with characters like Vladimir Paprika Wellington Counterweight von Bat.

A ghostly shape on a photograph sends pint-sized detective Tan and her friends on a mission to discover the truth about the mysterious Wandering Wanda.

Tension, adventure and plenty of humour for readers 8+.

For older readers: *Please note that owing to being a wimp I had to ask our horror expert Holly Harper for her recommendations in the Really Scary category. Here’s what she recommends…

A bumper book of thrills and spills, divided into scary domains, this is ideal for the fact-gatherers who like to know exactly what’s what. Great illustrations and lots of detail.

This comedy-horror-adventure series seems to walk off the shelves…how spooky is that?

In the seventh instalment, Skulduggery Pleasant is needed more than ever when people get infected by a mysterious strain of magic that puts everyone in danger. Ages 10 and up.

A fiendishly twisting plot kicks off this radical new series about a zombie apocalypse. This is the real deal for horror but also asks interesting questions about racism and abuse of power.

If only I were brave enough to read it…but Holly is, and she says it’s great.

, coming out the day after Halloween (pre-order to reserve your copy). This is a zombie book I’m going to make an exception for, as long as

Brave Squish Rabbit

is by my side.

[[emily-gale-staff-pic]] Emily Gale