Books like 'Gustav Gloom and the Cryptic Carousel'
Readers who enjoyed Gustav Gloom and the Cryptic Carousel by Adam-Troy Castro also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
fantasy mystery supernatural action / adventure horror paranormal children spooky myths humor
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To Haunt a Witch by Juliette Harper
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStill recovering from their adventure into the Middle Realm, Jinx, Tori, and the gang have settled down to enjoy some "normal" time in Briar Hollow. Then Cezar Ionescu walks in the front door asking for a favor. An abandoned house owned by the local Strigoi clan is attracting the attention of the Haunted Briar Hollow web series... -
![Witch on Second by Juliette Harper]()
Witch on Second by Juliette Harper
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith Halloween just a week away, Jinx and Tori have their hands full helping to organize Briar Hollow’s first ever paranormal festival. Beau and the ghosts at the cemetery are eager to help make the event a success, but tensions remain high after the recent killings. Without a mentor to lean on, Jinx must become a stronger, more independent leader... -
![The Amulet of Caorunn: A Jinx Hamilton Adventure Book 7 (The Jinx Hamilton Mysteries) by Juliette Harper]()
The Amulet of Caorunn: A Jinx Hamilton Adventure Book 7 (The Jinx Hamilton Mysteries) by Juliette Harper
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCreavit wizard Irenaeus Chesterfield is back, with a bigger, badder plan to go after Jinx and company. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Jinx starts having dream visions about the mysterious Amulet of Caorunn. Trying to get more details, she and Tori try a dicey double enchantment with shocking results... -
![Witch on First by Juliette Harper]()
Witch on First by Juliette Harper
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJinx Hamilton walks out the front door of her store in Briar Hollow on a Sunday morning only to find her werecat neighbor and boyfriend, Chase McGregor, staring at a dead man. Under the best of circumstances, a corpse complicates things, but Jinx has other problems... -
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![Blood is Thicker by Orlando A. Sanchez]()
Blood is Thicker by Orlando A. Sanchez
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA Broken Pact. An Ancient Enemy. A Bitter Betrayal. What does a vampire fear more than sunlight? The Cazadoras Sangrientas-Blood Hunters. Michiko Nakatomi has led the Dark Council for over a century, maintaining the uneasy truce between humanity and the supernatural. But when an ancient enemy returns the delicate balance is shattered and vampires start dying... -
![Blue Moon by James Ponti]()
Blue Moon by James Ponti
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMolly is ready for more nonstop, undead action in this follow-up to Dead City, which Kirkus Reviews described as “a fast-paced read for those who like their zombies with just a little fright.”When Molly Bigelow discovered that zombies shared New York with humans, she didn’t think life could get more shocking...Categorized as:
children friendship humor paranormal action-adventure book children-books contemporary -
![In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz]()
In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsMore Grimm tales await in the harrowing, hilarious companion to a beloved new classicTake caution ahead—Oversize plant life, eerie amphibious royalty, and fear-inducing creatures abound.Lest you enter with dread.Follow Jack and Jill as they enter startling new landscapes that may (or may not) be scary, bloody, terrifying, and altogether true.Step lively, dear reader . . -
![The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg]()
The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA widow finds herself in possession of an extraordinary broom left by a witch who fell into the widow's garden... -
![The Thief Knot by Kate Milford]()
The Thief Knot by Kate Milford
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGhosts, a kidnapping, a crew of young detectives, and family secrets mix in this new standalone mystery set in the world of the best-selling Greenglass House, from a National Book Award nominee and Edgar Award–winning author.Marzana and her best friend are bored. Even though they live in a notorious city where normal rules do not apply, nothing interesting ever happens to them... -
![The Strangers by Jacqueline West, Lexy Fridell]()
The Strangers by Jacqueline West, Lexy Fridell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOlive thought she'd uncovered all the house's secrets. She was wrong.It's Halloween night when strangers come to Linden Street...and something dear to Olive goes missing... -
![The Second Spy by Jacqueline West, Lexy Fridell]()
The Second Spy by Jacqueline West, Lexy Fridell
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn Olive's third adventure, what lurks below the house could be as dangerous as what's hidden inside . . . Some terrifying things have happened to Olive in the old stone house, but none as scary as starting junior high. Or so she thinks. When she plummets through a hole in her backyard, though, she realizes two things that may change her mind: First, the wicked Annabelle McMartin is back... -
![Cocoa and Curses by Julie Nisse]()
Cocoa and Curses by Julie Nisse
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMix one part divorce, two parts very suspicious murder, and three parts snarky witches for a cocoalicious paranormal women's fiction novel about finding your power after forty!All Liv Kolgrim wanted for her forty-first birthday was a nice dinner with her husband. What she got was divorce papers and the legs knocked out from under her very comfortable life... -
![Dead Good Detectives by Jenny McLachlan]()
Dead Good Detectives by Jenny McLachlan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSid Jones loves hanging out in the graveyard with her best friend Zen - they are desperate to see a real-life ghost!But when Sid accidentally summons a 300-year-old pirate from the dead, it opens the door to the HALFWAY HOUSE - a magical inn FULL of lost souls from across the ages, all trapped there by a sinister landlord... -
![Recess Is a Jungle! by Jack Chabert]()
Recess Is a Jungle! by Jack Chabert
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSam, Antonio, and Lucy get trapped in a monstrous hedge maze! Will they ever find their way out?This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina... -
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![Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel]()
Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic is the sequel to the hilariously scary New York Times bestselling novel Nightmares! by multitalented actor Jason Segel and bestselling author Kirsten Miller. You thought the nightmares were over? You better keep the lights on! Charlie Laird has a dream life. 1) He has a weirdo stepmom who runs an herbarium... -
![Captivada by Jacqueline West]()
Captivada by Jacqueline West
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWith no way into the McMartin house's magical paintings, and its three guardian cats reluctant to help, Olive's friend Morton is still trapped inside Elsewhere. So when Rutherford, the new oddball kid next door mentions a grimoire--a spellbook--Olive sees a glint of hope. If she can find the McMartins' spellbook, maybe she can help Morton escape Elsewhere for good...Categorized as:
children friendship humor paranormal spooky action-adventure alternate-universe animals -
![Odd Interlude #1 by Dean Koontz]()
Odd Interlude #1 by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsLeading up to the highly anticipated arrival of Odd Apocalypse this summer, catch up with Odd Thomas in Odd Interlude, a special three-part eBook series by #1 bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz! Here is the spine-tingling 70-page first installment of this super-charged stand-alone Odd adventure. THERE’S ROOM AT THE INN. BUT YOU MIGHT NOT GET OUT... -
![Ghosts Don't Ride Bikes, Do They? by Andrés Miedoso]()
Ghosts Don't Ride Bikes, Do They? by Andrés Miedoso
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDesmond and Andres are in for a bike-riding adventure in the second book of the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol chapter book series!Welcome to Kersville, a town with a spooky history and a collection of ghosts and spirits who are major mischief-makers. Most kids spend their days without ever seeing or dealing with a ghost, but some kids get stuck with a haunt... -
![Ghost in the Attic by Dori Hillestad Butler]()
Ghost in the Attic by Dori Hillestad Butler
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA brand-new young chapter book series from Edgar Award winner Dori Hillestad Butler! After successfully solving the mystery of the ghost in the library, Kaz and Claire land the first case for their detective agency--a haunted attic in a neighbor's home! With a little help from Grannie, Kaz and Claire discover that what appeared to be something spooky has a much simpler explanation...Categorized as:
children friendship paranormal action-adventure book children-books contemporary fiction -
![Disney Tales from the Haunted Mansion Volume III Grim Grinning Ghosts by Amicus Arcane]()
Disney Tales from the Haunted Mansion Volume III Grim Grinning Ghosts by Amicus Arcane
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTales from the Haunted Mansion, Volume III: Grim Grinning GhostsAs told by mansion librarian Amicus ArcaneThe eerie Amicus Arcane has returned from beyond the grave to share more spooky stories from inside the Haunted Mansion. What frightening fictions does this once-living librarian hold in store? And will you, foolish reader, be brave enough to listen to them all without going mad..Categorized as:
children paranormal retellings spooky action-adventure audiobook book children-books -
![Rise of the Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste]()
Rise of the Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDeep beneath the waves, a great enemy awakens . . . Corinne LaMer defeated the wicked jumbie Severine months ago, but things haven’t exactly gone back to normal in her Caribbean island home. Everyone knows Corinne is half-jumbie, and many of her neighbors treat her with mistrust... -
![Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur T. Bradley]()
Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur T. Bradley
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKendra Levin, while at Viking, acquired world rights to Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by middle-grade author Fleur Bradley, pitched as in the tradition of The Westing Game with a touch of Clue. Aneeka Kalia will edit. Five murder suspects are invited to the haunted Barclay Hotel, and it's up to the tag-along kids JJ and Penny—and a ghost—to figure out who committed the crime... -
![The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh]()
The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwelve-year-old Mary Hayes can't stand her orphanage for another night. But when an attempted escape through the stove pipe doesn't go quite as well as she'd hoped, Mary fears she'll be stuck in the Buffalo Asylum for Young Ladies forever... -
![The Year of Shadows by Claire Legrand]()
The Year of Shadows by Claire Legrand
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOlivia wants a new life—and her wish might be granted by the unlikeliest allies. A heartfelt, gently Gothic novel from Claire Legrand that School Library Journal calls a “not-too-scary ghost story.”Olivia Stellatella is having a rough year... -
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![Malamander by Thomas Taylor]()
Malamander by Thomas Taylor
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNobody visits Eerie-on-Sea in the winter... -
![Dream Magic by Joshua Khan]()
Dream Magic by Joshua Khan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"A fantasy world you will lose yourself in." —Rick RiordanIn the second installment of this exciting trilogy, things are dire for the inhabitants of Castle Gloom and the surrounding villages. The undead are leaving their graves in droves, a troll army is on the march from the north, and people are mysteriously disappearing from their homes... -
![Fresh Meat by Alice Henderson]()
Fresh Meat by Alice Henderson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA rash of strange deaths in the Tahoe National Forest bring Sam, Dean and Bobby to the Sierra Nevada mountains to hunt a monster with a taste for human flesh. Soon walking corpses, bodies with missing organs, and attacks by a mysterious flying creature lead the trio to a cunning and deadly foe which can assume a human form and will do anything to survive... -
![Coyote's Kiss by Christa Faust]()
Coyote's Kiss by Christa Faust
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA truck full of illegal Mexican immigrants slaughtered with supernatural force is found by the side of a road. Trying to find answers, Sam and Dean are plunged into the dangerous world that exists along the Mexican border. They encounter a tattooed, pistol-packing bandita on a motorcycle who seems be everywhere they go before they get there... -
![Monster Madness by Dean Lorey]()
Monster Madness by Dean Lorey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt's the monster hunters' last chance to stop an all-out monster war!We're under attack! The last of the mega-monsters known as the Named are fighting their way into our world, and only a mysterious being known as the Guardian can help—but the Guardian is dying... -
![Dead Boy by Laurel Gale]()
Dead Boy by Laurel Gale
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA darkly funny and literary debut novel about a dead boy named Crow who has a chance at friendship - and a chance at getting his life back Crow Darlingson isn’t like other kids. He stinks. He’s got maggots. His body parts fall off at inopportune moments. (His mom always sews them back on, though.) And he hasn’t been able to sleep in years. Not since waking up from death... -
![The House in Poplar Wood by K.E. Ormsbee]()
The House in Poplar Wood by K.E. Ormsbee
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor as long as the Vickery twins can remember, they’ve only ever been able to leave the house together once a year, on Halloween. The rest of the year, Lee and his mother serve Memory, while Felix and his father assist Death. This is the Agreement.But one Halloween, Gretchen Whipple smashes her way into their lives... -
![Seven Dead Pirates by Linda Bailey]()
Seven Dead Pirates by Linda Bailey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA shy boy comes to life and finds his voice when the ghosts of seven dead pirates appear in his bedroom. A humorous, inspiring, critically acclaimed adventure! Lewis Dearborn is a lonely, anxious, -terminally shy- boy of eleven when his great-grandfather passes away and leaves Lewis's family with his decaying seaside mansion... -
![Zombie Dog by Clare Hutton]()
Zombie Dog by Clare Hutton
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRotten Apple Books: Unexpected. Unforgettable. Undead. Get bitten!Becky's family has moved right next door to the creepy, abandoned McNally house. Rumors fly around school about the ghosts and monsters that live there, and Becky isn't sure what to believe. Even her mischievous dog, Bear, stays away from it... -
![Evangeline of the Bayou by Jan Eldredge]()
Evangeline of the Bayou by Jan Eldredge
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA standout middle grade adventure with a sassy, memorable heroine and a charming Southern feel, perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Natalie Lloyd.Twelve-year-old haunt huntress apprentice Evangeline Clement spends her days and nights studying the ways of folk magic, honing her monster-hunting skills while pursuing local bayou banshees and Johnny revenants... -
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![The Encounter by Bill Myers]()
The Encounter by Bill Myers
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNo one takes Krissi seriously when she begins talking about receiving mysterious messages—all written by her own hand…all without her direction. Becka Williams knows something is not right—that all the odd communications and the cryptic warnings carry one message—someone, something, beyond this world is coming for a visit. Becka must convince Krissi this visitor is not a friend... -
![The Last Gargoyle by Paul Durham]()
The Last Gargoyle by Paul Durham
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFans of Jonathan Auxier's The Night Gardener and Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book will tremble with delight for this haunting tale about a lonely gargoyle who isn't alone at all.Penhallow is the last of his kind. The stone gargoyle--he'd prefer you call him a grotesque--fearlessly protects his Boston building from the spirits who haunt the night...Categorized as:
children friendship paranormal spooky action-adventure apocalyptic book children-books -
![The Ghost Road by Charis Cotter]()
The Ghost Road by Charis Cotter
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGhosts, a family curse, buried secrets -- and two girls who have to figure it all out. A new book from an acclaimed author, for fans of Coraline, Doll Bones and The Night Gardener.For the first time, Ruth is heading to Newfoundland to stay with family she's never met instead of spending the summer traveling with her dad...Categorized as:
children friendship myths paranormal retellings action-adventure book children-books -
![Embassy of the Dead by Will Mabbitt]()
Embassy of the Dead by Will Mabbitt
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJake Green is dead. Or he might as well be when he mistakenly accepts a package from the Embassy of the Dead in this hilarious adventure of the afterlife, the first in a series.When Jake Green opens a mysterious box containing a severed finger, he accidentally summons a grim reaper intent on dragging him to the Eternal Void (yes, it's as fatal as it sounds). Now Jake is running for his life... -
![Olivia Kidney and the Secret Beneath the City by Ellen Potter]()
Olivia Kidney and the Secret Beneath the City by Ellen Potter
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOlivia Kidney has been through a lot. Being able to communicate with ghosts means never a dull moment—or a normal life... -
![Mothman’s Curse by Christine Hayes]()
Mothman’s Curse by Christine Hayes
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen Josie and her brothers uncover a haunted camera, the Mothman legend becomes a terrifying reality that threatens their entire town in this spooky and action-filled novel. Josie may live in the most haunted town in America, but the only strange thing she ever sees is the parade of oddball customers that comes through her family's auction house each week... -
![Nightbooks by J.A. White]()
Nightbooks by J.A. White
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA boy is imprisoned by a witch and must tell her a new scary story each night to stay alive. This thrilling contemporary fantasy from J. A. White, the acclaimed author of the Thickety series, brings to life the magic and craft of storytelling.Alex’s original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping the witch Natacha happy, but soon he’ll run out of pages to read from and be trapped forever... -
![Anima Rising by Christopher Moore]()
Anima Rising by Christopher Moore
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore comes a hilariously deranged tale of a mad scientist, a famous painter, and an undead woman’s electrifying journey of self-discovery.Vienna, 1911. Gustav Klimt, the most famous painter in the Austrian Empire, the darling of Viennese society, spots a woman’s nude body in the Danube canal... -
![Ironhand by Charlie Fletcher]()
Ironhand by Charlie Fletcher
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsGeorge makes a promise to Edie that anything and anyone trying to get her will have to get past him first. But George is unaware that high on the rooftops an unseen gargoyle is watching them hungrily. The thing on the roof knows that nothing is over, nothing is finished... -
![The Creeps by John Connolly]()
The Creeps by John Connolly
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsSamuel Johnson is not in a happy place. He is dating the wrong girl, demons are occupying his spare room, and the town in which he lives appears to be cursed. But there is some good news on the horizon... -
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![The School Is Alive by Jack Chabert]()
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![The Accursed Huntsman by Douglass Hoover]()
The Accursed Huntsman by Douglass Hoover
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn ancient wooden barrier buried deep in the granite cliffs of Nova Scotia’s rural coastline.A long abandoned Victorian mansion sighing in the salty ocean breeze.A patchwork team of nobodies ready to breathe new life into humanity’s most ancient mystery... -
![The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis]()
The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAt first glance, the small seaside town of Whitby seems quiet and charming, but eight year-old Ben and his older sister Jennet soon learn that things are not always as they seem. Moved about from foster home to foster home, Ben and Jennet hope to make a fresh start in Whitby. But Ben sees things and people others cannot. There's something unusual about Alice Boston, their new guardian... -
![The Haunted Library by Dori Hillestad Butler, Václav Soukup]()
The Haunted Library by Dori Hillestad Butler, Václav Soukup
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen ghost boy Kaz’s haunt is torn down and he is separated from his ghost family, he meets a real girl named Claire, who lives above the town library with her parents and her grandmother. Claire has a special ability to see ghosts when other humans cannot and she and Kaz quickly form a friendship. The two join forces to solve the mystery of the ghost that’s haunting the library... -
![The Monsters of Morley Manor: A Madcap Adventure by Bruce Coville]()
The Monsters of Morley Manor: A Madcap Adventure by Bruce Coville
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhat do you get when you mix together-- werewolves, vampires, mad scientists, wizards, aliens, alternate dimensions, tiny people, Transylvania, ancient curses, giant frogs, evil clones, ghosts, lawyers, shape-changers, fallen angels, journeys through hell, zombie warriors, body snatchers, and two clever kids in whose hands rests the fate of Earth? --The latest madcap... -
![Strange Star by Emma Carroll]()
Strange Star by Emma Carroll
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThey were coming tonight to tell ghost stories. 'A tale to freeze the blood,' was the only rule. Switzerland, 1816. On a stormy summer night, Lord Byron and his guests are gathered round the fire.Felix, their serving boy, can't wait to hear their creepy tales.Yet real life is about to take a chilling turn - more chilling than any tale...
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