Books like Night Terrors

If you liked Night Terrors, read There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around, Ghost in the House, or Horror at the Haunted House — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like Night Terrors by Murphy, Jim (Horror · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of american ghost stories, ghosts, and short stories. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Night Terrors

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Why each is a match

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There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Aroundgrades 6–8
Shares themes of ghosts, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Horror). Amazon → books like this →
Ghost in the Housegrades 4–6
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Horror at the Haunted Housegrades 4–6
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost of Fossil Glengrades 3–8
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
All the Lovely Bad Onesgrades 5–8
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
Once They See You: 13 Stories to Shiver and Shockgrades 4–8
Shares themes of short stories, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (4–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Cursed Moongrades 3–6
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost of Graylockgrades 5–8
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost on Saturday Nightgrades 4–6
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Ghost's Gravegrades 3–8
Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Night Terrors for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

  • A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon · grades 2–8 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, overlapping grades (2–8), and the same era (1990s).
  • Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list and the same era (1990s).
  • Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list and the same era (1990s).
  • Rotten Teeth by Laura Simms · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list and the same era (1990s).
  • Soap! Soap! Don’t Forget the Soap! by Tom Birdseye · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list and the same era (1990s).

Books like Night Terrors for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

  • Ghost Cadet by Elaine Marie Alphin · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of ghosts and same genre (Horror).
  • Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • It Came from the Trees by Ally Russell · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • A Haunting in Williamsburg by Lou Kassem · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of ghosts.
  • Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret · grades 3–5 — Same genre (Horror) and the same era (1990s).

Books like Night Terrors for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

  • Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of ghosts, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • It Came from the Trees by Ally Russell · grades 3–6 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Horror), and overlapping grades (3–6).
  • The Haunting by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of ghosts and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of short stories and overlapping grades (4–8).
  • 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents by Lee Wardlaw · grades 4–6 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, overlapping grades (4–6), and the same era (1990s).

Books like Night Terrors for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

  • Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list and same genre (Horror).
  • The Haunting by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of ghosts and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • Danger Zone by David Klass · grades 6–9 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (1990s).
  • Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix · grades 6–9 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (1990s).
  • If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson · grades 9–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list and the same era (1990s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Night Terrors?
The 10 closest matches to Night Terrors by Murphy, Jim on ReadingList include There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around, Ghost in the House, Horror at the Haunted House, The Ghost of Fossil Glen, and All the Lovely Bad Ones. Each is scored on shared themes (american ghost stories, ghosts, and short stories), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Night Terrors reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?
Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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