Lois Duncan

The top 5 best and scariest Lois Duncan books. This author has been responsible for some of the best Young Adult horror novels ever written. Three of her books have been turned into horror movies, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Teaching Mrs. Tingle and Summer of Fear. However, the plot of I Know What You Did Last Summer bears little resemblance to the book.

1. Down a Dark Hall

When Kit Gordy enters the exclusive Blackwood boarding school, she is shocked to discover that there are only three other students. Kit does not want to be there. She thinks the place feels strange. Wandering don the dark halls, she feels a penetrating chill. There is something not right about Blackwood… something evil wiating around the next corner. Kit settles into a routine, trying to ignore the rumors that the boarding school is haunted, but her classmates begin to show extraordinary and unknown talents. The strange dreams, the voices, the lost letters to family and friends, all become overshadowed by the realization of what is going on around them.

Summer of Fear

“From the moment Rachel’s cousin Julia arrives that summer, she seems to seep into Rachel’s life like a poison. Everyone else is enchanted by her,including Rachel’s boyfriend. But what does Julia really want?”

Rachel is 15 years old. She has a great boyfriend and a great family. But one day they receive some horrible news: Rachel’s aunt and uncle have been killed in a car accident, leaving her cousin Julia all alone in the world.

Her parents decide to have Julia live with them and try to make the girl feel at home. However, Julia is not what Rachel expected. She is strangely quiet, with “piercing eyes” and “talks funny”. Rachel starts to notice very odd things about Julia. She tries hard to get her family and friends to see them too, but they just think Rachel is jealous of all the attention her cousin is getting.

Julia’s bewitching ways cause Rachel to become an outcast in her family as she begins to uncover clues that Julia may not be who everyone thinks she is. In fact, Rachel starts to think her cousin is a witch and tragic events begin to occur.

I Know What You Did Last Summer

It was only an accident, but it would change their lives forever. Last summer, four terrified friends made a desperate pact to conceal a shocking secret. But some secrets don’t stay buried, and someone has learned the truth. Someone bent on revenge. This summer, the horror is only beginning…”

Late one night, a group of teenagers are returning home from a party when they accidently run over and kill a young boy riding a bicycle. In a panic, they try to decide what to do and make a pact to never mentioning the incident to anyone.

A year later, one of the teens receives an anonymous note saying “I know what you did last summer”. The group of teenagers get back together and try to figure out who is sending the notes. Is it all just some sick prank someone is playing on them.

Killing Mr. Griffin

“They only planned to scare their English teacher. They never actually intended to kill Mr. Griffin. But sometimes even the best-laid plans go wrong.”

The book follows five high school students, the jock, the cheerleader, the class president, the bad boy, and the mousey nerd. They are all sick of being treated badly by their tough-as-nails English teacher, Mr. Griffin. They want to teach him a lesson, so they come up with a crazy plan to kidnap him and give him a scare. Everything goes as planned, except for one little thing. Mr. Griffin ends up dead. The teenagers are faced with having to cover up their crime, but they can’t keep their stories straight and as the plot begins to unravel, some of them become increasingly desperate and are willing to do anything to keep the crime hidden.

Stranger with My Face

Have you ever been haunted by the feeling that someone is spying on you, lurking around your house and yard, even entering your bedroom? Are your friends plotting against you when they say they’ve seen you do things you know you haven’t done? What’s going on — and does Laurie really want to find out?