Summerween Reads for Kids and Adults to Enjoy

The term Summerween originates from an animated Disney series called Gravity Falls. Characters on the show were so eager to celebrate Halloween that they couldn’t wait another several months for the big day. This led to the characters creating Summerween, the perfect midsummer celebration of all things spooky. In the show, Summerween is celebrated on June 22, but feel free to celebrate anytime throughout the summer! 

The Summerween trend may have started out on a Disney show, but it’s truly taken on a life of its own. Just one quick search on TikTok or Instagram will reveal a variety of ideas on how to celebrate the spooky summertime holiday. And we all know, you can’t celebrate spooky season without a selection of scary stories or movies—so let’s explore your Summerween streaming options available on Hoopla!

Nocturnal Creatures

Robert P. Ottone’s Nocturnal Creatures is a harrowing tale that begins in a peach orchard in upstate New York, where a teenage girl named Cassie notices strange creatures lurking in the wooded area near their property. Eventually, the family sees these creatures more frequently, leading to a series of battles that could result in dire consequences. 

The Girl in the Walls 

Meg Eden Kuyatt’s The Girl in the Walls sees a neurodivergent girl named Vee stay with her Grandma Jojo over the summer. Soon, Vee discovers a ghost is actually living inside the walls of her grandma’s house. Then, she’s forced to choose between obeying the commands of the ghost or facing its wrath, which could affect the whole family.

The Curse of Drake’s Island 

The Curse of Drake Island is Sara Lamerton’s debut in which protagonist Olivia begins having nightmares, leading her to believe that something big is headed her way. A field trip to Drake’s Island, a mysterious destination just past the coast, leads her to realize that there’s only one way to prevent tragedy from unfolding in her life and the lives of her classmates. And that’s by embracing her supernatural gifts. 

Ghost Scouts Honor 

In Carey Blankenship-Kramer’s Ghost Scouts Honor, the Ghost Scouts are tasked with keeping the ghosts of Savannah in check. But once Evey begins wondering why the ghosts seem angrier than usual, she begins wondering whether the ghosts deserve to be captured and caged. What do these questions mean regarding her service in the Ghost Scouts in the future?

Say My Name! Say My Name!

Part 4 of the Goosebumps House of Shivers series, R.L. Stine’s Say My Name! Say My Name! sees a talking fish, a runaway dog, and strange hog-like creatures congregate in the woods behind Cody’s house. This results in a complete nightmare that intensifies when Cody and his friend Sam choose to venture into the creek rather than staying inside to play video games. The story follows the two as they attempt to determine how to avoid these frightening creatures.

Finders Keepers

In the third installment of the Eek! series by Jeff Strand, Finders Keepers sees a summertime scavenger hunt in the small town of Farlow take a turn for the worse. That’s because finding the items grows increasingly scary once the hunt moves to the cemetery. Making matters worse is the fact that it’s too late for the competitors to quit. 

The Little Ghost

In The Little Ghost, there’s a castle overlooking a small town that houses the Little Ghost. He usually only awakens for an hour after midnight. The movie follows the Little Ghost as he sees his first-ever sunrise.

Monster Family 

In Monster Family, the Wishbones are dealing with problems most families typically deal with. But once Emma forces the family into attending a Halloween-night costume party, the family is cursed and transformed into a vampire, a mummy, a werewolf, and Frankenstein’s monster, leading to the journey to uncover the source of the curse. 

Strawberry Shortcake and the Beast of Berry Bog 

In this Strawberry Shortcake adventure, someone’s trying to ruin the Fright-Fall Carnival. It’s up to Strawberry and her friends to save the day by following certain clues to reveal the culprit.

Goosebumps Graphix: Scary Summer 

In part three of the Goosebumps Graphix series by R.L. Stine, readers will find three stories that take readers on three different frightening adventures. This series repackages classic Goosebumps tales in a brand-new format. And the illustrations deliver just as much of a scare as the stories themselves! 

The Complete Peanuts: Waiting for the Giant Pumpkin 

Summerween is the perfect opportunity to introduce your little ones to the classic story of Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin. In Waiting for the Great Pumpkin, Linus informs Charlie Brown and the gang that the Great Pumpkin rises from the pumpkin patch and delivers presents to good little boys and girls around the globe. There’s even debate as to whether the Great Pumpkin is better than Santa Claus!  

Scooby-Doo Team Up 

In part one of the Scooby-Doo Team-Up series, Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang are invited to join the society of super-detectives known as the Mystery Analysts of Gotham City. When the villainous Scarecrow strikes at their first meeting, Scooby realizes that this might be the perfect chance to live out his dream of becoming a crime-fighting dog.

Arcadian  

In Arcadian, starring Nicolas Cage, a father and his twin teenage sons are forced to fight for their survival in a remote farmhouse in a post-apocalyptic world. With monsters roaming the outside world, winning this fight is paramount to survival. 

Terrifier 3 

In this 2024 film, Sienna and her brother are forced to rebuild their lives following Art the Clown’s Halloween Massacre. Once the holiday season approaches, the siblings work to feel the holiday spirit, only to find that Art has returned with the mission of turning their holiday season into another nightmare.   

Wolf Creek 

In Wolf Creek, which was inspired by the real Australian backpacker murders, three stranded backpackers fall victim to a crazed bushman. They initially encounter the murderous villain when he offers to fix their car prior to taking the trio captive. 

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 

In Lisa Unger’s Close Your Eyes and Count to 10, players are gathered on Falcao Island as a game of hide-and-seek transforms into a terrifying test of survival. As a storm rages, there’s a fatal threat that stalks contestants. Ultimately, this threat takes the challenge far beyond the social media stunt it was intended to be.  

Rekt 

If you like the series Black Mirror, you’ll love Rekt by Alex Gonzalez. This thrilling novel explores toxic masculinity through the lens of a young man who descends into online gore footage. But after spending a considerable amount of time on the site, it eventually begins reading his mind, leading to questions and nightmares that are increasingly difficult to deal with.   

Tell Me What You Did 

True crime podcasts have become widely popular in recent years. And in Carter Wilson’s Tell Me What You Did, protagonist Poe Web hosts a true crime podcast where she invites culprits to confess crimes they’ve committed. But when Poe commits a murder, she’s forced to ponder if murderers are always in the wrong.  

Ghost Camera 

In Darcy Coates’s Ghost Camera, Jenine takes a playful photo using an abandoned Polaroid camera. She takes the photo without even thinking about it, so when she spots a ghostly figure in the background, and sees it moving one step closer with each picture she takes, the danger she faces grows harder to ignore.   

This Book Will Bury Me 

In This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead, college student Jane Sharp falls into a true crime obsession as a coping mechanism after losing her father unexpectedly. This leads to her befriending armchair detectives who teach her how to find murderers from afar. Eventually she’s called on to help solve a murder case of three college students that grips the town of Delphine, Idaho.   

Hungerstone 

In Kat Dunn’s Hungerstone, readers are introduced to Lenore, along with her husband Harry. It’s the height of the Industrial Revolution, and Henry’s job as a steel magnate has strained their marriage. Eventually, Lenore is presented with the opportunity to regain her husband’s affection, but not before she uncovers a darkness within the home that places her at great risk.   

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees 

Part of the Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees series by Patrick Horvath, adorable goes hand and hand with terrifying. That’s because cute critters like an adorable brown bear are just as capable of committing crimes as anyone else—especially considering there’s a sea of perfect potential victims all over the big city beyond the forest.   

The Call of Cthulhu 

Adapting the most famous horror story by H.P. Lovecraft, the graphic novel of The Call of Cthulhu, takes readers through the journey of two bands of worshippers linked by more than their shared practice of blood sacrifice. These two groups also share an inhuman chant that eventually begins breaking the sanity of the young man tasked with investigating the cult.    

Sleep 

In part one of Zander Cannon’s Sleep series, Jonathan Reason deals with the consequences of leading a double life. Every night when he falls asleep, he becomes something else. And that something else stalks his quiet town while murdering indiscriminately, leading him to wake up covered in blood.