Creepy Peculiar Children

I love autumn ― the fall leaves, the crisp air, and the witching hours. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, not because of the candy and the costumes, but for the anticipation of shivers up the spine.
This week, I will list five of my favorite spooky books. They aren't scary (we'll get to those next week), but are more like the Addams Family theme song ― creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky. First up a fabulously creepy book.
Be sure to note the skulls at the bottom. They indicate the fright level, with one skull for a book that is slightly scary to four skulls for a book that should come with a warning for those with heart conditions.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

by Ransom Riggs
There is something inherently disturbing about Victorian photos, particularly those of children. Often dressed as adults, posed stiffly in all their black-and-white glory, they look both knowing and frightened. 
Given that photography was such a new medium, it was only a matter of time before someone started experimenting with it. Think of those famous forged fairy photos (wow, serious alliteration). 
Ransom Riggs took a stash of those old photos, many of them obviously staged but all of them quirky, and decided to tell a story built around them. And what a frightening tale it is.
When Jacob Portman's grandfather is horribly murdered, Jacob is the only witness to the crime...but he claims that monsters committed the murder. To help him recover from the tragedy, his family agrees to let him go to Wales, where Jacob hopes to find out more about his grandfather's strange childhood on a mysterious island at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Be prepared for the hair to stand up on the back of your neck. (2011 - Quirk Books)

 (2 skulls for the photos alone ― they are truly scary)