Be sure to visit my author website at www.lauraparnum.com

My Books and Short Stories

The Haunting of Bellington Cottage (HarperCollins 2025)

Iris can’t wait for a weeklong wintery getaway with her old friend Violet at a secluded cottage in the woods. The last time their families vacationed together, the girls bonded over their love of creepy things and turned their rental into an epic haunted house to scare the heck out of the grownups. This time, Iris has plans for them to create another haunted house even more terrifying than the last. But when Violet shows up, she’s not the same girl Iris remembers. Vee (she doesn’t go by Violet anymore) is moody and quick-tempered and seems to want nothing to do with Iris and her haunted house plans. Soon, strange things are happening that make it seem like the cottage itself is angry—doors are slamming, rooms that were perfectly neat a second ago are suddenly a disaster, and Iris hears footsteps and other mysterious noises long after everyone’s gone to sleep. Iris and Vee soon discover that the cottage has a secret history, and that there’s no need to stage a haunted house after all . . . because they’re already in one.

(Ages 8-12)

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Peril at Price Manor (HarperCollins 2023)

Halle Thompson is determined to someday play the Damsel in Distress in a horror movie. She takes acting lessons, practices fainting, and has the most perfect of all perfect horror movie screams—something her mom and classmates could do without. When she seizes the opportunity to deliver flowers to Price Manor, home of the famous horror movie maker who lives just outside of town, she is sure she will get her big break. Meanwhile, at Price Manor, a strange creature is attacking the household staff. The movie maker’s 12-year-old twins are sure it’s just another one of their father’s elaborate pranks. But when Halle shows up and discovers the very real horror scene, she must stop thinking like a Damsel in Distress and start thinking like a Heroine.

(Ages 8-12)

“Leave the Dead to Lie in Peace”

(From S’more Spooky Stories: A National Park Anthology, Owl Hollow Press 2025)

In this anthology featuring twenty different authors, you can read legends and spooky tales from various national parks throughout the great United States. Laura Parnum’s story, “Leave the Dead to Lie in Peace,” features Gabby, a young girl visiting her uncles in Philadelphia. When she offers to walk their unruly Great Dane in Independence National Historic Park’s Washington Square, a ghostly encounter is a haunting reminder of the park’s history.

(Ages 10 and up)

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“Mrs. Claiborne’s Ghost” (Parhelion literary magazine 2020)

Mrs. Alexander Bennington Claiborne is newly married and desperate to break into the local social scene. When the neighbors start reporting hauntings in their upscale homes, Mrs. Claiborne hatches the perfect plan. Read this short story here: https://parhelionliterary.com/laura-parnum/

(Ages 14 and up)