Frightlopedia: An Encyclopeidia of Everything Scary, Creepy, and Spine-Chilling,

"Discover Borneo's Gomantong Cave, where literally millions of bats, cockroaches, spiders, and rats coexist--in pitch darkness. Learn about mythical creatures like the Mongolian Death Worm--and scarily real ones like killer bees, which were accidentally created by scientists in the 1950s. Visit New Orleans' Beauregard-Keyes house, where Civil War soldiers are said to still clash in the front hall. Plus ghost stories from around the world, a cross-cultural study of vampires, and how to transform into a zombie with makeup. Each entry includes a "Fright Meter" measurement from 1 to 3, because while being scared is fun, everyone has their limit"--Amazon website.

Julie Winterbottom is the author of "Pranklopedia" and the former editor in chief of "Nickelodeon Magazine." She lives in Brooklyn, NY. When she is not dreaming up ways to scare kids or make them laugh (or both), she plays Cajun accordion.