Horror Aficionados discussion

What are your favorite Haunted House stories?

Haunted
The Little Stranger

Jon Recluse wrote: "Haunted
The Little Stranger"

I love Haunted! I think Herbert gets overlooked a bit by American audiences. The guy could flat out build a creepy atmosphere like no other.

this one's very weird

Ken wrote: "Jon Recluse wrote: "Haunted
The Little Stranger"

I love Haunted! I think Herbert gets overlooked a bit..."

I agree. Huge Herbert fan since I first picked up The Dark.

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: " this one's very weird


"

I did not like Bentley Little’s The House. It’s too bad, because I had heard such great things about him and this was the first book of his that I read. I’ve since heard that it’s not one that his fans like very much. Unfortunately, it’s caused me to not read any more of his stuff, which is too bad because I have a whole shelf full of his work, unread.

The Legend of Hell House the Screenplay

Seconding The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddon.

I'd also add Hell House by Richard Matheson (a response of sorts to the Jackson).

Softspoken by Lucius Shepard was good, though not a favorite. Ditto The Little Stranger.

Then there's The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions and maybe the most famous, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

by Clare McNally - five star read for me. This was a great ghost story and it was more creepy than scary, but I really enjoyed it.

by Clare McNally - four star read. This was a little more creepy and the pace picks up right away with intense, twisted moments throughout the whole book.

by Darcy Coates - five star read. Darcy Coates never fails on the spookiness of haunted houses! Fast paced and lots of creepy moments throughout the book.

by Darcy Coates - five star read. This book was scary! Kept me up in the middle of the night reading it and it was very fast paced! Intense with nail biting moments and even a couple of bad dreams from it which normally doesn't happen that often as I keep telling myself I am immune to horror! Well when reading a Darcy Coates spooky book - immune will only go so far! lol This book is on my favorites shelf as most of Darcy's books are kept there. Haunting good time!

Not sure if it qualifies; but House of Leaves. The portion with the house just freaked me out after the couple started exploring. … this door
…….. this door....
..door.....
steps...…
steps, …. who's hand is that!?

I am adding a couple or so more in here. :)

I read this one which was really great by Jeff Strand a few weeks ago.
- 4 star read

Also this one was really good and the cover of the book is what really drew me in.

by A.W. James - 4 star read

I recently finished , which I thought was really good. It had several creepy moments.

Of course, Shirley Jackson rules this subgenre, but my current fave in the ghost story/haunted house theme is Cherie Priest. I think "The Family Plot," is one of the best ghost stories in the past decade, and "Agony House," a fine YA novel. "The Toll," this years addition to the genre was pretty good, too. After Priest, Simone St James is my second favorite contemporary ghost story writer.

I am so glad y'all posted these. I just discovered Darcy Coates's books. so far she's been quit amazing. the haunting of ashburn was wrote beautifully and intellectually. i will post it in a few.

Brian wrote: "I am not as well-read in the genre as you guys are. But I can say that I think Empty House by Algernon Blackwood is the story I rate others by. To me it is the perfect story. I also think that 90% ..."

Adding it to my list.

I very much enjoyed the House of Frozen Screams by Thana Niveu. Set in England in the west country it has a scene where this lifelike plaster head set into a wall comes to life with horrific consequences.

Some of my favorite haunted house, or ghost novels are , , , , , , , , , , and .

i'm currently reading It Will Just Be Us and it is so good. the hauntings are a little different but i am loving this book.

mine is the changling

there was an old 1970 movie about a girl who haunted the basement of a home. her father's ghost could be heard calling for her in the night.

I am reading The Haunted by Bentley Little. I'm really enjoying it.

Jeffrey wrote: "there was an old 1970 movie about a girl who haunted the basement of a home. her father's ghost could be heard calling for her in the night."

Name?

A Halloween Tale by Austin Crawley

Ghost Story by Jeff Brackett

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

The Elementals by Michael McDowell

I absolutely love the Berkeley Street series by Ron Ripley, altho I think I've only listened to the audiobook 1-9.

Hello! New here and this is my first comment. Haunted house stories specifically (and ghost stories in general) have become my new go-to read for the past several years.

Here are some that I’ve read since 2019:
Turn of the Screw, 2 stars
The Little Stranger, 5 stars
The Haunting of Gillespie House, 3 stars (excepting the last short story Lights Out which was a solid fiver)
The Hollow Places, 3 stars
The Ghost Bride, 3 stars
The Whispering House, 4 stars
Hell House, 2 stars and a yuck
The Silent Companions, 3 stars
This House is Haunted, 4 stars
The Woman in Black, 4 stars
The Vanishing, 3 stars
House of Leaves, 2 stars
The Guardians, 5 stars
House of Small Shadows, 2 stars and DNF @ 95%
Rooms, 4 stars

The Hollow Places is not a haunted house story, it's cosmic horror & it's really good! 14 is also cosmic horror about a house/building & even better!

Ian (RebelGeek) wrote: "The Hollow Places is not a haunted house story, it's cosmic horror & it's really good! 14 is also cosmic horror about a house/building & even better!"

Loved both of those!

House of Leaves seems to be quite the polarizing book, where you either love it or hate it. I’ve never read it personally, but I’m hesitant to pick it up due to some reviews I’ve read. Any fans of it on here? If so, tell me what you like about it.

Kenneth wrote: "House of Leaves seems to be quite the polarizing book, where you either love it or hate it. I’ve never read it personally, but I’m hesitant to pick it up due to some reviews I’ve read. Any fans of ..."

I utterly loved HOL. For me it was not just a book, but an immersive experience. The gimmicks (the book is all about gimmicks, but that's cool) bend your mind, forcing you to go down some deep rabbit holes. That said, it's clearly not for everyone. If you're not willing to put in the effort, if you don't bring something to the table, you will not enjoy HOL.

Two more haunted house stories are:

by Graham Masterton - this book is really spooky!

and

by Nick Roberts - this one will totally scare your socks off!

Anyone ever read Jane Emily by Patricia Clapp? It’s maybe a haunted house/ garden/ gazing ball story that I read back in the eighties as a teen. It was super creepy!

I’m not going to lie. I dug August’s Group Read, The House Next Door. Even though it’s made many Best Of list over the years, including Stephen Kings’s, it was my first time reading it. I thought it was a stoke of genius for Siddons to use a house being built/new house instead of the usual gothic mansion.

Kenneth wrote: "I’m not going to lie. I dug August’s Group Read, The House Next Door. Even though it’s made many Best Of list over the years, including Stephen Kings’s, it was my first time reading i..."

This book is so well regarded, I missed the August read but def adding to my top TBR shelf.

Ohhh yes. haunted houses and ghost stories are my fave! I was thinking maybe we can revive this topic? 🌙

Since it appears some time has passed, there may have been some new novels in the last three years that are worthy haunted house/ghost story reads. I like placing together the haunted house and the ghost story topics because they are very similar and just as chillingly satisfying. I just joined and I’m happy to find this thread. I would love to hear new feedback and appreciate the previous.

Kenneth wrote: "House of Leaves seems to be quite the polarizing book, where you either love it or hate it. I’ve never read it personally, but I’m hesitant to pick it up due to some reviews I’ve read. Any fans of ..."

The second time I read it I only read the "main" portion, skipping all the footnotes and the third time I read ONLY the footnotes. Each time it's a very different experience and I always see something I didn't notice the first time. I can very much recommend reading HOL this way after the first read through. I truly love this book. But yeah, it's not a book, it's an experience.

Alicia wrote: "Kenneth wrote: "House of Leaves seems to be quite the polarizing book, where you either love it or hate it. I’ve never read it personally, but I’m hesitant to pick it up due to some reviews I’ve re..."

I’ve read it twice now and in different ways too. The first time, I tried to read all the footnotes and the story and found it too much. The second time I read the story first and then the footnotes afterward and enjoyed it much more. It’s one of those books where the atmosphere stays with you for a long time.
Im not finished with it yet. I suspect I’ll have another read later this year and find something else to fascinate me!

Kenneth wrote: "I’m not going to lie. I dug August’s Group Read, The House Next Door. Even though it’s made many Best Of list over the years, including Stephen Kings’s, it was my first time reading i..."

I really liked that book and I wish that Siddons had continued to write in the horror genre with hauntings. Definitely a unique concept that she brought to the haunting genre with that story. :)

I can put some more in here. :) Also mixing it up with haunted house and ghost stories. Not all ghost stories are lurking around in haunted houses either so will plop a couple or so of those in here as well.

The Haunted House From Hell
Black Creek Crossing
The House at Phantom Park
From Below (ghost story but not in a house)
Salvage: A Ghost Story
The Demonic
Kill Creek
The Haunting of Henderson Close
Blood Seance
Stirrings in the Black House
The Haunting of Pitmon House
The Haunting of Bloodmoon House
Home Before Dark
Perron Manor (the first book in the Haunted series)
ESSIE'S HOUSE
Linden Manor
A House by the Sea
The Sorrows
Seven Cleopatra Hill
The Haunted Halls
The Ghosts of Marsh House
Lineage
The Haunting of Gillespie House

I think that should do it. lol Sorry about that - I got carried away it seems. lol ;)

Not sure how they hold up now, but does anyone remember the 99 Fear Street trilogy written by R.L. Stine? It's been forever since I've read them, but I do remember that the last one The Third Horror involved a film being shot at the haunted house (with one of the trilogy's surviving characters being one of the main stars for some reason(!!!)) and some slime, which I suppose was as much of a staple for Stine as murder was back then. Good times, good times...

On another note, a few days ago was the first time I heard about Nick Cutter coming out with a new haunted house novel this year: The Handyman Method: A Story of Terror. Should be a blast if The Troop and his other novels are of any indication.

Ian (RebelGeek) wrote: "The Hollow Places is not a haunted house story, it's cosmic horror & it's really good! 14 is also cosmic horror about a house/building & even better!"

Interesting. If we went that direction, then William Hope Hodgson's The House on the Borderland would apply. (There have been more recent editions, I just like hogman.)

I have recently started reading the work of Shani Struthers. She has a series of ghost/ haunted places books under the series header " This Haunted World". While not haunted houses ( so far there's been an asylum and a hotel), but highly entertaining!

Several out this year and last that I have been enjoying:
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
The Spite House by Johnny Compton
The Hacienda by Isabel Canas

Some I consider favorites:
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Coming in extremely late to this party but happy to oblige:

‘Haunted’ by Chuck Palahniuk
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ by Shirley Jackson
‘The Shining’ by Stephen King
‘1408’ by Stephen King in ‘Everything’s Eventual’, which has to be the best supermarket paperback experience of all time for me.

YALL THE ARNOLD HOUSE AND THE AMITYVILLE HOUSES ARE THE GOAT😮‍💨 YOU CANT CHANGE MY MIND☝️

Slade House

S wrote: "The new book Proximity Factor i."

Self promotion is limited to the Author Promotion folder only:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

has anyone read amy cross? she has a lot of gothic horror and haunted house books out, but I'm leery if it's good because she publishes so quickly. can't find much information about the author online either.