# Horror Fans: Favorite Haunted House Novel? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2000, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969 "2000-08-11T15:18:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/1 "2000-08-11T15:18:25Z")
Just got done watching _Blair Witch Project_ in which a haunted house figures largely, and I realized I haven’t read that many haunted house stories (by which I mean full-length novels or short stories, not “campfire stories” or ULs). They come across my desk occasionally, in the flow of reading material traffic, but I never paid that much attention to them. So I thought I’d ask the Teeming Millions, if I’m going to improve my H.H.Q. (haunted house quotient), where should I start? The only haunted house stories that really stand out in my mind are “Sticks” by August Derleth (the person, not the poster) and Lovecraft’s “The Color out of Space”. But those aren’t really haunted HOUSE stories, where people run around in creaky old Victorian mansions and weird horrible things happen up in–The Attic. See, I have read a certain amount of these, but they all tend to blur together. Also, does anybody know any really good haunted house stories that are set in modern housing, like post-World War II suburbs? Besides Amityville, I mean. Is there some kind of rule that the action has to take place in Victorian mansions? So? P.S. Thanks, but I’m not really interested in the Phyllis Whitney/Mary Roberts Rinehart school of “Had I But Known”, the governess-alone-in-the-mansion-with-the-mysterious-dark-stranger kind of thing. Unless it’s a real corker. P.P.S. And yes, I’ve read _The Shining,_ it still gives me nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/2 "2000-08-11T16:41:03Z")
“Sticks” is by Karl Wagner, not August Derleth. Excellent story. If you haven’t read it yet, the hands-down best-ever haunted house novel is Shirley Jackson’s THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE. BURNT OFFERINGS by Robert Marasco is also pretty damn good. Do a booksearch for things by Elliott O’Donnell. Back in the early 20th century he wrote about 20 books supposedly about true-life hauntings around Great Britain. Psychic researchers laugh at him because he obviously was going for the chills n’ thrills, which is an excellent reason to read him today. The copy I have now is called GREAT GHOST STORIES, but I remember a library book called THE SCREAMING SKULLS AND OTHER TALES that scared the bejesus out of me when I was young. Finally, get a copy of HORROR: THE 100 BEST BOOKS, published by Carroll & Graf. It’ll give you a delightful reading list for years to come. ---
**Author:** ![struuter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@struuter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struuter)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/3 "2000-08-11T17:15:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > If you haven’t read it yet, the hands-down best-ever haunted house novel is Shirley Jackson’s THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE. > \*\* I’ll second that. I still get chills when I think about it. “…Whose hand was I holding?!” Eek. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/4 "2000-08-11T17:21:08Z")
Not your typical house in the suburbs haunted house story, but I liked “Bag of Bones” by Stephen King. (But then again, I’m sort of biased when it comes to King’s work). It’s not as all-out as scary as the Shining, but it does have its good parts. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/5 "2000-08-11T22:47:16Z")
**The House on the Borderland** by William Hope Hodgson. And it’s out of copyright! You can read it online at: [The House on the Borderland.](http://www.litrix.com/hborder/hbord001.htm) And “Sticks” was very good, out of “Night Winds” by Karl E. Wagner. “In the Pines” from that book is also a good haunted house book IRC. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2000, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/6 "2000-08-12T01:06:45Z")
There aren’t **nearly** enough good haunted house stories out there. The Jackson and Marasco books have to be #1 and #2 on anyone’s list. Classics. Another goodie is _The House Next Door_ (1978) by Anne Rivers Siddons. And that was about a **new** house. It’s a favorite of many non-gore horror fans. It’s one of those love it or hate it books. I liked it. Another good house book came last month from the Leisure Horror Book Club (three books for $11, shipping included, who can beat that?). _Prey_ by Graham Masterton. An unfortunate choice of title, as many horror fans will think it’s one of John Sandford’s books. It’s not. The house in _Prey_ is one of those places with odd, impossible angles. Characters in a painting change position. (I know that’s old, but it can still be effective.) Entering the attic takes you back in time, where folks are doing some not very nice things to each other. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and that hasn’t happened in awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2000, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/7 "2000-08-12T02:33:26Z")
Oh, yeah…you should invest in a COMPLETE GHOST STORIES OF M.R. JAMES. They ARE short stories rather than novels, but…Mamma mia, atsa some spooky stuff. Especially “Count Magnus.” \ ---
**Author:** ![FarTreker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@FarTreker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarTreker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/8 "2000-08-12T06:23:14Z")
When I was a kid, I used to visit my grandparents with my family most Sundays and, when it rained, I couldn’t go out in the wild woods around them and play. Their small house was single story, flat roofed and paneled in the living room in heavy, dark pine. The small kitchen/dining area was at one end of this room, separated by a small book case packed with Readers Digest hard bound books. With nothing to do on rainy days, I’d read the books under a single, dim wall light on a hard, wooden chair against the dark wall by the kitchen table. The best haunted house tale I ever read was back then, and I have reread it – in Readers Digest format, several times since – **The Haunting Of Hill House** by Shirley Jackson. I still find it fascinating and one of these days, I must find a ‘normal’ copy of the book and read what Readers Digest left out. ---
**Author:** ![silent\_rob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@silent\_rob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silent_rob)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2000, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/9 "2000-08-13T01:47:43Z")
I’m not sure if you consider it just a _haunted house_ novel, but that’s definitely a component of it. Clive Barker’s _The Hell-bound Heart_ is very good, and very, very creepy. And, yes, at times frightening. Barker also did a very good job taking it to the big screen in _Hellraiser_. ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2000, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/10 "2000-08-13T02:48:17Z")
Another book you might be interested in is _House of Leaves_ by Mark Z. Danielewski. I haven’t read that one yet, but I’ve heard good stuff about it; it’s similar in style/approach to _Blair Witch_, only it’s a book. As for some short stories, in addition to what’s been mentioned, you might try Algernon Blackwood or E.F. Benson. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2000, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-fans-favorite-haunted-house-novel/28969/11 "2000-08-13T04:21:22Z")
Here’s one not too many people know, and that’s a shame: Carter Dickson’s (AKA John Dickson Carr) 1935 classic \*\* The Plague Court Murders \*\* is a perfect example of this author’s horror/mystery novels. This early work of Carr is an extraordinary blend of both genres and you’re not likely to guess who, or maybe WHAT committed the crime.