# Recommendations for novels about haunted houses, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677 "2015-06-05T02:14:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/1 "2015-06-05T02:14:55Z")
I’m longing to read a novel about a haunted house. Lots of ghosts, and at least be _reasonably_ scary. More than one ghost would be nice. I don’t care if your recommendation is for a book intended for adults or is YA. I suppose I should offer some already-read examples to demonstrate my idea of scary, though. These aren’t _all_ haunted houses, but they should help give the idea. **Not Remotely Scary** to me: [ul] [li]The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters[/li][li]House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski[/li][li]The Turn of the Screw by Henry James[/li][li]Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker[/li][/ul] **Adequately Scary** to me: [ul] [li]The Shining by Stephen King (I liked Doctor Sleep too, _but_ it wasn’t scary)[/li][li]The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub[/li][li]Bird Box by Josh Malerman[/li][li]If You Could See Me Now by Peter Straub[/li][li]A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons (totally rips off If You Could See Me Now but at least it was scary)[/li][li]Neverland by Douglas Clegg [/li][li]Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill[/li][li]The The Devouring trilogy by Simon Holt[/li][li]The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy by Carrie Ryan[/li][/ul] What should I read? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/2 "2015-06-05T02:18:25Z")
_Hell House_ by Richard Matheson is a classic of the genre. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/3 "2015-06-05T02:23:22Z")
[Drawing Blood](http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Blood-Poppy-Z-Brite/dp/0440214920), by Poppy Z Brite, was pretty good, as I recall. It’s got a lot of explicit sex, for better or worse. [Last Days](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/last-days-adam-nevill/1111298429?ean=9781250018182) is a decent novel I read recently, following a documentarian investigating a cult; it’s got some strong haunted-house elements to it. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/4 "2015-06-05T02:28:32Z")
_The Haunting of Hill House_ by Shirley Jackson ETA: [The Haunting of Hill House - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_of_Hill_House) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/5 "2015-06-05T02:30:04Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > **Not Remotely Scary** to me: > [ul] > [li]The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters[/li][/ul] > > **Adequately Scary** to me: > [ul] > [li]The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy by Carrie Ryan[/li][/ul] > > What should I read? This tells me that you and I are completely at odds when it comes to what is scary, but I’ll still suggest The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/6 "2015-06-05T04:28:36Z")
_The House Next Door_ by Anne Rivers Siddons is good. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/7 "2015-06-05T07:05:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _The House Next Door_ by Anne Rivers Siddons is good. I just read this recently. It really freaked me out - I LOVED this book! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/8 "2015-06-05T07:14:24Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > I just read this recently. It really freaked me out - I LOVED this book! Glad to hear it. I read it back in the mid-eighties and I remembered I liked it a lot at the time. But I was worried that maybe the book wouldn’t live up to how I remembered it thirty years later. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/9 "2015-06-05T08:30:38Z")
Would Ghost Story by Peter Straub qualify? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/10 "2015-06-05T14:21:54Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > _The Haunting of Hill House_ by Shirley Jackson > > ETA: [The Haunting of Hill House - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_of_Hill_House) One of my top three favorite books of all time! I will suggest [Burnt Offerings](http://www.amazon.com/Burnt-Offerings-Robert-Marasco/dp/0440009286/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1433514059), by Robert Marasco. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/11 "2015-06-05T14:48:28Z")
I checked out my Goodreads list and came up with a few more. I rated all of these 3 stars. [This House is Haunted](http://www.amazon.com/This-House-Haunted-John-Boyne/dp/1590516796/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433515548&sr=1-1&keywords=this+house+is+haunted) by John Boyne [The Elementals](http://www.amazon.com/Elementals-Michael-McDowell/dp/1941147178/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1433515592), by Michael McDowell [Rooms](http://www.amazon.com/Rooms-Novel-Lauren-Oliver/dp/0062223194/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433515645&sr=1-1&keywords=rooms+lauren+oliver), by Lauren Oliver. Not scary, but I still think it fits. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/12 "2015-06-05T15:35:11Z")
The Haunting of Hill House seriously messed me up. Really good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/13 "2015-06-05T16:02:21Z")
Shirley Jackson’s last novel [We Have Always Lived in the Castle](http://flavorwire.com/447850/flavorwire-author-club-shirley-jacksons-haunting-final-novel-we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle) is a cracker, like everything she wrote. [Rustication](http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/rustication-by-charles-palliser/2013/12/03/9e8641d0-56a6-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_story.html) by Charles Palliser is, as this review notes, a sordid pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/14 "2015-06-05T16:11:58Z")
Not a novel, but what the heck … since you seem to like a lot of Stephen King’s stuff. _1408_, a short story in his collection _Everything’s Eventual_, is an excellent way to spend 30 minutes or so if you want to be scared. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/15 "2015-06-06T01:08:55Z")
I may not be the best to suggest one since I tend to dislike the genre but have you read _The Amityville Horror_? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/16 "2015-06-06T01:15:57Z")
Hmm… I’ve read a lot of these already ☹ I liked: - Drawing Blood by Poppy Z Brite - 1408 by Stephen King Didn’t like: - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - though it’s the basis for one of my favorite old horror movies, I found it pretty dull. We Have Always Lived in the Castle was much more interesting - Ghost Story by Peter Straub - this is actually one of my least favorite Peter Straub books - The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons - I was so bored by it I didn’t bother finishing it ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/17 "2015-06-06T01:18:22Z")
I’m currently reading _It_, by Stephen King, and it _might_ fit your bill. There is one particularly scary house the protagonists keep ending up in, at 29 Neibolt Street, but mainly it’s more of a haunted-sewer situation. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommendations-for-novels-about-haunted-houses-please/721677/18 "2015-06-06T03:38:22Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’m currently reading _It_, by Stephen King, and it _might_ fit your bill. There is one particularly scary house the protagonists keep ending up in, at 29 Neibolt Street, but mainly it’s more of a haunted-sewer situation. I guess, a little. But I’ve read just about everything King has written up until the past decade. Ditto Peter Straub, Clive Barker, and Dean Koontz.