As Halloween approaches, the allure of spooky destinations and chilling tales captures curiosity. For those preferring to experience fear from a safe distance, books and movies offer suitable choices. The genre of haunted house novels, blending traditional horror with creative modern thinking, continues to draw readers into dark, unsettling narratives.
Among these acclaimed works is Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw.” In the late 1890s, James, in need of money, accepted a request to write a serialized ghost story. The narrative centers on a young governess hired to care for two children at the historic Bly Manor, where she gradually becomes convinced she is haunted by sinful spirits. James initially had low expectations for his story, but after editing the manuscript, he admitted to being terrified by his own creation.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House,” widely regarded as one of the best ghost stories ever published, influenced renowned horror writers like Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. Unlike its popular Netflix adaptation focusing on the Crain family, Jackson’s original novel follows a group of strangers recruited by Dr. John Montague. He selects three companions—Theo, Eleanor, and Luke, the heir to Hill Manor—to test and corroborate his observations. All four begin to grapple with chills and terrifying, uncontrollable events within Hill Manor, facing unpredictable horrors.
Stephen King’s “The Visions” (known in English as “The Shining”) stands as an unmissable landmark in location-based horror, despite being set in a hotel rather than a typical house. The story follows Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy, and their son Danny as they look after the isolated Overlook Hotel, high in the mountains, during winter. Danny possesses clairvoyant abilities, allowing him to perceive the malevolent spirits residing there. Stephen King drew inspiration for the Overlook from the real-life Stanley Hotel in Colorado. After staying there overnight in 1974, just before the hotel closed for the winter, King experienced a nightmare and sketched out the storyline the very next morning. The Overlook Hotel in “The Visions” has since become one of the classic horror icons.
Michael McDowell's “The Elementals” offers a unique take on the genre, setting its work in the bright sunshine on the sandy beaches of Alabama, contrasting with the traditional image of a haunted house amidst dark, foggy surroundings. McDowell, also known as a screenwriter for the film “Beetlejuice” (1988), tells a story of two families who regularly spend their summers in two adjacent houses, where a third, abandoned house nearby harbors a malevolent ancient force.
“The Good House” by Tananarive Due breaks away from familiar haunted house tropes. Instead of late-night ghostly knocks, the house in this story is linked to a family curse that wreaks havoc on the entire small town of Sacajawea. The main character, Angela Toussaint, inherits the house from her grandmother, but her son later commits suicide there. The work intertwines supernatural and spiritual elements with the harsh reality of racial discrimination faced by the Black Toussaint family.
In Scott Thomas’s “The Stream of Death,” four horror writers are invited to the famously haunted Finch House for a live online interview on Halloween night. Though initially dismissed as a publicity stunt, they soon realize the ominous rumors surrounding the house are entirely true. Thomas stated that Finch House was inspired by an abandoned old school near where he lived as a child, where he and his friends used to weave spooky stories and challenge each other to sneak in at midnight.
Grady Hendrix’s “Selling Haunted Houses” addresses the perplexing question often posed in horror films: “Why don’t the characters run away?” Hendrix offers an answer through family conflict. After their parents die suddenly in an accident, siblings Louise and Mark are forced to stay in the old house to clean up and fight over the inheritance. Strange events, including the appearance of ghostly dolls and puppets, begin to occur. The book combines the grief of losing a loved one with the author’s characteristic satirical humor.
T. Kingfisher, the pen name of Ursula Vernon, contributes “A House With Good Bones.” Sam Montgomery visits her mother’s house during vacation but notices several unusual signs: vultures circling the house, the space completely redecorated, and her mother becoming unusually distraught. In her search for the truth, Sam discovers the shadow of an evil spirit lurking within. This work won both the prestigious Dragon Award 2023 and the Locus Award 2024 for Best Horror Novel.