Explore these haunted houses if you dare. Looking for ghosts, entities or the evil soul of the house itself in this list with original, scary and fun haunted house horrors.
Haunted Houses are a very classic trope in horror, as well in films as in books. It speaks to the imagination while you never know what happened in the house you now live in. In a way you can say a house reflects it residents and even has a soul of its own, the older the house, the stronger the soul. And the bigger the house, the more it can hide.
Haunted Houses can be classically haunted by ghosts but it can also take another form. It even can become evil, draining the life out of its residents. It can shape-shift, have secrets rooms, locked doors and lost hallways.
It doesn’t have to be a house though. It can be a hotel, a store, even a restaurant. Any building can be haunted. By entities, ghosts or even the house itself.
It’s a fun genre that is very popular and is very versatile and never gets boring.
I have put together a list of Haunted House Horror Books that I have read and personally recommend. It’s not a list with all the haunted house horror books out there or the best ones, but this is a selection of books that I enjoyed reading.
The list is set up by decade and by year. Starting with the most recently published books. Each time I have found a new book within this genre that I highly recommend it will be added to the list.
So save this post for more recommendations.
The list consists of 19 books at the moment.
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (2025)
(247 pages)
Genres: southern gothic, dysfunctional family, psychological horror, haunted house
Sam Montgomery is an archaeoentomologist whose dig is postponed. So she decides to move in with her mother Edie for a while. But her mother seems changed and her colorful house is now beige and the creepy racist painting of Gran Mae hangs above the couch. Soon she starts to experience strange things inside the house and in the garden. When the spirit of Gran Mae also seems to linger, she goes in search for he family’s history and stumbles upon a dark past.
Sam is a very witty and smart narrator and creates a playful story. It deals with childhood trauma, a dysfunctional family and supernatural family secrets. It has quirky characters and mixes comedy with real scares and serious themes. You can Read my Full Review.
The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig (2025)
(388 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, woods, psychological horror, liminal horror, haunted house
In 1989 five teenagers find a staircase in the woods. When one of them climbs it, he disappears. Now years later they have grown apart until they get a call from one of them, who shows them another staircase in the woods. They decide to climb it and find themselves in a hallway with doors and rooms, that are constantly changing and which hide terrible nightmares.
This is a unique haunted house story, combined with liminal horror, where an impossible house in the woods leads to another dimension where each room is haunted with scary nightmarish scenes. It explores the house, their relationships, trapped in a maze, mixed with cosmic horror at the end. You can Read my Full Review.
Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne (2024)
(296 pages)
Genres: haunted house, dysfunctional family, summer
Anna goes with her family on vacation in Italy. Anna is treated as the black sheep and to make matters worse, she feels watched in their rental house. She notices strange things and the tower is locked and there’s no key. Slowly things spiral out of control, both between her and her family and the entity that resides in the house.
With creepy hauntings that latch on to Anna it’s a creepy story with scary happenings. Because of her family it often feels very frustrating and unfair, but it’s also a story about empowerment and redemption. All the more because Anna is a strong and smart character and her family is sometimes just plain awful and horrible. Ultimately it has a good-for-her ending that is redeeming and very satisfying. You can Read my Full Review.
Old Dark Houses by Tylor James (2023)
(260 pages)
Genres: halloween, haunted house
Right after Halloween three old houses are to be demolished. But the ghost residing in one of these houses has nothing of it. He lures people and mostly kids into the three houses to absorb their life essence as the houses restore itself. The teenagers and people locked inside must find a way to destroy the core of these houses, its heart and its brain.
The several people inside the houses, have to deal with creepy bats, rats and creepy crawlers that defend it. It’s a great Halloween tale that has medium horror, some bloody and gruesome scenes, and not everybody makes it out alive, but it is mostly focused on creating a spooky atmosphere.You can Read my Full Review.
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Creepey Crawling Spider Eye is made with pen and alcohol markers. You can buy this design on a Rib Racer Tank Top and other apparel in my shop at Printify.
The Ghost That Ate Us by Daniel Kraus (2022)
(299 pages)
Genres: psychological, haunted house, found footage
An original, entertaining mockumentary, found footage horror mystery about a poltergeist and the people of a Burger City and the deaths that followed this phenomenon. This time it’s not a house that is being haunted, but a fast food restaurant the Burger City #8 near Jonny, Iowa. It is written like a true crime book where Daniel Krause himself is a journalist investigating the events that happened. We learn more about the employees and the hauntings, which are very original and funny yet creepy and the horrifying outcome.
It’s a satire and a social commentary and the format and style is absolutely original and authentic. While it remains unclear if there really was a Poltergeist, or mass hysteria, the ending has a surprise up its sleeve. You can Read my Full Review.
Apartment Five is Alive by Russell Atwood (2020)
(144 pages)
Genres: halloween, haunted house
This is a story about an apartment that didn’t love people, but loved Halloween. But it’s also a story about the lives of the different tenants and their tragic tales. Three tenants have their own story to tell, Jerome a window dresser in the seventies till nineties, Gerard from the late nineties and finally Marty in the present.
It’s an unusual story that combines psychological horror, with a haunted house feel, and looking into people’s private lives, just like an apartment that’s always there in our most private moments. But it’s also a story about the love for Halloween and about outcasts. It’s a story you’ll need to read to experience it and if you want something different, then this is definitely a great pick. You can Read a Full Review.
It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan (2020)
(272 pages)
Genres: haunted house, gothic
Sam Wakefield returns home to her mother after a traumatizing event. Her relationship with her mother is strained, and gets worse when her sister who is pregnant moves in with them after a fight with her husband. The house however isn’t a normal house. It shows the past in ghostly scenes that play out like holograms. Suddenly Sam sees a scary boy with no face and suspects it’s the unborn baby of her sister. He is cruel and she is scared of him. Then there’s also a locked room with no key, her father that killed himself and the swamp witch.
It’s a modern gothic tale about a haunted house. A very special haunted house because the ghosts do not interact with the living, it’s just scenes, but the faceless boy does. With few characters, a rich history about her ancestors, escaped slaves and the swamp witch, the past, present and future collide in a devastating ironic ending. You can Read my Full Review.
Mistletoe by Alison Littlewood (2019)
(253 pages)
Genres: Christmas, ghost story, winter
It’s almost Christmas when Leah buys a farmhouse to fix up after she lost her husband and son. But the house is haunted and full of spirits, taking her over. She starts to have visions about a man and a woman, about things that have played out during a Christmas long ago and a deadly scheme. And she doesn’t feel safe anymore, still she is adamant to learn what happened and why.
It’s a haunted house that has something to do with her ancestors while the farm belonged to her family once. It’s about grief, love and old Christmas traditions. It has a slow pace with a gothic feel, being isolated in the snow.
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Vintage Colored Cat Skull is made with pen and alcohol markers. You can buy this design on a Unisex Baseball Shirt and other apparel in my shop at Threadless.
A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman (2016)
(118 pages)
Genres: haunted house, coming-of-age, summer
Two 17-year-olds Amelia and James are on a date canoeing on a lake when they find a hidden lake. It’s quiet and idyllic and when they go swimming they discover a house at the bottom of the lake. They bring diving gear and start exploring the house. It’s a strange house with all the furniture in perfect place instead of floating around. And there’s a presence inside. While exploring the house, they explore their blooming love.
It’s a short coming-of-age that fully plays out on the lake or in the sunken house. It’s creepy and has an ominous atmosphere. While the presence remains elusive, it makes itself known in a subtle creepy way. You can Read my Full Review.
Christmas Eve on Haunted Hill by Bryan Smith (2015)
(95 pages)
Genres: Christmas, slasher, ghosts, possession
When Luke was a kid his father massacred his whole family in the house on the hill. Now Luke has returned and wants to end his life. He is talked out of it by his best friend and together they decide to burn the house down instead. However when they get there a few teenagers have sneaked into the house and are now the victims of his father’s evil ghost, being haunted, possessed and killed one by one.
With some gory brutal violence, deaths and possessions, this is a killer Christmas horror that is short, with a vengeful ghost that only wants to kill more.
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand (2015)
(176 pages)
Genres: folklore, haunted house, found footage, summer
In 1972 a folk band spends the summer in a house in the English countryside for their new album. They experience strange things and eventually one of them disappears,. Through a mockumentary style the band members and some others who visited them, recount the events of what happened. This results in an authentic and unique story where everybody is an unreliable narrator, telling the story with their own unique perspectives.
The hauntings in the house are subtle, there’s an impossible hallway, they have visions and a mysterious girl shows up. It’s a folk horror, in a haunted mansion with a fun narrative and perspective. You can Read my Full Review.
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix (2014)
(240 pages)
Genres: comedy, haunted house
A very original take on the haunted house genre where an Ikea-like store is haunted and Amy and some coworkers have to survive the night and fight the supernatural and deadly disturbances. In the store Orsk some strange things are happening. When Amy and her coworkers find out they find themselves in a deadly situation. With a dark past, scary hauntings this store is definitely a horror store.
It’s a satire mixed with real gruesome horror. The hauntings are directly related to what the store stands for and uses the store and its products in a very original way, blending the horror with the store directly. Once where the store was build stood a prison and now its ghosts are even more brutal and violent in death. The format is fun and original and delivers a genuine darkly funny original story, mixing humor with gruesome deaths.
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This painting “Teddy Pool” is made with soft pastels. You can buy this fine art print on museum-quality paper in my shop at Printify. Take a look at my other art prints as well.
No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill (2013)
(628 pages)
Genres: haunted house
Stephanie is looking for a job and a home. When she can get an apartment in a big house in Birmingham it looks too good to be true. And it usually is. It’s a bit dilapidated and at night she hears strange noises coming from under her bed and hears a woman softly weeping. She wants to leave but the landlord refuses to give her deposit back, only at the end of the weeks so she stays. While the noise continues, the landlord gets more threatening. When she finds out what is happening at the house she needs to escape.
This book is dived into two parts. The first part is inside the haunted house that hides terrible secrets and there’s more going on than just hauntings. There’s some nasty human horror as well. The second part is after she has escaped and built a good life for herself. But the hauntings have followed her. It’s sinister, scary and clever, with human and ghosty horrors.
Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill (2010)
(449 pages)
Genres: haunted house, occult
Apryl has inherited an apartment in London in the Barrington after her great-aunt Lillian passed away. When she begins to read her diaries she finds out that Lillian went crazy after her husband died, 40 years ago, but there’s something else. Lillian talked about an evil occult painter who lived in the building and who drove them insane, but vanished years ago. She decides to find out what really happened to Lillian. The more she discovers the stranger and dangerous it gets. In the meantime the night porter Seth falls under the evil influence of this elusive painter.
The story has a great build up where eventually the lives of Apryl and Seth come together in a climactic ending. The journey into the mystery of the painter is fascinating and his paintings are unspeakable nightmarish horrors that come to life and jump of the canvas and the pages. You can Read my Full Review.
House of Windows by John Langan (2009)
(344 pages)
Genres: haunted house, psychological horror
After Veronica’s husband Roger disappears in a mysterious way, she tells her story about the strange things that preceded it. Strange things started to happen at their house, the Belvedere, which has an elusive history. Roger struggled with the death of his son Ted, who died as a soldier in Afghanistan. Their relationship was strained and the events in the house affect Roger. He loses his grip on reality, experiences unsettling visions and sensory distortions.
The story is a psychological horror that takes place in a haunted house, where they experience a distortion of reality and existential dread. A deep inner feeling of fear invoked by the strange happenings are above understanding. It’s a slow burn and intriguing story.
Night Things by Michael Talbot (1988)
(218 pages)
Genres: haunted house, occult, cosmic horror
Lauren and her son Garrett are taken by her new husband Stephen to a big mansion in the Adirondacks for the summer. It has 160 rooms and hidden rooms and hallways and stairs that seem to lead to nowhere. It also has a sinister history. Garrett loves the house but at night a presence appears to him. He is scared but also exited. Slowly the entity reveals itself as does the house.
The story is focused on Lauren and Garrett and the mystery of the house. They each investigate the house that feels like a labyrinth. It’s a great classic story of a haunted house mixed with a supernatural entity, the occult and a cosmic battle between good and evil. It’s a thrilling mystery tale with a pleasant writing style and likable main characters. You can Read my Full Review.
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Pink and Green Skull is made with pen and alcohol markers. You can buy this design on a Unisex Baseball Cap and other apparel and on other various products in my shop at Redbubble.
The Shining by Stephen King (1977)
(497 pages)
Genre: ghost story, haunted house, winter
Jack Torrence takes a job as caretaker in the Overlook Hotel during the winter season with his wife Wendy and son Danny who has a special gift and can see ghosts. He is warned by the cook Dick Halloran that the hotel is haunted and its ghosts are coming after him. While Jack is manipulated, the family finds themselves isolated and in danger.
The story has a wonderful storytelling style, that is set around the characters. Not only their behavior in relation to each other, but also their thoughts, fears and struggles are described elaborately and in a compelling way. Especially Danny’s voice is very interesting, but all three of them are the main characters of the story, written from their own unique perspective. The ghosts and scenes that Danny can see are scary and they get scarier the more powerful this evil gets. It’s a classic and a real page turner. You can Read my Full Review.
Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco (1973)
(246 pages)
Genres: haunted house
The Rolfe family goes to the countryside for the summer. They have rented a house with a full pantry, there’s a pool and a beach and all they have to do is bring the Mother of the siblings who own the house, food everyday and fix up the house a bit. But soon mother Marian starts acting strange and so does father Ben, while aunt Elizabeth is getting sick. There is something not quite right with the house, and it is affecting them all.
Although it’s a haunted house story, there are no ghosts or other hauntings. The so-called hauntings are rather taking place inside Marian, Ben and Elizabeth. The story is therefore focused on their experience, what makes it a psychological horror as well. It’s a great classical horror story that takes place in the seventies where a common theme was to escape to the country. You can Read my Full Review.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959)
(246 pages)
Genres: gothic, haunted house, psychological horror
Dr. Montague has invited Eleanor and Theodora who had previous experiences with the paranormal as psychics, to stay at Hill House to investigate its paranormal events. The house itself is strange with askew architecture which on its own gives off haunting vibes. The one who is the most susceptible is Nell, as she is the most affected.
It’s a haunted house story with a psychological core, exploring the characters, their relationships and traumas, while the house exacerbates this. It’s a classic horror story that is so much more than just a haunted house story. With no ghosts, but an ominous and foreboding vibe and beautiful smart writing this one is a must-read. You can Read my Full Review.
Explore more Book Lists:
- The List of Christmas Horror Books
- The List of Comedy Horror Books
- The List of Coming of Age Horror Books
- The List of Cosmic Horror Books
- The List of Halloween Horror Books
- The List of Summer Horror Books
- The List of Summer Camp Horror Books
Did You Know I Also Make Art and Designs?
you can buy my designs on apparel or stationary, mugs and more. You can learn more about it on my art & design shop page or go directly to one of my shops.