4 Haunted House Books You Should NOT Read When You’re Home Alone

Books that feature haunted houses really creep me out – and I love ’em!!! What are some of your favorites? Below you’ll find 4 of my recommendations – 4 totally awesome, #WickedGoodReads.

77 Shadow Street, Dean Koontz

The Pendleton, which is at 77 Shadow Street, is one apartment building I’m glad I don’t live in! Every 38 years, some serious shit goes down and people start dying in gruesome ways.

The Diviners, Libba Bray

There’s a house on the Upper East side of Manhattan with some seriously bad juju. Naughty John used to live there many years ago, and he found his way back to life. This house in NOT a place you want to find yourself in – at any time!

The Shining, Stephen King

The Overlook Hotel in Colorado (US) is a bad bad place. I’m all for isolation, but being cut off from the rest of civilization for months at a time because of Winter is quite the recipe for disaster. Definitely a good, creepy book to read – and the hotel that inspired the book is open for tours – anybody else think that’s oh so wrong?!

The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson

A very haunting, atmospheric novel about 4 people who are staying at the notoriously “unfriendly” Hill House. It was like watching a tragic accident unfolding.


What books have you read that featured a haunted house? Would you buy a house that was rumored to be haunted?

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// Comments //

  1. Lindsey

    Oct 06

    I have to really careful about reading scary books. I am easily spooked!

    Have you read Lauren Beuke’s The Shining Girls? That has a spooky time-traveling house!

    • Tanya Patrice

      Oct 14

      @Lindsey I read The Shining Girls and loved it.

  2. I can’t believe I’ve still only seen the film an haven’t read any Stephen King! The Shirley Jackson is one of my all-time favorites, even better than her Haunting of Hill House.
    Curious about the Libba Bray book now, on my tbr it goes.
    I still have to finish it, but I’d add The Good House and maybe The Woman in Black.

    • Tanya Patrice

      Oct 05

      @Bina I still haven’t gotten to The Woman in Black either but plan on it soon.

  3. Jade Louise

    Oct 05

    I agree with you on The Haunting of Hill House, having recently read it. I hadn’t quite got to the actual scary parts yet when I decided reading it before bed was a good idea… It’s safe to say I then discovered the scary bits and decided I was a chicken and read the rest during the peaceful safety light of the following daytime!!

    I’ve yet to read The Shining, but if the film is anything to go by, it would be pretty darn scary.

    • Tanya Patrice

      Oct 05

      @Jade I hope you get to The Shining. Its too good to be missed.

  4. I love a good haunted house book. Shirley Jackson is the best! Another good haunted house book is The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. That one freaked me out!

    • Tanya Patrice

      Oct 05

      @Chrisbookarama ooh thanks for the recommendation. I’m adding to my reading list for next year’s list.

  5. anette74

    Oct 05

    I get so scared of anything haunted and paranormal, I don´t ever read those kind of books. Too bad, because I really think I miss out on some really good books 🙂

    • Tanya Patrice

      Oct 05

      @Anette74 I get it because I no longer watch scary movies!!

  6. Christiana

    Nov 01

    Cool! “77 Shadow Street” just made it onto my TBR list…

  7. fakesteph

    Oct 06

    I actually haven’t read the Shining yet, but Anna Dressed In Blood was great and I looooved the haunted house factor in The Diviners. Love this list!

  8. Those are great books! The Shining. . . basically anything by Stephen King should not be read alone! His stuff is scaaaaarrrrry!!!

    And thanks for linking up on my linky party!!! 😀

  9. Michelle @ Unraveling Books

    Oct 03

    My goal is to start The Shining this month! I really like the movie! I don’t read anything but Young Adult though, so we shall see. Glad you’re participating in Horror October, too! Thanks for stopping by my intro post!

  10. Amanda

    Oct 03

    I loved Anna Dress In Blood!! I haven’t read that Dean Koontz book yet but he’s one of my favorites so I’m definitely putting that up there. Also that The Night Strangers cover looks freaky on its own!

  11. The Night Strangers sounded soooo promising, but I got bogged down in lots of detail and did not finish it. And the author always seems to be lurking somewhere (Twitter, blog) when I saw that. I wonder if he’s watching now?

    I looooved The Shining and Anna Dressed in Blood!

  12. I read The Shining so many years ago that I don’t realy remember how I felt about it. But I’m re-reading it this month for Horror October before I start Doctor Sleep.

    I keep hearing about The Diviners so I’m going to add that to my TBR.

    In real life I will not go anywhere near Haunted Houses whether fake ones at theme parks, or supposed real life ones!

  13. Angie

    Oct 02

    I have to agree with the Shining!! I actually did read it alone many years ago. My husband at the time was in the military and was deployed. I was reading it all alone at night and out in the kitchen a picture frame fell over FOR NO REASON! I was terrified. I slept with the light on that night!

  14. danielle.

    Oct 02

    So much love for The Diviners and The Shining! Adding The Night Strangers to my list, thanks for the great recs 🙂

  15. Pamela D

    Oct 02

    I think the last haunted house book I read was years ago. I read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Jackson can scare you like nobody’s business.

  16. I am doing my review of Anna now and I have to say that I didn’t find it as scary as I was hoping. But Dean Kootz is the man of scare.

// Trackbacks & Pingbacks //

  1. […] here at GXO. This week, we’re focusing on books with Dangerous Places. Last year we shared 4 Haunted House Books You Should NOT Read When You’re Home Alone. And this year – we’re giving you 4 more … because aren’t these just the […]

  2. […] Next up will be We Have Always Lived in this Castle, Shirley Jackson. The only other book I’ve read by Jackson is The Haunting of Hill House which was so atmospheric and memorable – it made my list of 4 Haunted House Books You Should NOT Read When You’re Home Alone. […]

  3. […] And then there’s the blog events hosted here at Girlxoxo.com. I dubbed October #WickedGoodReads which was all about my love affair with dark, creepy reads. I know that’s not everyone’s thing, but if you can’t relate to {The Zombie Edition} …maybe I can entice you to try at least 1 of the books from the list of  4 Haunted House Books You Should NOT Read When You’re Home Alone […]

  4. […] 4 Haunted House Books You Should NOT Read When You’re Home Alone … because who knows what secrets live in YOUR house. […]