3 Haunted House Book Recommendations for Halloween

It’s the most wonderful time of the year (no, not Christmas), Spooky Season! I love spooky season, and I love books that are creepy and maybe a little bit scary. My favourite kind of horror/spooky book is a haunted house book, so here are 3 haunted house book recommendations!

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3 Haunted House Book Recommendations

When I initially planned this blog post, I realized that I hadn’t read that many haunted house books. I love ghost stories and haunted houses (check out my favourite Ghoul Boys on Watcher), so I read three books this month in order to give you some haunted house book recommendations! Let’s hop in!

A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman

What’s it about? Both seventeen. Both afraid. But both saying yes.
It sounded like the perfect first date: canoeing across a chain of lakes, sandwiches and beer in the cooler. But teenagers Amelia and James discover something below the water’s surface that changes their lives forever.
It’s got two stories.
It’s got a garden.
And the front door is open.
It’s a house at the bottom of a lake.
For the teens, there is only one rule: no questions. And yet, how could a place so spectacular come with no price tag? While the duo plays house beneath the waves, one reality remains:
Just because a house is empty, doesn’t mean nobody’s home.

I am a little disappointed with this book. I wanted to read a novella for this blog because I think a haunted house story could do well in a novella format. This is the only one I could find, but technically it’s not a haunted house. The house is as much of a character as the human characters, and this book really had some creepy moments. But there were no ghosts, unfortunately.

I also didn’t vibe with the writing style or human characters. We follow two teenagers (James & Amelia) and it’s painfully obvious a middle-aged man wrote them. I know this book is supposed to be a metaphor for young love, but the characters are just dumb. A House at the Bottom of a Lake is not for me.

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall

What’s it about? Helen Vaughan doesn’t know why she and her mother left their ancestral home at Harrowstone Hall, called Harrow, or why they haven’t spoken to their extended family since. So when her grandfather dies, she’s shocked to learn that he has left everything—the house, the grounds, and the money—to her. The inheritance comes with one condition: she must stay on the grounds of Harrow for one full year, or she’ll be left with nothing.

There is more at stake than money. For as long as she can remember, Harrow has haunted Helen’s dreams—and now those dreams have become a waking nightmare. Helen knows that if she is going to survive the year, she needs to uncover the secrets of Harrow. Why is the house built like a labyrinth? What is digging the holes that appear in the woods each night?And why does the house itself seem to be making her sick?

With each twisted revelation, Helen questions what she knows about Harrow, her family, and even herself. She no longer wonders if she wants to leave…but if she can.

This book was such an unexpected surprise. It’s been on my radar for a while, and the premise sounded amazing. I love haunted house tales. I had read Rules For Vanishing, one of Marshall’s other books, and didn’t like it at all. So I guess I didn’t have particularly high hopes for this one, but I wanted to include it in my haunted house book recommendations post. I’m so glad I did.

It honestly blew me away. I found myself loving the characters (especially Desmond and Eli) and devouring the book. It had some unexpectedly funny and heartwarming moments. The writing was superb, I couldn’t look away for even a second. The end had me gasping, like out loud. I really need this to be made into a Netflix series in the style of Hill House and Bly Manor.

I loved every part of this book.

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

What’s it about? Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?

Technically this book inspired my haunted house book recommendations post. V.E. Schwab books tend to all be very middle-of-the-road for me, but since I liked haunted houses, I figured I’d give Gallant a chance. Unfortunately Gallant was no different. I’ve seen people say that they read this in one sitting because it’s so atmospheric, and I would have to agree. I did listen to most of this book on audio, and it was definitely creepy.

However Schwab’s writing is very repetitive, and eventually, I got bored. I didn’t feel very attached to the characters, and overall I think I’ll probably forget this book soon. Truthfully I think this book would have done better as a novella. Usually, I want books to have more pages, but this one could have done with less.

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