The haunted house trope has to be one of my favorite tropes in horror fiction. I love the building tension, the quiet, "something is not right" feeling, and the sense of never being alone that these novels often present.

And I’ve read a TON of them. So when I say these are my top five favorites, rest assured that I have done my homework. Everyone’s tastes in reading are different, but I really believe these are some of the best haunted house novels I’ve encountered. As always, I want to hear from you on whether or not you agree.

But first, I had the infamous Chuck Tingle on the podcast this week and he truly proves that love is real!

Chuck is the USA Today best-selling author behind groundbreaking horror novels like Camp Damascus, Lucky Day, and the Locus Award-winning Bury Your Gaze, and I could have talked to him for two hours (honestly we kind of did). Chuck has this incredible gift for taking the darkest, most unsettling corners of supernatural dread and anchoring them in a profound sense of empathy. He proves you can write high-octane, genuine horror that still beats with a fiercely compassionate heart, and he is never afraid to get wacky and wild while doing it.

We got into so much: his lifelong pull toward storytelling (this man was DMing Dungeons & Dragons at four years old), the origins of his queer, boundary-pushing Tingleverse erotica, and the surprising freedom and healing he's found behind the pink mask. We talked about why horror and romance are both secretly punk, why empathy is the real secret to writing unforgettable heroes and villains, and how his brand-new novel Fabulous Bodies, pitched as Beetlejuice meets Drive, became his first real dip into questions of body, soul, and where love actually comes from. It is warm, it is funny, and it genuinely moved me to tears more than once.

Do yourself a favor and grab your copy of Fabulous Bodies, out now, then go listen to the full episode. Trust me, you do not want to miss this one.

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Packed with razor-sharp wit, skin-crawling scares, and a fiercely resilient protagonist, The September House grabs you from the very first page and never lets up. It’s wildly creative, hilarious, and an absolute must-read if you enjoy a haunted house novel. Seriously, the cast of ghosts in the book should have their own TV show!

This book is a masterclass in domestic horror that is as hilarious as it is deeply unsettling. Mixing eccentric family drama with terrifyingly possessed childhood toys, it is a wildly entertaining, campy, and an unforgettable ride that will make you looking at all the toys in your house suspiciously.

This book is scary! Packed with claustrophobic tension, dark family secrets, and a brilliantly eerie setting, this book kept me looking over your shoulder to make sure I was actually alone. It is a delightfully spooky, fast-paced haunted house story that I HIGHLY recommend. And if you gives you nightmares, don’t blame me.

Play Nice is Rachel’s best book! Infused with her signature dark wit and a razor-sharp exploration of toxic perfectionism, this book is impossible to put down. Also, the three sisters in this book still live in my mind rent free. It’s an intensely gripping, wicked, and wildly entertaining ride that will leave you completely breathless, from both laughing and holding your breath in terror. You’ve been warned!

The Haunting of Hill House is a masterpiece of psychological horror and the definitive gold standard for ghost stories. Driven by atmospheric dread and a deeply brilliant exploration of isolation and the human psyche, it builds a quiet terror that gets entirely under your skin. It is an elegant, unsettling, and timeless classic that remains unmatched in its brilliance. If you haven’t read it yet, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Reply to this email and let me know!

Host of Talking Horror Podcast