Tropes Haunted Setting

Haunted Setting

A place soaked in dread. Something terrible happened here. And it hasn't finished happening.

Refreshed just now · 125 books

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  1. 1
    The Housemaid cover

    The Housemaid

    Freida McFadden · Horror

    Every day I clean the Winchesters' beautiful house top to bottom.

    psychological thriller · haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · trauma recovery

  2. 2
    Rebecca cover

    Rebecca

    Daphne du Maurier · Horror

    With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs.

    gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · haunted setting · second chance romance · trauma recovery

  3. 3
    You Did Nothing Wrong cover

    You Did Nothing Wrong

    CG Drews · Horror

    Single mother Elodie’s life has become a fairy tale.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller

  4. 4
    We Used to Live Here cover

    We Used to Live Here

    Marcus Kliewer · Horror

    As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque…

    haunted setting · psychological thriller · closed circle

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  5. 5
    Witchcraft for Wayward Girls cover

    Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

    Grady Hendrix · Horror

    *‘I did an evil thing to be put in here, and I’m going to have to do an evil thing to get out.’* They call them wayward girls.

    gothic atmosphere · witches · coming of age · dark academia · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  6. 6
    A Box Full of Darkness cover

    A Box Full of Darkness

    Simone St. James · Horror

    “From the book’s chillingly creepy setting, which previously appeared in The Sun Down Motel (2020), to a nerve-jangling plot that effectively borrows…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · closed circle

  7. 7
    The Shining cover

    The Shining

    Stephen King · Horror

    Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start.

    psychological thriller · haunted setting · high stakes survival

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  8. 8
    Pet Sematary cover

    Pet Sematary

    Stephen King · Horror

    Pet Sematary is a 1983 horror novel by American writer Stephen King. The novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1986

    haunted setting · grimdark · psychological thriller

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  9. 9
    Play Nice cover

    Play Nice

    Rachel Harrison · Horror

    Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · psychological thriller · demons · trauma recovery

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  10. 10
    House of Leaves cover

    House of Leaves

    Mark Z. Danielewski · Horror

    This is an alternate cover edition.

    cosmic horror · psychological thriller · haunted setting · twist ending

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  11. 11
    Beloved cover

    Beloved

    Toni Morrison · Literary Fiction

    Toni Morrison--author of Song of Solomon and Tar Baby--is a writer of remarkable powers: her novels, brilliantly acclaimed for their passion, their…

    historical fiction · magical realism · trauma recovery · haunted setting · ghosts

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  12. 12
    On Sundays She Picked Flowers cover

    On Sundays She Picked Flowers

    Yah Yah Scholfield · Horror

    “A ferociously talented writer. Scholfield writes with insight, beauty, and the wildness of real art.” —Victor LaValle, author of Lone Women In this…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · psychological thriller · survival

  13. 13
    Spoiled Milk cover

    Spoiled Milk

    Avery Curran · Horror

    “The haunted lesbian boarding school horror show we always wanted.

    dark academia · gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · found family · paranormal romance

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  14. 14
    Our Wives Under the Sea cover

    Our Wives Under the Sea

    Julia Armfield · Horror

    Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · psychological thriller

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  15. 15
    The Library After Dark cover

    The Library After Dark

    Ande Pliego · Mystery & Thriller

    A bookseller must escape the infamously haunted library that holds her darkest secrets, but with a murderer in her tour group, escaping alive is not…

    locked room · psychological thriller · haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · twist ending

  16. 16
    Hazelthorn cover

    Hazelthorn

    CG Drews · Horror

    Evander has lived like a ghost in the forgotten corners of the Hazelthorn estate ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian,…

    gothic atmosphere · coming of age · grimdark · dark academia · haunted setting

  17. 17
    The Haunting of Hill House cover

    The Haunting of Hill House

    Shirley Jackson · Horror

    First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · closed circle

  18. 18
    Mexican Gothic cover

    Mexican Gothic

    Silvia Moreno-Garcia · Horror

    An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets. . . . From the author of…

    gothic atmosphere · cosmic horror · psychological thriller · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  19. 19
    What Moves the Dead cover

    What Moves the Dead

    T. Kingfisher · Horror

    When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers…

    gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  20. 20
    Incidents Around the House cover

    Incidents Around the House

    Josh Malerman · Horror

    To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · coming of age · psychological thriller

  21. 21
    The Keeper cover

    The Keeper

    Sarah Langan · Horror

    Some believe Bedford, Maine, is cursed.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · small town

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  22. 22
    The Bewitching cover

    The Bewitching

    Silvia Moreno-Garcia · Horror

    “Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter…

    gothic atmosphere · witches · haunted setting · multiple timelines · dark academia

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  23. 23
    'Salem's Lot cover

    'Salem's Lot

    Stephen King · Horror

    Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem's Lot in the hopes that living in an old mansion, long the subject of town lore, will help him cast out his own…

    gothic atmosphere · vampires · small town · haunted setting · redemption arc

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  24. 24
    The Staircase in the Woods cover

    The Staircase in the Woods

    Chuck Wendig · Horror

    While on a camping trip, five high-schoolers bound by an oath to always protect one another discover something in the middle of the forest: a…

    haunted setting · closed circle · psychological thriller

  25. 25
    A House With Good Bones cover

    A House With Good Bones

    T. Kingfisher · Horror

    **A contemporary Southern Gothic from award-winning master of modern horror T.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · psychological thriller

  26. 26
    The Exorcist cover

    The Exorcist

    William Peter Blatty · Horror

    THE CHILLING MOVIE WE COULD NOT FORGET ...

    haunted setting · cosmic horror · psychological thriller · gothic atmosphere

  27. 27
    Phantasma cover

    Phantasma

    Kaylie Smith · Fantasy

    Welcome to Phantasma. There are only two rules to the game. Stay alive. And don’t fall in love. When Ophelia’s sister disappears, there is only one…

    enemies to lovers · dark academia · haunted setting · forbidden romance · quest · twist ending

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  28. 28
    The Place Where They Buried Your Heart cover

    The Place Where They Buried Your Heart

    Christina Henry · Horror

    On an otherwise ordinary street in Chicago, there is a house.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · trauma recovery

  29. 29
    How to Sell a Haunted House cover

    How to Sell a Haunted House

    Grady Hendrix · Horror

    When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home.

    haunted setting · trauma recovery · revenge plot

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  30. 30
    The Silent Companions cover

    The Silent Companions

    Laura Purcell · Horror

    **When newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge, what greets her is far from…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · ghosts · locked room · psychological thriller

  31. 31
    Diavola cover

    Diavola

    Jennifer Thorne · Horror

    Anna has two rules for the annual Pace family destination vacations: *Tread lightly and survive*.

    dark academia · gothic atmosphere · haunted setting

  32. 32
    We Live Here Now cover

    We Live Here Now

    Sarah Pinborough · Horror

    Award-winning author of New York Times bestselling breakout novel (and hit Netflix show) Behind Her Eyes returns with a haunting Gothic novel about a…

    gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · haunted setting · trauma recovery

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  33. 33
    Wife Shaped Bodies cover

    Wife Shaped Bodies

    Laura Cranehill · Horror

    Sorrowland meets Manhunt in this literary horror debut in which an isolated newlywed—covered in mushroom growths like all the other wives in her…

    gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · haunted setting · forbidden romance

    🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Spicy — explicit sexual content, multiple open-door scenes
  34. 34
    Nestlings cover

    Nestlings

    Nat Cassidy · Horror

    Ana and Reid need a break. The horrifically complicated birth of their first child has left Ana paralyzed, bitter, and struggling―with mobility,…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · psychological thriller · urban fantasy

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  35. 35
    Turn Off the Light cover

    Turn Off the Light

    Jacquie Walters · Horror

    Two women living centuries apart are bound by the same dark secret in this haunting novel that "upends everything you think you know about ghost…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · multiple timelines · ghosts · twist ending

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  36. 36
    The Hollow Places cover

    The Hollow Places

    T. Kingfisher · Horror

    Pray they are hungry. Kara finds the words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly…

    cosmic horror · portal fantasy · psychological thriller · haunted setting · closed circle

  37. 37
    The Fourth Wife cover

    The Fourth Wife

    Linda Hamilton · Horror

    The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas meets “Sister Wives” in a deliciously chilling, darkly romantic, historical gothic horror with a feminist slant, as a…

    dark romance · gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · historical fiction · forbidden romance

    🌶️🌶️🌶️Moderate — some open-door scenes, not the focus
  38. 38
    Hidden Pictures cover

    Hidden Pictures

    Jason Rekulak · Horror

    A wildly inventive spin on the supernatural thriller, about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.

    psychological thriller · paranormal romance · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  39. 39
    Dead of Winter cover

    Dead of Winter

    Kealan Patrick Burke · Horror

    Winter isn’t coming…it’s already here, and with it comes a horror no door can keep out.

    haunted setting · high stakes survival · gothic atmosphere

  40. 40
    This House Will Feed cover

    This House Will Feed

    Maria Tureaud · Horror

    Amidst the devastation of Ireland’s Great Famine, a young woman is salvaged from certain death when offered a mysterious position at a remote manor…

    gothic atmosphere · historical fiction · haunted setting · survival

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  41. 41
    The Brides cover

    The Brides

    Charlotte Cross · Horror

    Before Dracula, there were the brides .

    gothic atmosphere · ghosts · paranormal romance · haunted setting · twist ending

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  42. 42
    The Hill in the Dark Grove cover

    The Hill in the Dark Grove

    Liam Higginson · Horror

    Moving and chilling, The Hill in the Dark Grove is a story about a lost way of life and the terrifying lengths we go to to protect what we know.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · grimdark · trauma recovery

  43. 43
    Widow's Point cover

    Widow's Point

    Richard Chizmar · Horror

    Richard Chizmar, “one of horror’s indispensable writers” (Paste), and his son W.H.

    psychological thriller · haunted setting · closed circle · cat and mouse

  44. 44
    Hell House cover

    Hell House

    Richard Matheson · Horror

    Rolf Rudolph Deutsch is going die.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · closed circle

  45. 45
    Model Home cover

    Model Home

    Rivers Solomon · Horror

    Welcome to Rivers Solomon's dark and wondrous Model Home, a new kind of haunted-house novel.

    haunted setting · coming of age · gothic atmosphere · found family

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  46. 46
    What Feasts at Night cover

    What Feasts at Night

    T. Kingfisher · Horror

    After their terrifying ordeal at the Usher manor, Alex Easton feels as if they just survived another war.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · dark romance

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  47. 47
    📖

    House of Splinters

    Laura Purcell · Horror

    House of Splinters is the long-awaited prequel to bestselling and multi award-winning author Laura Purcell's gothic horror classic, The Silent…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · closed circle

  48. 48
    Bat Eater cover

    Bat Eater

    Kylie Lee Baker · Horror

    Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · grimdark · cosmic horror

  49. 49
    Hemlock cover

    Hemlock

    Melissa Faliveno · Horror

    A woman haunted by a dark inheritance returns to the woods where her mother vanished, in this queer Gothic novel.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · trauma recovery · coming of age

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  50. 50
    Stay Buried cover

    Stay Buried

    Jennifer McMahon · Horror

    From the New York Times bestselling author of Children on the Hill comes a queer folk horror in which a woman must confront decades of secrecy and…

    gothic atmosphere · trauma recovery · haunted setting · revenge plot

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  51. 51
    The Winter Folk cover

    The Winter Folk

    Jen Julian · Horror

    A woman returns to the mysterious lodge in the woods where she once worked, and to the inscrutable creature that bound her there, in this haunting…

    gothic atmosphere · slow burn · haunted setting · paranormal romance · trauma recovery

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  52. 52
    House of Margins cover

    House of Margins

    Tlotlo Tsamaase · Mystery & Thriller

    Serial the podcast meets The Other Black Girl in a haunted house, as young African author disappears after being invited to an exclusive writing…

    missing person · psychological thriller · coming of age · closed circle · haunted setting

  53. 53
    The September House cover

    The September House

    Carissa Orlando · Horror

    When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t…

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · romantic comedy

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  54. 54
    The Hacienda cover

    The Hacienda

    Isabel Cañas · Horror

    Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in this debut supernatural suspense novel, set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, about a remote…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · historical fiction · forbidden romance

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  55. 55
    These Familiar Walls cover

    These Familiar Walls

    C. J. Dotson · Horror

    A spine-chilling, heart-pounding suburban horror novel at the heart of the genre, perfect for fans of T.

    coming of age · haunted setting · psychological thriller · small town

  56. 56
    Our Sister's Keeper cover

    Our Sister's Keeper

    Jasmine Holmes · Literary Fiction

    Mississippi, 1927. The groanings are coming. No town is perfect, but East Cobb comes close. It's a wealthy all-Black Free Town--untouched by white…

    historical fiction · haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · ghosts · closed circle

  57. 57
    House of the Beast cover

    House of the Beast

    Michelle Wong · Horror

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️🌶️Moderate — some open-door scenes, not the focus
  58. 58
    The Babysitter Lives cover

    The Babysitter Lives

    Stephen Graham Jones · Horror

    The Babysitter Lives When high school senior Charlotte agrees to babysit the Wilbanks twins, she plans to put the six-year-olds to bed early and…

    high stakes survival · haunted setting · ghosts

  59. 59
    The Winter People cover

    The Winter People

    Jennifer McMahon · Horror

    The New York Times bestselling author of The Invited will shock you with a simmering psychological thriller about ghostly secrets, dark choices, and…

    psychological thriller · haunted setting · ghosts · trauma recovery · multiple timelines

  60. 60
    The Sun Down Motel cover

    The Sun Down Motel

    Simone St. James · Horror

    Upstate NY, 1982. Viv Delaney knows something isn't right at the Sun Down motel, where she works as a night clerk, and she's determined find out…

    multiple timelines · psychological thriller · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  61. 61
    Nightwatching cover

    Nightwatching

    Tracy Sierra · Horror

    A footstep on the stairs. A second to react. What happens next will determine everything. Home alone with her young children during a blizzard, a…

    psychological thriller · locked room · haunted setting · survival

  62. 62
    The Twisted Ones cover

    The Twisted Ones

    T. Kingfisher · Horror

    When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · survival · closed circle

  63. 63
    The Woman in Black cover

    The Woman in Black

    Susan Hill · Horror

    In the process of settling an estate, Arthur Kipps finds himself confronted with some very unsettling matters.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · ghosts · psychological thriller

  64. 64
    My Darling Dreadful Thing cover

    My Darling Dreadful Thing

    Johanna van Veen · Horror

    *Spirits are drawn to salt, be it blood or tears.* Roos Beckman has a spirit companion only she can see.

    dark academia · gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · psychological thriller · found family

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  65. 65
    Mother Is Watching cover

    Mother Is Watching

    Karma Brown · Horror

    The chilling horror debut from a #1 international bestselling author—an art conservator’s obsession with a mysterious painting spirals into a…

    gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · haunted setting

  66. 66
    Sarafina cover

    Sarafina

    Philip Fracassi · Horror

    During one of the most violent battles of the Civil War, three brothers fighting for the Confederate army decide to go AWOL and make their way home,…

    gothic atmosphere · historical fiction · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  67. 67
    Grace cover

    Grace

    A.M. Shine · Horror

    A haunting tale of ancient evil and long-buried secrets in an isolated Irish community from the author of hit horror novel The Watchers.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · small town · closed circle

  68. 68
    Home Before Dark cover

    Home Before Dark

    Riley Sager · Mystery & Thriller

    THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One of USA Today's Best Books of 2020 “A haunted house story—with a twist….[Sager] does not hold…

    psychological thriller · gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · twist ending · closed circle

  69. 69
    Horrorstor cover

    Horrorstor

    Grady Hendrix · Horror

    Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · closed circle · survival

  70. 70
    Voices in the Snow cover

    Voices in the Snow

    Darcy Coates · Horror

    Clare remembers the cold. She remembers abandoned cars and children's toys littered across the road. She remembers dark shapes in the snow and a…

    psychological thriller · gothic atmosphere · unreliable narrator · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  71. 71
    The Fourth Princess cover

    The Fourth Princess

    Janie Chang · Literary Fiction

    From the internationally bestselling author of The Porcelain Moon comes a haunting Gothic novel set in 1911 China.

    gothic atmosphere · historical fiction · missing person · psychological thriller · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  72. 72
    The Little Stranger cover

    The Little Stranger

    Sarah Waters · Literary Fiction

    Abundantly atmospheric and elegantly told, *The Little Stranger* is Sarah Waterss most thrilling and ambitious novel yet.

    psychological thriller · historical fiction · gothic atmosphere · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  73. 73
    The Black Farm cover

    The Black Farm

    Elias Witherow · Horror

    After the loss of a child along with a slew of agonizing misfortunes, Nick and Jess decide to end their lives.

    psychological thriller · trauma recovery · haunted setting

  74. 74
    The Amityville Horror cover

    The Amityville Horror

    Jay Anson · Horror

    The Amityville Horror is a book by American author Jay Anson, published in September 1977.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · ghosts

  75. 75
    The Last House on Needless Street cover

    The Last House on Needless Street

    Catriona Ward · Horror

    In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three.

    gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · twist ending · haunted setting

  76. 76
    The Hounding cover

    The Hounding

    Xenobe Purvis · Horror

    Even before the rumors about the Mansfield girls begin, Little Nettlebed is a village steeped in the uncanny, from strange creatures that wash up on…

    gothic atmosphere · small town · haunted setting · psychological thriller · closed circle

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  77. 77
    13 Months Haunted cover

    13 Months Haunted

    Jimmy Juliano · Horror

    From Dead Eleven author Jimmy Juliano, a twisty, edge-of-your-seat novel about a unique haunting in the early 2000s Piper Lowery, a public library…

    psychological thriller · haunted setting · twist ending · ghosts

  78. 78
    The Good House cover

    The Good House

    Tananarive Due · Horror

    Award-winning author Due's spine tingling tale of supernatural suspense "weaves a stronger net than ever" (Kirkus Reviews") as a woman searches for…

    haunted setting · found family · small town

  79. 79
    Last Days cover

    Last Days

    Adam Nevill · Horror

    An unnerving, terrifying novel from a master of horror, Adam Nevill.

    gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · haunted setting · grimdark

    🌶️🌶️🌶️Moderate — some open-door scenes, not the focus
  80. 80
    The Turn of the Screw cover

    The Turn of the Screw

    Henry James · Horror

    The governess of two enigmatic children fears their souls are in danger from the ghosts of the previous governess and her sinister lover.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · unreliable narrator

  81. 81
    William cover

    William

    Mason Coile · Horror

    Psychological horror meets cyber noir in this delicious one-sitting read—a haunted house story in which the haunting is by AI.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · cosmic horror · psychological thriller

  82. 82
    Night Shift cover

    Night Shift

    Stephen King · Horror

    Stephen King has brought together nineteen of his most unsettling short pieces--bizarre tales of dark doing and unthinkable acts from the twilight…

    cosmic horror · psychological thriller · haunted setting

  83. 83
    The Willows cover

    The Willows

    Algernon Blackwood · Horror

    After leaving Vienna, and long before you come to Budapest, the Danube enters a region of singular loneliness and desolation, where its waters spread…

    gothic atmosphere · cosmic horror · psychological thriller · haunted setting

  84. 84
    Something in the Walls cover

    Something in the Walls

    Daisy Pearce · Horror

    Newly minted child psychologist Mina has little experience.

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller

  85. 85
    Bad Things Happen Here cover

    Bad Things Happen Here

    Mark Morris · Horror

    Hardcover with sprayed edges. A new chiller from multi award winning author of over 50 novels, winner of the New York Festival Radio Award for Best…

    small town · closed circle · haunted setting · psychological thriller

  86. 86
    Mean Spirited cover

    Mean Spirited

    Nick Roberts · Horror

    An alcoholic teacher and father's world spirals out of control when a former student is killed and he is left with her dog and the dark presence that…

    psychological thriller · haunted setting · trauma recovery · demons

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  87. 87
    The Bog Wife cover

    The Bog Wife

    Kay Chronister · Horror

    . . Pick this one up for its exquisite characterization, decaying settings and a dash of Southern gothic horror." —Kiersten White, The New York Times…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · trauma recovery · psychological thriller

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  88. 88
    I'll Watch Your Baby cover

    I'll Watch Your Baby

    Neena Viel · Horror

    A suffocating and sharp narrative horror novel for fans of Victor LaValle and The Reformatory from "addictive" (Publishers Weekly) horror author…

    dark academia · psychological thriller · morally grey character · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  89. 89
    Funeral Song cover

    Funeral Song

    Carly Racklin · Horror

    "A grotesque beauty in the vein of Guillermo del Toro, matched only by Carly Racklin's elegant prose." —Rachel Bolton, author of Please Serve Cold…

    gothic atmosphere · small town · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  90. 90
    Tillinghast cover

    Tillinghast

    Clare Cavenagh · Horror

    ## **There’s a name for what he is.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · psychological thriller

  91. 91
    The Tower of the Tyrant cover

    The Tower of the Tyrant

    J.T. Greathouse · Fantasy

    In a terrorized kingdom where the ghosts of the past do not rest in peace, a sorceress comes calling.

    grimdark · gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · morally grey character · ghosts

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  92. 92
    Midnight Rooms cover

    Midnight Rooms

    Donyae Coles · Horror

    “An immersive horror fairy tale marrying Crimson Peak to Pan’s Labyrinth upon strange foundations.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · paranormal romance

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  93. 93
    Naomi's Room cover

    Naomi's Room

    Jonathan Aycliffe · Horror

    'A chilling story' -- Independent Charles and Laura live a sheltered, gilded life in the the privileged world of Cambridge academia: young and in…

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · ghosts

  94. 94
    Ghost Story cover

    Ghost Story

    Peter Straub · Horror

    In a seedy motel in Florida, a young man holds captive a little girl in a soiled pink dress.

    gothic atmosphere · ghosts · psychological thriller · twist ending · haunted setting

  95. 95
    And the Sea Gave Up the Dead cover

    And the Sea Gave Up the Dead

    William Friend · Horror

    For fans of Jennifer Thorne's Diavola and We Have Always Lived in the Castle comes William Friend's latest stunning novel where grief, mystery, and…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · trauma recovery · ghosts · small town

  96. 96
    The Other cover

    The Other

    Thomas Tryon · Horror

    NYRB Classics presents the landmark psychological horror novel about 13-year-old twins living in a bucolic New England town—one good and the other…

    psychological thriller · haunted setting · trauma recovery

  97. 97
    Starling House cover

    Starling House

    Alix E. Harrow · Horror

    I dream sometimes about a house I’ve never seen… Opal is a lot of things—orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier—but…

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · ghosts · forced proximity · slow burn

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  98. 98
    The Graceview Patient cover

    The Graceview Patient

    Caitlin Starling · Horror

    Misery meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers in this genre-bending, claustrophobic hospital gothic from the bestselling author of The Death of Jane…

    psychological thriller · gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · trauma recovery · closed circle

  99. 99
    Motherthing cover

    Motherthing

    Ainslie Hogarth · Horror

    When Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with Ralph’s mother, Laura, Abby hopes it’s just what she and her mother-in-law need to finally connect.

    dark academia · haunted setting · revenge plot · dark romance

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  100. 100
    Knock Knock, Open Wide cover

    Knock Knock, Open Wide

    Neil Sharpson · Horror

    Knock Knock, Open Wide weaves horror and Celtic myth into a terrifying, heartbreaking supernatural tale of fractured family bonds, the secrets we…

    gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · haunted setting · historical fiction

  101. 101
    The Cold House cover

    The Cold House

    A.G. Slatter · Horror

    When Everly’s husband and young daughter die in a car crash she finds out nothing is quite what she thought… Secrets, lies and grief collide in this…

    haunted setting · gothic atmosphere · trauma recovery · twist ending

  102. 102
    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow cover

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

    Washington Irving · Horror

    A superstitious schoolmaster, in love with a wealthy farmer's daughter, has a terrifying encounter with a headless horseman.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · small town · love triangle

  103. 103
    Withered Hill cover

    Withered Hill

    David Barnett · Horror

    'A terrific, unexpected twist' Guardian 'Withered Hill is the ultimate nightmare destination' Laird Barron InsideA year ago Sophie Wickham stumbled…

    gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · amnesia · closed circle · haunted setting

  104. 104
    A Head Full of Ghosts cover

    A Head Full of Ghosts

    Paul Tremblay · Horror

    "The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute…

    psychological thriller · haunted setting · unreliable narrator · trauma recovery

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  105. 105
    Smothermoss cover

    Smothermoss

    Alisa Alering · Horror

    “Bristles with dark magic. . . . equal parts gruesome and gorgeous and otherworldly.”―The New York Times Book Review “This beautifully strange book…

    gothic atmosphere · grimdark · survival · haunted setting

  106. 106
    The Devil and Mrs. Davenport cover

    The Devil and Mrs. Davenport

    Paulette Kennedy · Horror

    The bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil mines the subtle horrors of 1950s America in a gripping novel about a woman…

    historical fiction · haunted setting · psychological thriller · trauma recovery

  107. 107
    Crone cover

    Crone

    Keith Rosson · Horror

    A haunting, fearsome story of a father searching for his missing daughter and finding darkness—both human and not—at every turn, from the author of…

    missing person · psychological thriller · trauma recovery · haunted setting

  108. 108
    Kill Creek cover

    Kill Creek

    Scott Thomas · Horror

    "At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, is the Finch House.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · psychological thriller · cosmic horror

  109. 109
    Saint Delilah cover

    Saint Delilah

    Isabelle Spotts · Horror

    Delilah is dead. But her story is far from over. In this feminist supernatural suspense novel, she will find her peace—and give hell to the man who…

    gothic atmosphere · revenge plot · haunted setting

  110. 110
    Hex House cover

    Hex House

    Amy Jane Stewart · Horror

    A feverishly told, dark and unsettling Scotland-set fairy-tale about a safe haven for women which transforms them into vessels of revenge, perfect…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · forbidden romance · revenge plot · found family

    🌶️🌶️🌶️Moderate — some open-door scenes, not the focus
  111. 111
    The Forest of Missing Girls cover

    The Forest of Missing Girls

    Nichelle Giraldes · Horror

    The forest is hungry, and her family's secrets are tangled in the trees...

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · psychological thriller · trauma recovery

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  112. 112
    These Walls Remember cover

    These Walls Remember

    Del Sandeen · Horror

    When two estranged sisters inherit a home possessed by the horrors of its dark past, they must work together to survive in this viscerally chilling…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · ghosts · found family · psychological thriller

  113. 113
    The Ghost Women cover

    The Ghost Women

    Jennifer Murphy · Mystery & Thriller

    A mysterious art academy in the woods, a deck of ancient tarot cards, a centuries-old secret On a hot August morning in 1972, the body of Abel…

    dark academia · gothic atmosphere · psychological thriller · haunted setting · closed circle

  114. 114
    Goddess of Filth cover

    Goddess of Filth

    V. Castro · Horror

    "One hot summer night, best friends Lourdes, Fernanda, Ana, Perla, and Pauline hold a sâeance.

    cosmic horror · demons · haunted setting · closed circle · found family

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  115. 115
    The House on the Borderland cover

    The House on the Borderland

    William Hope Hodgson · Horror

    Penguin Weird Fiction: a celebration of the very best of the weird, a store of novels and tales that for generations have delighted and horrified.

    cosmic horror · gothic atmosphere · paranormal romance · haunted setting

  116. 116
    📖

    CHROMATIC CREEP.

    KADEN. LOVE · Horror

    psychological thriller · haunted setting

  117. 117
    Doctor Sleep cover

    Doctor Sleep

    Stephen King · Horror

    The now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) must save a very special twelve-year-old girl from a tribe of murderous…

    survival · grimdark · haunted setting · high stakes survival · trauma recovery

  118. 118
    No One Gets Out Alive cover

    No One Gets Out Alive

    Adam Nevill · Horror

    Darkness lives within . . . Cash-strapped, working for agencies and living in shared accommodation, Stephanie Booth feels she can fall no further. So…

    haunted setting · psychological thriller · survival · trauma recovery

  119. 119
    Carry Me to My Grave cover

    Carry Me to My Grave

    Christopher Golden · Horror

    From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden comes a high concept horror novel about a man trying to protect his dead mother's body from…

    dark academia · gothic atmosphere · trauma recovery · haunted setting

  120. 120
    The Curse of Hester Gardens cover

    The Curse of Hester Gardens

    Tamika Thompson · Horror

    We Need to Talk about Kevin as if written by Jason Reynolds and Tananarive Due meets Model Home by Rivers Solomon in an innovative twist on the…

    haunted setting · coming of age · trauma recovery · gothic atmosphere · survival

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  121. 121
    That Which Feeds Us cover

    That Which Feeds Us

    Keala Kendall · Horror

    For the world’s wealthiest, Kōpaʻa Island Resort is more than a destination.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · missing person · psychological thriller

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  122. 122
    Catherine House cover

    Catherine House

    Elisabeth Thomas · Literary Fiction

    A gothic-infused debut of literary suspense, set within a secluded, elite university and following a dangerously curious, rebellious undergraduate…

    gothic atmosphere · magical realism · haunted setting

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  123. 123
    The Garden cover

    The Garden

    Nick Newman · Literary Fiction

    A darkly beautiful, eerie, hypnotic novel about two elderly sisters living alone at the edge of the world.

    gothic atmosphere · magical realism · psychological thriller · haunted setting · closed circle · trauma recovery

  124. 124
    Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell cover

    Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

    Brandon Sanderson · Fantasy

    Originally appearing in the Dangerous Women anthology and now available as a solo ebook, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell is a chilling…

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · high stakes survival

  125. 125
    House of Salt and Sorrows cover

    House of Salt and Sorrows

    Erin A. Craig · Fantasy

    In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

    gothic atmosphere · haunted setting · slow burn

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit