Five Happy Things

Spooky Stories of Spooky Houses

In an effort to have fewer email providers chop my emails in half because they’re so dang long, I’m moving my inspirations (book recommendations, favorite recipes, and awesome artists) to their own newsletter every Wednesday. Think of it as a quick way to fill your cup in the middle of the week. 🥰

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When I abandoned three books in a row last week I turned to my daughter for advice to help me get out of my reading rut. She’s seen me reading (and loving!) T. Kingfisher’s Paladin series lately, but she likes scary stories so she recommended The Twisted Ones by the same author. With Halloween coming this Thursday, that seemed like just the ticket.

I do NOT like gore - but I love a story that’s unsettling. Give me creepy dolls and creatures whose joints move the wrong way and houses that seem to be alive. I like atmosphere, and boy does The Twisted Ones have it.

• A house packed to the rafters with hoarded junk - including a room full of baby dolls *shudder*

• A journal that seems to be a record of her grandfather’s descent into madness

• Creepy things in the woods, stitched together from sticks and stones and rocks and bones

• Weird carved stones that compel people to mimic their poses

• Bongo - a hound dog who’s not too bright, but is still the Best Good Dog

This one was loads of fun!

Here are four more spooky stories that center on creepy houses. . .

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2. Starling House by Alix Harrow is set in rural Kentucky in an area decimated by strip mining. A cursed town, long-buried family secrets, a mysterious (and creepy) children’s book author who disappeared ages ago, and a sentient house. The house is the real star - I loved it!

3. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is so weird - in the best way possible. Gothic horror set at a creepy, remote mansion in 1950’s Mexico.

4. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson isn’t scary, but it’s delightfully unsettling. I love the opening paragraph. “My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phallaides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead.” Isn’t that a great start?

5. Also by Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House. I haven’t actually read the book ( I need to get on that!) but I LOVE the Netflix mini series. You won’t want to do handwork while you watch this one, because the visuals are amazing, and if you’re paying attention you’ll see all kinds of ghosts who are never even mentioned.

So there you are! Five spooky stories of spooky houses, just in time for Halloween reading.

You can find all the past posts with book recommendations here.

Enjoy!

Best,
Wendi
❤️