Susanna Clarke's new book Piranesi might be an addition to this list, though it is not creepy in the traditional "Halloween" sense. There are delightfully creepy breadcrumbs dropped on the way to solving the mystery of the House, and the House is certainly a character in and of itself. "The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite". I wish I could read it again for the first time!
Recently read Mexican Gothic and enjoyed that, although the dialogue did seem too modern to me when I read it as well. The gothic nods in it were what made it so fun for me!
Love The Knife Drawer although it was difficult for me to read! The pain and suffering described was staggering and the writing was absolutely stunning
I was going to comment that all books by Laura Purcell I have greatly enjoyed...but then I saw your profile picture!!! I have a bull terrier! What a sweet little face 🥰 I’m smiling so much right now!
@@LB-fg2ph yes her books are really good and atmospheric. Aww yay! Bullies are the best.. sadly we lost our boy last year 😢. Hoping to get another some time next year
Becca H oh I’m so sorry to hear your boy passed away. I hope you are doing ok. Good luck with a potential new Bull! Big hugs from me and my girl from Australia 🐾
just recently realized haunted houses are my favorite type of Halloween themes, so thanks for this video. I really enjoyed Slade House by David Mitchell, a very fun kind of creepy.
With everyone talking about Rebecca (which I still need to read), this video is exactly what I've been clamouring for. My TBR always grows exponentially after your videos, and it has done for years! :') I just saw SHIRLEY at the London film festival, which is a very loose 'biopic' about a small period of Jackson's life and her marriage. It was so atmospheric and beautifully made, really recommend it if you like her aesthetic/style
A great topic, Jen, thanks for another great video. I enjoyed Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, set in a spooky cafe where time travel is possible. A very lovely, sometimes sad, and also hopeful novel.
Sitting here with my dog and a cup of tea watching one of my fave RUclipss talk about one of my favorite subjects.... this is a perfect afternoon! I read Mexican Gothic this month... so good!
Since you mentioned "Ghosts of the Tsunami" - I just watched an episode from a Netflix series called "Unsolved Mysteries" and this episode is called "Tsunami Spirits" and is about all those ghosts stories and strange things that people have experienced in Japan after the Tsunami.
I am reading Susanna Clarke's Piranesi right now and it is set in a haunted/haunting house - mysterious flooded halls that seem to stretch in every direction O_o
I read that book front to cover in almost one sitting, it blew me away. It's definitely one of my favourite books, along with House of Leaves which is also a (terrifying) book about a haunted house, and also probably my favourite book ever at the moment.
Oh Jen, I feel like half my library has been influenced by you! I had just ordered The Book Collector earlier today before I watched this and it was quite hard to find! I also have your book and English Animals waiting to be read. Sing Unburied Sing is one of my favorite books. I’m off to add a few more of these to my shopping cart.
Why hello Jen, I am very pleased to see and hear you talk about books. At 53 years old I have just started my own personal library again due to unexpected life changes and I started with your book The bookshop book and Shawn Bythell book A diary of a bookseller and The weird things people ask in bookstores, that you had published before him. Shawn's bookshop is exactly what I want, so inspirational I have always wanted to live in and run a bookshop of my own and I am planning to asap. In 2 months I have collected 48 new and used books, my favourite books to buy brand new are hardcover books, so expensive but worth every cent to me. Anyway I could go on and on about books with you because I am just thrilled to sort of meet you here on YT. Thank you for sharing your knowledge of books.
I would recommend: Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier. It’s a version of Beauty & the Beast set in Juliet’s usual Celtic Early Middle Ages, where the master of the house is severely disabled and the house is full of ghosts who need redemption. The Ghost Bride by Yangtze Choo. The book is much more atmospheric than the cheesy Netflix version. It’s about a Chinese Malaysian girl in the C19th who is forced into a traditional “ghost marriage” to the deceased elder son of her neighbour, but then goes into the world of the dead and the houses they live in before they move on, which come from the paper offerings burnt for the dead.
In ''The Ghost Bride'' is she actually forced into the marriage? I recall the father asking her about her opinion on the first page, but I haven't read the book yet.
Yeah, she is asked to marry him and while she's not keen, she isn't forced persay. But there are definitely discussions on consent and romance-less marriage.
I bought the Little Stranger after watching one of your videos where you mentioned it so am looking forward to giving that a whirl soon :) Bitter Orange sounds fascinating
A haunted house book I recently read and liked a lot is Nina LaCour's Watch Over Me :). It starts off creepy but turned a lot more emotional and heartwarming by the end than I imagined when I went in. Really loved it and highly recommend.
Haunted houses🏡👻 are one of my favorite stories (and anything where books feature, like people entering books for example). Got a copy of D after I saw your lovely interview with Michel Faber and I'm really looking forward to it. The Oracle Code is going on my wishlist. Lovely video - again.🥰Stay safe💚
Excellent suggestions, I have ordered some of these from my local bookseller (Norfolk Childrens Book Centre, who told me that they ‘order books for happy bookish readers of all ages not just child bookworms’...and that sold me on them as my local book shop) ..can I suggest a video recommending a series of books...I love the Philip Pullman book series, and the Wolf hall trilogy... and think a winter of reading one or a few good series sounds sort of a comforting thought... I am not that keen on crime novels, they have lots of long series tho.....it is hard to find good well written books with excellent sequels...and sequels to the sequels.
I finished The Bass Rock a few weeks ago and loved it more than I thought I could love a book! I picked up All the Birds Singing and am excited to read it soon :)
Ah, I adored The Little Stranger!! I saw the film first and just knew I had to read it. I believe it was set before the 1950s, though. It was right after WW1. Mostly I like anthologies, with short stories and novellas, the best of which were written in Victorian times, and up into the early 20th century. Probably my favorite novel about ghosts is “Julia,” which I think was Peter Straub’s first novel, written in the early 1970s. A very creepy tale about the ghost of a sociopathic 12 year old girl who was murdered. Have a kindle arriving tomorrow, looking for ideas…so thanks for this!
Great list, eclectic and love how you focus on a lot of female writers who definitely deserve their dues! "The House Next Door " by Anne Rivers Siddons is a great read too!
@@jenvcampbell Lol - I'm so sorry Jen. I was just watching her latest video and wanted to comment on a recommendation in that, but I wasn't quick enough before RUclips popped your video up! I did sing your praises during the live comments to Leena's video, though!
I’ve had Ruby since it came out but thank you for reminding me I hadn’t read it yet! I’ll get to it ASAP. Just finished The Turn of the Screw. Potentially the most painful reading experience of my life 😂
Have you ever read Nina Kiriki Hoffman? She has several books that include an abandoned house that's an actual character in the story. I think the first one is The Red Heart of Memory. There's a sequel, and also a prequel YA in which the house appears. It's also the first time I read about magic that was connected, not with nature, but with things that were made by humans, and the creation of them allowed them a sort of consciousness that the protagonist can connect with and understand. I read the books a long time ago and I remember being fascinated with this concept. Also Charles de Lint's first Newford book called Moonheart where the story revolves around the enormous and magical Tamson House. Or his Spirit in the Wires where it's not a house that's haunted, but the internet.
I want to read them aaalll!~💖 From the ones I've read on this list, Mexican Gothic was the most disappointing, Sleeper and the Spindle was beautiful, and it would never even occur to me to put Pet in such a list! :o
I don’t know if you ever play videogames, but I think you would thoroughly enjoy the game “What remains of Edith Finch”. It’s also about a large house that is in some ways “haunted”. Very story-heavy and basically a point and click. Would definitely recommend!
In the same vein, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. You’re walking through a British village after the apocalypse. It’s all story and no action. It’s moving and haunting.
I heartily recommend M.R. James' ghost stories (LOTS of haunted houses and other buildings) and "The Ghost of Hollow House" by Linda Stratmann (great disabled representation).
@@jenvcampbell I don't think it's really necessary :-) (The whole Mina Scarletti series is excellent, and stars a Victorian disabled paranormal investigator!)
I recently finished the haunting of hill house and enjoyed it. I also watched the Netflix adaptation. It’s very different but I liked them both as separate entities. I also really loved Rooms by Lauren Oliver have you read that one?
wow I loved this list, thank you i was just searching for new book recommendations :D I just uploaded a halloween scary city walk in Venice, check it out, you will love it:))
Great recommendations! What is the level of scary of the Locke & Key Netflix show, did you find it scary or is it more fantasy-like? I couldn't really tell, and I can't handle scary too well 🙈
I felt the same about Mexican Gothic. Gutting! Currently enjoying The Witch of Willow Hall by Hestor Fox which features a haunted house and is a bit like a Gothic version of Sense and Sensibility.
Years ago, in my youth, I read a book about a boy who moves in to a house that has a ghost. The ghost comes out to frighten the boy but instead the boy frightens the ghost (he said "Boo" or something and caused the ghost to jump, slightly). Anyway, the ghost can't bear to have anyone find out that he had been frightened and makes a deal with the boy. The boy was to keep silent on the story and, in return, the ghost taught the boy ghost tricks like floating and disappearing. I'd like to find a copy of that book if anyone happens to know the title and/or author. Thanks for the review of haunted house books, btw. I enjoyed it.
Hi Jen, I'm a new sub, and a huge horror fan, with James Herbert, being my fave author, I recommend the ghost of sleath by him if you have not yet read any of his work. I'm also an indy horror writer, I have had 3 booktube reviews so far, I'm try to get more eyes on my work, i was wondering if you could help, if not don't worry, i know you guys get swampped with books, but I have found if you don't ask then you don't get.
The plot of the story in "Outsiders" about the racist old house sounds very much like Helen Oyeyemi's "White is for Witching" which was very creepy and spooky (and queer which we love)
May I recommend the book Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt. It is about a haunted hause that embodies fascism. It is incredible and horrifying, I loved it!
@@jenvcampbell I hope you'll enjoy it! And loved going back to this video because I'm wanting to read creepy and spooky books this month and excited to order some of your recs from the library x
I wrote a story about a haunted house in the book titled 'Where the spirit leads, haunting stories and poems.' Would you consider giving it a read? Give your dog a hug for me and Scotland for ever!
Most of these are creepy. I think being terrified is rather subjective: the John Harding, the Alice Thompson and Shirley Jackson certainly made me jump, but I have other videos where I recommend scary books, if that's more your jam. This is just books about haunted houses, interpreted in a variety of ways.
@@jenvcampbell cool, I'll check those out! The Haunting of Hill House genuinely unnerved me, so I'm always looking for something similar that has a literary quality and some depth.
![Method Writing: The First Four Concepts - Jack Grapes [FULL INTERVIEW]](/img/1.gif)
Do I read about haunted houses or read any horror? No, I don't.
Did I click really fast cause I really like whatever Jen puts out? Yes. Yes, I did. ✨💖
Might I recommend the last book I talked about? ☺️♥️
Susanna Clarke's new book Piranesi might be an addition to this list, though it is not creepy in the traditional "Halloween" sense. There are delightfully creepy breadcrumbs dropped on the way to solving the mystery of the House, and the House is certainly a character in and of itself. "The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite". I wish I could read it again for the first time!
I love this book so much!
@@ElizabethHopkinson Piranesi is one of my favourite protagonists of all time, I think. Such a wonderful book.
Recently read Mexican Gothic and enjoyed that, although the dialogue did seem too modern to me when I read it as well. The gothic nods in it were what made it so fun for me!
Love The Knife Drawer although it was difficult for me to read! The pain and suffering described was staggering and the writing was absolutely stunning
The silent companions was a very creepy book I enjoyed
I was going to comment that all books by Laura Purcell I have greatly enjoyed...but then I saw your profile picture!!! I have a bull terrier! What a sweet little face 🥰 I’m smiling so much right now!
@@LB-fg2ph yes her books are really good and atmospheric.
Aww yay! Bullies are the best.. sadly we lost our boy last year 😢. Hoping to get another some time next year
Becca H oh I’m so sorry to hear your boy passed away. I hope you are doing ok. Good luck with a potential new Bull! Big hugs from me and my girl from Australia 🐾
just recently realized haunted houses are my favorite type of Halloween themes, so thanks for this video. I really enjoyed Slade House by David Mitchell, a very fun kind of creepy.
Yes, love this! I do adore a haunted house novel. The Haunting of Hill House is one of my favourites. The Girl Who Couldn't Read sounds fascinating.
I really enjoyed Ruth Ware's Turn of the key, and it's also a creepy house story!
With everyone talking about Rebecca (which I still need to read), this video is exactly what I've been clamouring for. My TBR always grows exponentially after your videos, and it has done for years! :') I just saw SHIRLEY at the London film festival, which is a very loose 'biopic' about a small period of Jackson's life and her marriage. It was so atmospheric and beautifully made, really recommend it if you like her aesthetic/style
A great topic, Jen, thanks for another great video.
I enjoyed Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, set in a spooky cafe where time travel is possible. A very lovely, sometimes sad, and also hopeful novel.
Okay, that last one just looks too adorable... 😊
Sitting here with my dog and a cup of tea watching one of my fave RUclipss talk about one of my favorite subjects.... this is a perfect afternoon! I read Mexican Gothic this month... so good!
Since you mentioned "Ghosts of the Tsunami" - I just watched an episode from a Netflix series called "Unsolved Mysteries" and this episode is called "Tsunami Spirits" and is about all those ghosts stories and strange things that people have experienced in Japan after the Tsunami.
I am reading Susanna Clarke's Piranesi right now and it is set in a haunted/haunting house - mysterious flooded halls that seem to stretch in every direction O_o
I read that book front to cover in almost one sitting, it blew me away. It's definitely one of my favourite books, along with House of Leaves which is also a (terrifying) book about a haunted house, and also probably my favourite book ever at the moment.
Oh Jen, I feel like half my library has been influenced by you! I had just ordered The Book Collector earlier today before I watched this and it was quite hard to find! I also have your book and English Animals waiting to be read. Sing Unburied Sing is one of my favorite books. I’m off to add a few more of these to my shopping cart.
If you ever want to buy books published by Salt (who publish The Book Collector) you can buy them from their website :) www.saltpublishing.com xx
Why hello Jen, I am very pleased to see and hear you talk about books. At 53 years old I have just started my own personal library again due to unexpected life changes and I started with your book The bookshop book and Shawn Bythell book A diary of a bookseller and The weird things people ask in bookstores, that you had published before him. Shawn's bookshop is exactly what I want, so inspirational I have always wanted to live in and run a bookshop of my own and I am planning to asap. In 2 months I have collected 48 new and used books, my favourite books to buy brand new are hardcover books, so expensive but worth every cent to me. Anyway I could go on and on about books with you because I am just thrilled to sort of meet you here on YT.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge of books.
I would recommend:
Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier. It’s a version of Beauty & the Beast set in Juliet’s usual Celtic Early Middle Ages, where the master of the house is severely disabled and the house is full of ghosts who need redemption.
The Ghost Bride by Yangtze Choo. The book is much more atmospheric than the cheesy Netflix version. It’s about a Chinese Malaysian girl in the C19th who is forced into a traditional “ghost marriage” to the deceased elder son of her neighbour, but then goes into the world of the dead and the houses they live in before they move on, which come from the paper offerings burnt for the dead.
In ''The Ghost Bride'' is she actually forced into the marriage? I recall the father asking her about her opinion on the first page, but I haven't read the book yet.
Yeah, she is asked to marry him and while she's not keen, she isn't forced persay. But there are definitely discussions on consent and romance-less marriage.
Amazing the number of books you've read! and about haunted houses. So many recommendations. It's so comforting to watch this video! Thank you so much!
I bought the Little Stranger after watching one of your videos where you mentioned it so am looking forward to giving that a whirl soon :) Bitter Orange sounds fascinating
A haunted house book I recently read and liked a lot is Nina LaCour's Watch Over Me :). It starts off creepy but turned a lot more emotional and heartwarming by the end than I imagined when I went in. Really loved it and highly recommend.
Haunted houses🏡👻 are one of my favorite stories (and anything where books feature, like people entering books for example). Got a copy of D after I saw your lovely interview with Michel Faber and I'm really looking forward to it. The Oracle Code is going on my wishlist. Lovely video - again.🥰Stay safe💚
♥️♥️
Excellent suggestions, I have ordered some of these from my local bookseller (Norfolk Childrens Book Centre, who told me that they ‘order books for happy bookish readers of all ages not just child bookworms’...and that sold me on them as my local book shop) ..can I suggest a video recommending a series of books...I love the Philip Pullman book series, and the Wolf hall trilogy... and think a winter of reading one or a few good series sounds sort of a comforting thought... I am not that keen on crime novels, they have lots of long series tho.....it is hard to find good well written books with excellent sequels...and sequels to the sequels.
Dear Jen, thanks for your haunted 🧟♀️ video. You are always the best📚 🇮🇹
I finished The Bass Rock a few weeks ago and loved it more than I thought I could love a book! I picked up All the Birds Singing and am excited to read it soon :)
It’s so good, isn’t it? Which time period was your favourite? x
@@jenvcampbell Oh gosh, so hard to choose!! I think Ruth... although Viv is just a smidge behind. What about you? x
Ruth, too ☺️ x
This 👏 is 👏 my 👏 VIBE👏
Thank you sweet Jen!
Great choice of books, just the time of year to get scared.
Ah, I adored The Little Stranger!! I saw the film first and just knew I had to read it. I believe it was set before the 1950s, though. It was right after WW1. Mostly I like anthologies, with short stories and novellas, the best of which were written in Victorian times, and up into the early 20th century. Probably my favorite novel about ghosts is “Julia,” which I think was Peter Straub’s first novel, written in the early 1970s. A very creepy tale about the ghost of a sociopathic 12 year old girl who was murdered.
Have a kindle arriving tomorrow, looking for ideas…so thanks for this!
What a wonderful and varied list of books ... thank you!
Great list, eclectic and love how you focus on a lot of female writers who definitely deserve their dues! "The House Next Door " by Anne Rivers Siddons is a great read too!
Love Shirley Jackson!! I'm super excited to watch The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix!
Thanks Leena - I'll be adding "Imagine a Country" to my list
As much as love Leena, I don't think I've morphed into her yet, ha. x
@@jenvcampbell Lol - I'm so sorry Jen. I was just watching her latest video and wanted to comment on a recommendation in that, but I wasn't quick enough before RUclips popped your video up! I did sing your praises during the live comments to Leena's video, though!
Haha, that's ok, it made me giggle! x
I’ve had Ruby since it came out but thank you for reminding me I hadn’t read it yet! I’ll get to it ASAP. Just finished The Turn of the Screw. Potentially the most painful reading experience of my life 😂
I can't wait to read The Oracle Code!
Thank you. I will be looking into Tanglewreck and D- A Tale of Two Worlds. They sound just right for my next reads.
Happy reading! x
Have you ever read Nina Kiriki Hoffman? She has several books that include an abandoned house that's an actual character in the story. I think the first one is The Red Heart of Memory. There's a sequel, and also a prequel YA in which the house appears. It's also the first time I read about magic that was connected, not with nature, but with things that were made by humans, and the creation of them allowed them a sort of consciousness that the protagonist can connect with and understand. I read the books a long time ago and I remember being fascinated with this concept. Also Charles de Lint's first Newford book called Moonheart where the story revolves around the enormous and magical Tamson House. Or his Spirit in the Wires where it's not a house that's haunted, but the internet.
I would also add Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd. very gothic house
That reminds me, I have her middlegrade book on my TBR, too x
Thanks for providing this amazing array of tantalizing stories! I'll look into these..
I want to read them aaalll!~💖 From the ones I've read on this list, Mexican Gothic was the most disappointing, Sleeper and the Spindle was beautiful, and it would never even occur to me to put Pet in such a list! :o
I don’t know if you ever play videogames, but I think you would thoroughly enjoy the game “What remains of Edith Finch”. It’s also about a large house that is in some ways “haunted”. Very story-heavy and basically a point and click. Would definitely recommend!
In the same vein, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. You’re walking through a British village after the apocalypse. It’s all story and no action. It’s moving and haunting.
The novellete The Shunned House by Lovecraft is very interesting.
I heartily recommend M.R. James' ghost stories (LOTS of haunted houses and other buildings) and "The Ghost of Hollow House" by Linda Stratmann (great disabled representation).
Oooh, thanks! I see that’s the fourth in a series. Do you need to read them in order? X
@@jenvcampbell I don't think it's really necessary :-) (The whole Mina Scarletti series is excellent, and stars a Victorian disabled paranormal investigator!)
I recently finished the haunting of hill house and enjoyed it. I also watched the Netflix adaptation. It’s very different but I liked them both as separate entities. I also really loved Rooms by Lauren Oliver have you read that one?
Although it is not a novel, there's a short story that terrified me:"The Old Portrait" by Hume Nisbet
I did enjoy 'Sisters ' by Daisy Johnson 🏚👻
wow I loved this list, thank you i was just searching for new book recommendations :D I just uploaded a halloween scary city walk in Venice, check it out, you will love it:))
Great recommendations! What is the level of scary of the Locke & Key Netflix show, did you find it scary or is it more fantasy-like? I couldn't really tell, and I can't handle scary too well 🙈
It’s not too scary, though it has its moments! Not as scary, on the whole, as Stranger Things etc x
@@jenvcampbell ohh that’s great, I will definitely put it on my watchlist!
The knife drawer would upset me a great deal. No, thank you.
I felt the same about Mexican Gothic. Gutting!
Currently enjoying The Witch of Willow Hall by Hestor Fox which features a haunted house and is a bit like a Gothic version of Sense and Sensibility.
I loved Mexican Gothic!
@@Gagging4Lit That's great! Horror isn't really my thing.
Years ago, in my youth, I read a book about a boy who moves in to a house that has a ghost. The ghost comes out to frighten the boy but instead the boy frightens the ghost (he said "Boo" or something and caused the ghost to jump, slightly). Anyway, the ghost can't bear to have anyone find out that he had been frightened and makes a deal with the boy. The boy was to keep silent on the story and, in return, the ghost taught the boy ghost tricks like floating and disappearing. I'd like to find a copy of that book if anyone happens to know the title and/or author. Thanks for the review of haunted house books, btw. I enjoyed it.
Hi Jen, I'm a new sub, and a huge horror fan, with James Herbert, being my fave author, I recommend the ghost of sleath by him if you have not yet read any of his work.
I'm also an indy horror writer, I have had 3 booktube reviews so far, I'm try to get more eyes on my work, i was wondering if you could help, if not don't worry, i know you guys get swampped with books, but I have found if you don't ask then you don't get.
The plot of the story in "Outsiders" about the racist old house sounds very much like Helen Oyeyemi's "White is for Witching" which was very creepy and spooky (and queer which we love)
May I recommend the book Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt. It is about a haunted hause that embodies fascism. It is incredible and horrifying, I loved it!
I have it on my TBR ☺️ x
@@jenvcampbell I hope you'll enjoy it! And loved going back to this video because I'm wanting to read creepy and spooky books this month and excited to order some of your recs from the library x
I wrote a story about a haunted house in the book titled 'Where the spirit leads, haunting stories and poems.' Would you consider giving it a read? Give your dog a hug for me and Scotland for ever!
Are any of these creepy? They sound imaginative, but not very terrifying.
Most of these are creepy. I think being terrified is rather subjective: the John Harding, the Alice Thompson and Shirley Jackson certainly made me jump, but I have other videos where I recommend scary books, if that's more your jam. This is just books about haunted houses, interpreted in a variety of ways.
@@jenvcampbell cool, I'll check those out! The Haunting of Hill House genuinely unnerved me, so I'm always looking for something similar that has a literary quality and some depth.
Just curious, do you know who Joe Hill's father is? If anyone looks at his photo, you'll immediately figure it out!
Yes, I do.
🙏🙏🎁