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Melissa Joulwan's avatar

If you've read and loved 'The Haunting of Hill House,' you might want to try 'A Haunting on the Hill' by Elizabeth Hand. It was release last October and is a companion to Jackson's novel. This is the first time Shirley Jackson’s family has authorized a novel based on her work, and Elizabeth Hand does a bang-up job of honoring Jackson's legacy.

The setup is so good! A group of actors temporarily move into Hill House. They’re rehearsing a modernist staging of a 17th-century play about an infamous witch. I mean, why not practice your spooky play in a haunted house? What could possibly go wrong? ;-)

The descriptions of the hauntings are SO GOOD, and the story goes really interesting places. I loved it.

My go-to when I'm not sure what to read, but I want Gothic vibes that aren't too scary, I go back to 'Plain Bad Heroines' by Emily M. Danforth. It's a haunted house story with multiple timelines (basically now and 1902), charming/snarky footnotes, and a narrator who directly addresses the reader from time to time. The print book has fun illustrations and the audiobook is FANTASTIC, so you can't go wrong either way.

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Sara's avatar

We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

Aura by Carlos Fuentes

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