This column, featuring Omaha Public Library's staff recommended reads for spooky season, appeared in the October 13, 2024, edition of the Omaha World-Herald (NE), page 7E of the Living Section. It is also available at Omaha.com (opens in a new tab), opens a new window.
Omaha Public Library wants to help readers find new books — or at least books new to them. Our employees recommend reading based on different writing genres, themes or styles. This edition, staff are leaning into spooky season and have suggested their favorite haunted house books. Find these books and more at your local branch or omahalibrary.org.
A Wide Selection of Haunted House Books for All Ages
The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree
“The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree” by Stan Berenstain. This one is an oldie but a goodie! Technically not a haunted house, but a haunted old tree! This book piqued my imagination in a strong way as a young child who was too young to go through a real haunted house. It planted the seed for my current love of all things spooky! — Dacia Bryan, program design librarian
“Dead Silence” by S.A. Barnes. Less haunted house, more haunted cruise ship. In space. A salvage crew discovers and investigates an interstellar luxury liner that had mysteriously vanished decades before. Should appeal to fans of Caitlin Starling's “The Luminous Dead” or fans of the film “Event Horizon.” — Mark Sorensen, collection development librarian
“The Hacienda” by Isabel Cañas. This book was described as “Mexican Gothic” meets “Rebecca” and I couldn’t agree more. In a time of tumult and grief, Beatriz accepts the proposal of a wealthy, respected man, despite not knowing him well and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of his first wife. Though the plot of “The Hacienda” mirrors “Rebecca,” the ghosts are more literal than figurative compared to Daphne du Maurier’s tale in this book where historical fiction meets gothic horror. Set in the time following the Mexican War of Independence, themes of colonialism, class struggle and vengeance intertwine with haunting spirituality and supernatural forces. — Courtni Kopietz, marketing manager
“Haunted Heartland” by Michael Norman. My absolute favorite haunted house book has an updated edition! This update of the 1990s classic exploring supernatural tales includes a few new stories in addition to the original, and they are an endlessly fascinating mix of fact and folklore. Who knew Clara Urania Mills haunts so many places in Lincoln? — Lynn Sullivan, library specialist at the Genealogy & Local History Room
“The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson.
This is a must-read gothic classic. An anthropology professor invites 3 people to spend the summer at Hill House, a creepy estate with a troubling history, to investigate signs of paranormal activity. Everything about the house is a bit... off. Doors shut on their own, voices echo down the hall, door knobs rattle in the middle of the night. The audiobook has dark, moody string instruments accompanying the narrator during spooky moments making the reading experience feel cinematic. It's the perfect book for a dark, rainy night (if you're feeling brave). — Nicole Hilder, assistant branch manager at the Downtown Branch
“The Haunting of Hill House” is a must-read classic about a group of investigators spending the summer in the infamously off-kilter manor, Hill House. Jackson blends horror and psychological twists to explore how Hill House charms and entraps its occupants. This moody, atmospheric tale is great for old fans and new readers of horror. — Aydin Madrigal, library specialist at the Florence Branch
“The Hollow Kind” by Andy Davidson. A sweeping, generational horror novel about a recently single mother and her son moving into an inherited manor in the 1980s, as well as the parallel story of her grandfather in the house over the course of decades in the early 20th century. There is something sinister beneath the house, some inhuman force, compelling people to act in strange ways. It’s a slow boil, starting as a creepy, atmospheric Southern Gothic before picking up the pace and getting more gory once the danger is revealed. A cool and visceral story about decay, generational trauma, and how the past follows us to haunt our present. — David Dick, library specialist at the Benson Branch
“A House with Good Bones” by T. Kingfisher. This is a haunted house you would definitely flee from, but of course our main character, Sam, an entomologist, does not — it is her mother's home, and she has to deal with the creatures that are taking it over. Horror is usually something I avoid, but T. Kingfisher's horror is, while technically horrible, also hilarious. I loved Sam, her mother, and handyman Phil. The plot was very compelling and very creepy. — Martha Grenzeback, genealogy & local history librarian
“Idle Days” by Thomas Desaulniers-Brousseau. In the latter days of World War II, a young man deserts from the Canadian Armed Forces and seeks refuge in a remote cabin. As isolation and boredom wear on him, the dark and bloodstained history of the cabin begins to stir. Dense, distinctive artwork adds to the subtle psychological horror of this graphic novel. — Sorensen
“In the Dream House” by Carmen Maria Machado. This is a memoir about a queer relationship fraught with manipulation and abuse. Machado delivers a difficult and candid story of her entrapment into a relationship where she was constantly undermined and humiliated. The reader can feel Machado’s self-actualization emerging through her writing as she discovers what she believed was untrue and recognizes what she called a relationship then she recognizes now as abuse. This recollection of memories is told in small chunks, using a variety of literary devices and references, such as myth, denouement, unreliable narrator, and Mrs. Dalloway. She redirects and views these years of her life from many different angles using her chosen form: micro essays or vignettes. Machado uses a variety of other texts to inform her own story and includes footnotes about queer abuse from her research as a constant weaving together of her own story and others. She has chosen to tell her story, one often not shared since marginalized people have to constantly fight against stereotypes to be “better” than non-marginalized people to receive the same rights. The language she uses reads unlike anything else. It’s almost as if she has created a new form of writing: thinking on the page, through the art form. Machado proves that a good writer can make readers connect to their story, not only if the reader has had a similar experience, but using the emotions that fuse people even when our experiences differ. — Holly Pelesky, assistant branch manager at the Bess Johnson Elkhorn Branch
“Just Like Home” by Sarah Gailey. Like any good haunted house, slow-burn gothic horror novel “Just Like Home” lulls its readers into a false sense of security with its leisurely beginning. By its surprising, slick and snarling conclusion, though, all but the bravest will be racing for the exit. "Final Girl" trope lovers will appreciate Gailey's imperfect, varyingly unsympathetic protagonist, and social thriller bibliophiles will love the tension of being kept in the dark for just a few pages too long. — Elly Roberts, outreach librarian
” by Daphne du Maurier. For my favorite haunted house book, I would recommend "Rebecca." It's an oldy, but it introduced me to suspenseful reading as a middle schooler. I was hooked! — Vicki Conway, library specialist at the A.V. Sorensen Branch
“Too Bright to See” by Kyle Lukoff. The summer before starting middle school, protagonist Bug has to face the mystery of the spirit that's haunting the old family home, along with a friend's uncomfortable expectations on how to properly be a girl. With emotionally vivid writing that speaks to all ages, Too Bright to See is a spooky coming-of-age and hauntingly queer novel that gets the ghosts out of the closet. — Shan Cashin, outreach specialist
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