The best 'haunted house' tales - part one

So there’s a new movie coming out, called House at the End of the Street on the 21st of September. Early signs do not look good. Terrible title, posters covered in hot girl du jour (Jennifer Lawrence) wandering around looking scared in a vest top... meh. However, I know I’m going to see this movie. For want of a better term, I’m an utter slut for haunted house stories. There’s just something about them I find fascinating. In order to try and explain this bizarre, slightly unhealthy love, let me run down some of my favourite stories with you. If you love horror, you need to read these.

Apartment 16 – Adam Nevill

In Barrington House, an upscale apartment housing block in London, there’s one apartment that’s been empty for fifty years. No one ever goes in or out, until a night watchman hears a disturbance and investigates, changing his life forever. In the meantime, Apryl has come from America to sort out the affairs of a reclusive great aunt who died in the building, under rumours she had gone mad. She becomes determined to find out what really happened to her, despite the other tenants’ unwillingness to help.

Apartment 16 is great because it places the moments of horror very deeply in the roots of normality. The characters are incredibly believable too. At first I wanted to hate Apryl, with her stupidly spelt name and her quirky Converse boots, but in fact she was fascinating to read about. Well worth a read.

(Side note, I’ve just started reading 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz which appears to be almost the same book, somehow. Shall have to do more investigating into that...)

The House Next Door – Anne Rivers Seddons

Col Kennedy lives in Georgia peacefully with her husband, Walter, until a talented architect designs and has built the titular house next door. The house goes through many occupants, all who suffer horrible accidents and fatalities. It seems as if the house feeds off the fears of the families who live inside it, but what can the Kennedys do to stop it?

The House Next Door is somewhat of an anomaly for Seddons, as she is not known for writing horror stories. However, this one is fantastic. What I really love is that she never outright explains what possesses the house. More writers need to give their readers a bit more credit, as she does.

The book's had a Lifetime movie made about it, but don't hold that against it.

Ghost Story – Peter Straub

Four elderly men calling themselves the Chowder Society meet regularly in New York, in order to tell each other ghost stories. They do it to fend off the terror they feel after fifth of their number dies at a party, having apparently been frightened to death. The book centres around the stories they tell each other, and how the fear they feel begins to spread around their entire town. Soon, secrets are revealed and the past needs to be paid for.

This story is a slow mover, but that’s ok because as you’re reading, you don’t realise just how terrified you are until its too late. There are several stories that are related at length that at first, don’t seem to have any relevance to the main plot. Soon though, they all begin to tie together.

Tune in next week for my final three picks!