I don’t think dolls are creepy. Usually.

Sometimes a story will come along that changes my mind. Up until now, The Tallest Poppy by Chloe Gong from The Gathering Dark anthology was the only story that managed to give me the creeps, and that was more about what the dolls did to the protagonist. I just don’t find their dead-eyed faces all that bothersome.

Until now.

How To Sell A Haunted House is Grady Hendrix’s newest novel, released on January 14, 2023. It follows single mother Louise as she gets the phone call from her brother back in Charleston, South Carolina, informing her their parents have died. Louise must work with her estranged brother Mark to settle their affairs, where a demonic puppet possessed with family secrets welcomes them home.

I did like this book overall, but I just want to get the negatives out of the way first. I did think it was too long. I figured out maybe halfway through what the twist would be, and there were a few moments where emotionally it felt right to end things but the plot as it is feels dragged out. In the end, I felt done with it before the book decided I should be done with it. 

That said, this is one creepy book. I don’t think Hendrix’s humor gets in the way of the horror like it sometimes does in his earlier books. Hendrix I always recommend for people who want a fun scary book, something like Fear Street for grown ups, but can’t handle intense horror. But Haunted House was scary in parts, to the point where I had to put the book down for a few days, dreading to find out what happens next until I could bear not knowing any longer. There’s one gruesome scene I had to skim.

What I liked most about this book however is not really the scares, as fun and at times intense as they are. This is a story about generational trauma and family rifts and ties. For me, it was an emotional read as a recent loss was still affecting me, more so because of how the loss affected the other people in my life and how grief makes people act in strange, upsetting ways. You might find Mark’s irrational behavior and Louise’s denial unbelievable or over the top, but it was actually close enough to my own situation that the emotional core of the book got its hooks under my skin long before the demon puppet antics did. 

If you didn’t find your previous Hendrix reads to be scary enough for your tastes, consider this one. If you like horror books that make you cry, this is an excellent choice too. The last paragraph of My Best Friend’s Exorcism made me emotional, and How To Sell A Haunted House’s last page provided another gut punch that had me in tears. You might find Hendrix’s writing style a little too humorous, a little too ridiculous at times; but it is the sincerity that always gets to me.

Megan C