How to Sell a Haunted House
Suspenseful
Thrilling
Gruesome

How to Sell a Haunted House

Grady Hendrix2023
Your past and your family can haunt you like nothing else… A hilarious and terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Final Girl Support Group. Every childhood home is haunted, and each of us are possessed by our parents. When their parents die at the tail end of the coronavirus pandemic, Louise and Mark Joyner are devastated but nothing can prepare them for how bad things are about to get. The two siblings are almost totally estranged, and couldn’t be more different. Now, however, they don’t have a choice but to get along. The virus has passed, and both of them are facing bank accounts ravaged by the economic meltdown. Their one asset? Their childhood home. They need to get it on the market as soon as possible because they need the money. Yet before her parents died they taped newspaper over the mirrors and nailed shut the attic door. Sometimes we feel like puppets, controlled by our upbringing and our genes. Sometimes we feel like our parents treat us like toys, or playthings, or even dolls. The past can ground us, teach us, and keep us safe. It can also trap us, and bind us, and suffocate the life out of us. As disturbing events stack up in the house, Louise and Mark have to learn that sometimes the only way to break away from the past, sometimes the only way to sell a haunted house, is to burn it all down.
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Reviews

Photo of Eleanor
Eleanor @purpletaeeee
4 stars
Feb 2, 2025

This book is unhinged 😭

Photo of blue
blue@bluelien
3.5 stars
Jan 27, 2025

I loved exploring the relationship dynamics between Louise and Mark, and their parents. Their heart-to-hearts were what I enjoyed most.

Photo of Samantha
Samantha @samkay90
4 stars
Sep 15, 2024

You should add this book to your Fall Tbr. It did start out as kind of slow at first, and then it got me hooked. I don't think I can look at another puppet the same way again

Photo of Rabia Sitabi
Rabia Sitabi@rpish
2.5 stars
Aug 14, 2024

Not my fave of this writer, the main characters were just do annoying to me and that made it a drag to get through.

The twists in the haunting and themes of generational trauma are well done.

This review contains a spoiler
Photo of nuha ✨️
nuha ✨️@nuhasahir
4 stars
Aug 2, 2024

this was pretty entertaining.

a solid plot - nothing too surprising though. good writing, did pretty good to bring out the horror-y atmosphere. the characters were good, but Louise did pull some incredibly stupid moves. if she hadn't pulled those the book would have definitely been shorter. though i have to say, her making bad decision upon bad decision made the book very frustratingly entertaining, so i guess it works out.

Photo of Eva Ströberg
Eva Ströberg@cphbirdlady
5 stars
Jul 19, 2024

Grady Hendrix - How to sell a haunted house . ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ . I read this book in one go. Hendrix, imho, is a talented storyteller. His books (and his horror stories) are always so captivating, not in the serious mode like Stephen King does, but more in the lighthearted way, if not comical. That says, the storyline is usually pretty solid, just like this book. . Louise, who is trying to distance herself from her family by living in San Francisco on her own, suddenly got a phonecall from her deadbeat brother Mark that their parents died in a car accident. She packed her bags and flew to Charleston, SC to deal with the funeral, the estate and the paperwork, only to find out that the house where she and her brother grew up was actually haunted, and suddenly she had to deal with her mom’s creepy doll collection, family secrets and drama. A thoroughly entertaining read .

Photo of Ryan Mateyk
Ryan Mateyk@the_rybrary
4 stars
Jul 4, 2024

If only Nancy had one therapy session!

Photo of Hannah Colbert
Hannah Colbert@hcolbert
4 stars
Jun 28, 2024

This book is not for everyone and not at all what I expected. I would call it a horror-comedy and it may make a good movie, but the book wasn't for me. For me, I could not take the story seriously enough to be scary, even though it's meant to be. The writing style and story still deserve a high rating as it will evoke a wide-range of emotions.

+3
Photo of Shivam
Shivam@impalala
2 stars
Jun 20, 2024

5 It suffers because of the incongruent ideas trying to be superposed on top of each other. The first half is worth it thanks to some genuinely funny commentary but the momentum is broken by a painfully detailed 'thrill' sequence. Beyond that, it's hard to take the book seriously, even with the reintroduction of what made the book worth-it earlier -- the humor.

Photo of Sarah Sammis
Sarah Sammis@pussreboots
3 stars
Apr 4, 2024

** spoiler alert ** If you are an adult of a certain age you might have grown up on R.L. Stine's books or had children who did. Maybe, like me, you read them when your kids did. If that's you, How to Sell a Haunted House will remind you of two books in particular, Night of the Living Dummy (1993) and Son of Slappy (2013). http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...

Photo of Carson King
Carson King@carsonking17
4 stars
Mar 31, 2024

Got a little too silly, not my type of horror, but really a great emotional book about grief

Photo of Jillian Roberts
Jillian Roberts@jillianroberts
4 stars
Feb 23, 2024

This is a great book on grief, loss, and family. It’s also soooo creepy & a little scary!! I don’t know if I’ll ever look at puppets the same way again 😟

+4
Photo of Ash
Ash@ashtheslothh
3 stars
Feb 9, 2024

I agree a lot with Gabby's thoughts on this one. There were many times when I rolled my eyes and sometimes when I was freaked out. I don't understand the message behind this book.. it was about grief somehow 😕I think it could have been a lot shorter too. Spoilers from here... (view spoiler)[ I don't get why they couldn't just hold back from putting punkin on and spider glitching out and wanting to hurt Louise one minute and then next help her dig (hide spoiler)]

Photo of Julie Failde
Julie Failde@jmfailde
4 stars
Jan 9, 2024

I really enjoyed this one, I would probably put it in my overall top 3 for Hendrix’s works I’ve read so far. I went in with lower expectations than usual because I kept hearing negative things about it but I thought the whole thing was really fun and spooky and I found myself loving Pupkin more than I probably should’ve. I also really enjoyed the ending of this one—I feel like it’s one of if not the best endings of a Hendrix book!

Photo of Hunty
Hunty@junguji
4 stars
Jan 7, 2024

Reading a Grady Hendrix book while living in Charleston is just me constantly going “ooh I know where that is!” Let’s just say my stuffed animals are sleeping on the couch tonight 🤨

Photo of Patty Pforte
Patty Pforte@pfortep1
4.5 stars
Dec 13, 2023

A mix between grief and loss and a wild haunting story, it has twists and turns and heart connected to family and the stories we tell to ourselves and to our families.

+2
Photo of Christian von Schack
Christian von Schack@cschack
4 stars
Nov 1, 2023

Both creepy and funny; a very entertaining read.

Photo of Denaiir
Denaiir@denaiir
4 stars
Oct 3, 2023

3.5 stars, it was a WILD ride, didn't think there would be so many twists and turns. It was really over the top but fun.

Photo of Lara Engle
Lara Engle@bzzlarabzz
5 stars
Aug 23, 2023

Why'd you have to make me cry, Grady Hendrix?! This book is sad, sweet, creepy, and terrifying. Content warning for child peril and child death. Plus, there are disturbing dolls, puppets, body horror, parent death, and general grief. Yet, somehow, it still has that little wink of humor you expect from a Grady Hendrix book. It can be over the top, but it's also so real, especially in the way he explores family dynamics and the complications of loving and being loved in a family. Read this if you want to feel all the things.

Photo of Patricia Nelson
Patricia Nelson@tnelson577
5 stars
Aug 23, 2023

Louise and Mark are siblings that haven't lived near each other for most of their adult lives, but come together when their parents die unexpectedly in a car accident. Their complicated relationship adds to the tension when they enter their parents home that is FILLED with dolls and puppets that are decidedly creepy. From there the story unfolds with one twist and turn after another that kept me glued to the pages. The first Grady Hendrix book I read was The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, and I loved it. This second read by this author did not disappoint! This was the first book that truly scared me in quite some time, but in all the best ways.

Photo of Caitlin Carino
Caitlin Carino@caitlin_vee
5 stars
Aug 6, 2023

grady hendrix does it again! def on the more scary side, this one had me reading with the lights on

+4
Photo of Alexis Donahue
Alexis Donahue@donahuealexis
4 stars
Jul 20, 2023

My first horror book that I’ve ever read and Grady Hendrix didn’t do me wrong in properly introducing me to the genre! The book itself was quite long (400 pages) but it definitely was worth the journey. I felt like the characters, the family dynamic and the overall plot was fleshed out well which made it enjoyable for me.  Poor Mark getting his arm sawed off only for Pupkin to end up being remade for Poppy.

Photo of Petaco
Petaco@didyousaytaco
3 stars
Jul 15, 2023

This is the strangest book that I have ever read. So bizarre!

Photo of Lorraine
Lorraine@lollyb
3 stars
Jul 12, 2023

Quirky, creepy and funny! One thing I loved about this book were the different sections - Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance - the five stages of grief, I thought that was clever. The story revolves mainly around Louise, her estranged brother Mark and Pupkin the puppet! I will warn you they are not easy characters to like if you need that from a book. It’s about family dynamics, secrets and weird events. They have been left the house after their parents die in a car accident and when they arrive to start to sort it out, they discover it’s haunted by their mothers possessed dolls and puppets. It reminded me of Goosebumps a little. It isn’t my favourite so far by this author, but it was an amusing read and did have some really creepy parts, my favourite being the scene in the attic, that one freaked me out!

Highlights

Photo of Melanie Harvie
Melanie Harvie@ladybrock

She would have to handle whatever happened. There was no such thing as too much. There was just more and more, and her limits didn't matter. Life didn't care. She could only hang on.

Page 333

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