Name: How to Sell a Haunted House
Rating: 3.717592592592593 (108 reviews)
ISBN: 9780593201282

Grady Hendrix

New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a hilarious and terrifying new novel that explores the way your past—and your family—can haunt you like nothing else...

How to Sell a Haunted House

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.

Samantha 

This book dragged, I was so bored 95% of the time. Not even really sure why I finished it.

i thought it would be a book with some jump scares, but instead, i got a deep story and realistic characters

Eleanor 

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

blue

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 

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. 

Rabia Sitabi

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. 

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. 

nuha ✨️

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. 

Eva Ströberg

Grady Hendrix - How to sell a haunted house
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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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.
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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
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Ryan Mateyk

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. 

Hannah Colbert

Shivam

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.

Sarah Sammis

** 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...

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

Carson King

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 😟

Jillian Roberts

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)]

Julie Failde

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!

Hunty

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 🤨

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.

Patty Pforte

Both creepy and funny; a very entertaining read.

Christian von Schack

Denaiir

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.

Lara Engle

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.

Patricia Nelson

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.

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

Caitlin Carino

Alexis Donahue

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. 

<spoiler> Poor Mark getting his arm sawed off only for Pupkin to end up being remade for Poppy. </spoiler>

How to Sell a Haunted House

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