How to Sell a Haunted House
New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that explores the way your past—and your family—can haunt you like nothing else.
When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.
Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.
But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…
Like his novels The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and The Final Girl Support Group, How to Sell a Haunted House is classic Hendrix: equal parts heartfelt and terrifying—a gripping new read from “the horror master” (USA Today).
Reviews
“Hendrix’s horror novels are a gateway drug to the genre.... By weaving violence, family trauma and humor, Hendrix creates a texture that engages the reader emotionally and viscerally.”
“Hendrix is a contemporary horror master, and the combination of profound storytelling and unapologetic, campy gore he delivers here will surely have horror fans reading with a gleeful smile on their faces."
"A must-have for any library that will appeal to a broad audience. Hendrix is a best-seller for a reason, and this new novel shows he is only getting better with age."
"With strong connections to twenty-first century classics [...] Hendrix's book sets the high watermark for horror in 2023."
"Grief, generational trauma, and some sinister puppets animate this wildly entertaining haunted house tale from bestseller Hendrix [...] This is a gem."
"Warm up the VCR and fire up the air popper for a most bitchin’ horror story by a gifted practitioner of these dark arts."
"In “How to Sell a Haunted House,” Hendrix, with relentless efficiency — and a bit of humor — forces us to confront our fears."
"Hendrix’s latest, How to Sell a Haunted House, is the near-perfect distillation of this form: a novel that is both very funny and truly scary."
"If you don't have a doll phobia, don't worry — you'll develop one."SFX Magazine
"This is easily his creepiest novel to date and one of the creepier novels I’ve read in the recent past.... Grady Hendrix has become a “must read” for me. He’s grown into a modern master of the genre and each new book he publishes shows his growth as a storyteller in everything that word encompasses. He’s a smart, savvy writer who spins emotional stories featuring very human people and themes with the best of them."
"What follows is classic Grady Hendrix: an authentically frightening, genuinely funny reconfiguration of what a haunted house can be."
“[A] searing look at grief, trauma, and how the things that haunt us aren’t always supernatural.”Rolling Stone
“[A] campy, cinematic ride.”People
"How to Sell a Haunted House effectively marries tropes ripped straight from the pages of a midcentury pulp magazine to a Pat Conroy-esque chronicle of Lowcountry generational trauma."
“Hendrix has the uncanny ability to write horror in a funny and entertaining way.”
"Nightmare fuel abounds in the pages of 'How to Sell a Haunted House,' as do the eccentricities of southern families and their penchant for both self-preservation and self-sabotage. But Hendrix intersperses all of this with belly laughs, and he counterbalances trauma and terror with a heartfelt, empathetic vision of humanity’s ability to forge redemption in the face of seemingly impossible odds."
"How to Sell a Haunted House is an immensely satisfying, wholly surprising read from start to finish."
"A fun and at times quite scary horror novel about how houses aren’t the only things that can be haunted, “How To Sell a Haunted House” is another triumph from Grady Hendrix."
"Hendrix is a MASTER of the horror genre. He brilliantly weaves comedic elements into his most bizarre plots and is able to effortlessly bring the story to life. With nods to classics like “Child’s Play” and “Chinga” (the X-Files episode written by Stephen King), Hendrix honors those staples without falling into predictable horror tropes."
"...[J]ust when we think we have a handle on things Hendrix in the final act raises the stakes in an unexpected and particularly chilling way. It’s a storyline that keeps us on our toes throughout and yet neatly by the end all the pieces explaining why this happened come together."
"How to Sell a Haunted House is the latest example of what Grady Hendrix excels at: giving us capital H horror through the lens of relationships we can all relate to- coworkers, best friends, neighbors and now siblings- so we can easily put ourselves in the action. Of all his previous novels I gotta say…this book is the scariest one yet!"
"It had every chance to be ordinary, but utilized its tropes to tell a story that’s as powerful as it is terrifying"
"HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE is classic Hendrix, compelling and imaginative—and a wild ride from start to finish."
"Hendrix’s ability to consistently shift back-and-forth between campy, slapstick horror, and serious, slow-burn, real-life nightmares is a talent that not many horror writers have. This one is probably the best book he’s released"
"As always, Hendrix takes a horror trope and twists it, strangles it, shakes it, stabs it a few times, drains its blood, and reinfuses it with antifreeze, creating a tale adjacent but far, far more horrifying than any haunted house story you’ve imbibed before"
"A madcap fun house of a novel. Zigzags from hilarious to horrifying to heartbreaking and back again in the blink of an eye. I loved it!"Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The House Across the Lake
“It's tempting to point out the balance of horror and humor here, and the comingling of the two really is something else, but the true power behind How to Sell a Haunted House is in its emotionality, the sister-brother dynamic, the family matters. It's life and death in the childhood home, and Hendrix has masterfully rendered the journey from one end to the other.”Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Daphne
“A spirited nightmare story about death, but also, what comes after: grief, guilt, family secrets, and estate administration. Oh, also, did I mention the evil puppets?"Chuck Wendig, New York Times-bestselling author of The Book of Accidents
“Take a deep breath before you start How to Sell A Haunted House, because you won’t be able to breathe until it’s over. Haunted spaces, creepy puppets, family secrets, and emotional trauma are all meticulously pieced together to create a story that won’t just get under your skin —it’ll tunnel down to your bones. This book is a missile designed to obliterate you emotionally and absolutely annihilate you with terror. And let me tell you, Grady Hendrix does not miss.”Mallory O’Meara, bestselling author of The Lady from the Black Lagoon
"With his trademark charm and ingenuity, Hendrix upends the haunted house story. Chilling, surprising, and at times downright frightening, How to Sell a Haunted House is ultimately about how we're all haunted by our families and the lengths to which we must go to make peace with the past."Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor and The Hunger
Awards & Accolades
#5 New York Times Bestseller
#4 Indie Bestseller
Library Reads: Hall of Fame Pick, January 2023
Junior Library Guild Selection
Bookspan Selection
In its 2nd printing!
USA Today: "Grady Hendrix's ‘How to Sell a Haunted House’ is one of this week's must-read new books"
#4 Publisher's Weekly Top 10 Bestselling Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror