How to Sell a Haunted House

By: Grady Hendrix

Narrated by: Jay Aaseng, Mikhaila Aaseng

Length: 13 hrs

Publisher's summary

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Wildly entertaining."-The New York Times

"Ingenious."-The Washington Post

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).

©2022 Grady Hendrix (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Grady 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…[a] gripping, wildly entertaining exploration of childhood horrors.” —The New York Times

“It's tempting to point out the balance of horror and humor here, and the commingling 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

Not as good as his others, but enjoyable

Grady Hendrix is one of my favorite authors for his deft blending of horror and humor, plus his spot-on Southern dialogue. This was by far the scariest of his books for me, and while I don’t want to spoil the ending, it was totally unexpected and surprising. I can’t say these characters drew me in as much as the women of the Book Club, but this was still very enjoyable and worth the credit.

The narrator, OTOH, was AWFUL. Honestly, I do not understand the choice of anyone except a Southerner to narrate a Southern gothic horror novel. This narrator didn’t know how to pronounce the name Louise, which in the South is Lou-EEZE, not Lou-EES. It was like nails down a blackboard every time she said it, which was every couple of minutes. The characters of the aunts and cousins were deliciously Southern, and would have been SO much better narrated by someone with a native Southern accent, rather than the flat and accentless rendering of this narrator. And for the love of god, who doesn’t know how to pronounce “Campbell” as in Campbell’s soup?!? If you’re not Southern, you might not mind this narrator, but if you are, read it on paper to avoid this torture.

Mr. Hendrix, PLEASE insist on a real Southerner for your next book. Or at least Bahni Turpen again, who did a stellar job on Southern Book Club.

Scary!!

I loved this book! Definitely kept me on my toes and was actually really scary! I binged the last few hours because I just had to know how it ended! So glad I chose this book!

A fun listen!

I have read all of Grady Hendrix’s books, they are something fun and different than most books out there. I really loved this one- a great exploration of family and the grieving process. I thought the narration was excellent—if I had read it myself, I could never have given Pupkin such a creepy and perfect singsong voice.

Crazy!

I loved it. Classic Grady Hendrix. The narrators did a great job. This book was almost as good as My best friend's exorcism. I'm glad they were able to do something about those creepy puppets. lol

Now, That Was Creepy!

Really creepy. I couldn't put it down. I thought the plot was clever, and the characters were great.

Unexpected

Good read! Entertaining, well developed characters, fast moving plot, great performance. Not a traditional ghost story but still delightful

Great take!

Throughly enjoyed this story! I personally am happy with how it comes together and am left not necessarily wanting more. Good spin on a haunted house story!

A Horror Story Told with Heart

This was a great book about family and skeletons in the closet (both literally and metaphorically). Plenty of emotion, a dark sense of humor, and just the right amount of ick to make your skin crawl.

Cock-A-Wee-Wee

Kept me enthralled the entire time! Pupkin is stuff of nightmares but thankfully not my nightmares!! Loved it and this author never misses in my opinion!

Best yet!

I thought “Southern Book Club’s guide to slaying vampires “ was good. This one was even better.