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Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

Horror

Incidents Around the House

by Josh Malerman

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Quick take

This haunted house horror show about a family stalked by a malevolent entity will have you sleeping with the lights on.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Family_Drama

    Family drama

  • Illustrated icon, Creepy

    Creepy

  • Illustrated icon, No_Quotes

    No quotation marks

  • Illustrated icon, Haunted_House

    Haunted House

Synopsis

To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”

When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.

Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.

But Other Mommy needs an answer.

Incidents Around the House is a chilling, wholly unique tale of true horror about a family as haunted as their home.

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of Incidents Around the House.

Incidents Around the House

1

Good night, Daddo!

Good night, Mommy!

Mommy and Daddo leave my room.

I pull the covers up to my chin.

Other Mommy comes out of the closet.

Hi, I say.

I’m so excited to see you again.

2

Bela, Mommy says to me. Eat.

I’m not hungry, I say.

But still. Eat.

I’m not—

I’ve got minutes, only minutes. Then work. Remember? That’s the place I go to make all the little money so we can buy things like food. So, you? Eat the food. Help me out here.

Little money? I ask.

Sometimes it feels that way, hon. Like the money I make is physically smaller than what other people get.

I eat. Mommy always gives me oatmeal. Daddo never gives me breakfast because one time he gave me eggs and sausage and I ate till I threw up and Mommy got mad at him and so now only Mommy gives me breakfast. But Daddo does the dishes.

I love you, Mommy says. Bela?

My mouth is full of oatmeal.

Say I love you too, Mommy says. Don’t make me ask you to say that, ’kay?

’Kay.

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Why I love it

I scare easily. Send me into a haunted house and I will quickly enter into a state of panic and will probably try to leave as soon as possible. I am the definition of someone who should probably steer clear of scary things, and yet, I love books that terrify me. So, I picked up Incidents Around the House with lots of excitement. Did I have to avoid reading it before bed so I could sleep a little easier? Yes. Was it one of the most fun books I’ve read this year? Also, yes.

Incidents Around the House is told from the perspective of eight-year-old Bela, who has been visited for years by a malevolent entity living in her closet that has named herself “Other Mommy.” Every day Other Mommy asks Bela one question: “Can I go inside your heart?” Bela always says no even though Other Mommy has been kind to her. But the more Bela says “no” the more dangerous and stronger Other Mommy becomes. As strange things start happening around the house, Bela understands that until she says yes to Other Mommy, she might be putting her family and herself in more danger than she ever could have imagined.

This is a truly terrifying story that will scare even the most seasoned horror readers and should not be missed! My one suggestion: keep the lights on while reading this one…

Member ratings (3,458)

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Spooky reads
View all
The Collective
Incidents Around the House
This Spells Love
The Unmaking of June Farrow
Someone in the Attic
Practical Magic
Listen for the Lie
Starling House
Weyward
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
The Shadows
Phantasma
The Only One Left
Sleep Tight
A Sorceress Comes to Call
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Ninth House
The Hacienda
White Horse
The Book of Magic
The Cloisters
Home Before Dark
The Stranger Upstairs
Sign Here
The Sun Down Motel
What Lies in the Woods
All the Dangerous Things