An English Ghost Story, by Kim Newman. Titan Books, 2014 This novel indeed has the structure of a fairly classic ghost story. A family comes to live in a haunted house- haunted land, actually. The spirit(s) start quietly, but very quickly ramp up to full scale, capital H Haunting. This family, however, is not your typical English ghost story family ( Read more... )

A Sudden Light, by Garth Stein. Simon & Schuster, 2014 When Jones Riddell goes bankrupt and loses his house, he and his wife have a trial separation. Rachel returns to her home in England, while Jones takes his son, Trevor, back to the Riddell family home: North Estate and the Riddell House on Puget Sound, just outside Seattle proper. At the turn ( Read more... )

Rooms, by Lauren Oliver. HarperCollins, 2014 This is a story with ghosts in it, but it is not a traditional ghost story. There are no chains rattling, no dishes being thrown, no bleeding walls. Two ghosts inhabit the house of the late Richard Walker: Alice and Sandra. They spend most of their time getting on each others nerves, until Walker’s ex- ( Read more... )

Floating Staircase, by Ronald Malfi. Medallion, 2011 While billed as a ghost story, ‘Floating Staircase’ is more of a detective story. There seems to be a ghost- there may even be two of them- the psychological ghosts of the past are every bit as strong a force as it is ( Read more... )

Dark Souls, by Paula Morris. Point (Scholastic), 2011 This is a great YA ghost story. Miranda Tennant has been able to see ghosts for a few months now, ever since she was in a car accident with her brother, Rob, and her best friend; an accident that left her brother with claustrophobia and guilt and left her friend dead. The spirit of her friend ( Read more... )