How To Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

 

 

“I’ll come right out and say it,” Mercy told them. “Strange noises, bad vibes, your mom and dad recently passed— Your house is haunted and I’m not selling it until you deal with that.”

 When thinking of a haunted house, most of us would imagine ghosts, poltergeists, or maybe even something of a demonic nature, but Grady Hendrix takes a new approach to the classic haunted house trope by introducing seriously creepy puppets. 

Louise is a single mother living in San Francisco, far away from her parents and brother in Mt. Pleasant, SC (Grady is a fellow S. Carolinian from the Charleston area). Upon learning that both her parents perished in a horrific traffic accident, she returns to her childhood home to set her parents' affairs in order, subsequently reuniting with her estranged younger brother Mark, who Louise maintains was handed everything from their parents while she had to work for it. It quickly becomes apparent that the vibe is not right in this house. The house is filled with dolls and strange art on display, including a taxidermy squirrel nativity scene, and one room--their mom's sewing room--is filled to the brim with original handmade puppets. And... why is the attic hatch haphazardly boarded over? 

Louise's and Mark's mom was obsessed with dolls and puppets and even had her own religious puppet show (which immediately made me wonder if Grady got inspiration for this character from LuAnn from King of the Hill).  The creepiest puppet of all was their mom's favorite, Pupkin. 

 

"A puppet is a possession that possesses the possessor.”

While I appreciated the unique twist on the typical haunted house story by replacing the expected ghost aspect with dolls/puppets, it came off a little too camp for my taste. It's combination of humor, creepy scenes, gruesome elements, and inconsistent paranormal/supernatural canon lead me to not take this novel seriously. I did enjoy the foray into grief and sibling relationships, which is a notable accomplishment considering I really did not care for Mark or Louise in the beginning of the book. 

Despite my prior criticisms, I did enjoy this book and never wanted to stop reading it completely. The pacing was quick enough to keep my interest, and I was intrigued to see how the "lore" around Pupkin and the other puppets would pan out. While I wouldn't say I was ever "scared," some scenes did creep me out and overall the house had an eerie feeling. I think this novel is perfect for readers who normally don't care for ghost/haunted house stories and would rather have a more tangible horror element.

“That 's how you know you are real - one day you die.”