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The Babysitter Lives
When high school senior Charlotte agrees to babysit the Wilbanks twins, she plans to put the six-year-olds to bed early and spend a quiet night studying: the SATs are tomorrow, and checking the Native American/Alaskan Native box on all the forms won’t help if she chokes on test day. But tomorrow is also Halloween, and the twins are eager to show off their costumes.
Charlotte’s last babysitting gig almost ended in tragedy when her young charge sleepwalked unnoticed into the middle of the street, only to be found unharmed by Charlotte’s mother. Charlotte vows to be extra careful this time.
But the house is filled with mysterious noises and secrets that only the twins understand, echoes of horrors that Charlotte gradually realizes took place in the house eleven years ago. Soon Charlotte has to admit that every babysitter’s worst nightmare has come true: they’re not alone in the house.
Charlotte’s last babysitting gig almost ended in tragedy when her young charge sleepwalked unnoticed into the middle of the street, only to be found unharmed by Charlotte’s mother. Charlotte vows to be extra careful this time.
But the house is filled with mysterious noises and secrets that only the twins understand, echoes of horrors that Charlotte gradually realizes took place in the house eleven years ago. Soon Charlotte has to admit that every babysitter’s worst nightmare has come true: they’re not alone in the house.
256 pages, ebook
First published August 9, 2022
94 people are currently reading
3072 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Graham Jones
236 books14.7k followersStephen Graham Jones is the NYT bestselling author thirty-five or so books. He really likes werewolves and slashers. Favorite novels change daily, but Valis and Love Medicine and Lonesome Dove and It and The Things They Carried are all usually up there somewhere. Stephen lives in Boulder, Colorado. It's a big change from the West Texas he grew up in.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 741 reviews
September 3, 2025
On her first night babysitting the Wilbanks twins, Charlotte has one thing in mind, extra study time for the SATs. She's taking the test the following morning on Halloween Day.
Since the twins, Ron and Desi, are only 6-years old, she figures they'll be tucked safely in bed fairly early. The rest of the night she can dedicate to cramming for her test.
Once at the beautiful home, Charlotte receives a full tour from Mrs. Wilbanks and a word of warning, the kids may try to play tricks on her. They're in a bit of a phase.
Mr. Wilbanks chimes in to list the off-limits areas of the house, his office mainly, and as the couple depart for the night, Mrs. Wilbanks secretly gives Charlotte one more tip regarding Mr. Wilbanks. She knew he was a creep.
Alone in the house, Charlotte's interactions with the children definitely start out with a bang. These kids are weird.
Additionally, the house is unsettling. As it should be, considering its history. Charlotte quickly begins to feel out of sorts. Are the kids playing games with her?
The Babysitter Lives is a trippy, claustrophic read. This takes haunted house to a whole new level. I had no idea what was happening half the time, but I was eating it up.
The imagery and depth kept me totally engaged, but I will admit to rereading entire chapters just trying to parse out what in the heck was going on.
It was horrifying. It made me nervous. Charlotte is a fantastic main character. She's haunted a bit by a previous babysitting job and you get little glimpses of that throughout, but now she's haunted by all new evils.
I also loved the tiny details that kept coming back. Nothing was wasted. Everything has a point. I feel like you could read this three or four times and continue to discover new things each time. I love that type of narrative.
SGJ's writing never disappoints for me. I always enjoy his distinctive style. It feels classic and somehow cutting edge at the same time. It's extremely well-presented.
This story is smart, graphic and really freaking strange. Seriously, some of the imagery presented here, I was cringing. Oh my goodness, eyes and bugs and a whole host of other creepy things. It just kept coming.
Currently, this is available on audio only. That worked well for me. The narration is great by Isabella Star LeBlanc. I definitely recommend getting your hands on this if you love unique, mind-bending, toe-curling Horror stories.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon and Schuster Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had a lot of fun with this. My brain hurts.
Since the twins, Ron and Desi, are only 6-years old, she figures they'll be tucked safely in bed fairly early. The rest of the night she can dedicate to cramming for her test.
Once at the beautiful home, Charlotte receives a full tour from Mrs. Wilbanks and a word of warning, the kids may try to play tricks on her. They're in a bit of a phase.
Mr. Wilbanks chimes in to list the off-limits areas of the house, his office mainly, and as the couple depart for the night, Mrs. Wilbanks secretly gives Charlotte one more tip regarding Mr. Wilbanks. She knew he was a creep.
Alone in the house, Charlotte's interactions with the children definitely start out with a bang. These kids are weird.
Additionally, the house is unsettling. As it should be, considering its history. Charlotte quickly begins to feel out of sorts. Are the kids playing games with her?
The Babysitter Lives is a trippy, claustrophic read. This takes haunted house to a whole new level. I had no idea what was happening half the time, but I was eating it up.
The imagery and depth kept me totally engaged, but I will admit to rereading entire chapters just trying to parse out what in the heck was going on.
It was horrifying. It made me nervous. Charlotte is a fantastic main character. She's haunted a bit by a previous babysitting job and you get little glimpses of that throughout, but now she's haunted by all new evils.
I also loved the tiny details that kept coming back. Nothing was wasted. Everything has a point. I feel like you could read this three or four times and continue to discover new things each time. I love that type of narrative.
SGJ's writing never disappoints for me. I always enjoy his distinctive style. It feels classic and somehow cutting edge at the same time. It's extremely well-presented.
This story is smart, graphic and really freaking strange. Seriously, some of the imagery presented here, I was cringing. Oh my goodness, eyes and bugs and a whole host of other creepy things. It just kept coming.
Currently, this is available on audio only. That worked well for me. The narration is great by Isabella Star LeBlanc. I definitely recommend getting your hands on this if you love unique, mind-bending, toe-curling Horror stories.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon and Schuster Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had a lot of fun with this. My brain hurts.
December 22, 2025
Spiders. Creepy twins who have an invisible friend. Nanny cams. Eyeball gore. A jack in the box.
Everything above is something you will find in The Babysitter Lives. And no spoilers here, the only thing you will NOT find is a babysitter death, as the title suggests because the babysitter LIVES so yay? But Charlotte, the babysitter, goes through a whole lot of very very bad stuff, although I’m sure you already guessed that.
The Babysitter Lives makes it 3 out of 3 five star winners from Stephen Graham Jones for me, each book so vastly different and horrifying in their own way. But I have to say, this one might take the cake for the amount of types of horror. Because how many spooks, creeps, jump scares, grossness and one vile husband can you cram into one house?
First of all, I am a haunted house enthusiast. Love a bit of paranormal history. Love a dark and depraved backstory. Love a good “maybe we should leave, actually?” atmosphere.
What I do not love is kids, especially creepy kids. If given the choice between a ghost-infested home and spending 20 consecutive minutes with children who have an invisible friend they call “the grey mommy”, I’ll take the haunted house, thanks.
Unfortunately, Charlotte has unknowingly opted in for both and it’s a bit late to nope the f out.
In some ways The Babysitter Lives is reminiscent of The Shining, The Haunting of Hill House and all the other classic haunted house horror books. But then SGJ added an Indigenous, queer lens from a teenage girl (he writes teenage girls so well!), and to me, it gives the story a whole new weight.
But then, he also said, “What if we just… made it worse?”, and has added extra stuff on top of all the paranormal haunted house stuff that may make you wanna bleach your eyeballs or quite possibly even tear your skin off, or you know, take a really long hot bath.
This is under 300 pages, so I won’t give too much away but please be mindful of your triggers as the types of horror here range from gore, to paranormal, to insects, to creeping dread, to almost something splatterpunk adjacent with a splash of cosmic horror. Oh and one very gross husband/father.
PSA: I understand this was available only in audio previously, but is now available to read on e-readers and print books now, so if that's you, you're on.
Anyway, I loved it. It made me sick. It made me itch. I would recommend it to people who like their haunted houses a little extra unhinged and depraved, beyond paranormal. Please mind your triggers, for real.
Thanks so much to Titan Books & NetGalley for the DRC.
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
“The babysitter lives,” apparently in this book, which is wild considering she took a job involving six year old twins and a creepy haunted house... (I know which one of those two would terrify me more)
Everything above is something you will find in The Babysitter Lives. And no spoilers here, the only thing you will NOT find is a babysitter death, as the title suggests because the babysitter LIVES so yay? But Charlotte, the babysitter, goes through a whole lot of very very bad stuff, although I’m sure you already guessed that.
The Babysitter Lives makes it 3 out of 3 five star winners from Stephen Graham Jones for me, each book so vastly different and horrifying in their own way. But I have to say, this one might take the cake for the amount of types of horror. Because how many spooks, creeps, jump scares, grossness and one vile husband can you cram into one house?
First of all, I am a haunted house enthusiast. Love a bit of paranormal history. Love a dark and depraved backstory. Love a good “maybe we should leave, actually?” atmosphere.
What I do not love is kids, especially creepy kids. If given the choice between a ghost-infested home and spending 20 consecutive minutes with children who have an invisible friend they call “the grey mommy”, I’ll take the haunted house, thanks.
Unfortunately, Charlotte has unknowingly opted in for both and it’s a bit late to nope the f out.
In some ways The Babysitter Lives is reminiscent of The Shining, The Haunting of Hill House and all the other classic haunted house horror books. But then SGJ added an Indigenous, queer lens from a teenage girl (he writes teenage girls so well!), and to me, it gives the story a whole new weight.
But then, he also said, “What if we just… made it worse?”, and has added extra stuff on top of all the paranormal haunted house stuff that may make you wanna bleach your eyeballs or quite possibly even tear your skin off, or you know, take a really long hot bath.
This is under 300 pages, so I won’t give too much away but please be mindful of your triggers as the types of horror here range from gore, to paranormal, to insects, to creeping dread, to almost something splatterpunk adjacent with a splash of cosmic horror. Oh and one very gross husband/father.
PSA: I understand this was available only in audio previously, but is now available to read on e-readers and print books now, so if that's you, you're on.
Anyway, I loved it. It made me sick. It made me itch. I would recommend it to people who like their haunted houses a little extra unhinged and depraved, beyond paranormal. Please mind your triggers, for real.
Thanks so much to Titan Books & NetGalley for the DRC.
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
“The babysitter lives,” apparently in this book, which is wild considering she took a job involving six year old twins and a creepy haunted house... (I know which one of those two would terrify me more)
August 2, 2022
The Babysitter Lives is the story of a young, studious woman named Charlotte, who babysits on the weekends to make money while she does her homework. It's her first time babysitting the Wilbanks twins so the parents give her a grand tour. After they leave, some unsettling things begin to happen.
Thankfully, Charlotte's girlfriend, Murphy shows up to help her get the twins in order but after being in the house for a while, Murphy has a startling revelation that explains some of the strange things that have been happening.
This might be my favorite Stephen Graham Jones book.
And I love all the Stephen Graham Jones books!
The narrator did an amazing job giving each character their own personality without going hard on the voice alterations which can sometimes be a distraction or unappealing.
This is true horror. Several scenes absolutely terrified me and I'm not sure if it's because I experienced this in audiobook format, but it was just so damn visual. Charlotte is a new favorite character. She reminded me of young Jamie Lee Curtis's character in Halloween (which I just watched last year) because she's a damn good babysitter first and foremost. She really looks out for the kids in her care. She's intelligent, responsible, and playful. When bad things start happening-it's the safety of the children she's thinking about first. Not like other teenage babysitters in movies who only want the kids to get out of their way so they can talk on the phone or have their friends over. This is not surprising. Stephen Graham Jones is a slasher-junkie and I imagine parts of this book pay homage to many of his favorite horror films.
Readers can expect The Babysitter Lives to be infused with social commentary as well since Charlotte is Native American and in a gay relationship, something I love and appreciate about SGJ's storytelling.
There's plenty to love in this paranormal, supernatural, creepy babysitter horror story. Would make an excellent choice for a Halloween night!
Thankfully, Charlotte's girlfriend, Murphy shows up to help her get the twins in order but after being in the house for a while, Murphy has a startling revelation that explains some of the strange things that have been happening.
This might be my favorite Stephen Graham Jones book.
And I love all the Stephen Graham Jones books!
The narrator did an amazing job giving each character their own personality without going hard on the voice alterations which can sometimes be a distraction or unappealing.
This is true horror. Several scenes absolutely terrified me and I'm not sure if it's because I experienced this in audiobook format, but it was just so damn visual. Charlotte is a new favorite character. She reminded me of young Jamie Lee Curtis's character in Halloween (which I just watched last year) because she's a damn good babysitter first and foremost. She really looks out for the kids in her care. She's intelligent, responsible, and playful. When bad things start happening-it's the safety of the children she's thinking about first. Not like other teenage babysitters in movies who only want the kids to get out of their way so they can talk on the phone or have their friends over. This is not surprising. Stephen Graham Jones is a slasher-junkie and I imagine parts of this book pay homage to many of his favorite horror films.
Readers can expect The Babysitter Lives to be infused with social commentary as well since Charlotte is Native American and in a gay relationship, something I love and appreciate about SGJ's storytelling.
There's plenty to love in this paranormal, supernatural, creepy babysitter horror story. Would make an excellent choice for a Halloween night!
August 10, 2022
Only on Audio!
Charlotte thinks babysitting the six-year-old Wilbanks twins will be a walk in the park. She will put them to bed early and study for her SATs. But the twins are excited as Halloween is tomorrow and they want to show off their costumes.
Soon, Charlotte begins to feel that something isn't quite right. The children are a little odd and then there are the sounds that the twins seem to know about. Plus, something happened in this house eleven years ago....
Halloween, haunted houses, spiders (the worst), lasagna (what?), SATs, and identity. Whew! SGJ threw everything in the mix with this one. Nothing is wasted and everything has a reason for being in the book.
This is a hard book to identify because it morphed and like the children, is here and there and all over, but in a good creepy way. Like Charlotte, I really didn't know what I was getting into. This is one where you just sit back and enjoy the creepy disturbing ride. It's different and there were many times where I thought "wait, what?" because I wasn't sure what was going on.
As this is only on Audio, choosing the right narrator is key and I thought the narrator did a great job.
SGJ fans will be very pleased with this audiobook. If you have not read/listened to his work before, this is a great place to start. It's different and horrifying and I found it hard to stop listening - so I didn't!
#TheLizardwiththeGlassThroat #NetGalley
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Audio Originals and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Charlotte thinks babysitting the six-year-old Wilbanks twins will be a walk in the park. She will put them to bed early and study for her SATs. But the twins are excited as Halloween is tomorrow and they want to show off their costumes.
Soon, Charlotte begins to feel that something isn't quite right. The children are a little odd and then there are the sounds that the twins seem to know about. Plus, something happened in this house eleven years ago....
Halloween, haunted houses, spiders (the worst), lasagna (what?), SATs, and identity. Whew! SGJ threw everything in the mix with this one. Nothing is wasted and everything has a reason for being in the book.
This is a hard book to identify because it morphed and like the children, is here and there and all over, but in a good creepy way. Like Charlotte, I really didn't know what I was getting into. This is one where you just sit back and enjoy the creepy disturbing ride. It's different and there were many times where I thought "wait, what?" because I wasn't sure what was going on.
As this is only on Audio, choosing the right narrator is key and I thought the narrator did a great job.
SGJ fans will be very pleased with this audiobook. If you have not read/listened to his work before, this is a great place to start. It's different and horrifying and I found it hard to stop listening - so I didn't!
#TheLizardwiththeGlassThroat #NetGalley
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Audio Originals and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
October 2, 2024
The babysitter-in-peril trope is reinvigorated in Stephen Graham Jones’ 2022 novel “The Babysitter Lives”. Jones liberally borrows from (or, rather, pays homage to) a slew of familiar sources, including “Halloween”, “The Shining”, “The Haunting of Hill House”, and even “Beetlejuice” to create an insanely-paced supernatural slasher with equal parts humor and pathos.
Charlotte is babysitting Ron and Desi Wilbanks, a precocious and adorable set of six-year-old twins. She’s in for a crazy night, especially when it starts with pervy Mr. Wilbanks blatantly flirting with her (yuck!) in front of Mrs. Wilbanks; hoping to find study time after putting the kids to sleep as her SATs are the next day; and discovering—with the help of the kids—-a gateway to the spirit world in the Wilbanks’ water heater closet, where she accidentally unleashes a homicidal ghost that lived—-and killed—in the house previously.
It’s not an exaggeration when I say that this novel will make your heart rate go up. You may experience dizziness and body sweats. You will, more than likely, have nightmares.
This would be a crazy-cool movie or one of those limited series on Netflix. (Mike Flanagan, if you’re reading this: just sayin’…)
P.S. This book is, as far as I know, available ONLY as an Audiobook. It is read wonderfully by Isabella Star Leblanc, who is currently appearing in the fourth season of “True Detective” with Jodie Foster.
Charlotte is babysitting Ron and Desi Wilbanks, a precocious and adorable set of six-year-old twins. She’s in for a crazy night, especially when it starts with pervy Mr. Wilbanks blatantly flirting with her (yuck!) in front of Mrs. Wilbanks; hoping to find study time after putting the kids to sleep as her SATs are the next day; and discovering—with the help of the kids—-a gateway to the spirit world in the Wilbanks’ water heater closet, where she accidentally unleashes a homicidal ghost that lived—-and killed—in the house previously.
It’s not an exaggeration when I say that this novel will make your heart rate go up. You may experience dizziness and body sweats. You will, more than likely, have nightmares.
This would be a crazy-cool movie or one of those limited series on Netflix. (Mike Flanagan, if you’re reading this: just sayin’…)
P.S. This book is, as far as I know, available ONLY as an Audiobook. It is read wonderfully by Isabella Star Leblanc, who is currently appearing in the fourth season of “True Detective” with Jodie Foster.
February 18, 2023
Actual rating 3.5 Stars rounded down.
The Babysitter Lives is only available on audio and is my first official Stephen Graham Jones book and I had high hopes. I’ve been dying to read anything written by him for quite awhile. And while I think he is an extremely talented author because of how much I disliked the last half, I would say the book is just meh to not for me.
Charlotte is the town’s highly recommended babysitter and gets a job from 1 obviously nervous couple, the Wilbanks. They need a date night badly but are also worried about leaving their twins with a stranger. And she’s Native American to boot so also unfamiliar. After showing her around, reciting the rules and making sure Charlotte knows the”temporary” code to the home alarm the couple leaves on their date.
Charlotte is desperate to get in some study time for her SAT exam tomorrow. But first she needs to feed and bathe Ron & Desi. She is determined to make this babysitting job go perfectly smoothly, unlike her last regular gig where unbeknownst to Charlotte the little boy slept walked out the door and walked right in front of her mother’s car. But tragedy was averted and the kid didn’t remember a thing.
The following night is Halloween so the twins want to show off their costumes and are full of rambunctious energy. They show Charlotte a game involving the water heater closet where you have to enter with your eyes closed and you end up exiting in another part of the house. She is a bit freaked out wondering how In the world this is possible.
Then she realizes she is babysitting in the house where a mother and her two young children died 11 years earlier. The mother killed them in a scalding bath and then hung herself from the second floor. There were rumors that the mothers head was never located and the police found wet sudsy children’s footprints all around the house.
Charlotte begins to panic hearing strange noises and seeing things that can not be possible. She realizes she and the children are not alone and she’s not sure how to save them from this haunted evil house.
The Babysitter Lives starts out creepy eerie and is all encompassing. Everything you want in a horror book. The first half was amazing. Charlotte was an interesting complex character to me. She’s trying to ace the SAT’s and get out of her hometown to do something with her life. It’s obvious her heritage is an issue where she lives when Mr. Wilbanks asks his wife if she’s the type of Indian that wears the dots on their forehead or not. Talk about ignorant and narrow-minded!
There’s also this really disturbing part with Mr. Wilbanks, be warned it was a bit gross!
And I loved the concept of the haunted house, the story behind it and all the little parts that make it unique, the seriously creepy ambiance. I can’t go into too much detail or I will spoil it. All these factors were the makings of an excellent book for me. But right around the 50% mark it started to drag…and drag bad! I felt like I was reading the same thing over again and again, insert different location.
I think maybe it was just too much action going on as well and not enough time to absorb it. It felt like SGJ was trying to keep it going strong without the lag that a lot of books in this genre can have, but he went overboard. He should have given some proper time to process. Either way I was a bit bored and over stimulated at the same time the last half of the book if that makes sense. 🤷♀️
Because of how terrific the first half of TBL was I’m definitely checking out more books by Stephen Graham Jones. And even though the book didn’t end up being for me, I’m glad I read it. I recommend checking out some of the other reviews before making up your mind, I’ve seen a lot of really positive ones as well.
The Babysitter Lives is only available on audio and is my first official Stephen Graham Jones book and I had high hopes. I’ve been dying to read anything written by him for quite awhile. And while I think he is an extremely talented author because of how much I disliked the last half, I would say the book is just meh to not for me.
Charlotte is the town’s highly recommended babysitter and gets a job from 1 obviously nervous couple, the Wilbanks. They need a date night badly but are also worried about leaving their twins with a stranger. And she’s Native American to boot so also unfamiliar. After showing her around, reciting the rules and making sure Charlotte knows the”temporary” code to the home alarm the couple leaves on their date.
Charlotte is desperate to get in some study time for her SAT exam tomorrow. But first she needs to feed and bathe Ron & Desi. She is determined to make this babysitting job go perfectly smoothly, unlike her last regular gig where unbeknownst to Charlotte the little boy slept walked out the door and walked right in front of her mother’s car. But tragedy was averted and the kid didn’t remember a thing.
The following night is Halloween so the twins want to show off their costumes and are full of rambunctious energy. They show Charlotte a game involving the water heater closet where you have to enter with your eyes closed and you end up exiting in another part of the house. She is a bit freaked out wondering how In the world this is possible.
Then she realizes she is babysitting in the house where a mother and her two young children died 11 years earlier. The mother killed them in a scalding bath and then hung herself from the second floor. There were rumors that the mothers head was never located and the police found wet sudsy children’s footprints all around the house.
Charlotte begins to panic hearing strange noises and seeing things that can not be possible. She realizes she and the children are not alone and she’s not sure how to save them from this haunted evil house.
The Babysitter Lives starts out creepy eerie and is all encompassing. Everything you want in a horror book. The first half was amazing. Charlotte was an interesting complex character to me. She’s trying to ace the SAT’s and get out of her hometown to do something with her life. It’s obvious her heritage is an issue where she lives when Mr. Wilbanks asks his wife if she’s the type of Indian that wears the dots on their forehead or not. Talk about ignorant and narrow-minded!
There’s also this really disturbing part with Mr. Wilbanks, be warned it was a bit gross!
And I loved the concept of the haunted house, the story behind it and all the little parts that make it unique, the seriously creepy ambiance. I can’t go into too much detail or I will spoil it. All these factors were the makings of an excellent book for me. But right around the 50% mark it started to drag…and drag bad! I felt like I was reading the same thing over again and again, insert different location.
I think maybe it was just too much action going on as well and not enough time to absorb it. It felt like SGJ was trying to keep it going strong without the lag that a lot of books in this genre can have, but he went overboard. He should have given some proper time to process. Either way I was a bit bored and over stimulated at the same time the last half of the book if that makes sense. 🤷♀️
Because of how terrific the first half of TBL was I’m definitely checking out more books by Stephen Graham Jones. And even though the book didn’t end up being for me, I’m glad I read it. I recommend checking out some of the other reviews before making up your mind, I’ve seen a lot of really positive ones as well.
July 7, 2023
Love Stephan Graham Jones and this book is no different. The Babysitter Lives is such a fun, twisted tale of a babysitter in a haunted house. I listened to the audiobook and the narration really brought the story alive. The end really sold it for me. Loved it!
October 9, 2025
This is some spine tingling terror here. You never know where SGJ is going to take you next but you can be sure it’s going to be one helluva trip!
July 28, 2022
I was thinking “eh, I don't know, a babysitter slasher?” and ended up in this absolute delightful, twisty fever dream involving baby spiders, a terrifying jack-in-a-box, a family tragedy, time travel/multiverse houses, evil twins, creepy kids and Sponge Bob. The narration was wonderful too.
November 11, 2022
4.0 stars
This was an enjoyable horror story that managed to take the classic tropes of Halloween babysitting and do something fresh with it. As always, I appreciated the ownvoices indigenous perspective that SGJ incorporates in his stories. I did find the second half a bit too long, but overall enjoyed it.
This was an enjoyable horror story that managed to take the classic tropes of Halloween babysitting and do something fresh with it. As always, I appreciated the ownvoices indigenous perspective that SGJ incorporates in his stories. I did find the second half a bit too long, but overall enjoyed it.
August 28, 2022
Uffff where to start with this one 🤔 This book is only available as an audio book. And I think this book is way to complicated to be only available in that form. At times I felt like I had missed something and I needed to go back and that can be hard in this format. That said I think the author wanted you to feel lost at times and for me that is all good and well as long as you bring me back home before the end of the book 📖 But when this book ended I felt like the author had left me in the woods lost with no way home.
August 30, 2023
3.5 stars. I started out loving this but found myself getting more and more confused as it went on… I wish this was available in physical format as the audio didn’t help with my confusion. I mean, I think I got the jist of it?!
November 23, 2022
Creepy, atmospheric, sometimes hard to follow until I got caught up again.
Passed some time, it’s a spooky book for sure, but didn’t scare me or give me goosebumps and I’m easily scared.,
Passed some time, it’s a spooky book for sure, but didn’t scare me or give me goosebumps and I’m easily scared.,
July 14, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up
An audio-only horror novel, The Babysitter Lives is a take on the haunted house that is weird, twisty, and sometimes gruesome, with a soupçon of social commentary on racism, queerness, and sexual harassment.
It's the night before Halloween and Native American high-school senior Charlotte is babysitting twins while their parents go out on their first date in years. But their house has a grim history- the story goes that a mother drowned her two kids and then died by suicide. And it is a weird house, which quickly becomes clear when the kids disappear and then reappear somewhere else. Charlotte gets caught in a different version of the house and it becomes clear that they are not alone... Can they all survive the night?
At times this book is disorienting, which makes sense with the setup of the house. But it can be confusing to the reader especially on audio. Later in the book this really leans into body horror, including some violent things involving children, so heads up. And without going into too much detail, the kids dad turns out to be a real creep.
There are some interesting moments addressing Charlotte's identity in different ways. The kids say some insensitive things they clearly heard from their parents and one of them has an "Indian" costume for Halloween. Charlotte is also a lesbian and the "support" from her mom is complicated- deciding she must be two-spirit and using that for social clout in their community.
I don't want to say too much more and spoil things, but while there were things I liked about it, this isn't my favorite book from SGJ. Charlotte sometimes does things that don't make a lot of sense to progress the plot. And the ending is weird, in way I'm not sure really works for me. Overall my feelings were positive and the audio narrator did a great job. I think this could have been cool with added sound effects, but I know not everyone is into that. It's more of a straightforward narration. I received an audio copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
An audio-only horror novel, The Babysitter Lives is a take on the haunted house that is weird, twisty, and sometimes gruesome, with a soupçon of social commentary on racism, queerness, and sexual harassment.
It's the night before Halloween and Native American high-school senior Charlotte is babysitting twins while their parents go out on their first date in years. But their house has a grim history- the story goes that a mother drowned her two kids and then died by suicide. And it is a weird house, which quickly becomes clear when the kids disappear and then reappear somewhere else. Charlotte gets caught in a different version of the house and it becomes clear that they are not alone... Can they all survive the night?
At times this book is disorienting, which makes sense with the setup of the house. But it can be confusing to the reader especially on audio. Later in the book this really leans into body horror, including some violent things involving children, so heads up. And without going into too much detail, the kids dad turns out to be a real creep.
There are some interesting moments addressing Charlotte's identity in different ways. The kids say some insensitive things they clearly heard from their parents and one of them has an "Indian" costume for Halloween. Charlotte is also a lesbian and the "support" from her mom is complicated- deciding she must be two-spirit and using that for social clout in their community.
I don't want to say too much more and spoil things, but while there were things I liked about it, this isn't my favorite book from SGJ. Charlotte sometimes does things that don't make a lot of sense to progress the plot. And the ending is weird, in way I'm not sure really works for me. Overall my feelings were positive and the audio narrator did a great job. I think this could have been cool with added sound effects, but I know not everyone is into that. It's more of a straightforward narration. I received an audio copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
September 18, 2023
This was just a book I needed to kickstart, spooky season! I love the plot because who doesn’t love a good babysitter mystery. I loved the characters and their backstory. The story of the family that lived in the house before the current family was great. The way the two story lines came together was also perfect. It was a bit gory places, but that just kept me turning Pages. There were so many twists and surprises that it was hard to remember. I was reading a book and not watching a movie. I recommend this book for anyone who is looking for some Halloween pages to turn. And per the authors usual way, there’s plenty of Native American folklore included! 💞
August 20, 2022
A little hard to follow at times, but a very unique take on a house of horrors.
September 17, 2022
DNF'd at 80% done..👎👎
July 26, 2022
This was a lot of fun, I am glad Jones is so prolific because I could get very used to reading a couple of his books each year.
I am not really sure what subgenre of Horror to put this in because it doesn't really belong in any of them. It is entirely its own. I have only one small quibble with the book, and that's that it is so imaginative and so original and it will throw new information at you so quickly that it is easy to miss, particularly in audio form. So you do have to listen rather closely. With that said, clearly you're best off going in cold and letting yourself be taken by surprise as many times as possible.
While we are quite immersed in the horrors of the plot, Jones as usual is able to really invest us in this character. Charlotte is half Native, half white, she is taking the SAT's the next morning, she has a girlfriend who's a little older and a lot more rebellious. Charlotte's single mom has dealt with Charlotte's queerness by deciding it makes her special and Two Spirit and Charlotte doesn't really know what to think about that. Babysitting brings Charlotte into the large home of a well-off white family, the kind that would make anyone just a little nervous because nothing this nice can be all the way good. While the story takes place almost entirely in a single night, we get to know Charlotte and her circumstances and her hopes quite well. Without her to ground you, the wild journey the book is going to take you on wouldn't matter so much.
There is a bit of maximalism here, which is not at all a complaint. We could have just had the underlying horrors of the white suburbs or some haunted house stuff or creepy kids or all the other stuff I won't spoil but Jones gives it all to you and I liked that. It keeps you off kilter, which is, in my opinion, one of the best things horror can do. Even better than scares. Finding out nothing is what you think it is, getting yourself truly disoriented, that's the real scary stuff.
This is an audio exclusive and the reader is well suited to the material.
I am not really sure what subgenre of Horror to put this in because it doesn't really belong in any of them. It is entirely its own. I have only one small quibble with the book, and that's that it is so imaginative and so original and it will throw new information at you so quickly that it is easy to miss, particularly in audio form. So you do have to listen rather closely. With that said, clearly you're best off going in cold and letting yourself be taken by surprise as many times as possible.
While we are quite immersed in the horrors of the plot, Jones as usual is able to really invest us in this character. Charlotte is half Native, half white, she is taking the SAT's the next morning, she has a girlfriend who's a little older and a lot more rebellious. Charlotte's single mom has dealt with Charlotte's queerness by deciding it makes her special and Two Spirit and Charlotte doesn't really know what to think about that. Babysitting brings Charlotte into the large home of a well-off white family, the kind that would make anyone just a little nervous because nothing this nice can be all the way good. While the story takes place almost entirely in a single night, we get to know Charlotte and her circumstances and her hopes quite well. Without her to ground you, the wild journey the book is going to take you on wouldn't matter so much.
There is a bit of maximalism here, which is not at all a complaint. We could have just had the underlying horrors of the white suburbs or some haunted house stuff or creepy kids or all the other stuff I won't spoil but Jones gives it all to you and I liked that. It keeps you off kilter, which is, in my opinion, one of the best things horror can do. Even better than scares. Finding out nothing is what you think it is, getting yourself truly disoriented, that's the real scary stuff.
This is an audio exclusive and the reader is well suited to the material.
July 19, 2022
There comes a point in this audiobook where you can't help but wonder if the title itself, The Babysitter Lives, is a promise or a threat. Stephen Graham Jones delivers an intriguing twist on the haunted house genre, throwing in interstitial dimensions, twisty timelines, and an evil doppelganger on top of the usual ghosts and children in peril, with a just a small dash of slasher horror for good measure. Jones's writing is highly conversational in style and translates to audio incredibly well in the right hands. Thankfully, Isabella Star LaBlanc reads the ever-loving hell out of it, adjusting her pitch and tone in appropriate measures to gives the various characters enough depth and differentiation. This audiobook exclusive makes for a great listen in the ramp-up to Halloween, delivering plenty of fall chills!
August 6, 2023
This was INTENSE! I loved it.
Wonderful paranormal and creepy vibe.
Stephen Graham Jones continues to show up for the Horror Genre!
If you are into ghost stories and haunted houses, this one is for you.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Wonderful paranormal and creepy vibe.
Stephen Graham Jones continues to show up for the Horror Genre!
If you are into ghost stories and haunted houses, this one is for you.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
August 22, 2022
TW: death of children, racism, smoking, drugs, language, scary scenes, underage sex
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:When high school senior Charlotte agrees to babysit the Wilbanks twins, she plans to put the six-year-olds to bed early and spend a quiet night studying: the SATs are tomorrow, and checking the Native American/Alaskan Native box on all the forms doesn’t mean jack if you choke on test day.
But tomorrow is also Halloween, and the twins are eager to show off their costumes—Ron is a nurse, in an old-fashioned white skirt-uniform, and Desi has an Authentic Squaw costume, complete with buckskin and feathered headdress. Excitement is in the air.
Charlotte"s last babysitting gig almost ended in tragedy, when her young charge sleepwalked unnoticed into the middle of the street, only to be found unharmed by Charlotte’s mother. Charlotte vows to be extra careful this time. But the house is filled with mysterious noises and secrets that only the twins understand, echoes of horrors that Charlotte gradually realizes took place in the house eleven years ago. Soon Charlotte has to admit that every babysitter’s worst nightmare has come true: they’re not alone in the house.
Release Date: August 9th, 2022
Genre: Horror
Pages: --
Rating:
What I Liked:
1. Ah yes the plot is a fun one
2. The cover is pretty
3. Love Stephen Graham Jones books
What I Didn't Like:
1. It's boring
2.
Overall Thoughts:I just had to get my hands on this book. I have been falling in love with SGJ's books after reading
One part House of Leaves meets Caroline.
I seriously wanted to love this book but I thought we were going to get this exciting book with what happens to babysitter on her night with the kids. What you get this is this tame story of a "ghost" stealing the image of the babysitter. It's a shame because I think SGJ's is such a fantastic writer. I wanted more horror and less Sci-Fi elements.
Final Thoughts: This just wasnt it for me. Sorry. It is a short listen though and I got through it pretty fast. The writing is beautiful and SGJ's has a way with words that makes you see what he is seeing. I loved the authors note at the ending of the book. He has such a great voice and I could listen to him read his own books. It is seriously wonderful! You must MUST listen to it.
Audiobook Narration:
Read by Isabella Star LaBlanc
The narrator did a really good job at the book. I was able to understand what she was saying. And the pacing was really good.
Recommend For:
• Fans of the babysitter stories
• Isolated horrors
IG|Blog
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 12, 2022
Well, fuck. A perfect blend of everything great about babysitter slashers, and haunted house stories. Wonderfully narrated by Isabella Star LaBlanc, this was a thoroughly enjoyable experience from beginning to end. And by enjoyable I mean WILD. I actually had a physical, audible reaction to one of the final scenes. Charlotte’s mum in the car… Sir. What the fuck? Hideous. Loved it.
Speaking of Charlotte. Our protagonist will stay with me for a long time. I loved being in her head. I loved being privy to her logic and her decisions. Trust a student to know that you gotta show 👏 your 👏 working! 👏 While Jones is endlessly talented, nowhere is this more apparent than in his characters. Charlotte, in this one, Jade in My Heart is a Chainsaw, the unnamed narrator in Mongrels, Sawyer in Night of the Mannequins. These kids are just so alive, I’d swear they have blood pumping through them.
The Babysitter Lives was just dead clever and refreshing. Honestly even the title, for fucks sake. Reassuring at first but quickly menacing as fuck. It was brilliant (and kinda brutal, man.) Had me seeing spiders in every dark corner. Once again this man has me absolutely feral. Already looking forward to rereading (listening?) to this over Halloween. Maybe home alone, with the lights off. Am ready to shit my pants 😌
Speaking of Charlotte. Our protagonist will stay with me for a long time. I loved being in her head. I loved being privy to her logic and her decisions. Trust a student to know that you gotta show 👏 your 👏 working! 👏 While Jones is endlessly talented, nowhere is this more apparent than in his characters. Charlotte, in this one, Jade in My Heart is a Chainsaw, the unnamed narrator in Mongrels, Sawyer in Night of the Mannequins. These kids are just so alive, I’d swear they have blood pumping through them.
The Babysitter Lives was just dead clever and refreshing. Honestly even the title, for fucks sake. Reassuring at first but quickly menacing as fuck. It was brilliant (and kinda brutal, man.) Had me seeing spiders in every dark corner. Once again this man has me absolutely feral. Already looking forward to rereading (listening?) to this over Halloween. Maybe home alone, with the lights off. Am ready to shit my pants 😌
October 4, 2022
My feelings on this are mixed. They are more good feelings then bad feelings hence the four stars.
There is a lot to love about it. The tight story telling, the characters, the ambience, the weird and the gross and the horrifying- it’s all there.
But ultimately I think there was so much action packed into a relatively short book I sometimes lost the beat. It’s not a failing of the book necessarily- I think if I had been eye reading we would have been besties, this book and I, but I was listening, and it’s still not my greatest skill.
The only real reason I don’t think it could be a five star read is because, WTF that ending. I didn’t get it! I demand answers!
There is a lot to love about it. The tight story telling, the characters, the ambience, the weird and the gross and the horrifying- it’s all there.
But ultimately I think there was so much action packed into a relatively short book I sometimes lost the beat. It’s not a failing of the book necessarily- I think if I had been eye reading we would have been besties, this book and I, but I was listening, and it’s still not my greatest skill.
The only real reason I don’t think it could be a five star read is because, WTF that ending. I didn’t get it! I demand answers!
August 23, 2022
Well that was unsettling. Will have nightmares for a while. I didn’t even fully understand it but I’m scared.
Side note: we need more queer rep in horror 👏 👏 👏
maybe less spider eggs in mouths though 🤮
Side note: we need more queer rep in horror 👏 👏 👏
maybe less spider eggs in mouths though 🤮
April 12, 2023
Hated everything about this book. The storyline is twisted and confusing, I still don't know what happened, and the ending was just horrible. I wanted to quit the book so many times but I figured it had to end with something interesting. I regret not quitting.
September 29, 2022
This had a lot of great classic horror elements: a babysitter, a house where something bad happened in the past, and creepy unexplainable things going on. Will Charlotte and the kids she’s babysitting make it through the night alive?
I feel like Stephen Graham Jones is great at creating super fleshed out characters. I felt like I really understood Charlotte and her relationship with her girlfriend and her mom. He’s also great at writing very unsettling things in a way I haven’t seen a million times before in other horror books.
Right now this book is only available on audio and I think that hurt my enjoyment of the story. Don’t get me wrong, I love audiobooks. But there are elements of this story that can be a little bit hard to follow, and I feel like the audio format exacerbated that issue. Maybe that’s on purpose to make the reader confused like the main character is. But if I was reading the print or eBook it would’ve been easier to flip back and read previous sections again to reorient myself. With audio it’s much harder to do that. So there were parts of the book that I felt like I couldn’t connect with the story because I was just lost.
If later on this is released in other formats I might give it another try to see if I get along with it better reading it with my eyes.
I feel like Stephen Graham Jones is great at creating super fleshed out characters. I felt like I really understood Charlotte and her relationship with her girlfriend and her mom. He’s also great at writing very unsettling things in a way I haven’t seen a million times before in other horror books.
Right now this book is only available on audio and I think that hurt my enjoyment of the story. Don’t get me wrong, I love audiobooks. But there are elements of this story that can be a little bit hard to follow, and I feel like the audio format exacerbated that issue. Maybe that’s on purpose to make the reader confused like the main character is. But if I was reading the print or eBook it would’ve been easier to flip back and read previous sections again to reorient myself. With audio it’s much harder to do that. So there were parts of the book that I felt like I couldn’t connect with the story because I was just lost.
If later on this is released in other formats I might give it another try to see if I get along with it better reading it with my eyes.
January 4, 2023
"together we went down all the halls, opened all the closet doors, and listened close for the attic, the basement, the porch, the creaky swing"
Stephen Graham Jones is easily becoming one of my, hands down, favorite horror authors. His stories just get under my skin and give me shivers. The extra icing on the cake for this one was it being only an audiobook. The story held me completely, this horrible horror of a house scared me and spooked me and I was equally afraid of the small shiny places as I was of the beanbag chair. As things twisted and turned, I was holding my breath, completely consumed. The narrator was amazing, fully immersing me with the added emotion and personality of Charlotte. But once the story is over, keep listening!
"a house can be dangerous but it doesn't always eat you either, even if it really wants to"
Imagine my complete surprise when the acknowledgement section was read, in audio, by the author!! Amazing. I loved his added comments and heart and I included my favorite quotes from him in my review. I'm anxiously awaiting another big release this month from this author. I'm glad I found this one to tide me over. I'll definitely listen to it again sometime, the story is just haunting.
Stephen Graham Jones is easily becoming one of my, hands down, favorite horror authors. His stories just get under my skin and give me shivers. The extra icing on the cake for this one was it being only an audiobook. The story held me completely, this horrible horror of a house scared me and spooked me and I was equally afraid of the small shiny places as I was of the beanbag chair. As things twisted and turned, I was holding my breath, completely consumed. The narrator was amazing, fully immersing me with the added emotion and personality of Charlotte. But once the story is over, keep listening!
"a house can be dangerous but it doesn't always eat you either, even if it really wants to"
Imagine my complete surprise when the acknowledgement section was read, in audio, by the author!! Amazing. I loved his added comments and heart and I included my favorite quotes from him in my review. I'm anxiously awaiting another big release this month from this author. I'm glad I found this one to tide me over. I'll definitely listen to it again sometime, the story is just haunting.
November 1, 2022
This was a weird one, and weird in both the horror aspects and in how I felt about it.
Stephen Graham Jones has some wild and unique ideas, there's no denying that. However, I felt like this story went off the rails around the half way point in terms of me trying to understand what the hell was going on. Every time I thought I understood where he was going, he took a sharp left turn and I was off kilter again - which was great at times, but when it kept happening over and over, it left me unsettled instead of impressed.
The body horror in this was off the charts, and made for a super unique and gory good time.
I'm still going to keep reading his work because I'm so impressed by what he's doing overall, and because sometimes there are lines like this:
Reader, I screamed in my car.
Stephen Graham Jones has some wild and unique ideas, there's no denying that. However, I felt like this story went off the rails around the half way point in terms of me trying to understand what the hell was going on. Every time I thought I understood where he was going, he took a sharp left turn and I was off kilter again - which was great at times, but when it kept happening over and over, it left me unsettled instead of impressed.
The body horror in this was off the charts, and made for a super unique and gory good time.
I'm still going to keep reading his work because I'm so impressed by what he's doing overall, and because sometimes there are lines like this:
If a babysitter's nightmare is a stranger in the house, then an Indian's biggest fear is being white on the inside.
Reader, I screamed in my car.
July 26, 2022
Pros:
Indigenous & Queer representation
Narrator was fantastic- great flow, expressive at all the right moments
Overall a great concept
Cons:
The story skipped around ALOT; plot line was blurred at times (Maybe better suited for print?)
Not enough / unclear supporting details to execute the concept
Storyline was a little juvenile; not much to distinguish it from every other haunted house story
Indigenous & Queer representation
Narrator was fantastic- great flow, expressive at all the right moments
Overall a great concept
Cons:
The story skipped around ALOT; plot line was blurred at times (Maybe better suited for print?)
Not enough / unclear supporting details to execute the concept
Storyline was a little juvenile; not much to distinguish it from every other haunted house story
August 28, 2022
I love audiobooks and I listen all the time but I found this to be too complicated to follow. Half the time I was confused as to what was going on and where I was in the house. Maybe that’s just me.🤷♂️
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