I Bought a Haunted Church

by Sam Whittaker

This Church Will Drive You to Your Knees. Pray for Deliverance.Ben has a dream and a plan. He’s just bought an old, disused church and will turn it into a thriving coffee bar. There’s just one these grounds aren’t so holy.

Strange and sinister whispers drift from dark corners. Accidents befall the work crew. There’s the hideous, massive spider lurking in the dark bell tower. And what’s up with that locked door in the basement that no one, not even the former pastor, knows anything about?

As the mystery surrounding the tragedy of what happened at the church over twenty years ago unfolds, Ben and those around him are thrown into peril. For evil entities hide in the shadows, watching and waiting for their moment to strike.

Can Ben uncover the truth of what stalks him in his new home, or will he and his friends be swallowed up by the wicked presence haunting the halls of the abandoned church?

EARLY REVIEWS!

“This was everything I want in a haunted house (or in this case, church) story.” 5 Stars

“Whispering walls, basement bonus rooms not in the blueprint, and a free-range attic demon with a flair for jump scares. Charming.” 4 Stars

“This was such a fun read. Slow burn horror with a lot of suspense. I absolutely loved Ben, he was confident, curious, and a little naive.” 5 Stars

“Creepy spooktastic read.” 5 Stars

Genres: Horror, Paranormal

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 12, 2025

Reviews

[PlotTwist&Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Paranormal Horror / Dark Comedy
Mood: Creepy, quirky, suspenseful
Pacing: Steady with bursts of escalating tension


So, this guy buys a church. Not for salvation, no—he wants a cozy coffee shop with ambiance. What he gets instead? Whispering walls, basement bonus rooms not in the blueprint, and a free-range attic demon with a flair for jump scares. Charming.

Sam Whittaker delivers a “What if I gentrified the gates of hell?” tale filled with deadpan narration, small-town oddballs, and just enough dread to make you keep the lights on. It’s a haunted house story with a Home Depot receipt and a dream. The tension is low-key but builds like that one weird neighbor you swore blinked with no eyelids. Denny, our hapless hero, reacts with a mix of caffeine-fueled denial and dry sarcasm, which makes the spiraling horror feel uncomfortably… relatable.

Is it scary?
Not in a scream-your-face-off way, but in a “there’s absolutely something in that basement, but hey let’s unpack first” kind of way. Think haunted, but with IKEA plans.

Is it hot?
Not unless you’re turned on by mysterious trapdoors, emotionally distant cats, and possible spiritual possession.


Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Triggers: Psychological tension, claustrophobia, brief animal injury, isolation, light body horror.


Final Thought:
Come for the aesthetic reno fantasy, stay because the walls are whispering your name.

[Josette Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every one of the people that buy a ‘haunted……’ think it is a great idea. If I were to think about it, I probably would too. Most people think the supernatural world is non-existent so why would rumors of a haunted church be any different. I would be on board for a coffee bar. I love good coffee and I am sure Ben thought he would help bring some new business to the town. Of course he is met with resistance. Of course there is pushback from the citizens. Ben thought that since he was an outsider the people just did not want outsiders in their town. He could not be further from the truth. Once he began researching into the history of the church, I can only feel his frustration. As I anticipated what would come next, the author surprised this reader with the depths of which this town had suffered. A wolf in sheep’s clothing had entered their midst and he wanted more than the church. As more pieces of the story are leaked, the reader realizes that Ben may have some difficult choices ahead. I feel these type of stories draw me in due to my experiences as a child. I enjoyed how the author made the reader feel as though they are part of the story. I was so involved while reading this book that as I finished reading I needed a few moments to decompress.

[Mickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben has decided to move out of the city snd bought an abandoned church. He hopes to turn it into a unique coffee shop. The locals seem upset that he is now living there, but no one wants to talk about it. Something happened there a long time ago. Something awful. Will Ben be able to find oit what it was, before it's too late?

This was an absolutely brilliant read. I am not usually a fan of books about hauntings, but I loved every page of this one. It had a unique plot, and it had me turning the lights on, ya know, just in case. I loved the first book in this series, and this one was just as good. I can't wait to see what comes next.

[Dez Nemec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben loves coffee. In an effort to find some success in an oversaturated market, Ben decides to buy an old church about an hour outside his city to turn into a coffee shop. Unbeknownst to Ben, the church has some history and it's not good. The locals only stare at him, intrigued by the newcomer with the bad taste to renovate the building that has brought disastrous events to the community. But Ben is determined...much to his detriment. And then things start to get really weird...

This was great! A locked room in church basement, a creepy doll in rectory attic, defaced bibles, occult books, strange whispers all around... I mean, who wouldn't want to move in?!?

[Trisha Tropiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Ben buys an old church to turn into a coffee shop, he immediately gets the feeling that he isn’t alone. Strange whispers and shadows at night, and all of the townspeople seem reluctant to talk about the old church. Fans of I Bought a Haunted School won’t be disappointed in this second instalment! It’s a great haunted house story with a twist. My only complaint is that it could have been longer - there was more room to build up the creepiness leading to the incredible ending!

[Amanda S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book was incredible. The writing was on point. This was everything I want in a haunted house(or in this case, church) story. The creepiness, the dark history, the small town, the ghosts. Everything fit together seamlessly. Definitely check this one out if you love haunted houses.

[Don Anelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frankly, this was a massively enjoyable and entertaining story. The strong story, focusing on the early stages of the purchase and getting everything ready for the conversion of the church into a coffee shop, makes for a great starting point that focuses on the relationship that transpires as the couple starts bringing the supplies over and begins renovations. Featuring the type of overlong build-up involving the initial walk-through of the house, the early attempts at redesigning the layout of the location, and the conversations that take place within their relationship about how to deal with the various spaces within the building, there’s a generally fun setup in play to let the horror slowly start creeping in.

That comes into play with a fantastic second half that throws in plenty of over-the-top material to enhance this feature. The slow build-up involving the way the cat keeps intruding on their lives sets this up incredibly well, to the point that the introduction of the supernatural ghost is a fun step that carries the book along nicely. The use of traumatic content featuring the backstory of her family coming into play as an extra threat, which is immensely chilling and engaging, as it leads to the discovery of the cult at work at the location. The series of action-packed encounters in the basement and surrounding parts of the church grounds is a lot of fun, keeping things frenetic enough that it doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the content here.

4.5/5

[Angel Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first book of this series, I Bought a Haunted School, and enjoyed it. I have to say this one blows the water out of the previous entry. The character building is so well done on this one. However, it was the thrill of exploring a haunted church that really got me turning the pages. The trope of nobody wanting to talk about what happened in the church intrigued me. I wanted to know so badly why the church was considered off-limits in normal conversation.

When I found out, I gotta admit, my mouth sort of dropped. After reading this, you might want to avoid abandoned churches. It turns out they contain dark secrets within their holy walls.

Sam knocked this one out of the park to the point it might be one of the best books I've read in 2025. Well done, Sam!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Bought a Haunted Church is book 2 of 3 in the Strange Haunted Places series by Sam Whittaker. This book is a 3.5 stars for me. I thought it started off really strong. Great concept for sure! Ben purchases an old abandoned church outside of the city and hopes to convert it into a coffee shop. During renovations he comes across a hidden journal from the previous pastor. Things start happening, people in the town won’t talk to him about the history, and most people seem scared to even be near him.

There just seemed to be a lot of things that started but didn’t follow through….the journal being one of them. The journal didn’t seem to answer much of anything. The cat? The spiders? A friend who was supposed to show up and then nothing happened with that and they never addressed it. What “home” was he in at the end of the story? Just a lot of things that didn’t quite tie together.

And I love a good haunted house ghost story! This one had all the elements to become a good haunted house ghost story. But the last 20-30% of the book was just….weird. I don’t know, didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I was a bit disappointed, but I will probably try and read the other books in this series to see if they are any better.

[Milt Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second entry in the "Strange Haunted Places" series of standalone novels of horror. Unlike the first entry, which I found uneven and confusing, this book was a one-sitting, exciting read for me, with a likeable narrator, a fun and creepy setting, and a complex and entertaining plot. A young guy, an expert in coffee, moves from the city to a small town and buys an abandoned church on the outskirts of town with the purpose of turning it into a fancy coffee shop. He brings his girlfriend along, a rather difficult person I didn't like at all. I got invested in the story early on, as there are hints left and right that something fishy is going on with the church: eerie happenings, small town gossip, and a mysterious locked door in the basement. The tale reveals soon a small town conspiracy to keep the story of the church definitely in the past, so the narrator has to do some detective work himself. It's all handled with great attention to detail, which I really appreciated, as it was a bit hard to visualize everything in one go. The writing style is somewhat cozy, but that's deceiving, as the ending, quite good, was also grim. Recommended!

[Breanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ARC review✨
Ben wanted a fresh start, but when he bought an old church in a new town, things started to get weird. The townspeople avoided him or just stared at him. A random black cat refusing to leave the property. Knocking at the door with no one there.

This was such a fun read. Slow burn horror with a lot of suspense. I absolutely loved Ben, he was confident, curious, and a little naive.
Make sure to grab your copy Aug 12th!

[Luke Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, punchy, fast-paced story.
Isn't it just the way, when you think you've found your perfect place of business, it turns out to be haunted. Well that's the fate that's befallen Ben. But it's not just the building that seems to be harbouring dark secrets, the whole town are acting strange.
My only niggle about this book would be that I wish it had been longer to crank up the tension and provide more backstory, but it's a solid haunting story that should satisfy fans of the supernatural.

[Emily Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben buys an abandoned church to make a specialty coffee house. The townspeople do not seem nice. No one will discuss the church. Ben keeps having experiences. Something is there. Ben must face the darkness within he has unlikely allies. Will he win ? Creepy spooktastic read.

[Leighah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this book. I liked most of the characters, although I would have liked for the church bell to fall on the main characters girlfriend by about the halfway mark. the pace is set that you are always wandering about various clues, and the ending wasn't quite what I was expecting. I will have to look into this author further.

[Amanda Elizabeth Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love haunted house stories so of course I was reading this. I’m not sure why you would want to move into an old creepy church. Of course there are going to be ghosts. The creep factor was sky high. I very much enjoyed it.

[Shanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben decides to buy a church on the outskirts of a small town with dreams of turning it into a coffee bar. After a couple trips into town, Ben and his girlfriend Jen notices that no one wants to talk about the church. Ben goes on a mission to uncover the truth behind his church
I absolutely love a good haunted building story and this one delivered. Sam does a great job of building the tension and creating dread throughout the book. I adored all the characters. They were well written and believable. Fans of haunted places definitely need to give this a read.

[❤ArtfullySinful❤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I halted, the contents of the glass had inched close until it had nearly reached my mouth. My eyes shot from the smoothie to Jen. She leaned forward, supported by an elbow on the table. Her eyes were unusually wide, and her lips peeled back from her teeth in a rictus grin. Her face looked like a bad Halloween mask. I pulled the glass away from my face, watching her as I did so. The too-eager expression she wore shifted instantly to anger. “What are you doing, my love?“ she asked with a sneer.

Following his dreams of opening a coffeehouse, Ben managed to land the deal of the century on an old Church, one abandoned for nearing thirty years. From the moment he saw the photos listed online, he knew with grim determination the property would be his. While his girlfriend Jen desperately didn't want this, he continued to push forward with the renovations. With his close friend Anton leading the architecture designs, his girlfriend Jen was contracted in for all the interior designing and decorating. From the moment she laid eyes on that property a sense of unsease and nerves grabbed ahold oj Jen and never seemed to let her go. Spooked by a gigantic spider in the bell tower, she began immediately growing distant before stopping her texts and phone calls all together. Believing they were growing closer to a breakup, he never knew she actually took her own life in the tunnel beneath the basement days prior. Meeting with the young localibrarian; Suzy, he began to hear the secrets the local towns people have been hiding from him.

Ben, it wasn’t just any kind of cult that hijacked my church. It was a suicide cult.”

Jen was on her feet in the next instant. She bent forward at the waist, raised her hands, and formed claws with her fingers. Her eyes turned thoroughly black. She hissed angrily at Tina.

Daughter to the local pastor Howard, Suzy grew up deeply in ested in the church along with her mother and sister Tina. Finding the old journal buried in the floorboards cast a light in rhe downfall of the church, resulting in countless families leaving and others falling under the spell of Archie Graham. Slowly corrupting those weaker, he grew a following of twelve to indulge in his suicide cult, forever trapping their spirits beneath the church. As Robert lost his wife and Tina to suicide, he knew now was the time to take his only remaining child and leave the church once and for all. Hearing voices and unexplained chills, Ben did his best to ignore what was going on around him but eventually he needed the strength of Suzy and Howard both to break the curse. Entering the door in the basement that never existed, he delved deeper underground where he met the body of Jen lying abandoned. Feeling woozy, he sees the partition of Jen but heavily wrong, dressed in garments decades before her time and trying desperately to force him to drink the coffee smoothie. When Tina I terjects, Archie himself makes his appearance and tries also to get Ben to drink it and become part of them. Fighting back, Howard managed to make it through the doorway and push the veil back, allowing Ben time to run. With the entire church crumbling around them, Howard provides himself as a sacrifice and allows Ben and his daughter Suzy a moment to run. Now, confronted with all the lost, they both need a chance to heal from the trauma. Ben, still feeling a twinge of interest and attracon for Suzy, hopes one day to rekindle a spark.

Drink. You must drink. It would be good for you to drink. Drink your special drink. You like to drink drink drink.

[Micki-D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A creepy, paranormal slow burn but fast-paced horror story with suspense and so more. It’s everything you could wanted in a haunted house/church story.

Ben buys a church with dreams of turning it into a coffee shop. The towns folk won’t talk to him, the day he found on the house is distance but has a way of interrupting their lives.

A locked basement bonus room that can’t be found on the blueprint. This story has more than just secret rooms and whispering sounds.There is a creepy doll in the attic why? Dolls are always a sign of something else evil. Oh and don’t forget the spiders big spiders.

[Denver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ben and Jen - I think the rhyming a bit meh, but the names weren't the worst.

Buying a church to convert into a business/living area - cool idea. I've always had it as a 'if I became rich rich' goal.

I didn't like Jen. She was bitchy and at odds with Ben the whole book. And then she had to pick a fight after keep her distance from Ben, and then left after SHE picked the fight. If this were a man, we'd be calling that a RED FLAG.

The plot was predictable.

This was an okay read, not that great, not that bad, just a popcorn/airplane ride book.

[Dan Mckeithan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this creepy quiet horror. When Ben buys an abandoned church in order to turn it into a coffee bar, he runs into more than he expected. Sam notches the creepy factor up to ten as Ben starts seeing what led to the church's downfall. The characterization is great and the problems/situations that Ben encounters keep you on the edge of your seat. Would recommend to anyone that enjoys the idea of exploring an abandoned building and what lies behind it's history.

[the.horror.girl.27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this idea of this book. Perfect blend of paranormal, supernatural and creepy occurrences in the church that was vacant for so many years. The writing was descriptive and captured the story and details really well. An enjoyable read!

[Carolyn Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not all churches are sanctuaries

This was an well crafted story with a very interesting premise: attempting to start a coffee shop in an abandoned church. It is also a warning to research any property before buying it, because some things might linger.

[LAURA · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these!

This is a very good entertaining series. I started reading this author with the "I killed a werewolf for my summer vacation" series then started the "I bought a haunted" series. They are stand alone stories and I enjoyed them all.

[Maggie Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. I really liked the concept, but it just never grabbed me. I think I just didn't really care about any of the characters.

[§am I Am · Rating 4 out of 5]

these books are so fun to read. I think I found a new fav author. Ben buys a haunted church to turn into a coffee shop. Will his dream come true or will he have to settle for less?

[Shemekia Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I really loved the way this one ended. I absolutely love the series. This kept me glued and unable to keep to any tasks lol Also, I did read during the ice storm.

[Heather Harsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun and had tons of creepy elements! Definitely reading all the books in the series

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun- nothing too complicated or deep. Just what I wanted. A palette cleanser if you will.

[Dixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love reading Sam Whittaker's books! This was a fun one to read with the lights down low!