Our Family Home

by Joseph Pesavento

Lainey was the sole witness to the deaths of her sister, her friend, and her father in her childhood home. 



Months later, Lainey is searching for a way forward while dealing with a new relationship and her estranged mother while renovating her inherited childhood home for sale.



As Lainey frequents the house overseeing repairs, abnormal things begin to happen. Lainey fears that someone or something is still lingering inside.



Will Lainey be able to face her fears, let go of the past and move on, or will she be forever haunted by what lingers?

121 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 22, 2025

Reviews

[RoseDevoursBooks]

I thoroughly enjoyed Pesavento’s Our Family Home. While it begins as a haunted house story, it quickly reveals itself to be about more than just ghosts. The author intertwines the supernatural with the psychological, showing that sometimes it’s not only spirits that haunt us, but also our own past.

Lainey, the sole witness to the deaths of her sister, her friend, and her father in her childhood home, is a compelling character. Her struggle to navigate adulthood and maintain relationships - especially a romantic one, feels raw and authentic. The instinct to shut out those trying to help her is frustrating yet understandable, and it makes her journey feel all the more real.

I also loved how the eerie atmosphere complements the emotional weight of the story. The creepy apparitions and bloody moments add a chilling edge that keeps the story grounded in its horror roots. I even found myself enjoying the romantic subplot - it’s tender, maybe a bit too sweet at times, but it adds a genuine warmth to the story. And the story’s final reveal was satisfying and tied everything together in a way I didn’t see coming.

At only 116 pages, it’s a fast, absorbing read that you could easily devour in one sitting. The writing flows nicely, and even when the pacing slows, I couldn’t wait to see how Lainey would finally face her fears and her past.

If you’re looking for a short, quiet horror story that blends ghosts, family dysfunction, and the haunting weight of trauma, Our Family Home is well worth picking up.

[Heaven Leigh]

Our Family Home is about a young woman left traumatized after witnessing a horrific crime at the hands of her father. As she is left to pick up the pieces of her life and also renovate the home in which the murders took place, she begins to question if something ominous is still lurking inside those four walls.

I love ghost stories & hauntings as a metaphor for trauma and grief, I eat it up every single time! This book had some insanely creepy sequences, one scene in the basement in particular took me back to my own fears of the basement in my childhood home growing up. I loved that this book made me feel anxious and tense multiple times!

I also thought the exploration of Lainey’s trauma & grief was handled really well; she’s a character who feels flawed at times but you still want her to pull through and overcome, and that makes her feel so much more authentic. Her relationships with her parents & her sister also were so complex and unfortunately at times all too relatable. And I’ll admit, I thought her relationship with Thomas was super cute.

Overall, I think this was a great book featuring some toxic family dynamics that are terrifying enough alone before you add the supernatural elements in! Finishing up with a cinematic masterpiece and an ending you will not see coming, this is definitely a book to add to your fall tbr!

[Meme Rodriguez]

I found this book & author at a Horrorfest this spooky season. I had no idea what to expect & was very pleasantly surprised. This book was scary & thrilling in all the best ways. Not gory at all, which I liked. I especially loved the writing style! The blend of character development, steady plot progression & lots of twists & turns, kept me captivated and I devoured it in 2 days. Perfect book for spooky season!

[Robin Ginther-Venneri]

Our Family Home
By: Joseph Pesavento

Publisher: Independently Published
Published: August 22, 2025
ASIN: B0FLM5LK97
Page Count: 121

Triggers: family death, grief, trauma, psychological distress, haunting themes

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Skull Dread Rating: 💀💀

What Did I Just Walk Into? 🤨
Some people inherit money.

Some people inherit jewelry.

Lainey inherited the house where her sister, her friend, and her father died.

So naturally the plan is to renovate it and sell it.

Which sounds reasonable until the house starts doing the haunted house equivalent of clearing its throat and reminding everyone that maybe, just maybe, some memories don’t stay buried in drywall and floorboards.

As Lainey works on fixing the place up, strange things start happening. And suddenly the big question becomes whether the house is haunted… or if grief itself is doing the haunting.

Spoiler: possibly both.

Here’s What Slapped 🔥
What starts as a classic haunted house setup slowly turns into something a bit more layered. The story plays with the idea that ghosts aren’t always the scariest thing in the room. Sometimes it’s the trauma you never processed.

Lainey is a frustratingly realistic character. She pushes people away, struggles with relationships, and tries to pretend she’s fine while very clearly not being fine at all. If you’ve ever watched someone spiral while insisting everything is under control, you’ll recognize the energy.

The atmosphere works really well here too. The house itself feels heavy with history, and the creepy moments sprinkled throughout keep the story firmly planted in horror territory.

And the ending? It ties things together in a way that actually feels satisfying without overexplaining everything.

What Could’ve Been Better 🧠
Because the story leans into psychological horror, some readers might go in expecting more traditional haunted house chaos and get something quieter instead.

The pacing slows in places while Lainey wrestles with her past, and the romantic subplot can feel a little sweeter than the rest of the story’s darker tone.

But honestly, for a short read, the story manages to balance emotional weight and supernatural tension pretty well.

Perfect for Readers Who Love 📚
• Psychological horror
• Haunted house stories with emotional depth
• Trauma driven character arcs
• Quiet horror that builds slowly
• Short reads you can finish in one sitting

Sum It Up 💜
Our Family Home starts like a ghost story but slowly reveals itself to be about the far messier haunting that comes from grief, guilt, and unfinished memories. It’s a quick, atmospheric read that blends emotional scars with supernatural chills in a way that lingers after the final page.

Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review 📚💜

[Chandra Claypool (WhereTheHorrorsGrow)]

If you're looking for a quiet horror novella with elements of the supernatural and hints of the psychological, may I suggest OUR FAMILY HOME?

Imagine witnessing (and being the ONLY witness to) the brutal killings of your sister, her friend and the patriarch of the house, your father. This would absolutely be traumatizing with lasting psychological effects. How do you trust your emotions or maintain any kind of close relationships when such a tragic event has occurred? Now imagine you have to go back to this house of horrors to renovate it and put it up for sale. AND you don't particularly get along with your mother either. But luckily, you have a good man at your side, which might be the only think anchoring you to some form of sanity.

I *kinda* saw the ending coming but not in the exact way it occurred and I do love a good surprise. Pesavento give us some truly creepy scenes with the apparitions that show up that would make your skin all goose pimply and who doesn't like to be scared when reading horror, am I right? These are the scenes that I think I loved the most. The whole story leaves you feeling in a coat of spiritual fog as you meander each scene with Lainey.

I did have some issues with the dialogue as I felt it was a bit stilted and didn't flow as well as I would have liked. HOWEVER, this is my first Pesavanto so I think I just need to get used to his writing style. What he does extremely well is building the atmosphere of not only the house being haunted from the terrible events that have occurred but how Lainey is also haunted by her dysfunctional (and mostly dead) family. Looking forward to seeing what else this author has in store for us. And if you ever get a chance to meet him, absolutely have a chat with him. He's one of the nicest and endearing people you will ever interact with.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

[hannah]

Joseph's writing style is very captivating and he does an excellent job grabbing a reader from page one and not letting go until you are finished.
His stories are always well thought out.
And our family home was no different.

In this book we follow. Lainey, who is navigating the loss of her sister, her friend, and her father. I wont spoil what happened to them but it was devastating and brutal.

Lainey is left with the house.
Her childhood home and has to deal with whats left.
Shes hit with the memories, good and bad. And something darker that she has to work through.

This book is full of the trauma surrounding losing loved ones. Including a sibling and a parent.
Continuing to live day to day with new relationships and being an adult and a complex parental relationship.

Joseph did a fabulous job packing this 100 page book with all of that and made the story relatable.

It was definitely a heavy read but beautifully done.

I absolutely adored it. And highly recommend.

[Alenna Burleson]

Lainey watched three people die, her sister, her sister’s best friend and her father. All in her father’s home. Lainey struggles to move on and forward with her life. She’s tasked to get her father’s house ready to be put on the market. When she returns, she has a lot more reliving of the situation.

The story was so sad it had so much desperation in it . I felt so bad for Lainey and her boyfriend. Her mom was horrible. The end was great and the whole story had amazing pacing.