The House on Lantern Lane

by Ashley Grey, Kat Powers (Editor)

On Halloween night, Rowan and his friends break into the house, the one everyone swears eats people, and the moment they’re inside, it turns on them. Doors slam, paths vanish, and before Rowan can even process what’s happening, it starts taking them apart.
Rowan barely makes it out, blood-soaked, shaking, and completely alone. But later that night, Wesley and Eddie come back. Only they’re not the same...not even close.
Now Rowan is left trying to understand why the house let him live… and what it’s planning to do.

310 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2025

Reviews

[Josh White · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a specific moment in childhood when what used to be enough—bike rides, video games, inside jokes, the one friend you saw every single day—suddenly isn’t. We all go through it. I did, too. For a year, an old friend of mine named John and I were inseparable. Then slowly I started wanting different things. Sports. Girls. New circles. I didn’t mean to outgrow him, but I did. I haven’t talked to him in 25 years, but for a time he was my best friend.

The House on Lantern Lane captured that exact feeling in a way that caught me off guard. On the surface, this is familiar territory: a group of boys, a possibly haunted house, autumn creeping in. It plays somewhere between Something Wicked This Way Comes and Monster House, with the pulse of a classic Goosebumps adventure.

But what makes this story land isn’t just the horror. As friends begin disappearing—or worse, returning slightly wrong, like replicas wearing the same faces—the book quietly becomes something deeper. It starts to feel less like a haunted house story and more like a metaphor for adolescence itself. You and your friends are changing, and one day you’ll look across the street and realize the person you grew up with isn’t the same anymore.

Ashley Grey writes that emotional shift with clarity and empathy. The horror elements are effective, yes. The structure is tight. But to me, the best part is the emotional truth about growing up. You can be replaced. You can watch someone you love get replaced. And you may not be able to stop either.

It ends on a cliffhanger (brace yourself), and I’m genuinely curious to see where part two goes!

[Beth Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. "Trick or Treat!" On Halloween night teenagers Rowen and his friends venture down Lantern Lane to a known haunted house that his mom strictly forbid him from going near. The house has been said to EAT people. It can't be true, can it? Rowan now has to uncover the secrets of the house before it claims him as well! The story ends with a cliffhanger and now I have to wait until 2026 for the sequel. Perfect for Halloween!

[jamie d mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a house on Lantern Lane. This house is supposedly haunted. Rowen and his friends decided to go in Halloween night. When Rowen's friends came out they were different they weren’t the same kids they were. As the days past more people started changing and the house is behind it. Can Rowen destroy the house before it infest the whole town.

It was fast paced. It was a different concept of a haunted house story. Highly recommend if you want to read something different.

[Norman Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this unique haunted house story. It's not really a haunted house, more of a very hungry house. Had a kind of coming of age feel to it. My main quibble is I think the story could have used a few more pages to build up some of the characters more so you, as a reader, would care more about them.

Overall, a fun read.

[Shea Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of really cool ideas in here and it flows really well