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The House Next Door
Josephine lives next door to a haunted house.
She began to suspect something was wrong with the crumbling gothic monstrosity when its family fled in the middle of the night, the children screaming, the mother crying. They never came back. No family stays at Marwick House for long. No life lingers beyond its blackened windows. No voices drift from its ancient halls. Once, Josephine swore she saw a woman's silhouette pacing through the upstairs room... but that's impossible. No one had been there in a long, long time.
But now someone new has moved next door, and Marwick House is slowly waking up. Torn between staying away and warning the new tenant, Josephine only knows that if she isn't careful, she may be its next victim...
Also By Darcy Coates:
The Haunting of Ashburn House
The Haunting of Blackwood House
Craven Manor
The House Next Door
Voices in the Snow
She began to suspect something was wrong with the crumbling gothic monstrosity when its family fled in the middle of the night, the children screaming, the mother crying. They never came back. No family stays at Marwick House for long. No life lingers beyond its blackened windows. No voices drift from its ancient halls. Once, Josephine swore she saw a woman's silhouette pacing through the upstairs room... but that's impossible. No one had been there in a long, long time.
But now someone new has moved next door, and Marwick House is slowly waking up. Torn between staying away and warning the new tenant, Josephine only knows that if she isn't careful, she may be its next victim...
Also By Darcy Coates:
The Haunting of Ashburn House
The Haunting of Blackwood House
Craven Manor
The House Next Door
Voices in the Snow
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2017
1329 people are currently reading
8871 people want to read
About the author
Darcy Coates
69 books14.2k followersDarcy Coates is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen horror and suspense novels.
She lives in the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cat, and a collection of chickens. Her home is surrounded by rolling wilderness on all sides, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
You can hear about her next book by joining her newsletter: www.darcycoates.com/updates
She lives in the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cat, and a collection of chickens. Her home is surrounded by rolling wilderness on all sides, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
You can hear about her next book by joining her newsletter: www.darcycoates.com/updates
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,149 reviews
October 7, 2018
That was creepy fun!! 👻
Happy Reading!
Mel 🖤🐺🐾
Happy Reading!
Mel 🖤🐺🐾
May 21, 2022
The house next door is haunted. No seriously. The last occupants ran out in the middle of the night with a rifle, jumped in their car and never returned. They left everything. Clothes, furniture, like I said, everything. Just like every occupant before them. The grass never grows. The garden is black. Animals and people give it wide berth. Now the house has a new renter named Anna and I can feel the house coming alive again.
Great haunted house read. Just creepy enough to give you chills. Recommend!
Great haunted house read. Just creepy enough to give you chills. Recommend!
February 16, 2021
Jo lives next to a haunted house. When a new owner moves in, Jo's curiosity blooms, and she carries a basket of muffins over to meet her new neighbour and peek inside the infamous Marwick house.
The House Next Door is my second Darcy Coates novel. It is heavy on atmosphere with classic tropes such as a grisly backstory, rattling chains, ghostly baby cries, and the eerie notes of a piano playing on its own. Chills and creeps are in excess with cob-webbed basements, hanging trees, and supernatural lock downs.
Good stuff all around!
The only issue I have is that I found it too easy to put the book down. The beginning was solid and it finished strong. But the middle dragged with cliché secondary characters and decisions by Jo far outside the realm of logic.
Nevertheless, The House Next Door is a fun and creepy tale. I'm eager to try another from this author.
The House Next Door is my second Darcy Coates novel. It is heavy on atmosphere with classic tropes such as a grisly backstory, rattling chains, ghostly baby cries, and the eerie notes of a piano playing on its own. Chills and creeps are in excess with cob-webbed basements, hanging trees, and supernatural lock downs.
Good stuff all around!
The only issue I have is that I found it too easy to put the book down. The beginning was solid and it finished strong. But the middle dragged with cliché secondary characters and decisions by Jo far outside the realm of logic.
Nevertheless, The House Next Door is a fun and creepy tale. I'm eager to try another from this author.
May 29, 2025
Is this cozy horror? Not sure it's for me. I like my haunted house stories more murdery.
January 1, 2023
More lame than scary.
Who buys a house when they're trying to hide from someone? Public records are a thing. So dumb.
Also, no offense to the doll making community, but this is the kind of shit that happens when you befriend them.
Who buys a house when they're trying to hide from someone? Public records are a thing. So dumb.
Also, no offense to the doll making community, but this is the kind of shit that happens when you befriend them.
April 27, 2017
THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR: A Ghost Story, by Darcy Coates, was just the kind of ghost story I love to read. Helen Marwick isn't your "romantic-style" ghost here, she's a malevolent entity that causes new homeowners to leave, screaming, in the middle of the night--never to return, even for their belongings.
Jo has witnessed several past owners from her own home, next door.
". . . A fascination has slowly built over the four years I've lived beside the house."
Most of the neighbors ignore the Marwick residence, going out of their way to avoid it. Even when tenantless and "dormant" the house oozes a dangerous aura that infiltrates the thoughts of those in close proximity.
When a young, desperate looking woman named Anna moves in, something stirs Jo into action. Whether it be curiosity or simply one lost soul needing another, she decides to break down the boundaries and greet her new neighbor.
". . . I didn't have much experience welcoming neighbors, but I was pretty sure telling them their house was haunted was the sort of thing people weren't supposed to do."
Darcy Coates puts a heavy emphasis on the atmosphere in this novel. Everything seems almost "weighted down" by the malice that emanates from the house, reaching out and touching all that it can. Even the weather conditions mimic human emotions as the apprehension and fear continue to increase.
Anna, who has left a violent relationship, has no alternative but to stay.
". . . Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for good things."
As the story unfolds, we learn more about Jo's own tragic past, as well as that of Anna, and the horrifying night that Helen Mavwick had died. There were several secrets and "twists" to the story near the end that added an entirely new level to an already gripping tale.
This is only the second book I've read by author Darcy Coates, and already I'm looking forward to more.
Recommended!
Jo has witnessed several past owners from her own home, next door.
". . . A fascination has slowly built over the four years I've lived beside the house."
Most of the neighbors ignore the Marwick residence, going out of their way to avoid it. Even when tenantless and "dormant" the house oozes a dangerous aura that infiltrates the thoughts of those in close proximity.
When a young, desperate looking woman named Anna moves in, something stirs Jo into action. Whether it be curiosity or simply one lost soul needing another, she decides to break down the boundaries and greet her new neighbor.
". . . I didn't have much experience welcoming neighbors, but I was pretty sure telling them their house was haunted was the sort of thing people weren't supposed to do."
Darcy Coates puts a heavy emphasis on the atmosphere in this novel. Everything seems almost "weighted down" by the malice that emanates from the house, reaching out and touching all that it can. Even the weather conditions mimic human emotions as the apprehension and fear continue to increase.
Anna, who has left a violent relationship, has no alternative but to stay.
". . . Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for good things."
As the story unfolds, we learn more about Jo's own tragic past, as well as that of Anna, and the horrifying night that Helen Mavwick had died. There were several secrets and "twists" to the story near the end that added an entirely new level to an already gripping tale.
This is only the second book I've read by author Darcy Coates, and already I'm looking forward to more.
Recommended!
October 31, 2017
3.5 Stars
Jo lives home next to a haunted house. For years she has seen families move in next door and leave in the hurry in the middle of the night shortly after the movie. The entire neighborhood avoids it, including Jo’s own cats. The lights turn on randomly at night, the doors slam on their own, and birds keep flying into it and breaking their neck.
Now a desperate young woman moves in and Jo cannot help but feel protective of her. There is something Anna isn’t telling her about her own past, that she wants to avoid, and the house is the only sanctuary she can afford. Anna is sweet, timid and remakes dolls, a perfect soul for the ghost to cling onto.
This was an interesting read. It was definitely a creepy ghost story, very chilling, very atmospheric, with a few scenes that made my stomach turn. It does have scenes with animals getting hurt in it, and those animals are usually birds that fly into the house. If that disturbs you, just be aware.
I only read this book once in the night and decided not to do that again. It most definitely gave me a nightmare.
The writing was good. It was my first Coates reads and it won’t be my last.
There were a few things that I had a gripe with and one of that was the fact that when Jo googled the house online, she couldn’t find anything about it. When she spoke to her neighbor, the neighbor told Jo that when the store broke it’s all the news spoke about on the TV, so I would have thought something would have been found online.
Second, there was a scene with Anna’s ex, who does not have proof that Anna lives in the house but goes through her trash one night and finds something in it and assumptions fly and the girls end up in danger. The whole thing was just weird for me.
Overall though, if you like ghost stories, this was a very creepy but interesting read.
Jo lives home next to a haunted house. For years she has seen families move in next door and leave in the hurry in the middle of the night shortly after the movie. The entire neighborhood avoids it, including Jo’s own cats. The lights turn on randomly at night, the doors slam on their own, and birds keep flying into it and breaking their neck.
Now a desperate young woman moves in and Jo cannot help but feel protective of her. There is something Anna isn’t telling her about her own past, that she wants to avoid, and the house is the only sanctuary she can afford. Anna is sweet, timid and remakes dolls, a perfect soul for the ghost to cling onto.
This was an interesting read. It was definitely a creepy ghost story, very chilling, very atmospheric, with a few scenes that made my stomach turn. It does have scenes with animals getting hurt in it, and those animals are usually birds that fly into the house. If that disturbs you, just be aware.
I only read this book once in the night and decided not to do that again. It most definitely gave me a nightmare.
The writing was good. It was my first Coates reads and it won’t be my last.
There were a few things that I had a gripe with and one of that was the fact that when Jo googled the house online, she couldn’t find anything about it. When she spoke to her neighbor, the neighbor told Jo that when the store broke it’s all the news spoke about on the TV, so I would have thought something would have been found online.
Second, there was a scene with Anna’s ex, who does not have proof that Anna lives in the house but goes through her trash one night and finds something in it and assumptions fly and the girls end up in danger. The whole thing was just weird for me.
Overall though, if you like ghost stories, this was a very creepy but interesting read.
July 6, 2022
Spooky Haunting!
This is no cozy ghost story as author Darcy Coates plops the reader into the Marwick House where no one can seem to live in the house for a very long time. There is one powerful ghost that refuses to let anyone share the house with her and she will do anything to kick them out.
Until a new neighbor, Anna moves in that is down and out with her life as she wants to try to start over in this house. Her neighbor, Jo, has seen families come and go as long as she has lived next door. She becomes friends with Anna and tries to help Anna with living in the house with the ghost. But the ghost has other plans and no matter what they do, the ghost does not want to leave.
Thoughts:
Darcy Coates once again weaves the story around the reader to the point that you feel all the emotions the characters feel as they deal with this ghost and all the antics she stirs up to make everyone want to just run out the door.
The book slowly builds up the tension and anxiety from the beginning taking you straight into the depths of Marwick House not letting you go till you reach the end and keeping you deep into the haunting of the house! Giving this one five "Chills and Shivers" stars!
This is no cozy ghost story as author Darcy Coates plops the reader into the Marwick House where no one can seem to live in the house for a very long time. There is one powerful ghost that refuses to let anyone share the house with her and she will do anything to kick them out.
Until a new neighbor, Anna moves in that is down and out with her life as she wants to try to start over in this house. Her neighbor, Jo, has seen families come and go as long as she has lived next door. She becomes friends with Anna and tries to help Anna with living in the house with the ghost. But the ghost has other plans and no matter what they do, the ghost does not want to leave.
Thoughts:
Darcy Coates once again weaves the story around the reader to the point that you feel all the emotions the characters feel as they deal with this ghost and all the antics she stirs up to make everyone want to just run out the door.
The book slowly builds up the tension and anxiety from the beginning taking you straight into the depths of Marwick House not letting you go till you reach the end and keeping you deep into the haunting of the house! Giving this one five "Chills and Shivers" stars!
April 6, 2019
3.5
This was good, but she has dazzled me much more than this. This was also unique and different which I appreciated. It was a little like a cozy to me with a bit of a scare.
This was good, but she has dazzled me much more than this. This was also unique and different which I appreciated. It was a little like a cozy to me with a bit of a scare.
June 13, 2023
Is it weird to say that Darcy Coates is a massive comfort read for me? The creepier the better!
July 9, 2017
Didn't find this scary - and I read this in the dark by a firepit - and found the plot silly and predictable. The scariest people in the book are the ones who are ok with a body buried in their backyard and the environment chosen to raise an infant. Decision-making of characters when supposedly 'sane' is not credible. Disappointing. No more Darcy Coates for me.
October 3, 2022
This was a perfectly fun cozy haunted house novel.
March 11, 2024
Pretty comparable to the other Coates books I’ve read. Love her books. Quick, easy, enjoyable read
November 14, 2018
There are some mild spoilers in this review.
Sadly I found this book really boring. The characters are shallow and I couldn't believe in their motivations. There was no atmosphere or detailed descriptions. The plot was predictable and trite. Things would be fine one sentence and then all of a sudden there was a haunting with no build up or suspense which made the potential for creepiness fall flat.
And as for the creep-factor, which is what I was looking for, I normally scare easily when it comes to ghost stories, but I could read this book at midnight in the pitch dark (except my Kindle light) in a creepy house all alone on Halloween night with scary sound effects playing in the background and I would still fall asleep before finishing a chapter...! UPDATE: There were a few creepier parts towards the end but they were more horror-oriented instead of Gothic ghost story (I wanted a ghost story without blood or gore or bizarre things).
Exaggerations aside, I thought the pacing was good and I was somewhat curious about why the ghost was haunting the house but mostly I was bored and couldn't wait for it to end. I would have preferred atmosphere, better descriptions, deeper characters with believable motivations and logical decisions (and that I actually liked and could relate to), and a tighter well-planned plot with twists and turns.
Example - If you have a restraining order against someone, why would you use your neighbor's address online? Why not just get a post office box? (And as the neighbor, why would you agree to someone using your address for their business, especially someone you just met? Wouldn't you find that bizarre and an invasion of privacy)? Why put personal items in your front yard that he would recognize? And the most obvious of all, why wouldn't you notify the police immediately if he were stalking you?!
I'm not sure if I will read other books by this author. I'll go back to Simone St. James novels for a cozy ghost story.
Sadly I found this book really boring. The characters are shallow and I couldn't believe in their motivations. There was no atmosphere or detailed descriptions. The plot was predictable and trite. Things would be fine one sentence and then all of a sudden there was a haunting with no build up or suspense which made the potential for creepiness fall flat.
And as for the creep-factor, which is what I was looking for, I normally scare easily when it comes to ghost stories, but I could read this book at midnight in the pitch dark (except my Kindle light) in a creepy house all alone on Halloween night with scary sound effects playing in the background and I would still fall asleep before finishing a chapter...! UPDATE: There were a few creepier parts towards the end but they were more horror-oriented instead of Gothic ghost story (I wanted a ghost story without blood or gore or bizarre things).
Exaggerations aside, I thought the pacing was good and I was somewhat curious about why the ghost was haunting the house but mostly I was bored and couldn't wait for it to end. I would have preferred atmosphere, better descriptions, deeper characters with believable motivations and logical decisions (and that I actually liked and could relate to), and a tighter well-planned plot with twists and turns.
Example - If you have a restraining order against someone, why would you use your neighbor's address online? Why not just get a post office box? (And as the neighbor, why would you agree to someone using your address for their business, especially someone you just met? Wouldn't you find that bizarre and an invasion of privacy)? Why put personal items in your front yard that he would recognize? And the most obvious of all, why wouldn't you notify the police immediately if he were stalking you?!
I'm not sure if I will read other books by this author. I'll go back to Simone St. James novels for a cozy ghost story.
September 13, 2019
Re-read September 2019
I love Darcy Coates.
--------------------------------
This was exactly what I needed!
I’ve been in such a book slump all week, I was ready to give up reading altogether (not really ;) ). But this one I liked! It’s so good to sometimes read something completely different. I was ready to take a break from romance, and luckily Darcy Coates always delivers.
Jo lives next to a haunted house. The family next door suddenly left in the middle of the night and so far it’s been uninhabited for 8 months. But then a young woman moves into the house.
Jo feels it is her neighborly duty to welcome the new resident, so she bakes a cake and rings the doorbell.
Anna seems like a nice girl and Jo and Anna immediately bond. Jo doesn’t want to scare Anna, but she tells her the house is… different. Anna knows Jo means it’s haunted, but she’s not ready to give up the house. Especially since it’s that or a woman’s shelter, since she has an abusive ex who is still trying to find her.
Jo comes over to the Marwick House regularly, and both she and Anna know the place is haunted, since the ghost of a woman doesn’t seem to hide her presence at all. But Anna insists the woman doesn’t mean her harm. But Jo doesn’t agree…..
I really like Darcy Coates’ books. She writes creepy and scary without going overboard. The way she writes always sucks me in from the start. I really liked how the house and its occupant influenced Jo and Anna, so that they started acting weird and suddenly were quite okay with covering up .
I also loved how Darcy Coates creates the perfect atmosphere for scary scenes. I mean, can anyone say ‘basement during a blackout’….
I really enjoyed this one.
(PS, this is not a romance)
I love Darcy Coates.
--------------------------------
This was exactly what I needed!
I’ve been in such a book slump all week, I was ready to give up reading altogether (not really ;) ). But this one I liked! It’s so good to sometimes read something completely different. I was ready to take a break from romance, and luckily Darcy Coates always delivers.
Jo lives next to a haunted house. The family next door suddenly left in the middle of the night and so far it’s been uninhabited for 8 months. But then a young woman moves into the house.
Jo feels it is her neighborly duty to welcome the new resident, so she bakes a cake and rings the doorbell.
Anna seems like a nice girl and Jo and Anna immediately bond. Jo doesn’t want to scare Anna, but she tells her the house is… different. Anna knows Jo means it’s haunted, but she’s not ready to give up the house. Especially since it’s that or a woman’s shelter, since she has an abusive ex who is still trying to find her.
Jo comes over to the Marwick House regularly, and both she and Anna know the place is haunted, since the ghost of a woman doesn’t seem to hide her presence at all. But Anna insists the woman doesn’t mean her harm. But Jo doesn’t agree…..
I really like Darcy Coates’ books. She writes creepy and scary without going overboard. The way she writes always sucks me in from the start. I really liked how the house and its occupant influenced Jo and Anna, so that they started acting weird and suddenly were quite okay with covering up .
I also loved how Darcy Coates creates the perfect atmosphere for scary scenes. I mean, can anyone say ‘basement during a blackout’….
I really enjoyed this one.
(PS, this is not a romance)
December 7, 2025
I wish this had been a tiny bit longer and flushed out.
November 23, 2023
I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Like always Darcy kills it with atmosphere. But what was truly fun to me was that we are the neighbours to a haunted house we didn't just buy the haunted house. It felt like such a fun twist on the usual story.
I also really enjoyed the characters and the plot in this one.
Highly recommend if you're looking for a more unique haunted house story.
I also really enjoyed the characters and the plot in this one.
Highly recommend if you're looking for a more unique haunted house story.
July 17, 2025
3.5/5 ⭐
Not my favourite, but quite entertaining nonetheless.
Not my favourite, but quite entertaining nonetheless.
November 5, 2021
Fiction / Horror / Ghotic
Do You Believe in Ghosts?
I liked the way author draws you in and keeps story believable. There is a haunted house called Marwick House, that isn't very welcoming towards its families. No family stays there long. Even animals avoid the place, flowers wither away. Jo, who lives next door has seen it all. Till one day Marwick House gets a new occupant, Anna. To her surprise Jo and Anna form friendship, and Jo becomes more involved with the strange building, and its vengeful and dead inhabitant. Little do they know that this time the ghost won't intend its occupant to go away alive...
I really enjoyed this story. It gave me chills and I could not wait to figure out what was going to happen next. It has nice mix of friendship and spookiness. I don't like to read ghost stories very often because they are way too spooky and disturbing. But this story had right amount of spookiness and scare but it also had something else that made me read on. There was even good amount of humor which helped to relieve some of the tension and stress.
Great read before Halloween!
Do You Believe in Ghosts?
I liked the way author draws you in and keeps story believable. There is a haunted house called Marwick House, that isn't very welcoming towards its families. No family stays there long. Even animals avoid the place, flowers wither away. Jo, who lives next door has seen it all. Till one day Marwick House gets a new occupant, Anna. To her surprise Jo and Anna form friendship, and Jo becomes more involved with the strange building, and its vengeful and dead inhabitant. Little do they know that this time the ghost won't intend its occupant to go away alive...
I really enjoyed this story. It gave me chills and I could not wait to figure out what was going to happen next. It has nice mix of friendship and spookiness. I don't like to read ghost stories very often because they are way too spooky and disturbing. But this story had right amount of spookiness and scare but it also had something else that made me read on. There was even good amount of humor which helped to relieve some of the tension and stress.
Great read before Halloween!
August 24, 2021
I love Darcy Coates! Her books are amazing and she knows how to really suck you in and make you look over your shoulder and search for any ghost watching you, however, this book didn't really do it for me. I liked it! But that's just it, I liked it. It was kinda boring to me honestly, and felt like the normal haunted house trope. House is haunted, makes people act different, ghost sightings, the menacing "leave" message, I don't know it just didn't do it for me. I give it a 3 stars because I didn't finish it and I did enjoy it. The last 40 or so pages really gets good and that's where I feel the story really shines, but I wish I could have been more. Still enjoyed it though and glad I read it!
October 13, 2017
October read 2017 - #2:
You did it again it again, Darcy!
Totally nailed it. I'm so glad I discovered your books!
I'm one of your biggest fans. 🔪😳
This was a most excellent read for this time of year. It was creepy and full of atmosphere.
I give this book a 4.5.
September 29, 2019
2 stars are for the cats.
April 1, 2018
What will you do when you live next to a haunted house and someone new and seemingly kind moves in?
So, this is my second Darcy Coates book in two days, and my third in a week. :P Yep, I just adore Darcy Coates, she writes some amazing horror books.
The story was creepy, right from the beginning it was haunting. The family shooting and running away like mad? The feeling of an oppressive house that is finally sleeping once more. The arrival of Anna and all the things that happened when she moved in, and not even to mention the whole ending? Yeah, this book was a creepfest. And I am so delighted, especially after reading Carrow House which took ages to finally get a bit scary. I could use some good horror. And a very active haunted house is perfection. The ghost, Helen, was just terrifying as hell. Popping up at random places, playing her piano, appearing in mirrors/glass, and then later she became even more terrifying.
I loved to see Jo and Anna get friends, though at times it didn't feel like they were friends. Mostly with how Anna acted (which may have to do with a certain ghost). At times it was quite awkward with Jo wanting to go say hi to Anna but she knew Anna wouldn't want it. But in the end they are quite good friends, and it is thanks to Jo that x and y happen.
Jo's cousin? Lukas? Eh, I am not too sure how I felt about him. He seemed very eh towards Jo (she even made remarks about it quite often), and then very friendly towards Anna. I get that he probably just had a weird way of showing his love, but still, I would have liked him to be a bit friendlier.
I do think it was a shame that nothing was done with the doll at Jo's house. We do get some hints that there is something going on with it, like how it kept falling over. It would have been fun that part of the haunting was now in Jo's house. And one could say it was just the house extending his claws into other parts of the street, but that doesn't happen until much later in the book. Jo gets the doll soon after Anna's arrival, and at that point the house is not that active yet.
Raul? What a terrible, terrible guy. I can imagine Anna having to flee away from him and find a safe haven. What she had to go through is terrible. And if one has to pick between a haunted building with a ghost (seemingly passive at the beginning) or an abusive boyfriend? I would also go for the ghost.
Then there was what happens afterwards which struck me weird until we get some explanation.
Also it would have been nice if we had known earlier why Jo never does a drop of work. Why she is seemingly always home with her 3 cats. It took up to almost the ending before we knew why she is just sitting at home doing nothing at all. Oh, bake, yes, but nothing else.
The ending? The revelation about our ghost? Ohhhhh boooooyyyy, I definitely didn't see it coming and I was so surprised.
Mm, what more? Oh, of course, when they added cameras to the mix (and what happened during that time) but also when they got a medium. Those parts just had to me on the edge of my chair.
Big creepy plus points to the cover.
All in all, I could probably continue on for a bit about the book as it was really amazing and great and creepy and spooky, but I will keep it at this and close by saying that you all should read it. Now!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
So, this is my second Darcy Coates book in two days, and my third in a week. :P Yep, I just adore Darcy Coates, she writes some amazing horror books.
The story was creepy, right from the beginning it was haunting. The family shooting and running away like mad? The feeling of an oppressive house that is finally sleeping once more. The arrival of Anna and all the things that happened when she moved in, and not even to mention the whole ending? Yeah, this book was a creepfest. And I am so delighted, especially after reading Carrow House which took ages to finally get a bit scary. I could use some good horror. And a very active haunted house is perfection. The ghost, Helen, was just terrifying as hell. Popping up at random places, playing her piano, appearing in mirrors/glass, and then later she became even more terrifying.
I loved to see Jo and Anna get friends, though at times it didn't feel like they were friends. Mostly with how Anna acted (which may have to do with a certain ghost). At times it was quite awkward with Jo wanting to go say hi to Anna but she knew Anna wouldn't want it. But in the end they are quite good friends, and it is thanks to Jo that x and y happen.
Jo's cousin? Lukas? Eh, I am not too sure how I felt about him. He seemed very eh towards Jo (she even made remarks about it quite often), and then very friendly towards Anna. I get that he probably just had a weird way of showing his love, but still, I would have liked him to be a bit friendlier.
I do think it was a shame that nothing was done with the doll at Jo's house. We do get some hints that there is something going on with it, like how it kept falling over. It would have been fun that part of the haunting was now in Jo's house. And one could say it was just the house extending his claws into other parts of the street, but that doesn't happen until much later in the book. Jo gets the doll soon after Anna's arrival, and at that point the house is not that active yet.
Raul? What a terrible, terrible guy. I can imagine Anna having to flee away from him and find a safe haven. What she had to go through is terrible. And if one has to pick between a haunted building with a ghost (seemingly passive at the beginning) or an abusive boyfriend? I would also go for the ghost.
Then there was what happens afterwards which struck me weird until we get some explanation.
Also it would have been nice if we had known earlier why Jo never does a drop of work. Why she is seemingly always home with her 3 cats. It took up to almost the ending before we knew why she is just sitting at home doing nothing at all. Oh, bake, yes, but nothing else.
The ending? The revelation about our ghost? Ohhhhh boooooyyyy, I definitely didn't see it coming and I was so surprised.
Mm, what more? Oh, of course, when they added cameras to the mix (and what happened during that time) but also when they got a medium. Those parts just had to me on the edge of my chair.
Big creepy plus points to the cover.
All in all, I could probably continue on for a bit about the book as it was really amazing and great and creepy and spooky, but I will keep it at this and close by saying that you all should read it. Now!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
January 30, 2024
What an amazingly creepy and eerily fun ghost story! It channeled the kid in me, sitting around a campfire, listening intently as my older sister told me scary stories that would often keep me up at night. But I loved them anyway!
Our protagonist Jo befriends Anna, who unwittingly buys a haunted house next door. But is our resident ghost benevolent, or does she have more sinister motives for roaming the halls of Marwick House? To round out our main characters is Lukas, Jo’s cheeky cousin, who grew on me more and more as I read the book!
THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR tells a gripping ghost story with roots to its narrative found in tragedies of the past. Although not perfect, it’s incredibly addictive, and as in true Darcy Coates fashion, once you start, you’ll have trouble stopping!
Our protagonist Jo befriends Anna, who unwittingly buys a haunted house next door. But is our resident ghost benevolent, or does she have more sinister motives for roaming the halls of Marwick House? To round out our main characters is Lukas, Jo’s cheeky cousin, who grew on me more and more as I read the book!
THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR tells a gripping ghost story with roots to its narrative found in tragedies of the past. Although not perfect, it’s incredibly addictive, and as in true Darcy Coates fashion, once you start, you’ll have trouble stopping!
April 22, 2022
Loved it!! Darcy Coates has done it for me again. A great and spooky ghost story. I've wanted to read this book since I first saw it. Can't believe it took me so long. It was lots of spooky with a nice twist ending. Another book toward my goal of reading every book Coates has written.
May 22, 2022
I don't usually read horror or paranormal genre, but this book wasn't that bad, while not particularly scary. It's a typical ghost story about a haunted house and an angry spirit who refuses to move on. There are some creepy moments that I can easily imagine the scenes.
I enjoyed it.
I enjoyed it.
July 7, 2025
Took a bit to get going but once it did it didn't waste any time!
May 3, 2025
3.75⭐️
I think I need to start revisiting some romance. And maybe idk, touch some grass and look at the sun. I read too many horror books in the last couple of days and my brain, actually my nervous system needs a break. Literally all of my systems are nervous at this point
I think I need to start revisiting some romance. And maybe idk, touch some grass and look at the sun. I read too many horror books in the last couple of days and my brain, actually my nervous system needs a break. Literally all of my systems are nervous at this point
February 7, 2020
I have enjoyed greatly every single book that I have read by Darcy Coates. As I look back at the reviews I have posted I see a field of four and five star books. She never seems to disappoint. This book is no exception.
Coates seems to always start with a simple, tried and true (maybe even over-tried) haunted house premise. In this one we meet a woman named Jo who lives next to a house which she has always suspected is haunted. After the former resident leaves in a hurry (don’t they always?), she befriends the new occupant. They become good friends. Slowly, Jo gets pulled into the drama of the house, it’s history, and it’s ghostly inhabitant.
It has taken me a while to figure out what it is that I like so much about Coates’ books. I’ve always vaguely known that it has something to do with her writing. But I couldn’t quite place it. Her stories always seem classic, tried and true. Like there is nothing new there. So, I always dismissed the idea that what I liked most was the specific stories.
I finally figured out that that is inaccurate. Yes, I like her writing. It is crisp, flows well, and conjures her scenes vividly in your mind. But what I really like is that they are not old, tried and true formulas. That is their husk, their broadest form. But what she’s managed to do is fill those old forms with a host of modern themes which makes them very compelling.
In The House Next Door we have the old trope of someone getting sucked into the drama of a friend’s haunted house. But it is also a book about domestic violence. It is about the power dynamic between men and women. It’s also about the assumptions we make regarding those dynamics and how sometimes they are right but sometimes they are wrong. It’s about finding healing when that dynamic goes wrong, violent, destructive. The story is about suffering, madness, and the inability to let go of the past. It is about the damage done by parents with narcissistic personality disorder and climbing out of the whole those parents would place their children in. It’s about the strange and often strained relationships we have with neighbors in our modern communities. Coates isn’t writing the same old haunted house stories. Her writing is very fresh, modern, compelling stuff and it speaks to me.
Coates seems to always start with a simple, tried and true (maybe even over-tried) haunted house premise. In this one we meet a woman named Jo who lives next to a house which she has always suspected is haunted. After the former resident leaves in a hurry (don’t they always?), she befriends the new occupant. They become good friends. Slowly, Jo gets pulled into the drama of the house, it’s history, and it’s ghostly inhabitant.
It has taken me a while to figure out what it is that I like so much about Coates’ books. I’ve always vaguely known that it has something to do with her writing. But I couldn’t quite place it. Her stories always seem classic, tried and true. Like there is nothing new there. So, I always dismissed the idea that what I liked most was the specific stories.
I finally figured out that that is inaccurate. Yes, I like her writing. It is crisp, flows well, and conjures her scenes vividly in your mind. But what I really like is that they are not old, tried and true formulas. That is their husk, their broadest form. But what she’s managed to do is fill those old forms with a host of modern themes which makes them very compelling.
In The House Next Door we have the old trope of someone getting sucked into the drama of a friend’s haunted house. But it is also a book about domestic violence. It is about the power dynamic between men and women. It’s also about the assumptions we make regarding those dynamics and how sometimes they are right but sometimes they are wrong. It’s about finding healing when that dynamic goes wrong, violent, destructive. The story is about suffering, madness, and the inability to let go of the past. It is about the damage done by parents with narcissistic personality disorder and climbing out of the whole those parents would place their children in. It’s about the strange and often strained relationships we have with neighbors in our modern communities. Coates isn’t writing the same old haunted house stories. Her writing is very fresh, modern, compelling stuff and it speaks to me.
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