I’m impressed. As far as haunted house stories go, Incidents Around The House shines with great ideas, excellent timing and execution. I’ve listened to the audiobook, and Delanie Nicole Gill’s narration awed me. It made a great story even more thrilling (and chilling).

Bela is eight-years-old and her family (Mommy, Daddo, Grandma Ruth) is everything for her. But there’s someone else in the house, an entity Bela calls “Other Mommy” who asks her every day if it can go inside her heart. Creepy. To make matters worse, Other Mommy is growing tired of waiting and asking the same question again and again, and starts to put some pressure on the family.

The horror here works on all levels. There’s, of course, a spectral figure haunting young Bela that grows restless and bolder. But there’s also more psychological horror tied to family secrets, lies, and complicated relationships. From the outside, everything looks fine, but dig deeper and the cracks start to show.

The child’s POV is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it gives the narrative a sense of wonder and vulnerability. On the other, it can narrow the lense through which the story is told and limit its complexity and emotional range. For me, Malerman pulled it off; Using Bela’s childlike innocence and naivete made the story even more disturbing and heart-wrenching. Sometimes it’s not about new ideas but about getting an emotional response from the reader. And he got one from me. Bela is convincingly childlike, uncomfortably perceptive, and likable. The adults, on the other hand, lack depth and feel more thinly sketched than her.

In all, Incidents Around The House impressed me. It works with childhood fears, adults nightmares, family drama, and haunted house/ghost story beats. And it all works well. While it may not break new ground, it remains enjoyable and unnerving, and that’s all I want from a good horror story.