There’s something uniquely unsettling about horror that invades the one place we’re supposed to feel completely safe:
Home.
Our homes are meant to be our sanctuaries—four walls that protect us from the dangers of the outside world. But what if that danger is walled up in there with us? What happens when that breathy, haunting call is coming from inside the house?
Sound familiar? It should! This domestic dread has weaved its way through pop culture for decades, creating even more reasons for us to keep the lights on.
Two of the most notorious blockbuster hauntings are The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist.
The characters in these films represent the quintessential 1970s-80s middle-class “American Dream” of owning a beautiful home in a safe neighborhood for their ~2.5 children. In both stories, however, these “perfect” families still fall victim to forces beyond their control.
It could be worse, though, the horror could be the house itself. In Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, Stephen King’s Rose Red, and James Cameron’s Alien, the very setting we’re whisked away to becomes our darkest fears.
While The Shining and Rose Red have themes more domestically vile in nature, they share Alien‘s central and most horrifying truth—some “safe spaces” are deadly traps in disguise.
Psychological thrillers also take great advantage of this widely loved trope. Movies like Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry, Darling and the classic Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock prove that you don’t need supernatural monsters when the real threat is your family and neighbors.
Tapping into our most primal fear, this theme gets its power from stripping us of our basic human need for security.
When family members morph into monsters, cozy bedrooms hide dark secrets, and skeletons dangle listlessly in every closet… there’s truly nowhere left to run.
Keep reading for spine-chilling audiobook recs that prove there’s no place like home… for better or for worse.
The Scald-Crow
Written by Grace Daly; narrated by Aven Shore
Releases 10/14!
Brigid—that’s the Irish Breej, not “Bridge-id,” though it’s not like she’d correct you—has had a rough go of it. Her mother abused her when she was little, her best friend (and secret crush) is too busy chasing some blonde to answer Brigid’s calls, and she lost her job thanks to chronic pelvic pain with no identifiable cause. As a self-doubting, disabled adult, she’s certain that everything that has happened to her is her fault.
Now her mother has gone missing and Brigid’s only option is to move back into her childhood home in the idyllic Midwestern town of St. Charles, Illinois. Soon the uncanny begins…
Shot through with gallows humor and speaking in the voice of a trusted best friend, this self-deprecating horror novel explores medical trauma through Irish folklore, asking “Can a sick woman ever be trusted?”
The Intruder
Written by Freida McFadden; narrated by Patricia Santomasso, Tina Wolstencroft, Joe Hempel
Casey’s cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she’s a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.
She’s young. She’s alone. And she’s covered in blood.
In this taut, deadly tale of survival and desperation, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden explores how far one girl will go to save herself.
You may also like THE TENANT and THE HOUSEMAID (coming to theaters this December – watch the trailer)!
Of Monsters and Mainframes
Written by Barbara Truelove; *full cast narration* by Chris Devon, Emana Rachelle, Charlie Albers, Eve Passeltiner, Zura Johnson, Cary Hite, Gail Shalan
Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception.
Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.
The Dead Husband Cookbook
Written by Barbara Truelove; *full cast narration* by Chris Devon, Emana Rachelle, Charlie Albers, Eve Passeltiner, Zura Johnson, Cary Hite, Gail Shalan
One husband, well done.
When infamous chef, restaurateur, and television personality Maria Capello’s husband died, the media circus was intense… and quick to cast the blame. Whispers claimed Maria murdered her husband to build her culinary empire on his bones, and that there was an all-too-grisly reason his body was never recovered. Yet for the past few decades, the Capello family maintained their stony silence―until now.
Who Did I Marry?
Written by Barbara Truelove; *full cast narration* by Chris Devon, Emana Rachelle, Charlie Albers, Eve Passeltiner, Zura Johnson, Cary Hite, Gail Shalan
The people closest to us hurt us the most…
Our daughter’s birthday party was supposed to be perfect. Our townhouse has never looked better. The decorations were extravagant but tasteful. The cake had three delicious tiers.
But I didn’t account for a dead body discovered on our perfectly manicured lawns…
Deena Undone
Written by Debra K. Avery; narrated by Mia Barron
A terrifying nightmare sets off a series of attacks on Deena Bartlett’s five senses, and her eighty-year-old Aunt Agatha is responsible.
But the old woman is not alone. She’s made a monstrous bargain with the Sensu, a malevolent entity whose stock in trade is attacking a person’s senses, one by one. It has promised Agatha health in return for one evil act―the killing of her niece.
This Skin Was Once Mine
Written by Eric LaRocca; narrated by Natalie Naudus, André, Steven Crossley
A brand-new collection of four intense, claustrophobic and terrifying horror tales from the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.
Story #1: “This Skin Was Once Mine”
When her father dies under mysterious circumstances, Jillian Finch finds herself grieving the man she idolized while struggling to feel comfortable in the childhood home she was sent away from nearly twenty years ago. Then Jillian discovers a dark secret that will threaten to undo everything she has ever known about her father.
Let Him In
Written by William Friend; narrated by Jodie Harris, Johnathan Johns
Grief has settled in at Hart House.
For nine months, Alfie has been caring for his twin seven-year-old daughters after the sudden death of their mother, Pippa. One night, Alfie wakes to find Sylvie and Cassia at the foot of his bed, claiming theres a man in their room. Alfie finds no sign of a man, but it isn’t long before the girls start talking about an imaginary friend.
What seemingly begins as a harmless coping mechanism for the two grieving girls quickly develops into something more insidious…
Wild Spaces
Written by S.L. Coney; narrated by Nick Mondelli, Trevor Wilson
Nominated for the 2024 Philip K. Dick Award & an Esquire Best of Horror 2023 pick!
An eleven-year-old boy lives an idyllic childhood exploring the remote coastal plains and wetlands of South Carolina alongside his parents and his dog, Teach. But when the boys eerie and estranged grandfather shows up one day with no warning, cracks begin to form as hidden secrets resurface that his parents refuse to explain.
Robert R. McCammons Boys Life meets Lovecraftian horror in this foreboding, sensual coming-of-age debut in which the corrosive nature of family secrets and toxic relatives assume eldritch proportions.
Don’t Go Down There
Written by Kiersten Modglin; narrated by Natalie Naudus, Scott Brick, Jesse Vilinsky
When Andi Edwards discovers her husband Spencer isn’t where he’s supposed to be and isn’t answering her calls or texts, a flurry of scenarios races through her mind.
Is he hurt?
Is he cheating?
Is he dead?
