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Open House on Haunted Hill
Author’s Note: At the World Fantasy Convention in 2018, I went to dinner with some lovely people who let me babble about Horror. I read, watch, and play Horror every week, but I barely ever write it. Instead I tend to put Horror-y things back out as humorous stories or heartwarming stories. Off the top of my head I gave them the example that if I wrote a haunted house story, it wouldn’t be like Haunting of Hill House – it would be about a haunted house that was lonely and desperately wanted someone to live in it. One of my fellow authors reached across the table, grabbed me by the hand, and said, “Please write this.” On the train ride home, I did. So this story is dedicated to Natalia Theodoridou, who demanded I help 133 Poisonwood find its family and its audience – all of you.
13 pages, ebook
First published June 15, 2020
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June 8, 2021
This is the cutest, most adorable and heartwarming Hugo and Nebula nominated story — and now Nebula Award winner for Best Short Story! — about a very lonely haunted house that really would like a family to move in.
133 Poisonwood Avenue needs to make a good impression and “it pulls its floorboards so straight that its foundations tremble”. Good thing it’s not a killer house and really just wants to be loved and lived in. “The house straightens its aching floorboards, like a human sucking in their belly.” A widowed father and his four-year-old kid would be just perfect.
The title clearly evokes a well-known horror story, but this sweet little tale is anything but horror. Reading it is just like petting a cute fluffy kitten. It is cozy and charming and made my heart grow three sizes which cannot be healthy.
4 stars.
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Read it free here: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...
——————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
133 Poisonwood Avenue needs to make a good impression and “it pulls its floorboards so straight that its foundations tremble”. Good thing it’s not a killer house and really just wants to be loved and lived in. “The house straightens its aching floorboards, like a human sucking in their belly.” A widowed father and his four-year-old kid would be just perfect.
“Every decent haunted house has at least one secret room.”
The title clearly evokes a well-known horror story, but this sweet little tale is anything but horror. Reading it is just like petting a cute fluffy kitten. It is cozy and charming and made my heart grow three sizes which cannot be healthy.
4 stars.
——————
Read it free here: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...
——————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
December 19, 2021
***Nebula 2020 winner for Best Short Story***
A very different haunted house story.
Told from the perspective of the house, we learn that it never actually killed anyone. Well, in 1989 an old lady died there, but it was not the house’s fault. No, this house is not a killer. It is just ... lonely. It wants somebody to finally call it their home again.
So, when Mrs. Weiss is organizing an open house, 133 Poisonwood Avenue is on its best behavior. Can it convince someone to live in it? A widowed father and his young girl might be its best chance.
This is an adorable little story. While nothing spectacular and certainly not scary, it is really sweet and put a smile on my face.
Can be read for free here: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...
Also a Hugo 2021 finalist for Best Short Story.
Best Novel
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)
• The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk (Erewhon)
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
• Network Effect by Martha Wells (Tordotcom Publishing)
Best Novella
• Tower of Mud and Straw by Yaroslav Barsukov (Metaphorosis)
• Finna by Nino Cipri (Tordotcom Publishing)
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom Publishing)
• Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo)
• The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg (Tachyon)
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom Publishing)
Best Novelette
• Stepsister by Leah Cypess (F&SF 5-6/20)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (Big Girl, PM Press)
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)
• Where You Linger by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Shadow Prisons by Caroline M. Yoachim (serialized in the Dystopia Triptych series as The Shadow Prison Experiment, Shadow Prisons of the Mind and The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma, Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press)
Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math by Aimee Picchi (Daily Science Fiction 1/3/20)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• The Eight-Thousanders by Jason Sanford (Asimov’s 9-10/20) (Asimov’s 9-10/20)
• My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
• Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet)
• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
• A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
• A Game of Fox and Squirrels by Jenn Reese (Holt)
• Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar (HarperTeen)
Best Novel
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
Best Novella
• Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
• The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
• Finna by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Best Novelette
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine Issue 34: May/June 2020)
• I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter by Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
• The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine Issue 35: July/August 2020)
• Monster by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (from Big Girl)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)
Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (Tor. com)
• The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
• Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
Best Series
• The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Interdependency by John Scalzi
• The Lady Astronaut Universe by Mary Robinette Kowal
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
• October Daye by Seanan McGuire
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
Best Graphic Story or Comic
• Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party, written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles
• Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, written by Seanan McGuire, art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosi Kämpe
• Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 2: Edge of Everything, written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Christian Ward
• Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
• Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire
• Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings
A very different haunted house story.
Told from the perspective of the house, we learn that it never actually killed anyone. Well, in 1989 an old lady died there, but it was not the house’s fault. No, this house is not a killer. It is just ... lonely. It wants somebody to finally call it their home again.
So, when Mrs. Weiss is organizing an open house, 133 Poisonwood Avenue is on its best behavior. Can it convince someone to live in it? A widowed father and his young girl might be its best chance.
This is an adorable little story. While nothing spectacular and certainly not scary, it is really sweet and put a smile on my face.
Can be read for free here: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...
Also a Hugo 2021 finalist for Best Short Story.
_________________
2020 Nebula Award Finalists
Best Novel
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)
• The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk (Erewhon)
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
• Network Effect by Martha Wells (Tordotcom Publishing)
Best Novella
• Tower of Mud and Straw by Yaroslav Barsukov (Metaphorosis)
• Finna by Nino Cipri (Tordotcom Publishing)
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom Publishing)
• Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo)
• The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg (Tachyon)
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom Publishing)
Best Novelette
• Stepsister by Leah Cypess (F&SF 5-6/20)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (Big Girl, PM Press)
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)
• Where You Linger by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Shadow Prisons by Caroline M. Yoachim (serialized in the Dystopia Triptych series as The Shadow Prison Experiment, Shadow Prisons of the Mind and The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma, Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press)
Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math by Aimee Picchi (Daily Science Fiction 1/3/20)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• The Eight-Thousanders by Jason Sanford (Asimov’s 9-10/20) (Asimov’s 9-10/20)
• My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
• Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet)
• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
• A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
• A Game of Fox and Squirrels by Jenn Reese (Holt)
• Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar (HarperTeen)
________________
2021 Hugo Award Finalists
Best Novel
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
Best Novella
• Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
• The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
• Finna by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Best Novelette
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine Issue 34: May/June 2020)
• I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter by Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
• The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine Issue 35: July/August 2020)
• Monster by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (from Big Girl)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)
Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (Tor. com)
• The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
• Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
Best Series
• The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Interdependency by John Scalzi
• The Lady Astronaut Universe by Mary Robinette Kowal
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
• October Daye by Seanan McGuire
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
Best Graphic Story or Comic
• Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party, written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles
• Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, written by Seanan McGuire, art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosi Kämpe
• Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 2: Edge of Everything, written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Christian Ward
• Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
• Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire
• Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings
August 26, 2022
A haunted house is a lonely fate. Many resort to killing their occupants. Or terrorising them. However, 133 Poisonwood isn't like other haunted houses. It's—lonely.
What 133 Poisonwood wants, is a resident. It watches pensively as client after client is brought in by the realtor.
It sometimes intervenes Haunting is an art. yes, yes it is. I will not be ghosting any stories about anthropomorphic objects. Is this a new favourite trope? I don't know. But I can't wait to find out.
You can read it here.
What 133 Poisonwood wants, is a resident. It watches pensively as client after client is brought in by the realtor.
It sometimes intervenes Haunting is an art. yes, yes it is. I will not be ghosting any stories about anthropomorphic objects. Is this a new favourite trope? I don't know. But I can't wait to find out.
You can read it here.
June 8, 2021
This was freaking ADORABLE. I absolutely loved the concept of the house haunting itself, and beneficially "haunting" the family that may move in. Very cute, very heartwarming and sweet. I read this in about 5 minutes while eating lunch, and, as much as I am a cynical, non-hugging beast of a human, I am also a big emotional softie and this almost made me tear up a bit.
Excuse me while I call my bank about a completely unrelated mortgage question. O_O
Excuse me while I call my bank about a completely unrelated mortgage question. O_O
February 10, 2023
A cute story about a haunted house that is not at all horror. Not as "weird" as I'd expect from Diabolical Plots, but refreshing nonetheless.
June 7, 2021
133 Poisonwood Avenue would be stronger if it was a killer house. There is an estate at 35 Silver Street that annihilated a family back in the 1800s and its roof has never sprung a leak since. In 2007 it still had the power to trap a bickering couple in an endless hedge maze that was physically only three hundred square feet. 35 Silver Street is a show-off.
This was sweet, sad, and got a lot done in a very short space of time. No wonder it won a Nebula!
This was sweet, sad, and got a lot done in a very short space of time. No wonder it won a Nebula!
June 10, 2021
Nebula short story award 2020
Oooh so sweet. I have a soft spot for sentient haunting lonely things.
All 133 Poisonwood has is a light touch, but it knows how to use it. Haunting is an art.
Oooh so sweet. I have a soft spot for sentient haunting lonely things.
All 133 Poisonwood has is a light touch, but it knows how to use it. Haunting is an art.
June 22, 2021
This was really touching. The not-exactly-haunted house just wants some nice people to move in.
December 4, 2021
Wonderful story. I recommend this as a companion read to The House in the Cerulean Sea. Both are charming and have the same whimsical feel. Like The House in the Cerulean Sea, the house at 133 Poisonwood Avenue would make a wonderful home for gifted children because it also seeks to protect a gifted child. If you liked Cerulean Sea, definitely give this a read.
June 15, 2021
133 Poisonwood would be stronger if it was a killer house. But it couldn’t be more adorable. This haunted house story isn’t short on anything but length. I’ll be looking for more from this author! Thank you to Nataliya for the wonderful review and link to the story. Now, it’s my turn to pass it on. Read it here: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...
July 27, 2021
Better than expected but it ended way too soon. Would love to read more about the house and Anna.
September 25, 2022
What a lovely little story! It made my heart full and even made me tear up a little by the end. Haunted houses don't always have to be scary. Sometimes they just want to be inhabited again.
March 26, 2022
Open House on Haunted Hill (Ngôi nhà mở trên ngọn đồi ma ám): Số 133 Đại lộ Poisonwood là một ngôi nhà có tri giác và chút phép thuật. Nó cô đơn và khao khát được trở thành mái ấm cho một gia đình. Buổi xem mắt nhà do trung tâm môi giới bất động sản tổ chức là cơ hội tốt nhất để nó gây ấn tượng và tìm thấy gia chủ tương lai.
Trong "Open House on Haunted Hill", tác giả đã tài tình nhào nặn lại các mô tít của thể loại "haunted house" để kể một câu chuyện khác biệt và hóm hỉnh về một ngôi nhà có tri giác (nhưng không bị ám). Phải nói rằng Số 133 Đại lộ Poisonwood đã chiếm trọn cảm tình của mình. Đây là một nhân vật có chiều s��u tâm hồn và giàu sắc thái cảm xúc: cô đơn, khao khát yêu và được yêu, khấp khởi hy vọng, cay đắng thất vọng... Cái cách nó lóng ngóng làm đỏm để gây ấn tượng với khách xem nhà cũng giống như cách một chú chó to xác trong tiệm thú cưng cố làm trò để thu hút người mua. Khó có thể cầm lòng trước một nhân vật đáng yêu như vậy 🥰
"Open House on Haunted Hill" đem lại cho mình cảm giác ấm lòng và dư vị ngọt ngào như một tách trà chiều. Dù nội dung tổng thể dễ thương và hài hước, truyện vẫn có cao trào và một cú twist nhỏ ở cuối. Một điểm thú vị nữa là mình nghĩ tác phẩm này có thể được chỉnh sửa chút ít để trở thành một truyện ngắn sci-fi, với nhân vật chính là AI điều hành của một ngôi nhà công nghệ cao.
Trong "Open House on Haunted Hill", tác giả đã tài tình nhào nặn lại các mô tít của thể loại "haunted house" để kể một câu chuyện khác biệt và hóm hỉnh về một ngôi nhà có tri giác (nhưng không bị ám). Phải nói rằng Số 133 Đại lộ Poisonwood đã chiếm trọn cảm tình của mình. Đây là một nhân vật có chiều s��u tâm hồn và giàu sắc thái cảm xúc: cô đơn, khao khát yêu và được yêu, khấp khởi hy vọng, cay đắng thất vọng... Cái cách nó lóng ngóng làm đỏm để gây ấn tượng với khách xem nhà cũng giống như cách một chú chó to xác trong tiệm thú cưng cố làm trò để thu hút người mua. Khó có thể cầm lòng trước một nhân vật đáng yêu như vậy 🥰
"Open House on Haunted Hill" đem lại cho mình cảm giác ấm lòng và dư vị ngọt ngào như một tách trà chiều. Dù nội dung tổng thể dễ thương và hài hước, truyện vẫn có cao trào và một cú twist nhỏ ở cuối. Một điểm thú vị nữa là mình nghĩ tác phẩm này có thể được chỉnh sửa chút ít để trở thành một truyện ngắn sci-fi, với nhân vật chính là AI điều hành của một ngôi nhà công nghệ cao.
June 9, 2021
Super cute supernatural short story.
June 9, 2021
Sweet, lovely story with exceptional personification! It will only take a few minutes to read but it will keep you thinking!
http://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fic...
http://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fic...
June 10, 2021
A short but oh so much fun story about a haunted house... but way different than you may think it is! This haunted house is actually nice! He actually wants people to live in him. In this book we follow, through the eyes of the house, a day in which the house is open for people. We especially follow a single father and his tiny daughter. The house seems particularly fond of them and I had fun seeing the house do his best to make them at home. Showing them parts, making rooms shiny a bit brighter, straightening the floor, giving a nudge or two to the people, and so on. It was so much fun to read and I really loved how sweet the house was. Haunted houses generally are bad places to be in, but this one? Just so homey and welcome, I wouldn't mind being there.
I wasn't too sure at times about father/daughter given how he reacted to her at times.
A fun short story and I definitely wouldn't mind this one get expanded and a bit longer. I would love to know more about this haunted place.
I wasn't too sure at times about father/daughter given how he reacted to her at times.
A fun short story and I definitely wouldn't mind this one get expanded and a bit longer. I would love to know more about this haunted place.
April 19, 2021
Quirky, but fun.
As told by the house.
As told by the house.
June 6, 2021
Open House on Haunted Hill just won the Nebula for Best Short Story!
It's such a charming, sweet story! I adore 133 Poisonwood 🖤
It's such a charming, sweet story! I adore 133 Poisonwood 🖤
June 9, 2021
Well, what a surprise. I love haunted house books, but usually they are more like the house on Silver Street. Not exactly welcoming…
This was so very sweet. It’s a perfect little story. I loved it.
Non horror fans, don’t be alarmed by the title. This is about a house that desperately wants to be a home, and it’s lovely.
Also, there’s a note at the end that mentions an earlier version conflated a spindle with a spinning wheel. A reader mentioned the error and the author corrected it. YAY. As a fiber crafter it’s annoying when crafts and tools are used incorrectly. It cheers me that the author not only made the fix but thanked the reader. I want to read more from this author now.
This was so very sweet. It’s a perfect little story. I loved it.
Non horror fans, don’t be alarmed by the title. This is about a house that desperately wants to be a home, and it’s lovely.
Also, there’s a note at the end that mentions an earlier version conflated a spindle with a spinning wheel. A reader mentioned the error and the author corrected it. YAY. As a fiber crafter it’s annoying when crafts and tools are used incorrectly. It cheers me that the author not only made the fix but thanked the reader. I want to read more from this author now.
January 10, 2023
This is heart-aching story an apparently mundane premise (showing vacant houses to prospective buyers) that evolves into something more loving and, yes, more haunting than every other fantasy.
You shouldn’t miss this one.
Highly Recommended.
You shouldn’t miss this one.
Highly Recommended.
June 9, 2021
I’ll try to sell you on this story with a scene:
This is a haunted house, less powerful than it could be, and as benevolent as it can be, while weighed down by loneliness and desperation. Just a family short of being a home.
You can read it here, if you’d like: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...
“The house misses 1989. It has spent so much of the time since vacant.
Today it is going to change that. It is on its best behavior as the realtor, Mrs. Weiss, sweeps up. She puts out trays of store-bought cookies and hides scent dispensers, while 133 Poisonwood summons a gentle breeze and uses its aura to spook any groundhogs off the property. Both the realtor and the real estate need this open house to work.
Stragglers trickle in. They are bored people more interested in snacks than the restored plumbing. The house straightens its aching floorboards, like a human sucking in their belly. Stragglers track mud everywhere. The house would love nothing more than any of them to spend the rest of their lives tracking mud into it.”
This is a haunted house, less powerful than it could be, and as benevolent as it can be, while weighed down by loneliness and desperation. Just a family short of being a home.
You can read it here, if you’d like: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...
June 7, 2021
It was a short story about a lonely haunted house that uses the open house event to encourage new people to move in.
It was a story that I never knew I needed in my life. A haunted house as a sympathetic character that I couldn't help but to root for? That's certainly new. The result was somehow both wistful and hilarious at the same time.
It was a story that I never knew I needed in my life. A haunted house as a sympathetic character that I couldn't help but to root for? That's certainly new. The result was somehow both wistful and hilarious at the same time.
February 25, 2022
Lonely sentient supernatural (though not haunted, oh no, not haunted) house hopes to get a new family living there during a real estate open house day.
Cute, intentionally cute, but that seems to be it. Feels a bit glib at times, soppy a lot (kid missing her mother) confusing references time wise or maybe my english is just crap , and weird similes ocasionally (my english is probably just crap anyway).
I am usually very very enthusiastic for "aww cute" nevermind plot, but this did not quite work for me.
Cute, intentionally cute, but that seems to be it. Feels a bit glib at times, soppy a lot (kid missing her mother) confusing references time wise or maybe my english is just crap , and weird similes ocasionally (my english is probably just crap anyway).
I am usually very very enthusiastic for "aww cute" nevermind plot, but this did not quite work for me.
April 19, 2021
This is a remarkably sweet haunted house story.
133 Poisonwood Avenue has been vacant for longer than it is happy with, and when a real estate agent hosts an open house, it's really hoping that at least one family will decide they like it.
Those who come to the open house include some real duds, notably the guy who is apparently only interested in the fact that the wallpaper in one room was not applied perfectly. He's only one among those who leave with clearly no intention of making a offer.
However, there is also the widowed father and his young daughter, who is very into dinosaurs, and misses her mother. The house sets out to persuade them to stay, without scaring them off by convincing them the house is haunted.
Recommended.
This is a free read available on the Diabolical Plots website, and I am reviewing it voluntarily.
133 Poisonwood Avenue has been vacant for longer than it is happy with, and when a real estate agent hosts an open house, it's really hoping that at least one family will decide they like it.
Those who come to the open house include some real duds, notably the guy who is apparently only interested in the fact that the wallpaper in one room was not applied perfectly. He's only one among those who leave with clearly no intention of making a offer.
However, there is also the widowed father and his young daughter, who is very into dinosaurs, and misses her mother. The house sets out to persuade them to stay, without scaring them off by convincing them the house is haunted.
Recommended.
This is a free read available on the Diabolical Plots website, and I am reviewing it voluntarily.
May 17, 2022
One of my favorite stories of all time. To take something normally so frightening and evil and turn it into the most endearing, lovable, cuddle-worthy (if one could cuddle a house) characters is nothing short of miraculous. And yet, it's completely this author's jam.
Handling something as heavy as grief with the depth of emotion conveyed here, while still making the reader laugh as often as he does, is also miraculous. But that is, again, exactly his jam. I never feel like anything is being played for laughs, it's just that life really is pretty funny when you think about it.
John has such a unique view and voice in his writing that his work is literally incomparable. And I can't wait for what comes next.
Handling something as heavy as grief with the depth of emotion conveyed here, while still making the reader laugh as often as he does, is also miraculous. But that is, again, exactly his jam. I never feel like anything is being played for laughs, it's just that life really is pretty funny when you think about it.
John has such a unique view and voice in his writing that his work is literally incomparable. And I can't wait for what comes next.
April 15, 2021
That was a very sweet and solid story. Nothing entirely unique, but a nice little tale just the same.
June 17, 2024
What a charming little story and I can't believe I found myself rooting for a 'haunted house'. This had a lot of heart to it and I found myself rooting for the house to get some new occupants so it wouldn't be alone. Everyone needs a friend! Even a house that could be spooky but just wants to soothe instead. My only wish it this was longer and I got to see even more adventures of the house over the years. The little glimpses were nice, though. Really glad I read this and marking it down for a Summerween vibe.
December 17, 2021
Warm play on the genre.
June 20, 2022
A feel-good haunted house story, like a warm hug, but with doors that open and close by themselves.
March 22, 2023
OMG! That warmed me to the core. My heart is full and I wanna cry because I was that girl more times than I can count.
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