The September House

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 3,784 ratings

Price: 17.72

Last update: 08-28-2024


About this item

“Why run from a haunted house when you can stay and ignore the ghosts? Just when you thought you'd seen everything a haunted house novel could do, The September House comes along and delivers an eerie, darkly funny, and emotionally grounded book about the ghosts that haunt houses and marriages."– Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House

A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this thoroughly enjoyable, twisty, and layered debut novel.


When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee.

Margaret is not most people.

Margaret is staying. It’s
her house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.


Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Shock, humour, fear, comfort…it has it all!
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024
The September House is one of the most original thrillers I’ve read in a while. This stunning character-driven story is an emotional roller-coaster: shock, humour, fear, comfort…it has it all!

We follow the story of Margaret, who lives in a haunted house with her husband, Hal. Or at least she did, until Hal went missing. Throughout the years of their stay in the house, the couple realized that something wasn’t quite right with the beautiful Victorian mansion—what with the walls bleeding, the endless screaming at night and the unwanted ghostly visitors that would literally take a chomp out of your flesh if you gave them a chance. Eventually, the couple’s only choices were to leave the house, or make peace with it and follow the rules of the entity controlling their lives. Margaret chose the latter. When Hal goes missing, their daughter, Katherine, wants to come stay in the house to investigate her father’s strange vanishing incident…only she isn’t aware that the house is haunted, and Margaret will try everything in her power to stop her daughter from finding out.

What stood out to me while reading The September House was the amazing character work. The three main characters are Margaret, Katherine and Fredericka:

Margaret could be a truly frustrating character at times—but for valid reasons. Her voice was balanced and well developed, with well-placed humour combined with a sad reality of loneliness and trauma. Watching her process her ever-changing environment and the changes in herself was fascinating, making her feel so very realistic. It is especially interesting watching her live in denial, building coping mechanisms that the reader sees straight through:

“This house was everything I’d ever wanted. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but sometimes it actually was. Or at least as close as anything could come to perfect in this life, which admittedly was not very close…I knew how to survive here, and I always had the sense that if…I just played by the rules well enough, I could make it into a perfect home…I loved this house. And you didn’t give up on the things you loved.”
(Page 191)

Katherine was so annoying—in a good way! She helped drive the plot forward by placing constant conflict in her mother’s life, forcing Margaret to question her beliefs and the lies to tells herself to survive. It was Katherine’s character arc that felt the strongest in the end.

Fredericka was my favourite character, adding fun and a good deal of sarcasm to the story. I still catch myself thinking “Needs must when the devil drives” (Page 16) whenever an unpleasant situation that I cannot avoid arises.

The story setting was FANTASTIC. Bleeding walls? Victorian décor? Ghosts who snap and love and murder? Hell yes! The setting contributed wonderfully to the overall moodiness and creepy vibes of the book.

As for the plot: creative, unpredictable and filled with strong moral codes. I really enjoyed the pace of the story; it built up to an utter wild ride towards the end. Those last few chapters were hectic in all the best ways!

What I loved and appreciated most about this book is the theme of finding beauty in darkness:

“A leopard cannot change his spots,” she (Fredericka) said before moving into the living room to fluff the pillows.
“Can’t imagine why he’d want to,” I (Margaret) thought. “The spots are part of what makes leopards so beautiful.”
(Page 106)

The September House inspires one to carry on despite difficult situations, but also evokes a warning of becoming too comfortable with the darkness.

5 stars and one of my new favourite books!
Ripley7700
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining haunted house romp
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2024
This book was highly bingeable, with an easily-digestible writing style. I found it difficult to put down once I started reading it. That being said, I don’t think there’s anything particularly novel about this…novel. If you’re a haunted house fan like me, you will probably be familiar with a lot of the content, and the light writing style does not stand out on its own as being exceptional. I also was a bit disappointed with the ending, which felt simultaneously tacked on and too long. But it is a fun jaunt nonetheless, not scary but with some gore. Difficult to provide this warning without providing spoilers, but this book deep dives into victim psychology, which might be difficult for some to read.
J. Jordan
3.0 out of 5 stars Prim-like Horror
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2023
The only thing I admired about this book was Margret's nonchalance with all the horror. It definitely took me by surprise and even made me laugh in places, this woman who was so willing to put up with well-- everything. Casually ducking bitey ghost children and cleaved housekeepers.
But everything else about the book was weak and slow. Not original with no sense of urgency or stakes. Kind of just read it to get it over with. A horror story with horror that was told by a prim British woman over tea:
"I daresay that waterfall of blood was positively ghastly this morning. Spent all my energy cleaning it. Oh and did I tell you about the gobbets of meat in the sink? Good heavens, I'll be inhaling the smell of pennies and tin for weeks!"
I can't believe I paid full kindle price for this. Refreshingly boring for a horror novel?
Bob43
5.0 out of 5 stars great read !!!
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2024
Really enjoyed this one… couple of great twists and turns…just all and all a fun, enjoyable story… well written, with great characters… highly recommend
Carolyn M. Rahberger
4.0 out of 5 stars WHAT DID I JUST READ?! ????
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2024
Sensationalized? Maybe ???? a good read? You bet ???? This was an entertaining, action filled story and I’m glad I read it. Definitely recommend
K. Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars Do you remember the 21st night of September? (Sorry couldn't resist )????
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2024
First, let me apologize for the Earth, Wind, and Fire remark.???? So, this was an excellent book! If I'm not mistaken, this is Ms. Orlando's debut novel, and let me tell you it exceeded my expectations. There were so many different twists and turns. Every time I thought one thing was about to happen.... BAM....something completely unexpected! I loved it! Amazing story and unlike most haunted house stories, this one has a lot of heart.

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