Book cover of Home Before Dark

Book description

In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?

What was it…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

4 authors picked Home Before Dark as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This was my first peek into the world of paranormal ghost stories through books. Before this spooky thriller, truth be told, I didn’t know there was such a genre as ghost thrillers. 

I will forever be grateful to Riley Sager for not only opening me up to such a captivating genre but for writing such an amazing story.

This book gives you the present perspective of a woman returning to a haunted house that ran her family away 25 years ago, alongside the perspective of what happened 25 years ago when she was a child from the lens of a…

From Mads' list on spooky books for the season.

I live and breathe horror, but I’ve never really found a book that could evoke the same emotions as a horror movie–until I read this book. There is something so subtle about the horror in it that I almost have a hard time pegging what was so scary about it.

There weren’t jump scares, possessions, or gore. It was just a well-written family drama that happened to involve a haunted house. The descriptions of the home and the oh-so-subtle hauntings that could almost be explained away as natural phenomena were my favorite parts of this story.

From Shannen's list on proof humans are scarier than ghosts.

Sager’s novel Home Before Dark is set in a large Victorian mansion in the Vermont woods. Nicknamed the House of Horrors, the creep factor for this setting is high. Our protagonist, Maggie, returns after twenty-five years away to learn the truth of what drove her family out of the house late one night when she was only a child. Was the house really haunted as her mother and father had told her for all of those years or is there a logical explanation for the horrible things that had happened there? This novel gets my recommendation because it has…

From Jessica's list on with creepy settings.

If you love Home Before Dark...

Ad

Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

Remember The Amityville Horror? Welcome to Baneberry Hall. Maggie Holt spent twenty days living in Baneberry Hall when she was five but has no memory of what sent her family fleeing in the middle of the night. What she does know is that her father wrote a book that turned into a bestseller about the supernatural events which took place. “The book” has shaped her life ever since.

When she inherits the Baneberry Hall, she’s determined to get to the bottom of what really took place the night her family left. Alternating between past and present, the story unfolds…

If you love Home Before Dark...

Ad

Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

Want books like Home Before Dark?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Home Before Dark.

Browse books like Home Before Dark

Book cover of Lord of the Flies
Book cover of The Night Sister
Book cover of The Last House on Needless Street

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Home Before Dark, you might also like...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Book cover of Living On Purpose: Five Deliberate Choices to Realize Fulfillment and Joy

Living On Purpose by Amy Wong,

Many people from all walks of life, even after many accomplishments and experiences, are often plagued by dissatisfaction, pervasive longing, and deep questioning. These feelings may make them wonder if they are living the life they were meant to lead.

Living on Purpose is the guidebook these people have been…

5 book lists we think you will like!