Why am I passionate about this?
My mother got cancer when I was seven and died when I was in college. So, I began to consider death and the afterlife from a very young age. I don’t know if ghosts are real, but I know that people are haunted. I explore this idea—that haunted houses are really settings for haunted humans—as well as the ambiguity between ghosts and mental descents in my own teaching and writing. I love haunted house novels because they’re wonderful vehicles for this sort of exploration and because they’re so much fun to read! I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do!
Kelly's book list on classic haunted house books
Why did Kelly love this book?
This is my favorite Stephen King novel. How could I not love a novel that includes a troubled writer, a psychic kid, a loving but incompetent mom, and a snowed-in empty hotel with creepy twin girls, a siren in a bathtub, words written backward in blood, and typed pages from a manual typewriter that are absolutely terrifying?
This book has all of these elements and more. I love how King makes a writer’s descent into madness so fascinating, and so scary.
25 authors picked The Shining as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Before Doctor Sleep, there was The Shining, a classic of modern American horror from the undisputed master, Stephen King.
Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around…