Fans pick 100 books like This Appearing House

By Ally Malinenko,

Here are 100 books that This Appearing House fans have personally recommended if you like This Appearing House. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Stitchers

Darcy Marks Author Of Grounded for All Eternity

From my list on Halloween for middle grade readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was five my dad had to carry me, crying, out of the Salem Witch’s Dungeon. You’d think that would put a damper on my love of spooky things, but it absolutely did not! Bela Lugosi was my first crush. I set up Haunted Houses in my garage and read every single book my local library had on the Salem Witch Trials. I made my way from Bunnicula and The Halloween Tree, to books by Stephen King and Anne Rice. Halloween and horror will always have a special place in my heart, and yet…I still don’t let my legs dangle off my bed, lest the monsters get me.

Darcy's book list on Halloween for middle grade readers

Darcy Marks Why did Darcy love this book?

The Stitchers is the first book in the Fright Watch series and any one of them would be the perfect Halloween read. But let’s be real. Old people are scary.

Quinn knows there’s something off about her neighbors. The Oldies have lived in the neighborhood for as long as anyone can remember, and yet they never seem to get any older. If Quinn’s dad was still alive, she knows they’d be coming up with theories: Are they vampires? Aliens? Who knows! The answer is worse than she imagined. When Quinn sees one of the Oldies jogging, she knows she recognizes that leg…it was her dad’s.

I always loved Rod Sterling at Halloween and The Stitchers has such a great Twilight Zone vibe. It’s perfect for kids who lean towards the science fiction side of spookiness where normal things are just…wrong.

By Lorien Lawrence,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Stitchers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

"The chills come guaranteed." -Stephen King
The start of a spine-tingling new horror series perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Goosebumps.

The spine-chilling middle-grade horror that Stephen King called "the perfect book for kids to cool off with on a hot summer day, because the chills come guaranteed"-now in paperback!

Something strange is happening on Goodie Lane . . .

Thirteen-year-old Quinn Parker knows that there's something off about her neighbors. She calls them "the Oldies" because they've lived on Goodie Lane for as long as anyone can remember, but they never seem to age. Are they vampires? Or…


Book cover of The Girl in White

Darcy Marks Author Of Grounded for All Eternity

From my list on Halloween for middle grade readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was five my dad had to carry me, crying, out of the Salem Witch’s Dungeon. You’d think that would put a damper on my love of spooky things, but it absolutely did not! Bela Lugosi was my first crush. I set up Haunted Houses in my garage and read every single book my local library had on the Salem Witch Trials. I made my way from Bunnicula and The Halloween Tree, to books by Stephen King and Anne Rice. Halloween and horror will always have a special place in my heart, and yet…I still don’t let my legs dangle off my bed, lest the monsters get me.

Darcy's book list on Halloween for middle grade readers

Darcy Marks Why did Darcy love this book?

Eastport is the most cursed city in the US and the residents are darn proud of it!

Unfortunately, Mallory hasn’t quite adapted to her new home and finds her parents’ spooky stories to their restaurant customers and the constant Halloween in the town embarrassing. None of this stuff is real, after all! But when Mallory sees the girl in white, things start happening that she can’t explain. Worse yet, she’s doing things she can’t explain. Dangerous things.

I loved this new take on the Lady in White urban legend, and as a huge fan of towns like Salem, where the Halloween vibe is year-round, I loved visiting Eastport, even if Mallory’s not a fan. This one has some truly scary scenes, but the story itself has a base that any kid will relate to, the struggle of fitting in.

By Lindsay Currie,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Girl in White as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

For fans of Small Spaces and the Goosebumps series by R.L Stine comes a chilling story about a twelve-year old girl who must face down the most notorious ghost in her haunted East coast town to stop a centuries-old curse that threatens to destroy everything.

Mallory hasn't quite adapted to life in her new town of Eastport yet. Maybe it's because everyone is obsessed with keeping the town's reputation as the most cursed town in the US.

And thanks to the nightmares she's had since arriving, Mallory hardly sleeps. Combined with the unsettling sensation of being watched, she's quickly becoming…


Book cover of The Clackity

Darcy Marks Author Of Grounded for All Eternity

From my list on Halloween for middle grade readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was five my dad had to carry me, crying, out of the Salem Witch’s Dungeon. You’d think that would put a damper on my love of spooky things, but it absolutely did not! Bela Lugosi was my first crush. I set up Haunted Houses in my garage and read every single book my local library had on the Salem Witch Trials. I made my way from Bunnicula and The Halloween Tree, to books by Stephen King and Anne Rice. Halloween and horror will always have a special place in my heart, and yet…I still don’t let my legs dangle off my bed, lest the monsters get me.

Darcy's book list on Halloween for middle grade readers

Darcy Marks Why did Darcy love this book?

Every day is Halloween when you live in the seventh most haunted town in America, so ghosts and witches are nothing new to Evie Von Rathe. But when Aunt Des disappears, Evie knows she’ll do anything to get her back, even if it means playing a deadly game against a serial killer with a creature called The Clackity.

Watching Evie overcome her anxiety is a struggle kids will relate to and makes her an easy character to root for. The Clackity has such a perfect spooky Grimm’s Fairy tale vibe, that I was immediately sucked in. Nothing is more Halloween than a dark trip through the woods, and the twisted Alice in Wonderland feel of this book lives and breathes Halloween.

By Lora Senf,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Clackity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Reminiscent of Doll Bones and Small Spaces, this "delightfully eerie" (Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows) middle grade novel tells the story of a girl who must rescue her aunt by entering a world of ghosts, witches, and monsters to play a game with deadly consequences.

Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor-the seventh-most haunted town in America-with her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert. Des doesn't have many rules except one: Stay out of the abandoned slaughterhouse at the edge of town. But when her aunt disappears into the building, Evie…


Book cover of Lumberjackula

Darcy Marks Author Of Grounded for All Eternity

From my list on Halloween for middle grade readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was five my dad had to carry me, crying, out of the Salem Witch’s Dungeon. You’d think that would put a damper on my love of spooky things, but it absolutely did not! Bela Lugosi was my first crush. I set up Haunted Houses in my garage and read every single book my local library had on the Salem Witch Trials. I made my way from Bunnicula and The Halloween Tree, to books by Stephen King and Anne Rice. Halloween and horror will always have a special place in my heart, and yet…I still don’t let my legs dangle off my bed, lest the monsters get me.

Darcy's book list on Halloween for middle grade readers

Darcy Marks Why did Darcy love this book?

I firmly believe that Halloween books are for everyone, even kids who don’t want their pants scared off or kids who aren’t big readers. In comes Lumberjackula! An adorable graphic novel with a great Halloween esthetic.

Jack is a half vampire, half lumberjack kid who has to make a big decision: should he go to Lumberjack school like Mom wants, or Vampire school like Dad wants? Jack doesn’t want to disappoint either parent, but he has a secret…he wants to dance!

Lumberjackula has all the fun of Halloween without the fear, and the illustrations are adorable. It’s a great book to make sure all of your middle graders get to join in the Halloween fun. (And as a former goth myself, Dad’s band is awesome!)

By Mat Heagerty, Sam Owen (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lumberjackula as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

For fans of The Okay Witch and Fake Blood, this hilarious middle grade graphic novel follows a half-vampire, half-lumberjack boy who feels torn between his parents and just wants to be a dancer.

Jack is in a pickle. His lumberjack mom wants him to go to Mighty Log Lumberjack Prep to learn how to chop wood and wear flannel. His vampire dad wants him to go to Sorrow's Gloom Vampire School to learn how to turn into a bat and drink blood-orange juice. And Jack has a secret: what he really wants to do is dance.

When he finds out…


Book cover of The Cancer Revolution: A Groundbreaking Program to Reverse and Prevent Cancer

Ginny Dent Brant Author Of Unleash Your God-Given Healing: Eight Steps to Prevent and Survive Cancer

From my list on showing you how to help prevent and survive cancer.

Why am I passionate about this?

Unleash Your God-Given Healing is the book I never wanted to write. As an educator and trained researcher, I uncovered some of the reasons I got a cancer I had no risk factors or genetics for. I also discovered what I could do to help my doctors to beat my cancer and prevent a recurrence. After surgeries and then chemo and immunotherapy for a year, my cancer was gone. My doctors called me their “Rock Star” cancer patient and attributed my lifestyle changes as to why I fared well and returned quickly to vibrant health. I realized that what I learned could help many people. The treasures I learned are in this book. 

Ginny's book list on showing you how to help prevent and survive cancer

Ginny Dent Brant Why did Ginny love this book?

Dr. Connealy, an integrative medical oncologist, gives practical ways that cancer patients can be a part of reversing their cancer. She is a sought-after speaker and oncologist. After reading this book, you’ll see why cancer patients travel a distance to consult with her. She shares much wisdom in this book. I’ve also had the privilege of hearing her lecture several times. She is on the cutting edge of cancer.

By Leigh Erin Connealy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Cancer Revolution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Integrative health pioneer offers her groundbreaking approach to treating (and preventing) cancer, based on 6 Revolutionary Findings, with a practical program and strategies.

When it comes to cancer, conventional doctors are trained to treat their patients exclusively with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. These methods are grueling on the whole body--and they don't treat beyond the tumor or the cancer itself. The focus is on the disease, not the whole person--and because of this, the outcomes in conventional medicine can be bleak.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy has developed a whole-person approach to treating…


Book cover of The Body Papers: A Memoir

Beth Castrodale Author Of The Inhabitants

From my list on confronting trauma or loss.

Why am I passionate about this?

All of my novels explore, in some way, how the characters are affected by trauma or loss, and how they respond to these difficulties over time. This comes partly from my impatience with the notion of “closure” and with the idea that we can ever truly find it after a traumatic event or a significant loss. I’m drawn to fiction and nonfiction that doesn’t shy away from the messiness of finding a way to live with these difficulties, or trying to. In addition to writing fiction, I’ve spent nearly ten years recommending novels and story collections through my Small Press Picks website.

Beth's book list on confronting trauma or loss

Beth Castrodale Why did Beth love this book?

This memoir is one of the most compelling accounts of confronting trauma that I’ve ever read. In the case of the author, the traumas are multiple: fear of deportation due to her “illegal” status; years of sexual abuse by her paternal grandfather; and later in life, the discovery that she carries a gene that leaves her susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer. I was moved as I learned how Talusan found the wordsboth as a writer and as a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a romantic partner, and a citizen—to speak of these difficulties. Her writing about this journey is both spare and powerful, and it bears re-reading and deep reflection. Whenever I return to this book, I find inspiration.

By Grace Talusan,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Body Papers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, Grace Talusan’s critically acclaimed memoir The Body Papers, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, powerfully explores the fraught contours of her own life as a Filipino immigrant and survivor of cancer and childhood abuse.

Born in the Philippines, young Grace Talusan moves with her family to a New England suburb in the 1970s. At school, she confronts racism as one of the few kids with a brown face. At home, the confusion is worse: her grandfather’s nightly visits to her room leave her hurt and terrified, and she learns…


Book cover of Eat God's Food: A Kid's Guide to Healthy Eating

Ginny Dent Brant Author Of Unleash Your God-Given Healing: Eight Steps to Prevent and Survive Cancer

From my list on showing you how to help prevent and survive cancer.

Why am I passionate about this?

Unleash Your God-Given Healing is the book I never wanted to write. As an educator and trained researcher, I uncovered some of the reasons I got a cancer I had no risk factors or genetics for. I also discovered what I could do to help my doctors to beat my cancer and prevent a recurrence. After surgeries and then chemo and immunotherapy for a year, my cancer was gone. My doctors called me their “Rock Star” cancer patient and attributed my lifestyle changes as to why I fared well and returned quickly to vibrant health. I realized that what I learned could help many people. The treasures I learned are in this book. 

Ginny's book list on showing you how to help prevent and survive cancer

Ginny Dent Brant Why did Ginny love this book?

This book is for children. Susan uses Biblical references and colorful pictures to teach children the importance of making healthy eating a priority. It is written by a certified health and wellness coach who inspires children to appreciate the foods God has made for us to eat that promote healing. Every parent needs this book to teach their children at a young age the health benefits of eating God’s Foods.

By Susan U. Neal, Courtney Smith (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Eat God's Food as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Kids have strong opinions about food. Some foods they love and others they don’t. Instead of letting their taste buds rule over your family’s food choices, teach them early to love the right kinds of food. Healthy food can be fun!

Every good thing we need to grow strong and healthy, God created for us to eat. A body needs different foods to grow and work well. Eat God’s Food teaches kids what foods are healthy and unhealthy, preparing them for a lifetime of eating and living the way God intended.

In Eat God’s Food, you’ll find healthy activities and…


Book cover of How to Starve Cancer

Anthea Durand Author Of Illumination of the Shadow: Ancestral Wisdom from the past for the future

From my list on for spirituality and health.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have expertise in the area of spirituality and alternative health from working for over 20 years as a shamanic practitioner, spiritual teacher, and healer. I have travelled extensively and trained with many renowned teachers all over the world. I also provide ancestral healing and train students to be ancestral healers. Through my own healing journey, I have studied many healing and alternative approaches to wellness. I have studied extensively with plants and herbs. In 2020 I wrote my award-winning book Illumination of the Shadow, which explores ancestral healing. I have always had an interest in books in the mind, body, and spirit area, and read extensively in this area.

Anthea's book list on for spirituality and health

Anthea Durand Why did Anthea love this book?

I recommend this award-winning book written by a woman who fought cancer successfully 3 times. In this book, she demonstrates bravery and expertise in this subject. This book is exceptionally written with a lot of research within and outside the medical field. Despite her own challenges, her compassion shines through. From reading this book, I found it very healing to understand cancer and how following certain protocols can help the disease to remission.  I love how this book helped my friend affected by cancer and many other people, and I sense the author has saved many lives

The value I got from the book was an understanding of how cancer works and whether affected by cancer or not, how making changes in our everyday life can help aid remission and aid healing of the body.

By Jane McLelland,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Starve Cancer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

After being given a terminal diagnosis with only a few weeks to live, Jane threw herself into research. Already medically knowledgeable as a Chartered Physiotherapist, Jane dug up research, some decades old, in her quest to survive. Rather than aiming to cure cancer, which in many cases is unachievable, Jane�s approach was to stop it growing. Remarkably her approach not only stopped it growing, it disappeared altogether. There are now clinics following her protocol, achieving remarkable successes. This book is a game-changing new dawn in the treatment of cancer.

Not just a page-turning inspirational read, Jane�s remarkable life story is…


Book cover of Memoir of a Debulked Woman: Enduring Ovarian Cancer

Helen Epstein Author Of Getting Through It: My Year of Cancer during Covid

From my list on getting through cancer treatment.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a long-time journalist, wife, mother, and grandmother, who was diagnosed with GYN cancer at the beginning of the Covid pandemic in the spring of 2020. My usual subjects are the arts and trauma, but since I’m now one of the more than 600,000 American women with GYN cancer, I decided to write this report about my year of treatment. 

Helen's book list on getting through cancer treatment

Helen Epstein Why did Helen love this book?

This is a scholarly memoir by a co-author of The Madwoman in the Attic, the feminist literary classic, and a professor of English and women’s studies at Indiana University. She was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer in 2008, then a virtual death sentence. Gubar describes several stages of treatment including "debulking" and chemotherapy and the importance of a loving support system. The writing is sober, well-documented, comprehensive, and, though published ten years ago, all too relevant.

By Susan Gubar,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Memoir of a Debulked Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2008, Susan Gubar underwent radical debulking surgery, an attempt to excise the cancer by removing part or all of many organs in the lower abdomen. Her memoir mines the deepest levels of anguish and devotion as she struggles to come to terms with her body's betrayal and the frightful protocols of contemporary medicine. She finds solace in the abiding love of her husband, children, and friends while she searches for understanding in works of literature, visual art, and the testimonies of others who suffer with various forms of cancer.

Ovarian cancer remains an incurable disease…


Book cover of The Nazi War on Cancer

Judith Sumner Author Of Plants Go to War: A Botanical History of World War II

From my list on natural environmental science Nazi Germany.

Why am I passionate about this?

The ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes noted that botanists should write history because so much history involves plants. Coincidentally, I am a botanist with a deep interest in history. I began as a child botanizing abandoned farmers’ fields, and now I am always on the lookout for topics at the intersection of plants and human affairs. The books on my list are among many I read while researching for my book. In exploring the role of plants in warfare, I have synthesized vast information about human and military needs, from rationed foods to camouflage and battlefront medicine. Germany provided many unexpected findings.  

Judith's book list on natural environmental science Nazi Germany

Judith Sumner Why did Judith love this book?

I have been intrigued by the coexistence of crackpot notions and prescient science in the Third Reich, and the medical science of oncology provides some remarkable examples of the latter. German doctors realized that the high incidence of stomach cancers correlated with diet, leading to suspicion of smoked meats, aflatoxins, coal tar dyes, and various adulterants as possible causes of various cancers.

As cheap alternatives to modern medicine and processed flour, herbal teas and whole grain foods became part of the Third Reich social doctrine for reasons of both health and economy. Meat was eyed with suspicion (and growing crops as fodder wasted energy), and so vegetable cookery was encouraged.

Beyond cancer concerns, I found awareness of fetal alcohol syndrome to be quite surprising; Third Reich doctors admired the U.S. temperance policy and encouraged expectant mothers to drink unfermented cider to avoid alcohol effects on fetal development. 

By Robert Proctor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Nazi War on Cancer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Collaboration in the Holocaust. Murderous and torturous medical experiments. The "euthanasia" of hundreds of thousands of people with mental or physical disabilities. Widespread sterilization of "the unfit." Nazi doctors committed these and countless other atrocities as part of Hitler's warped quest to create a German master race. Robert Proctor recently made the explosive discovery, however, that Nazi Germany was also decades ahead of other countries in promoting health reforms that we today regard as progressive and socially responsible. Most startling, Nazi scientists were the first to definitively link lung cancer and cigarette smoking. Proctor explores the controversial and troubling questions…


Book cover of The Stitchers
Book cover of The Girl in White
Book cover of The Clackity

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Interested in cancer, fear, and Halloween?

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