Book Review: The September House by Carissa Orlando – A Working Mom's Take

As a working mom, chaos is my daily norm, but The September House by Carissa Orlando brought a new kind of tension. This isn’t just a haunted house story—it dives deep into family, emotional strain, and the weight we carry, often in silence.

Margaret, the main character, refuses to leave her Victorian home despite its terrifying hauntings every September. While ghostly figures and blood-soaked walls are unsettling, the real horror is Margaret's emotional isolation. Her husband leaves, and she's left to manage the chaos.

It’s a slow-burn, with horror not just in the paranormal but in Margaret’s personal breakdown. You’ll feel for her, especially when her daughter Katherine shows up demanding answers and a moms struggle of balancing the truth and protecting your children.

Final Thoughts: The September House blends supernatural scares with a relatable emotional depth. For any working mom juggling too much, this book will resonate. It’s more than a ghost story—it’s about resilience, denial, and knowing when it’s time to let go. A must-read!

The September House. My fellow readers. Me? Was I scared while reading this book? Nah. I wasn’t scared… Well maybe just a smidge. Look, I only slept with my tv on just to listen to the Zen channel. I’m sure everyone has the Zen channel on their tv. Don’t - you? Read the book.
These people are beyond psychotic. Readers I went back to my favorite genre of psychological/ thrillers. The September House blew me away with not only the plot twist, but the main characters as well. The mom, Margaret was just amazing. Her character had me second guessing her from start to ending.
Margaret’s husband Hal, man I did not expect all what transpired from him. I will say this. The basement scene was a little funny and scary at the same time. Although, if it was me I would have ran straight out of that house, hopped in my car, drove right the realtor, and sold the house back to them. Once Katherine, the daughter arrived I was like, yes the mom has someone to back her up.
Why did everything become even more crazier? I started feeling sympathetic for Fredrika. I know right? I lost my darn mind. What had me going where the kids and how they were described in the book.
Where in the tarnation did the writer come up with these graphic details? They were absolutely terrific for the book. They fit perfectly for the scenes that played out so well in the basement. HO! HO! Let us not forget the basement where the heavy footed man walks the steps as the swarm of flys descends upon you.
Choking you as you vomit your last breath. Yes I had so much fun reading this book. The entertainment hit the right spot for me. Basically the ending left me asking, what did I just read?
I give this book two snaps and a- Margaret: Katherine.
Katherine: Yes mom.
Margaret: I see dead people.
Katherine: Mom. What there are no dead..
Margaret: Katherine Hartman. If you don’t move your darn assets right now we both will be dead people. Now MOVE!
Until next time my fellow readers. Read on!
#TheSeptemberHouse #Goodreads #Netgally

I haven’t read a lot of horror but this is by far the strangest book I’ve ever read. My review is hard to write because the “issues” I had were intentional by the author and not oversights so really how can I critique that? I can’t. So really they are things that made me feel uncomfortable as a reader. In the end, the writing is fabulous, the characterization was on pointe for the author’s intentions, and the imagery was horrifying. The end definitely had me in its grips unable to put it down. This was also a very unique plot that I haven’t heard of or read before.

Thanks to Berkley for this arc!

Such a fun book! A great twist on a classic horror story. I love that I really couldn't figure out what was real and what wasn't. It pleasantly surprised me with its humor and I especially liked the direction the story took at the end of the book. It pulled no punches. Looking forward to more from this author.

Such a fun book! A great twist on a classic horror story. I love that I really couldn't figure out what was real and what wasn't.

This was such a unique haunted house story! I enjoyed every minute and holy moly the twists gave me whiplash.

The September House was a such a fun and spooky read. It pleasantly surprised me with its humor and I especially liked the direction the story took at the end of the book. It pulled no punches. Looking forward to more from this author.

There is something different about how this book approaches the "haunted house" trope and that's what makes it special. The creepiness was vivid and overwhelming, but the main character just acts like these things happen every day. She is both simple and complicated at the same time while being diminutive as a wife but also extremely strong in her beliefs as a mother. Its so dynamic and weird in the best way possible.

I was expecting more out of this one. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. The ending ramped up a lot, but I needed it to get to the action faster. I also was able to guess some twists of the book. It was an okay read, but not one I'd come back to.

The September House is a slow burn that makes you think you understand what is happening until you quickly realize that you don’t. If you are a fan of the haunted house trope, this is a book you won’t want to miss! A huge shoutout to Orlando for her descriptions of the house and her ability to lead readers astray.

While I loved the concept of the story and the gore, this one fell flat for me. It was predictable and nothing surprised me. Many scenes are far too long and I found myself feeling like this book was 600 pages instead of the half it actually was.

The September House is an atmospheric and blood-chilling haunted house horror with family drama that follows Margaret who is determined to stay in her dream house that she and her husband, Hal, bought four years ago even after knowing it’s haunted and it gets horrible to live in every September. the house drips blood every September from top to bottom, it has ghosts for past 100 years who have grotesque features due to the way they died moans and creams all night, the most sinister ghost that lives in the basement who might crawl out if the door isn’t boarded…

It made me wonder why Margaret is still living there. I get her desperation of having her own house when they bought the house but still having that same drive after the nightmarish four years, even after knowing Hal left her or might be missing because of the house, I just don’t know what to think of her.

And then her daughter, Katherine, who didn’t know anything about this September House, is coming back after years to find her missing father. It’s again interesting to see Margret fretting over Katherine getting scared of all the paranormal activities happening in the house rather than over her missing husband.

I was curious to know more about the creature of the basement, all the ghosts, and especially how Margret was going to keep Katherine safe and away from all the paranormal activity and above all what happened to Hal.

The writing is atmospheric and steady-paced told from Margret’s perspective. The plot is creepy and tense that never let up the sense of dread till the end and the intermittent flashbacks from Margret’s past about her relationship with Hal, Katherine, and what they found about the house in the past four years kept it even more intriguing. The setting of the House was fabulous.

While I loved reading about the ghosts more than the characters, the flashbacks gave more insight and depth into the characters. As I read more I hated how Margret was stuck with Hal in the past. The layer of domestic violence is portrayed realistically. I felt sad and awful for Margret and it also made me question her mindset.

I was with Katherine in this matter, why would a person want to experience hell with a person like Hal and why it didn’t bother Margret? All her reasoning about how everything is survivable if you follow rules felt bullshit and she had the same reasons for the house and its ghosts as well. All her reasoning was getting tiring by the time i reached climax and at the same time.

However, she wasn’t the weak one in this horrible relationship. She was a pushover and compromised a lot her whole life but she was also a survivor, determined, and strong-willed. Her love for Katherine was something all mothers can relate to. She couldn’t stand up for herself but she would do anything and bear anything for Katherine which made her fight the monster no one dared to face before.

The climax was most exciting and also surprising. Everything revealed about the house and its ghosts, what happened in the past and what is happening now, I was dreading it wouldn’t end well, I was afraid for Margret. But the author succeeded in leading me in the wrong direction with both twists we get in this last 30% of the book. I loved how libe between mental health, psychological terror, and paranormal blurred at this point.

All the descriptions were gruesome and yet I felt excited with how things turned out. At some points the details also made me laugh or maybe it was Margret’s voice! I thought there might be some religious exorcism or something that might end the horror but the solution turned out quite simple and I don’t what to think about it but I was satisfied with the end.

Overall, The September House is an atmospheric, creepy, dark, and blood-chilling haunted house horror with family drama.

This ended up being a little more outside of my normal read than I expected going into a haunted house horror and I think that just has to do with the fact I am so much younger than the mc that it was hard to understand her motivations and relate to her which is something I look for in my reads. I thankfully read this with a friend and thanks to her encouragement I did finish this one and I will say this was a really well excecated horror novel that I could see being a hit with those in their 30's or older. I think I just had a hard time with the fact our main character was hiding and supporting an abusive alcoholic to the point where she gave up custody of her child and her relationship with her to stay with her husband. If not for the actually wonderful writing and a descriptively graphic horror Carissa Orlando brought to life in this story, I don't think I would have finished this one. By the time most of the issues with the main character I was already hooked and needed to know what was really going on so I couldn't stop there.

The September House by Carissa Orlando was a creative and well written debut novel.

From the publisher: A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this compulsively readable, 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.

However, even though there are ghost and walls that bleed, it is NOT a horror novel. As a horror fan, I did not find this scary in the slightest and I think that it what I struggled with. The book is a layered debut novel, that much is true. And truly a unique story with interesting characters. I honestly found most of them unlikeable and frustrating and for that, I found myself putting this down way too much. I struggled but many other readers LOVED this debut. I just wish it was scary, even just a little bit. But the nonchalant way that Margaret discusses the odd goings on at her home left me feeling zero dread or anticipation.

The September House by Carissa Orlando is a thrilling horror novel that asks the question just how far would you go to protect the house of your dreams? The story is told from the prospective of the main character but does a little flashing back to previous events but mostly takes place at the current time.

Margaret and her husband Hal had finally found the home of their dreams within their price range with the large Victorian on Hawthorn Street. After moving into the home though Margaret and Hal begin to learn there was a reason that the place was vacant as most would flee the discoveries they have made.

Every September the walls in the Margaret and Hal’s home bleed bright red blood oozing out more and more as the month goes by. The blood was one thing but the many ghostly inhabitants are another obstacle to overcome. When most people would have fled immediately Margaret is determined to claim the home for her own but after four years Hal has had enough and leaves leaving Margaret on her own.

I’ve read a lot of horror in my lifetime and often go into them now as I’m probably going to feel I’ve read this before. The September House by Carissa Orlando did do a somewhat comical but still scary take on a haunted house which kept me entertained as it all unfolded. While entertaining though I did guess the twist fairly early on but perhaps it may shock some who don’t read quite as much so I’m keeping this one at four stars overall.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Well this was an unusual one! It’s about a couple that live in house that is full of spirits and the walls bleed. The woman tries to keep the spirits happy, which becomes increasingly difficult. It also becomes difficult to hide this from her daughter when she insists on flying out to stay after her father goes missing 👀

The September House by Carissa Orlando is a great horror book punctuated with humor. It is a perfect read for those who like creepy, horror and wild endings. I thought it started out a little slow, but once I got farther into the book it really grabbed my attention.

This is definitely the kind of house I would put up with for a low monthly cost, but I might be the only one in my family willing to do so.

I really struggled to get into this one on my first try. It was repetitious and kind of boring at the beginning and wasn't holding my interest, so I set it aside for a few months.

But then so many people who I trust loved it, so I gave it another shot on audiobook after it published. Once the pace picked up it was a pretty wild (and delightfully gory) listen, so I'm glad I went back to it. I'd definitely read/listen to another book by Carissa Orlando in the future.

"The September House" is a unique and compelling read that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. It's a perfect choice for readers who enjoy horror with a touch of humanity and those who appreciate stories that go beyond the typical jump scares. The story follows Margaret, a woman who, along with her estranged daughter Catherine, inherits a beautiful yet unsettling Victorian mansion. Despite the unsettling history of a murder within its walls, Margaret chooses to embrace the house, hoping to mend her fractured relationship with her daughter. However, the house itself harbors secrets, and soon, Margaret finds herself entangled with a web of paranormal activity, forcing her to confront not only the house's ghosts but also the demons of her own past. This book is highly recommended for fans of horror with a literary twist, particularly those who enjoy stories that explore deeper themes alongside the scares. However, be aware of the potentially disturbing content.