Margaret and her husband are empty nesters after their daughter has moved out and is on her own. They are thrilled to find a beautiful Victorian house for a great price. At first things are great and then when September comes, blood drips down the walls, the ghosts of the house are everywhere and there is something terrifying in the basement. Somehow Margaret can deal with the weirdness but her husband leaves once he can't handle it anymore. When their daughter realizes she hasn't heard from her father in a while, she comes to stay in the haunted house. Margaret is doing everything she can to appease the ghosts but it seems her daughter may realize what's really going on. I was intrigued by the story in the beginning but got frustrated by how nochalant Margaret was by everything happening in the house and the ghosts, although frightening, were annoying. I did like the ending though.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the eARC of this spooky title!!**

So I absolutely loved this book and think it will be everywhere by the time September rolls around. Do yourself a favor and pre-order this one now to have it in time for spooky season!!

For fans of How To Sell A Haunted House and A House With Good Bones, this book takes thing to the next level. While I found those books to be fun and unique spins on the classic haunted house, The September House added in multiple layers of horror.

Margaret is living in her dream home. Unfortunately, so are the ghost of the house's long tenure of dead residents. When her husband goes missing just before September, her adult daughter catches the first plane to come out and investigate.

Much to Margaret's distress, she will be arriving right in the midst of September. In September, the walls bleed and all kinds of horrors emerge from the house that don't show themselves the rest of the year.

The September House is a haunting look at the things that follow us, the things we survive, and some of the things we don't. I couldn't put this one down and it was a freaking rollercoaster so be prepared when you go into this one!!

Pssttt…

Over here

I have a secret to share with you.

I found a book that will break the internet right here.

The September House

And it’s straight up horrifying. Think of your worst nightmare and then times that by 100.

Oh yeah, one of those

It’s been awhile since I read a horror novel but gosh dang it, I’m about to start back up on a horror kick ! The September House, was everything I never knew I needed packed up between 352 pages.

Another shocker…. This is a debut! Carissa Orlando has entered the circuit and she has come out swinging! The September House will be released just in time for “spooky season” and will be well loved by horror/thriller book lovers🖤

Teaser:

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. 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.

Debut author Carissa Orlando holds a doctorate in clinical-community psychology and specializes in working with children and adolescents. She is committed to improving the quality of and access to mental health care for children and their families. Orlando says she has written creatively in some form since she was a child and studied creative writing in college. She has long been an avid horror fan so the merger of her knowledge of the workings of the human psyche and love for storytelling was probably inevitable and, with The September House, is demonstrably seamless.

Margaret Hartman and her husband, Hal, longed to own an older home, preferably Victorian. Both of them grew up in fairly transient families, and throughout their marriage they moved from one rental to another, all the while wishing for a permanent, stable residence. Hal taught at the community college and worked as a freelance writer while striving to get his books published. Margaret worked various jobs (retail, administrative assistant, substitute teacher) while focusing on raising their daughter, Katherine, and painted as time and funds allowed. Eventually, Hal sold and began receiving royalties from his books and Margaret showed a few paintings at a local gallery. Katherine graduated from college and launched her own career, and the dream of home ownership was abandoned.

Until Margaret saw the listing for the beautiful cobalt blue house with white trim, a wrap-around porch, and a turret. She immediately recognized it as their dream house. It even boasted rooms that would make a perfect office for Hal and a studio with plenty of sunlight for Margaret. The shockingly low sales price should have served as a warning. When they toured the house – in which no one had resided since sometime in the 1990’s – and were informed by the real estate agent that two deaths took place in the house more than one hundred years ago, they “were barely listening, busy picturing ourselves sipping morning tea in bed, looking out” the master bedroom’s impressive picture window, Margaret recalls. Margaret was so overjoyed at the sight of a claw-foot bathtub in the master bathroom that she didn’t even hear the agent mention the “other deaths in the house” that “seemed to be natural in nature.” Even the dank smell, coupled with the goosebumps Margaret developed in the unfinished, windowless basement with dirt floors that had a “bit of a wrong sense” about it wasn’t enough to dampen Margaret’s enthusiasm. Neither she nor Hal noticed that the agent did not descend the stairs to the basement with them. They went ahead with the purchase and moved into the house in May. At first, Margaret insists, everything was “blissful.”

But in September, the situation began deteriorating. Blood started running out of and down the walls, seeming to originate right over their bed in the master bedroom. The sound of moaning escalated to all-out screaming that continued all night, making it extremely difficult to sleep. Margaret adapted to the mysterious goings-on. “Eventually, one has to give up asking questions, just accept that things are the way they are, and act accordingly,” she explains in her first-person narrative that Orlando employs to tell the story. Fredricka, a maid, appeared with a large gash on her head — where the blow from an axe landed and killed her. Fredricka still performs household tasks, but has trouble operating the toaster (she prefers to roast the bread over a fire the way she did when she was alive a century ago) and in September she moves things around, placing them in nonsensical places and positions. Margaret discovers that if she touches Fredricka, she is whisked back in time to the fateful moment the axe was swung by Fredricka’s attacker, experiencing it from Fredricka’s perspective. A boy about nine or ten years old, Elias, also manifested. He refuses to speak, but howls and uses his long, sharp fangs to bite Margaret if she forgets that he doesn’t “like his personal space invaded.” His stares were “initially unsettling, but one grows used to unsettling things,” Margaret observes. There’s also Angelica, a little girl with sallow skin and one eyelid drooping from its socket, who stands in front of the basement door, pointing and telling Margaret, “He’s down there.” That’s where Master Vale, the former owner, resides.

After living in the house for several years, Hal could no longer tolerate the supernatural goings-on. Margaret explains that he begged her to leave the house with him, but she refused to surrender her home to their other-worldly co-inhabitants. So Hal left without her. Weeks have gone by, and she has heard nothing from him. Worse, she never told Katherine that Hal left and now their daughter is frantic because Hal does not answer his phone, or respond to voice or text messages. When Katherine announces that she is coming to stay with her mother so that she can look for her father, Margaret becomes frantic. Katherine was largely estranged from her father (for reasons that become clear as the story progresses) so Margaret is somewhat baffled by her intense concern for Hal. Worse, Katherine will be arriving in September, the month in which paranormal activity in the house grows more intense every year. More children join Angelica, the relentless screams become louder, the volume of blood pouring from the walls increases, and Fredricka’s illogical re-arranging of furniture, and household and personal items, occurs more often. There are also the numerous birds that fly suicidal missions directly into the home’s windows, requiring Margaret to gather and dispose of the carcasses.

Margaret has no friends except her neighbor, Edie, who is a bit of a busybody and loves to visit with Margaret on the front porch. Edie is pleasant — squat and motherly – and has never questioned the truth of Margaret’s reports about the eerie events that take place in the house. Hal disliked Edie from the moment they met and she launched her nosy inquiries. As Margaret ponders how to keep the truth from Katherine, Edie commiserates, “Oh, Margaret, you’re in a real pickle.” That’s an understatement.

Katherine arrives and, with Margaret, begins visiting every bar in the area to see if Hall has been seen there. Margaret gradually reveals Hal’s struggle with alcoholism that ultimately led to four arrests for driving while under the influence and the rescission of his driver’s license. Which is why he left in a taxi. They also look for him in the local motels and hotels.

Margaret is a sympathetic character, but highly unreliable narrator, and Orlando’s choice to tell the tale in her voice from her unique perspective is highly effective, heightening the suspense. Whether Orlando has crafted a straight-forward horror story, a psychological thriller, or melded the two genres is not immediately apparent. Margaret is earnest and convincing as she relates the details of her interactions with the spirits who inhabit her house. She insists that, aside from the month of September, it continues to be the home she always wanted, and she is stubbornly adamant about remaining there, even though Hal has departed. She feels compassion for the ghosts who are seemingly trapped there and researches the history of the home to gain an understanding of how their lives came to such tragic ends. In an effort to quell the annual disruptions, she repeatedly enlists the help of an elderly local priest who blesses each room. During his final visit, he ventures into the basement, even though the entrance has remained boarded up since an earlier terrifying incident with Master Vale. The priest’s visit makes matters worse.

Katherine’s relationship with her parents has been fraught due to her father’s addiction, the behavior in which he engaged as a result of it, and her mother’s response and choices. Katherine is a very angry young woman who admits that her relationship with her girlfriend has ended, in part, because of her own inability to manage her emotions. Her frustrations have always mushroomed into inappropriate outbursts and full-blown tantrums, but Margaret observes that Katherine is better able to control herself, likely because, as she confesses, she has recently sought therapy. Katherine’s efforts to improve herself and commitment to her parents, despite their shared past, endears her to readers.

What emerges is a depiction of a woman with a family history of mental illness who remained in a deeply troubled marriage. Margaret insists that “everything is survivable” if one simply follows the applicable rules. It becomes clear that she did everything in her power to adhere to the rules governing her marriage to Hal, but did not always succeed. And she has co-existed in her beloved house by adapting rules designed to make her ghostly roommates’ conduct bearable. Devoted to Katherine, Margaret recognized that it was her duty to protect her child and committed herself to that task. But, of course, she was unable to hide the truth from Katherine, and Katherine’s palpable resentment caused her to distance herself from her parents for years. Until now. Aghast that, even though Hal disappeared weeks ago, Margaret never filed a report with the local police, Katherine involves law enforcement in the search as the September days elapse, the spirits’ activities become more pronounced, and Margaret grows increasingly sleep-deprived and nearly incoherent.

The September House proceeds at a rapid pace as details about Hal’s whereabouts emerge and “the pranksters” – as Margaret calls them – respond. A gory, dramatic confrontation tests both Margaret and Katherine, and reveals that Orlando’s story is a clever, multi-layered, allegorical examination of destructive power imbalances in relationships, abuse, family secrets, and the psychological and emotional effects of trauma. It is also an illustration of resilience, resolve, and the freeing and healing power of the truth. Orlando wisely gives readers respites from the deep and relentless emotional intensity of the story with slyly comedic moments. Some of Margaret’s conversations with the pranksters are hilarious, and her visits with Edie are charmingly humorous. But as utterly ridiculous and outrageous as many of the characters’ actions are, Orlando never allows the story to lose focus, delivering clues at well-timed junctures about how Margaret’s decisions and choices landed her in the middle of a horror story. Perhaps. Or is she suffering from some type of psychotic break that has caused her to imagine that paranormal activity is occurring in the house? Does Katherine see and hear the ghosts, as Hal did (accordingly to Margaret, at least)? Do the police who come to investigate Hal’s disappearance see and hear them? Why does Edie, who never enters the house, instead remaining on the porch during her visits, unwaveringly accept as true Margaret’s representations of the goings-on in the old Vale house? Learning the answers to those and other mysteries is a surprisingly entertaining and moving experience. Orlando so skillfully reveals the Hartman family history and how it has shaped the psyches of Margaret and Katherine that they become empathetic characters for whom readers will cheer, counting on Orlando to bring their stories to a satisfying conclusion. She does not disappoint. The September House is an impressive and promising debut.

Lately, I've been really into cozy horror, which is like regular horror, but there's usually a tightly wrapped lovely lesson and a happily ever after. True horror doesn't typically end like that.

This book used a haunted house as a brilliant allegory for an abusive relationship. While this concept isn't new, this had a relatively fresh take on the trope and was a fun ride. It's the perfect amount of gruesome body horror, mystery, intrigue, and introspection.

A husband and wife snag a gorgeous Victorian home at a staggeringly cheap price. Though there were red flags during their tour— “someone died here”, the realtor refusing to walk into the basement, and multiple other sales falling through, Margaret and Hal couldn’t pass up the bargain.

After moving in, strange things start happening in their home— innocent things, like things being moved, going missing, and ghostly apparitions. These things they could handle, but when September comes, the walls start bleeding, ghosts scream and howl, constant banging occurs, and it is quite evident that something evil lurks in the basement.

At some point, Hal decides he can’t take it anymore. Ignoring the haunting isn’t working, and clearly the Priest coming to exorcise the home also aren’t working— so he disappears. It isn’t until Margaret’s daughter (Katherine) comes home and starts demanding answers that Margaret begins to try to cleanse the house in earnest— as well as find her husband.

This book definitely gave me some Exorcist and 13 Ghosts vibes at times, and I loved the descriptive writing, the unique personalities and backstories of the ghosts, as well as the unique interactions/relationships Margaret forms with the ghosts. With that said, there were periods of the book that just seemed to drag on and on, and I found myself bored multiple times, where I went into “skim-read mode” for chapters at a time. All in all, it was an okay read, and I think it would be a great October read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Margaret and her husband Hal have finally bought their dream home. A beautiful Victorian that had an outstanding price. Little did they know what else they would be getting along with the house.. ghosts, blood, screaming and an untold evil in the basement. Margaret knows the the month ofSeptember is the worst, blood dripping down walls and sleepless nights.
When her daughter starts asking why dad is not contacting her, there is more evil. Karherine has a strong personality and I didn’t like that mom was so weak. And of course the daughter comes to see what going on in The dreaded September horrors. Is Margaret crazy like her father or is there really more going on.

“The September House” is the most layered horror book I’ve read in a long time. It has classic horror elements with a story of a woman living in a typical haunted house. What sets this book apart is the elements of humor and the heartbreaking process of healing from spousal abuse. Our narrator is unreliable but completely relatable and I found myself rooting for her from the very beginning. The relationship between the narrator and her daughter really displays the authors grasp of building a realistic story. They both love each other but hold back so much from each other and harbor hidden feelings for the circumstances that they’ve gone through. Even the “ghosts” were given a foundation and back stories without bringing down the story or diverting too far from the main story line. Overall I think this is a strong horror book that I would highly recommend to any horror fan or anyone who loves a strong family drama story

This is not your average haunted house story. When most people discover that the unquiet dead are already in residence in their new home, they try to leave. Sometimes, they are forced to stay by circumstances beyond their control, or by a sinister curse, or a cruel twist of fate. In The September House, the owners decide to stay because they are pretty sure they can get used to it.

For a book that started in a way that made me think it was going to be a funny and scary look at someone deciding to try and just live in one of the most haunted places I've ever seen in a book, I have to admit that the book dealt with a lot more genuinely serious subjects and had several more moments of genuine terror than I had been expecting. I think I must have read this in one or two sittings once I got into the book, and I've already started recommending it to my friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book is an easy 5 stars from me! It's horror with heart, wonderfully written, very creative, and totally immersive! Right from the start, the creative plot had me hooked, but as the main character unfolded and the drama developed, I could barely put the book down. It's a sort of dual plot, in the best way.

The story was written with incredible heart and significant meaning as well as creep, a bit of gross, and some humor. That's so rare! I have a very different personalty type from the main character and I have never experienced domestic abuse, but the way it was all written expanded my empathies and awareness--that's one of the best compliments I can give a work of fiction, to say it helped me grow.

I loved the ending. It was very quotable. Excellent, excellent, excellent novel.

The September House was amazing. I finished it in one sitting and wanted more. Darkly funny, grotesque at times, and wildly clever, I cannot recommend this novel enough.

Love love love!! This was an amazing story. It made me laugh and cry. I absolutely loved the female main character, and her attitude towards the extra guests in her home. I even enjoyed the more serious parts of the story like her husband and his struggles. Beautifully written, I can’t wait to purchase a physical copy

The September House is creative horror novel that somehow combines many other genres into the mix! I found this to be a well thought-out and unique horror novel and I'm looking forward to reading more from the author in the future!

First thank you to Netgalley and Berkley publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Second, What?? Orlando starts out the book with Margaret giving a little background on the house. She and her husband, Hal, have purchased their dream home. The rooms were perfect, the porch was perfect, a long driveway and a huge yard. Then, oh yea, the walls were bleeding again. No big deal.

Pretty soon we find out that this is normal for Margaret's house in September. But she loves her house and refuses to leave. What's a little bit of blood coming from the walls or the moaning or even ghosts that are *afraid* to go into the basement, when it is your dream home. The problem (the ONE problem?) is that her husband is missing and her daughter, who doesn't know that the house is haunted, insists on coming to help find him.

I started out interested because, you know, blood and walls. But I found myself devouring the last half of the book. The unfolding of the story had enough twists and turns to keep me from being able to pinpoint the ending and I loved it. This is my new book recommendation for people even if they didn't ask for one. Read it, it's good.

The September House is a haunted house story tilted sideways. Margaret and Hal move into a haunted house in the most stereotypical way possible, but when incense and exorcism don't work they decide to live with the ghosts rather than leave. Well, Margaret does. Hal decides to leave. When their daughter Katherine comes to look for Hal, Margaret has to protect her from learning about the ghosts, the blood on the walls, and the man in the basement. Katherine thinks her mother is being battered by her father, but really Margaret is in an abusive relationship with the house. I'll be recommending this book, but with a big ol' trigger warning for all kinds of abusive relationships. Other than that, The September House can be funny and touching and increasingly anxious as we wait to find out what the house will do.

Victorian, with a wrap around porch, a sprawling lawn and a real turret. Margaret and her husband, Hall believe they have found their dream home. Its somewhere they can put down the roots they didn't grow up with.

They aren't concerned when the realtor tells them about the multiple murders that have happened in the house. Margaret believes it's 150 years old, so of course the house would have a history. It's not long after they move in, that they discover there are other "occupants" that want them out, especially in September. The walls drip blood, ghosts of former inhabitants cause trouble and forget about going down into the basement.

THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE (Berkley) is marketed as a horror story, but it's too funny and exaggerated to fill that genre. I believe if you go into THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE expecting horror, you'll be disappointed.

It's "a house with heavy bones," a place where Margaret can sink her roots into the ground. The gorgeous Victorian with cobalt paint, neat white trim, and a wrap-around porch is going for a price so low, she and Hal triple-check it. So what if, once they move in, they realize the walls bleed and prankster ghosts wreak havoc on the place every September? After the fourth September, Hal has had enough, and off he goes, disappearing. No matter, Margaret is home, and she's not one to run from horror. She remembers The Exorcist as being enjoyable and fairly entertaining. She has learned, after raising a daughter, and especially over the course of her marriage to Hal, that "every situation, no matter how unusual, has rules. They might be strange rules, and they might be difficult to figure out, but once they are learned, they can be followed. And everything works out."
And what a ride it is to watch how things work out in this supernatural psychological horror novel that takes its cues from classic haunted house literature and movies. There's bits and bobs from Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, The Exorcist, Get Out. It's no wonder that debut novelist Carissa Orlando has a doctorate in clinical-community psychology. Like all great horror writers, she uses this novel to address themes of trauma. Great horror novels set up a safe space for us to explore emotions of pain, to help us face our fears, and to find meaning in even our darkest experiences. This is a great horror novel. If you like haunted house stories with generous helpings of dark, twisted humor and emotional resonance, run like you're being chased to The September House.

[Thanks to BookBrowse's First Impressions Program, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

I absolutely loved this book. It's so cleverly written - dealing with themes of mental illness, abuse, love, loss, and addiction, to name a few...The best way I can think of to describe it is like if The Last House on Needless Street and a Darcy Coates haunted house novel had a conceptual baby. There are so many haunted house tropes/stereotypes that are a bit campy but don't come off that way. If that makes any sense at all.

Orlando does a great job with characterization - I found myself rooting for Margaret (our MC) the entire time and I absolutely adore all the pranksters, especially Fredricka ( what a name...). This will definitely be a horror story I return to and read again and a fantastic horror novel debut for Carissa Orlando. Go pre-order this one, horror fans!

I give The September House 5/5⭐

Thank you Netgalley and Berkeley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very unique take on a haunted house story! It blended many different genres together seamlessly. I enjoyed this story and the relationship between mother and daughter. There were some nail biting cringe filled parts, but not too over the top gruesome in detail. This made a nice atmospheric read for the fall and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to read something creepy and haunting during that time.

The only thing that I wish was more touched on was the background on the "pranksters." A little more backstory to them might have given the story a bit more "life" so to speak....

Wow, it’s been a while since I read a true horror story and this one did not disappoint! I could not read it fast enough, wondering how the end would turn out. There’s a great deal of the supernatural involved here and I felt it added quite nicely to the story. I found myself rooting for Margaret, even when I wasn’t sure which direction the book would take. Favorite character must be Fredricka.
Would make a great movie.