House Haunted

I’ll admit, *House Haunted* frustrated me at first. The opening act is *deliberate*—almost too much so. Sarrantonio spends a solid third of the book establishing the family’s dynamics and the house’s ‘off’ vibes, and if you’re expecting immediate scares, you’ll be tempted to bail. But stick with it, because once the horror takes hold, it *clings*. The real strength here is how the supernatural bleeds into the domestic: a child’s nightmares that might be prophecies, a father’s growing obsession with the house’s ‘history,’ and a mother whose skepticism feels like the last thread holding reality together. Guy Veryzer’s narration is a masterclass in restraint—his flat, almost detached tone in early chapters makes the later moments of panic hit harder. When he finally *breaks*—like in the scene where the protagonist discovers the thing in the basement—his voice cracks with genuine terror, and it’s chilling. That said, this isn’t a flawless listen. The middle drags with repetitive ‘is the house evil or am I?’ introspection, and the Lovecraftian lore dumps feel clumsy compared to the tighter, character-driven horror. The ending, too, will divide listeners: it’s ambiguous in a way that feels earned for some, but for others (me included), it lands as a cop-out after so much buildup. Still, the audiobook’s production is impeccable—no distracting edits, no volume spikes—and Veryzer’s performance elevates the material, especially in the final act. If you love slow-burn cosmic horror where the real terror is the *idea* of the unknown rather than the thing itself, this will burrow under your skin. If you need payoffs as immediate as your scares, look elsewhere.