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Quick answer: If you liked The Reformatory, read Tananarive Due's The Good House and My Soul to Keep, then The Nickel Boys, Beloved, Lovecraft Country and Mexican Gothic. All are haunting novels where the horror of history and the supernatural meet.
Tananarive Due's 2023 novel is set in 1950 at the Gracewood School for Boys, a Florida reform school where twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens is sent after defending his sister, and where ghosts of past victims gather. It is based in part on the real Dozier School. Please note it contains racist violence. The books below offer similar haunted histories, with deep roots in injustice.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Good House | Tananarive Due | Adult | haunted family house |
| My Soul to Keep | Tananarive Due | Adult | immortal husband |
| The Nickel Boys | Colson Whitehead | Adult | reform school fiction |
| Beloved | Toni Morrison | Adult | haunting history |
| Lovecraft Country | Matt Ruff | Adult | modern reinvention |
| The Ballad of Black Tom | Victor LaValle | Adult | response to Lovecraft |
| Mexican Gothic | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Adult | haunted house |
| The Only Good Indians | Stephen Graham Jones | Adult | revenge horror |
| Sing, Unburied, Sing | Jesmyn Ward | Adult | Southern ghost story |
| White Is for Witching | Helen Oyeyemi | Adult | house that hungers |
| The Water Dancer | Ta-Nehisi Coates | Adult | slavery and magic |
| The Haunting of Hill House | Shirley Jackson | Adult | classic haunting |
| Her Body and Other Parties | Carmen Maria Machado | Adult | strange stories |
| Kindred | Octavia E. Butler | Adult | time travel and slavery |
| Bunny | Mona Awad | Adult | surreal campus horror |
1. The Good House by Tananarive Due
A woman returns to her grandmother's house and finds a legacy of tragedy. Slow and scary.
Best for: haunted family house.
2. My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due
A woman discovers her husband's long secret. Eerie and tense.
Best for: immortal husband.
3. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Two boys suffer in a brutal Florida reform school. Spare and powerful.
Best for: reform school fiction.
4. Beloved by Toni Morrison
A former slave is haunted by her past. Powerful and unforgettable.
Best for: haunting history.
5. Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
A Black family travels through 1950s America and meets monsters of both kinds. Smart and gripping.
Best for: modern reinvention.
6. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
A Harlem hustler gets drawn into dark forces. Short and powerful.
Best for: response to Lovecraft.
7. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A young woman visits a decaying mansion in the Mexican countryside. Eerie and atmospheric.
Best for: haunted house.
8. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Four friends are haunted by a hunt from their past. Dark and original.
Best for: revenge horror.
9. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
A family road trip to a prison is haunted by ghosts. Lyrical and sad.
Best for: Southern ghost story.
10. White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
A house in Dover affects the women who live in it. Strange and haunting.
Best for: house that hungers.
11. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A man with a gift for memory escapes slavery. Lyrical and ambitious.
Best for: slavery and magic.
12. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
A woman joins a paranormal experiment in a house that seems to want her. Elegant.
Best for: classic haunting.
13. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Short stories about women and bodies. Bold and unsettling.
Best for: strange stories.
14. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
A modern woman is pulled back to a plantation. Powerful and tense.
Best for: time travel and slavery.
15. Bunny by Mona Awad
A student is drawn into a clique of friends who call each other Bunny. Weird and funny.
Best for: surreal campus horror.
How to Choose
For more Due begin with The Good House. For historical reform-school fiction pick The Nickel Boys. For ghosts of slavery read Beloved, Sing, Unburied, Sing or Kindred. For Black horror try Lovecraft Country or The Ballad of Black Tom. For classic haunting read Hill House or Mexican Gothic. The Reformatory is harrowing, so these picks suit readers ready for serious horror. The Reformatory was inspired by Due's great-uncle, who died at the Dozier School for Boys in 1937, and the novel won the Bram Stoker Award. The real school was closed in 2011 after investigators found many unmarked graves.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Reformatory about?
A boy in 1950 is sent to a segregated Florida reform school haunted by ghosts.
Who wrote it?
Tananarive Due.
When was it published?
2023.
Is it based on a true story?
It draws on the real Dozier School for Boys.
Is it scary?
Yes, though the real horror is the history.
Did it win awards?
Yes, including the Bram Stoker Award for Novel.
Is it graphic?
It contains racist violence and abuse.
What should I read next?
Try The Nickel Boys or The Good House.
Which book here is best for haunting history?
Try Beloved by Toni Morrison, which is a good fit if you want haunting history.
Which book here is best for haunted house?
Try Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which is a good fit if you want haunted house.
Which book here is best for house that hungers?
Try White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi, which is a good fit if you want house that hungers.
Which book here is best for strange stories?
Try Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado, which is a good fit if you want strange stories.