Incidents Around the House

A Novel

By: Josh Malerman

Narrated by: Delanie Nicole Gill

“Simply put—and I do not say this lightly—Incidents Around the House is the most purely effective horror novel I have ever read.”—Neil McRobert, Esquire

A chilling horror novel about a haunting, told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled family is targeted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy,” from the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box

“This book is the monster that lives inside your closet.”—Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House

LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE

To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”

When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.

Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.

But Other Mommy needs an answer.

Incidents Around the House is a chilling, wholly unique tale of true horror about a family as haunted as their home.

©2024 Josh Malerman (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A gleeful, mean, old-school scare machine . . . You just have to turn the first page to set it off.”—Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World and Horror Movie

Innocence Lost

This book is scary, but not in the way people seem to be talking about it. The monster isn’t scary, but the people are, especially from the perspective of the child protagonist, Bella, who is also our narrator. Bella is being haunted by a being she calls Other Mommy, and despite Bella seeing the adults in her life through rose-colored glasses, we as the reader know better, and experiencing this child’s story as she grapples with the reality of a haunting she can’t understand while also struggling with the idea that maybe the adults in her life can’t be trusted - including Other Mommy, who was once “her friend” - that’s the real horror.

The author writes Bella beautifully. I truly believed the majority of the time that I was being told this story from a child’s perspective. It feels authentic and not forced, unlike some first-person POV child characters.
The narrator on Audible, Delanie Nicole Gill, is phenomenal. She truly captures the emotions and personalities of the characters.

The final few chapters will forever haunt me. I was shocked, despite being a seasoned horror consumer, how unexpectedly the “twist” at the end affected me. My heart ached for Bella as my own childhood pain came crashing down during Act 3, and the final chapter had my hands over my mouth as I listened, unable to do anything but just let it all happen, and I cried. I think this definitely speaks to how effective the writing is, and how well crafted Bella’s personality is.

As I stated at the start, I don’t find this book overall to be scary. Intriguing, engaging, and entertaining, yes, but until that last couple chapters, I wasn’t scared. But when I finally was scared, it truly affected me. This is my first book from Malerman, and it has intrigued me to read more of his work.

Creeeeeeeepy

The narrator was excellent! Having the perspective of a child is refreshing and creative. Her point of view allows the reader to gather information slowly, from her perspective….absolutely terrifying. Love this story….didn’t want it to end!

Best horror book ever !

This book was so creepy and so scary and the audio told from the POV of little Bella made it that much scarier ! Absolute best book this year and a must listen !!!!! I am terrified to open my closet in the dark ….

Wow.

This book was incredible. Very impressed with the actor’s voice work. What a gut punch. Made me really reflect on my life and who I am as a person and parent.

Best Horror book of 2024!

Absolutely amazing book. I loved the story and the narration was just mind blowing. Highly recommended to all horror fans.

Not what was expecting…

I think the narrator was fantastic. But that’s about where the positives end with me. I kept thinking, this is really about to take off! But…unfortunately for me, it never did. To be fair, I’m not huge on demonic possession and things of that nature. I didn’t realize this had anything to do with that.

Terrifying

This book left me dead inside. Great story, loved the characters, even the mom and character I love to hate, was constructed perfectly. POV put it over the top. Thinking of this happening to a child was just terrifying, knowing a child was asked to make such a profound decision not knowing what she was really agreeing to. This book gets my scariest book of the year vote, scariest I’ve read in a long time. This is the kind of book I like to read. Outstanding!

Unique Performance

The narration was good and the story had a good plot. The ending was a little underwhelming but I was into it until the last chapter. It kind of sputtered out a bit. I would still read more from this author, just hope the endings are better. overall a good read.

Outstanding book!

Great story and excellent narration. Highly recommend. Finished it in 1 day because I couldn’t stop listening

Atmosphere

I genuinely loved this book. I was not super into the ending but that doesn't erase the fact that this was such a good read. I loved the atmosphere the book provided. I enjoyed most of the characters. I found myself wanting to read more when I wasn't reading. Best of all, I actually got the creeps before bed from it once. That is not normal for me. I read lots of horror. I watch lots of horror. I can enjoy a horror book or movie and go right to sleep if I want. The vibes early on in this book actually creeped me out for real a little and that makes it gold in my mind.