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The September House cover art

The September House

By: Carissa Orlando
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
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Summary

“Why run from a haunted house when you can stay and ignore the ghosts? Just when you thought you'd seen everything a haunted house novel could do, The September House comes along and delivers an eerie, darkly funny, and emotionally grounded book about the ghosts that haunt houses and marriages."– Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House

A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this thoroughly enjoyable, 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.

©2023 Carissa Orlando (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Kimberly Farr narrates this creepy, mesmerizing story of Margaret and Hal, who purchase their dream home, a beautiful, haunted Victorian.... Farr masters every unique character, alive or dead, in this one-woman show." (AudioFile)

"Margaret is a delightfully well drawn protagonist, sturdy, unflappable, and often dryly funny, but as the narrative unfurls, we learn that the reasons for her strictly regimented behavior are neither simple nor pleasant...The September House is a surprising, engaging debut." - Vulture.com (Best Books of 2023)

“Every once in a while, a story comes along that fully upends a genre in the most beautiful way, essentially reinventing the notion of what’s possible within that genre. Now, author Carissa Orlando, a horror enthusiast, has written that very story.” - Shondaland.com

“The metaphor is layered and at times heartbreaking, as secrets held by both a house and a family come to light with terrifying poignancy in this wonderfully eerie debut.” - Library Journal (starred review)

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What listeners say about The September House

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  • Overall
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Unique take on a haunted house story

Well read. Very good story, some bits felt repetitive but I feel like that was meant to understand the thoughts of the narrator.

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  • DT
  • 04-05-24

Really enjoyable

addictive, funny and eerie, I finished it in two days! Would recommend to any horror fans

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    4 out of 5 stars

Great haunted house story

I love haunted house stories and this one was very enjoyable and well narrated. The ending was done nicely, which doesn't happen that often in horror / paranormal books.
However, please take into consideration trigger warnings for violence and domestic abuse - if this is something that would cause you distress, I think it's better to skip this book.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

amazing

equal parts hilarious, terrifying and heartbreaking. really loved Margaret who was an incredibly complex but amazing heroine.

highly recommended!

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5 Star!

Once I started listening to this, I couldn’t stop.

It’s got dark humour, sadness and some tough topics but the characters are great and the narrator is fantastic!

A really addictive story about a haunted house and it’s inhabitants!

Overall a great spooky listen! :)

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Incredible writing and fantastic narration

Wow! I adored this book. A slow start but well worth it for a poignant and deeply affecting look at the themes explored. Fabulous!

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interesting story

Even perfect houses have some issues. In this case, its the ghosts and the blood walls and whatever in the basement! It does remind me of a written version of AHS: murder House, just with more understanding ghosts! Alongside the ghost story is another tale of domestic life and how it can go wrong. The character of Margaret just shows you can get used to pretty much anything if you have to, and when the stories combine, the ending is as you expect, or is it?!

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Surprisingly gripping

Not normally one for this type of book but read as book club choice. Enjoyed it more than I thought

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Fantastic!

Fantastic - I enjoyed every minute. Great, action packed story, wonderful main character and wonderful narration. This is the heat audiobook I have listened to on audible.

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A pleasant surprise!

I wasn't sure at first as I don't usually have the patience for ghost stories, but the narrator was compelling and the writing style was excellent, so I persevered - and I'm glad I did!

Not your average ghost story, this book had me laughing out loud but also, at times, feeling desperately sad. It is gruesome in an amusing, rather than horrifying, way, and the characters are well developed and quite loveable. The story hidden beneath the surface is very poignant. This is not a book I will forget anytime soon.

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