Book Review: The September House by Carissa Orlando

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The September House by Carissa Orlando

Mogsy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Berkley (September 5, 2023)

Length: 352 pages

Author Information: Website

Try to picture your typical haunted house story: It begins with a young couple, usually with small children, who move into their dream home which they had recently purchased at a suspiciously good price. From there, the nightmare begins. Weird things start to happen, whether as a result of malevolent ghosts or the house itself coming alive, frightening the bejeezus out of the hapless family. Queue the spiraling madness, the frayed nerves, the choking sense of claustrophobia. By this point, most haunted house victims are left desperately clinging onto the remnants of their sanity, doing everything they can to get the hell out.

But not Margaret. While Carissa Orlando’s debut The September House may share quite a few common elements with your typical haunted house story, its protagonist certainly stands on her own. First of all, in her mid-fifties, it takes a lot more than bleeding walls and screaming ghosts to faze her. Plus, good luck prying her out of the house because she just loves it so damn much. Four years ago, she and her husband Hal bought the old Victorian knowing that it had a history, but everything else about it had been perfect. So, when the moaning sounds started and birds began killing themselves against the house en masse, they forced themselves to turn a blind eye, chalking it up to bad pipes and strange winds. Even when the ghostly figures started appearing, Margaret didn’t think it was a dealbreaker. After all, it was just a matter of perspective. Some of the ghosts could even be helpful, like Fredricka, who had been a maid in her past life and could cook, clean, and brew a mean pot of chamomile. She might be a little hard to look at, sure, what with her head split open by the axe that killed her, but free help was free help! And Margaret was a firm believer that after a while, you can get used to anything.

Then, September came around. For some reason, things would get particularly bad during this month. The ghosts, dubbed “pranksters” by Margaret, became restless and uncontrollable, especially the children. One of them, a boy with razor-sharp teeth called Elias, would lash out violently and bite if you got too close, and this was the final straw for Hal. After the last September, he just couldn’t take it anymore.

When the book opens, Margaret and Hal had been living in the house for several years. So far, they’ve successfully made excuses to keep their adult daughter Katherine away, but that’s been getting harder to do in the last few months. Lately, she has been calling all the time, asking to speak to her father, which Margaret knows would not be possible, but the stubborn girl just wouldn’t give up! Now Katherine’s has gone and booked a plane ticket heading her way, and Margaret is freaking out because it’s September. There’s just no way she’ll be able to control the house or its ghosts this month, and even if she somehow manages to hide the truth from Katherine, there’s still the matter of Hal, and Margaret has no idea how she’ll explain away that problem.

To say that I was pleasantly surprised by The September House is an understatement. I freakin’ loved this book! While it follows the expected trajectory of a haunted house story in some ways, there are also a few departures from the usual formula which breathes fresh life into the genre.

One of the most unique and standout aspects of this novel was hands down the character of Margaret, whose response to the supernatural events unfolding around her was so blasé as to be almost humorous. Her personality also pointed to a lot more going on beneath the surface—like, is she for real or is this just pure denial from loving the house so much? Even so, surely any sane person would have limits, right? Oh wait, hang on a sec, is she even sane? Just how much can we trust her, given how cagey she is about Hal’s whereabouts right off the bat?

As the plot unfolds, we find out exactly what Margaret’s story is, like why she’s so big on rules, or why she’s so adamant about staying in this damn house. And that’s not even the best part. The more we find out about her past—gradually revealed in her memories, flashbacks, and conversations with her daughter Katherine—the more everything starts to make sense. The pacing was simply impeccable, each development timed with utter perfection. Every chapter delivers new clues about our characters or the house, keeping me in suspense of what’s to come. It all culminates in an explosive ending that jerked me this way and that before leaving me wide-eyed and breathless. I am stunned that this is Orlando’s first novel, and it is commendable how well she was able to take the best parts of the horror and domestic suspense genres and blend them together.

If you’re into haunted house stories (or hey, even if you’re not!), The September House is a must-read for chiller and thriller fans, especially if you enjoy the quirky horror-meets-humor tone of books like The Twisted Ones or A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher. A five-star worthy debut that’s not to be missed.