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🏚️ A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

Five-Word Review: Creepy Vibes, Confusing Paranormal Plot
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️½ (2.5 out of 5)

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🧠 Initial Thoughts

Maybe it’s time I accept that paranormal horror just isn't for me. I’ve tried. I really have. But unless there's a strong plot holding up the ghostly chaos, I tend to lose interest. Books like Hidden Pictures, Home Before Dark, or We Used to Live Here are more my style—they still work even if you remove the spooky stuff. Unfortunately, A House with Good Bones is not one of those.

That said, I have to give credit where it’s due: T. Kingfisher’s atmosphere and horror writing are on point. The way she describes the creepiest scenes? Chilling. But the story itself felt underdeveloped, especially once the paranormal explanations started flooding in.

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🏠 The Setup

The story centers on Sam Montgomery, an archaeologist who returns home to North Carolina after getting a concerning call from her brother Brad. Brad thinks something’s off with their mom, Edith, who’s suddenly lost weight, acts strangely quiet, and seems to be constantly looking over her shoulder.

When Sam arrives, she notices a few bizarre things:

• The house is painted in a color her mom hates—but her late grandmother Gran Mae loved.

• Edith talks as if Gran Mae is still alive.

• The rose bushes, usually swarming with bugs, are completely barren.

Something isn’t right.

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🧙‍♀️ Gran Mae and the "Underground Children"

We soon find out that Gran Mae’s spirit is still lingering, half-protective, half-threatening. When she was alive, she told disturbing tales of the “underground children”—stories Sam and Brad assumed were just Gran Mae’s weird bedtime folklore.

Plot twist: they’re real.

Once Gran Mae is finally “banished” (in a spiritual sense), her hold over the underground children breaks. These creepy, mole-like creatures claw their way out of the earth, and it’s terrifying. Gran Mae’s father, Elgar Mills, was apparently a sorcerer who created this twisted legacy, favoring other children over Mae. That part’s a little murky, but it feeds into the generational horror theme.

Luckily, the neighbor Gail (who happens to be a witch, naturally) shows up to help battle the creepy crawlies. Sam even discovers she has a magical ability of her own—when she thrusts her hands into the rose thorns, it causes the underground children to burn. (Ouch, but also cool.)

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🌵 The Conclusion

The battle is intense. There’s blood, thorns, magic, more bugs, and very dark basement scenes that made my skin crawl. In the end, the family survives (somehow), though it’s unclear whether all the underground children were destroyed. Just in case, they flee to Arizona.

Because when in doubt, get far away from haunted Southern rose bushes.

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😐 Final Verdict

If you love deeply creepy horror with strong Southern gothic vibes, this book might work for you. There are undeniably scary and well-written moments—but for me, the paranormal plot felt too convenient, and the story lost its footing the more it tried to explain things away.

Still, I can appreciate Kingfisher’s craft, even if I didn’t connect with the execution.

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📚 If You Like Creepy But Cohesive Horror, Try These Instead:

• 🖼 Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak — Paranormal meets family secrets with a mystery that actually adds up.

• 🏡 Home Before Dark by Riley Sager — A haunted house thriller that works even without the ghosts.

• 🪑 We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer — A tightly written novella that will make you side-eye your own house.

• 👻 The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson — For that eerie, slow-burn ghost story classic.

• 🧠 The Only One Left by Riley Sager — Creepy mansion, dark secrets, and a mystery that unravels beautifully.